Global Media Intelligence 2021: India

Noteworthy in 2021

Digital formats coexisted with traditional media, rather than displacing them.

• Hundreds of millions of India’s internet users consume traditional media. Print formats are a case in point. In Q1 2021, more than three-quarters (75.9%) of those ages 16 to 64 had recently read a print newspaper, and 65.5% had read a print magazine.
• Print publications were especially popular in cities and among older respondents. Yet over 70% of the 16-to-24 cohort had also read a print newspaper in the prior month as of Q1, and nearly 57% had read a print magazine. That said, the bulk of time spent with press titles has shifted online. Digital publications occupied 1 hour, 34 minutes (1:34) per day on average in H1 2021, compared with 1:00 for print press formats.
• Broadcast TV, meanwhile, was still viewed more widely than most digital alternatives. In Q1 2021, 92.0% of internet users had watched live TV in the month prior to polling. But many respondents were also adept at time-shifted viewing; more than 80% used broadcasters’ catch-up or on-demand services, while 73.1% recorded TV programs to watch later. Both values increased from 2020. In addition, over 81% of respondents had accessed films or TV shows via subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix.