News consumption preferences and industry forerunners
India’s news industry is largely dominated by the television and print sectors, with the Hindi-speaking market accounting for much of the media consumption in the country. The news channels Aaj Tak and CNN-News18 emerged on top with the largest shares of viewership in the Hindi and English-speaking markets, respectively. However, this does not mean that news in regional languages is lacking in demand; around 100 channels are devoted to regional news. Among the myriad dailies published across the country, Urdu and Telugu had the second and third greatest number of publications, while newspapers in Marathi were the most circulated after those in Hindi and English. Additionally, India’s broadcast industry has a plethora of music-based FM stations of which it is only the country’s public broadcaster, All India Radio, that is allowed to produce news.Meanwhile, the rapid penetration of smartphones and mobile internet in India have led to digital media emerging as a key player within the news industry. The younger, urban, and more educated news audiences in India frequently access news through online sources that include social media platforms. India is home to over 150 million active online consumers of news in Indian languages, the majority of which are concentrated in rural India. In an increasingly video-hungry market, online news was preferably consumed in the form of videos which further fed into YouTube’s success in the country.
Growing awareness in the era of fake news
With the advent of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, news consumption in India saw an increase across most media formats, especially television. While the public sought regular updates and information regarding the development of the pandemic situation, issues like the spread of fake news as well as news media credibility became a concern. Newspapers were the most trusted news source among various media. On the digital front, a combination of legacy news publisher apps and news aggregators was the consumers’ choice, especially if it included fact-checking features. Esteemed journalists and editors were also cited as a reason for consumers to trust news brands.In 2023, consumers appeared to steer away from legacy news television channels while trust in the state-owned news channel, DD India, and the country’s public broadcaster, All India Radio, sky rocketed. Given the G20 summit hosted by India that year and the upcoming general elections in 2024, interest in the news is expected to resurge. As a result, the government increasingly invested in advertising campaigns across newspapers and online platforms.
