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According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the audience contribution of towns and cities with a population between 100,000 and a million has surpassed that of the top six metropolises for English news channels.
The towns in this measure are under its New Consumer Classification System (NCCS) termed A and B. In the 100,000–1 million population bracket, NCCS AB towns contribute 32 per cent to the total TV viewing universe measure of BARC but their contribution to English news viewership is 46 per cent. The top six metros contribute 36 per cent to the total TV viewing universe, while their contribution to English news viewership is 42 per cent. In English business news, viewership contribution from these NCCS AB towns is 30 per cent; that of the six metros is 43 per cent.
The ratings agency says in the 100,000–1 million population strata, the number of towns rose from 357 in 2001 to 415 in 2011, by Census data. It adds this growth corresponds to the finding of various Indian Readership Surveys (IRS) that that the overall growth in TV observed (since 2003) in the Rest of Urban India (RUI –towns beyond the top 20 and with population above 100,000) is much faster than that in mega cities and the top 20 metros.
| Contribution% | 1-10 lakh (AB) | 6 Mega Cities (AB) |
| Universe (All India 1 lac+ NCCS AB) | 32% | 36% |
| Viewership - English News | 46% | 42% |
| Viewership - English Business News | 30% | 43% |
| Source: BARC India, All India 1 lakh+, NCCS AB, Week 16-19 (4 weeks) average | ||
For the four weeks between April 19 and May 15, the average viewership for the English news genre was 872,000 and for the English business news genre, it was 348,000.
| English News (Wk 16 - 19 avg) | English Business News (Wk 16 - 19 avg) | |||
| All India 1 lac+ (AB) | Rat (000s) sum | All India 1 lac+ (AB) | Rat (000s) sum | |
| Times Now | 319 | CNBC TV 18 | 171 | |
| Headlines Today | 196 | ET Now | 115 | |
| NDTV 24x7 | 185 | NDTV Profit and NDTV Prime | 39 | |
| CNN IBN | 172 | Bloomberg TV | 23 | |
| Total English News | 872 | Total English Business News | 348 | |
