Poll 2009: Times Now = NDTV 24X7 + CNN-IBN

Going by past two years, Times Now makes an unlikely leader. For a channel that was dismissed by many, it has beaten rivals and stayed at the top successively for five of the past six months, reaching an average 36 per cent channel share in February and March, according to TAM Media data. In April, the TRPs for the first phase of voting in General Elections says that Times Now has walked away with a dramatic lead that is much higher than its nearest competitors put together. The channel has provided the largest non-stop broadcast of voting related news on April 16, the polling day.

On the first day of voting, Times Now scored 45 per cent channel share, compared to just 16 per cent of NDTV 24X7 and 21 per cent of CNN-IBN (C&S M 25+ AB, 1 Mn+ markets). In the C&S M 15+ AB, 1 Mn+ markets, Times Now has garnered a whopping 40 per cent channel share as compared to 19 per cent of NDTV and CNN-IBN each. Sandeep Sharma, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Times Now, says, "The special election programming and the best panel by far to be seated on any news channel led by Arnab Goswami himself has the viewers getting a relevant and unmatched perspective on important aspects linked to the political scenario as it unfolds in the country."

For the General Elections 2009, Times Now has drawn the widest panel of political experts, with stalwarts like Mahesh Ranagrajan, Dileep Padgaonkar, Vinod Mehta, Swapan Dasgupta, Swaminathan Aiyer, Nalini Singh, Navika Kumar and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta joining Arnab Goswami in the last leg of the campaign. It maybe noted that the English news channel revenue share is about 15 per cent even though the viewership is less than 9 per cent. Within the news genre, eight English channels get a much bigger slice, about Rs 650-700 crore. This is almost the same as about 15 Hindi and 25 regional news channels put together. According to Divya Radhakrishnan, president, The Media Edge, "At about Rs 1,200-1,300 crore, news channels get a disproportionate share of the TV advertising pie of Rs 8,300 crore. Ad revenue from the English news genre is split equally between five general English channels and three business channels. It is good that Times Now has managed to command an whooping 45 per cent share in its segment."

Courtesy - Television point