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Over 197 million watched PM’s Covid-19 lockdown announcement on TV
The figure was more than the number of people who watched the Indian Premier League (IPL) finals last year, which stood at 133 million.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s televised speech on Tuesday evening — in which he announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) — was watched by over 197 million people, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati said on Friday.
It said that the figure was more than the number of people who watched the Indian Premier League (IPL) finals last year, which stood at 133 million. Over 200 news channels, including Prasar Bharti-run Doodarshan, had broadcast the telecast.
Prasar Bharati chief executive officer (CEO) Shashi Shekhar Vempati quoted data by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), an audience measurement body for the broadcast industry.
“According to the data shared by BARC India the speech by PM Narendra Modi on total lockdown on March 24 had the highest TV viewership [unique viewers greater than IPL finals] with over 201 channels carrying it,” Vempati said on Twitter.
The PM’s televised address on Tuesday garnered significant hits on the social media as well. The number of hits on Doordarshan’s and Rajya Sabha’s YouTube channels were half a million and 0.1 million, respectively.
The PM’s address to the nation on March 19, announcing a 14-hour “Janata Curfew” on March 22, notched up a TV viewership of 18.3 million across 191 TV channels, according to BARC ratings.
Modi’s address on the nullification of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019, had a viewership of 16.5 million across 163 channels, while his demonetisation address on November 8, 2016, was watched by 15.7 million on 114 channels.
(with agency inputs)
