Pope's death sees BBC World viewership jumping by 71%

There are no prizes for guessing that BBC World and CNN are the most preferred channels when it comes to international news. And, if it is a major international development, these channels see a sudden spurt in viewership.

That's what happened during the recent demise of Pope John Paul II. As per TAM Media Research, (C&S, 4+, All India) 48 lakh people tuned into BBC World in the week 15 (April 2- April 8) of 2005. Out of this, 23 lakh people tuned in to the channel only on April 3 – the day of Pope's death. In week 15, the channel's viewership increased by 71 per cent from the previous week.

In comparison, only 18 lakh people tuned in to CNN in week 15 of 2005.

BBC World also claims on the basis of TAM data that the average time spent on the channel increased to 19 minutes (per viewer) in comparison to CNN's average time spent of 12 minutes (per viewer).

A senior executive of BBC comments, “BBC World provided a judicious mix of news updates and rolling coverage from Rome and around the world, drawing out the international significance of John Paul II's 26-year papacy. Our comprehensive analysis of international events has provided us an edge over the others.”

Media planners attribute the main reason behind the difference in viewership between the two channels to BBC being a stronger brand. Basabdutta Chowdhuri, COO, Madison Media Plus, says, “BBC has a long association with the Indian market right from the early days of radio. In addition, BBC also has substantial India-specific programmes, which regularly brings in Indian viewers to the channel.”

Another Delhi-based media planner says, “If it's war-specific news – especially where the US is involved, CNN is generally preferred. But for other international developments, BBC has an edge over its rivals.” She adds, “The distribution network of BBC World is also very strong in India as compared to its competitors. So more people are bound to tune into the channel.” © 2005 agencyfaqs!