Ad volumes on TV slide 3% to 443 mn seconds in Mar quarter

Mumbai: Advertising on television channels declined by around 3 per cent to 443 million seconds in the January-March quarter as against the year-ago period, the Broadcast Audience Research Council said on Thursday. The overall advertising volume had stood at 369 million seconds in the first quarter of 2020, when the pandemic struck, leading to wide-ranging impact in both consumption and television content.

The advertising volumes declined despite an increase in the number of advertisers to 4,259 during the first quarter of the current calendar year as against 4,175 in the year-ago period, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) said.

The decline in ad volumes comes at a time when the overall demand environment is facing headwinds amid a surge in inflation and mixed prospects on income growth reported from various sections of the economy.

The fast moving consumer goods segment, the biggest advertiser, showed a decrease in ad bookings at 267.6 million seconds in Q1 2022 as against 286.5 million seconds in Q1 2021, while the e-commerce sector which has companies backed by private equity majors witnessed an increase to 49.6 million seconds from 35.3 million seconds. Other sectors which showed a decline in overall advertising volumes included auto, building, industrial, land materials and equipment sectors.