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In the rapidly changing content landscape, regional content has made a remarkable impact, taking the industry by storm. According to a recent report, viewership for Hindi-language content on TV dropped to below 50% in 2024, highlighting the growing dominance of regional languages.
The report, which quoted the BARC data for weeks 1 to 53 in the year 2024, said that over 50% of TV viewership was in languages other than Hindi. However, Hindi continues to dominate as the most-watched language on television at 44% while the remaining 56% included Telegu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Bangla along with “Others” category which includes Bhojpuri and other regional dialects.
According to the findings of a FICCI M&E report, Hindi commanded a 44% share of total viewership, solidifying its position as the leading language for TV audiences across the country. However, the remaining 56% of viewership was distributed across a variety of languages, reflecting India’s multilingual ethos. Telugu followed with a 12% share, closely trailed by Tamil at 11%, Kannada at 7%, Marathi at 5%, and Bangla at 4%.
The “Others” category, which includes languages like Bhojpuri and other regional dialects, accounted for 16% of the viewership. Together, the top five languages—Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Marathi—made up 79% of the total TV audience, underscoring their significant influence on Indian television.
According to Rajiv Khattar, broadcast expert, “The regional languages are in forefront of consumption of content. With the growth of digital platforms, the regional content reach is growing and with the CTV growth the regional content consumption is increasing.”
According to the data while Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil experienced a marginal decline in their viewership shares, languages like Kannada, Marathi, and Bhojpuri bucked the trend by registering growth.
South Indian languages, in particular, played a pivotal role in shaping the viewership landscape, contributing 33% to the total TV audience. Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada together formed a significant portion of this share, highlighting the strong foothold of South Indian content in the television market.
In contrast, English viewership remained negligible, constituting less than 1% of the total, a clear indicator of its limited appeal on Indian TV screens compared to regional and national languages.
“This linguistic diversity in viewership underscores the importance of catering to India’s varied audience preferences. For broadcasters and content creators, the data signals a need to invest in regional language programming to capture the growing demand in non-Hindi markets,” said an industry expert.
As India’s television industry continues to evolve, the balance between Hindi and regional languages will likely remain a key factor in shaping content strategies, ensuring that the small screen reflects the country’s vibrant cultural and linguistic mosaic.
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