New Delhi: Weekly television viewership in the country grew 18%, according to ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India.

The increase in viewership can be attributed to an expansion of the number of TV households based on the latest survey done by Nielsen for Barc.

Weekly impressions, or the number of people in thousands who viewed an event, averaged across minutes, rose to 26.7 billion in the week ended 24 February from 22.7 billion in the preceding seven days, according to the latest viewership data released by Barc.

The improved viewership indicates that television is growing rapidly, even as online video consumption in India continues to spike.

“The TV universe in India is ever growing and changing and so is the profile and choice of a TV viewer. The last survey done was in 2013 and the last Census was in 2011. The consumer and viewer landscape is changing rapidly—with electrification, prosperity, changing modes of signal and digitisation," said Partho Dasgupta, chief executive, Barc India in a statement on Thursday.

With the latest survey, Barc has updated and aligned its TV universe in line with ground level changes in demographics, TV ownership and connection type, among others.

Total television homes in the country rose 19% to 183 million as of February 2016 from 154 million in 2013, according to the survey. Rural India has 99 million TV homes, 17% more than urban India’s 84 million, the survey found.

TV penetration in India is currently at 64%, up from earlier 54%, and hence there is a huge headroom for growth," Dasgupta added.

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