Odia content doing well among other regional languages: BARC CEO

Bhubaneswar: There is no way to increase TRP other than a good content, said Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO, Partho Dasgupta during the ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave in Bhubaneswar. Dasgupta further informed that there has been an emergence of local content in the last couple of years. People these days are proud to speak, do and watch shows in local content.

“Be it Odia, Gujarati, Bangla or Marathi, there has been a tremendous growth and Odia content is certainly doing well and we see a good future,” said Dasgupta.

According to BARC sources, the TV penetration has grown 15% in Odisha between 2016 and 2018. It is the third fastest growing TV market after Bihar and Jharkhand (25%) and North East/Sikkim (23%). At 79%, the TV viewership in Odisha has grown faster than the national average of 66% in the last three years.

Responding to a media query whether the silver screen faces a threat from social media, Dasgupta said people despite addicted to mobile phones or the internet, will continue to watch TV.

Dasgupta further added that there is high appetite for TV viewing in Odisha. Greater investment in local content will further drive the growth of Broadcast industry in the state. Odisha is among the top 5 fastest growing TV markets in India.

TV ownership in the state grew 12% compared to the national growth of 7.5%, he added.