Oh My God! Devotional content sees a surge in viewership in COVID-19 times

A few days back, Twitteratis requested Prasar Bharati to bring back classics like Ramayan and Mahabharat to help reduce stress as people remain stuck at home.

When Doordarshan brought these shows back on TV, viewership peaked for both Ramayan and Mahabharat.

Viewership for Ramayan went up 545 times in week 13 (week starting March 28) from week 12 (week starting March 21). Ramayan once again started airing on DD from March 28 onwards and its evening slot recorded fresh highs for any Hindi general entertainment show since 2015 in week 12.

Even now DD is the big gainer amid GECs (general entertainment channels) and one of the major contributors to its success are shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat.

Along with these shows, the devotional genre as a whole has also seen strong traction on TV.

In week 12, the devotional category saw a 26 percent spike in viewership. In the following week, viewership for the genre grew 38 percent, according to BARC data.

Top channels in the devotional category, which saw significant growth in viewership in March, include PTC Simran, Aastha, Bhakti TV, Chardikla Time TV, Divya that saw 71 percent, 60 percent, 20 percent, 51 percent, 26 percent growth, respectively, in week 12 over week 11 (week starting March 14).

“Devotional channels have been garnering lot of followership despite the COVID-19 situation in India and in some international markets as well. However, now these channels have widened their reach across demographics as well as geographies. So, every age group is watching these channels and is no more restricted to the older generation. Plus, these channels earlier were consumed in Tier II and III markets, but now viewed across the country,” Prateek Kumar, CEO and MD, NeoNiche Integrated Marketing Solutions, told Moneycontrol.

The latest BARC data for week 14 that is week starting April 4 showed that 22 percent kids watched Ramayan with their grandparents or other seniors at home.

And when it comes to Mahabharat, 25 percent kids watched the show on TV.

So, this is what makes devotional genre attractive for brands.

But there is one more aspect that lures brands to this category and that is advertising rates on these channels.

“Ad rates on devotional channels is 40 percent cheaper in comparison to GECs. Traditionally, the rates have been lower because the category was catering to one demographic. Also, the ad slot is not as per primetime viewing like GECs. So, the cost implication is nominal. In fact, a lot of brands pre-book ad slots on devotional channels,” he said.

Kumar also pointed out that devotional channels are regionally and geographically very relevant.

“If you show a Tirupati Darshan, all small businesses or local businesses are interested because the channels have global viewership. So, reach becomes high. Plus, there is less clutter in comparison to GECs,” he added.