While Star Vijay and Zee Tamil are gaining ground in the Tamil general entertainment channel (GEC) space, the viewership data provided by BARC needs further analysis as a host of factors like sports viewership and distribution challenges are at play, according to media planners.
The data is used as a yardstick by advertisers to decide their television spends.
“A lot has been happening in the Tamil GEC space in terms of content. With the advent of reality shows like Bigg Boss the market has shown an appetite. From last year we have seen Sun TV losing some share,” Sujata Dwibedy, head of trading, Dentsu Aegis Network India said.
Ms. Dwibedy said that Sun continues to be number one by a huge margin and a deeper look is needed into the data.
“Sports viewership in Tamil Nadu gained traction, which was never expected. There was cricket with Tamil commentary that had some impact. Also people are now consuming content through digital medium. What they are watching and its impact on television viewing also needs to be looked into,” she added.
Another media analyst pointed out that in recent months Sun TV lost market share mainly because it was not available on the state government-owned Arasu Cable.
“The market has faced distribution challenges. Chennai has not fully shifted to digital from analog. Arasu is facing challenges in terms of procuring set-top boxes. Sun is back on Arasu and it should regain viewership share from now, which would find reflection in the upcoming viewership data,” he added.
