Television viewership in the country grew by 7.2 per cent, as compared to 2016, to 836 million people. (Express Photo/Jaipal Singh/File) Television viewership in the country grew by 7.2 per cent, as compared to 2016, to 836 million people. (Express Photo/Jaipal Singh/File)

Even as an increasing number of people use mobile phones to watch videos, it does not seem to affect growth in television viewership in the country, which grew by 7.2 per cent, as compared to 2016, to 836 million people.

While urban India saw a 4 per cent growth in ownership of TV sets, rural India saw a 10 per cent rise. The numbers are not evenly spread across the states.

Bihar and Jharkhand continued to have the lowest penetration of television sets in the country, with less than 30 per cent households owning one. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand follow with a TV in less than 45 per cent homes. In contrast, all five southern states — Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka — have a TV penetration of more than 90 per cent. This is an increase for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as compared to two years ago, when 80 to 90 per cent households in the two states had TV sets.

These are some of the major findings of the Broadcast India report published by Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) which measures TV viewership in the country. On average, penetration of TV sets in India stands at 66 per cent, an increase of two percentage points from 64 per cent in 2016.

The data shows that Maharashtra has also gained in terms of TV penetration. Two years ago, 60 to 79 per cent of households had TV sets in the state, which has increased to 80 to 90 per cent, at par with neighbouring Gujarat. In the Northeast, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, 45 to 59 per cent houses have a TV set.

In the north, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana all have 80 to 90 per cent TV penetration, while in Delhi more than 90 per cent houses have a TV set.

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