Broadcasters ended 2021 on a high with the December quarter logging in the highest quarterly ad volumes since 2019. Overall, in 2021, TV ad volumes recorded a 22 per cent growth over 2020 and an 18 per cent growth over 2019.
TV ad volumes in December stood at 155 million seconds, up 25 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, as per data released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). At the same time, the December quarter in 2021 recorded 489 million seconds of ad volumes, up 27 per cent compared to corresponding quarter in 2019 and 6 per cent over the same period in 2020.
Stellar growth
The TV rating agency said 19 per cent of the 4,104 brands and 2,524 advertisers that advertised on TV in December were new advertisers and brands. “E-commerce, BFSI, retail and textiles sectors independently registered over 40 per cent growth each when compared to December 2019,” it noted.
Ad volumes in corporate and brand image category surged by as much as 42 per cent compared to December 2020. In terms of language-based genres, Hindi language channels continued to grow consistently with 15 per cent growth over December 2020 and recovery was seen in English language channels with a 15 per cent growth over December 2020.
Bhojpuri channels surged 120 per cent compared to December 2019 and Punjabi channels’ ad volumes were up 83 per cent over December 2019. Oriya, Assamese and Marathi channels also saw strong double-digit growth in terms of ad volumes compared to December 2019.
‘2021, a positive year’
Aaditya Pathak, Head – Client Partnership & Revenue Function, BARC India, said, “Post a rollercoaster ride in 2020 on account of the pandemic and lockdown, 2021 was a strong positive year for the broadcast industry. We witnessed increased attention from marketers towards television, across languages, while welcoming new brands to the medium throughout the year. Ad volumes for digital native and e-commerce brands indicate that marketers continued to bet on television to establish stronger relationships and effective communication with their consumers. With a total of 155 million seconds of advertising volumes in December 2021, we can say with optimism that the broadcast industry ended 2021 on an encouraging note.”
In terms of key trends for the December quarter, BARC stated that brands across BFSI, e-commerce, corporate/brand image and personal accessories categories led the growth in Q4 2021 over Q4 2019. “Ad volumes on South language channels — Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada — registered 25 per cent growth in Q4 2021 over Q4 2019,” BARC added.