Tanushree Basuroy
Research expert covering India
News consumption trends in India - statistics & facts
The Indian mediascape comprises of thousands of registered newspapers and periodicals, over 900 private television channels, and more than 1,000 radio stations operating in multiple regional languages including Hindi and English. The country’s media and entertainment industry was valued at more than a trillion Indian rupees and is expected to continue growing. Over time, news consumption has become an integral part of everyday life in this gargantuan democracy of over 1.4 billion people.
Meanwhile, the rapid penetration of smartphones and mobile internet in India have led to digital media emerging as a key player within the news industry. The younger, urban, and more educated news audiences in India frequently access news through online sources that include social media platforms. India is home to over 150 million active online consumers of news in Indian languages, the majority of which are concentrated in rural India. In an increasingly video-hungry market, online news was preferably consumed in the form of videos which further fed into YouTube’s success in the country.
In 2023, consumers appeared to steer away from legacy news television channels while trust in the state-owned news channel, DD India, and the country’s public broadcaster, All India Radio, sky rocketed. Given the G20 summit hosted by India in 2023 and the general elections held in 2024, interest in the news resurged. Political ad spending, especially by the government, peaked during this period. A significant trend that resulted from the news coverage of the 2024 elections, was the convergence of digital and television news consumption with media outlets racking up concurrent viewers as several households tuned in for election updates via smart TVs.
News consumption preferences and industry forerunners
India’s news industry is largely dominated by the television and print sectors, with the Hindi-speaking market accounting for much of the media consumption in the country. The news channels Aaj Tak and CNN-News18 emerged on top with the largest shares of viewership in the Hindi and English-speaking markets, respectively. However, this does not mean that news in regional languages is lacking in demand; around 100 channels are devoted to regional news. Among the myriad dailies published across the country, Urdu and Telugu had the second and third greatest number of publications, while newspapers in Marathi were the most circulated after those in Hindi and English. Additionally, India’s broadcast industry has a plethora of music-based FM stations of which it is only the country’s public broadcaster, All India Radio, that is allowed to produce news.Meanwhile, the rapid penetration of smartphones and mobile internet in India have led to digital media emerging as a key player within the news industry. The younger, urban, and more educated news audiences in India frequently access news through online sources that include social media platforms. India is home to over 150 million active online consumers of news in Indian languages, the majority of which are concentrated in rural India. In an increasingly video-hungry market, online news was preferably consumed in the form of videos which further fed into YouTube’s success in the country.
Growing awareness in the era of fake news
Since the pandemic issues like the spread of fake news as well as news media credibility have become a growing concern. Newspapers were the most trusted news source among various media. On the digital front, a combination of legacy news publisher apps and news aggregators was the consumers’ choice, especially if it included fact-checking features. Esteemed journalists and editors were also cited as a reason for consumers to trust news brands.In 2023, consumers appeared to steer away from legacy news television channels while trust in the state-owned news channel, DD India, and the country’s public broadcaster, All India Radio, sky rocketed. Given the G20 summit hosted by India in 2023 and the general elections held in 2024, interest in the news resurged. Political ad spending, especially by the government, peaked during this period. A significant trend that resulted from the news coverage of the 2024 elections, was the convergence of digital and television news consumption with media outlets racking up concurrent viewers as several households tuned in for election updates via smart TVs.
