Sunday, December 2, 2018

Pakistan Media Industry Shakeout Underway

Pakistan's 88 billion rupee media industry is in the midst of a major shakeout after a long period of rapid double-digit growth since the turn of the century. Hundreds of journalists and other staff have lost their jobs. At least one TV channel, Waqt News, has closed while several others are downsizing. While such consolidation was long overdue after nearly two-decade long period of explosive growth, the PTI government's decision to reduce advertising budget, which constitutes nearly a quarter of all ad spending in the country, appears to be the main trigger. Those affected by consolidation are accusing the government of exercising press censorship by cutting its ad spending.

Pakistan Ad Spending. Source: Aurora/Dawn

Rapid Growth:

Rising buying power of rapidly expanding middle class in Pakistan drove the nation's media advertising revenue up 14% to a record Rs. 76.2 billion 2016 and another 12% to Rs. 88 billion in 2017, making the country's media market among the world's fastest growing media markets.

Global Advertising Growth 2016. Source: Magna

Industry Shakeout:

Massive commercial media growth in Pakistan has been most apparent in terms of private TV channels growing from just one in Year 2000 to over 100 today after President Musharraf's deregulation of electronic and other media.

Explosive growth with many new entrants is the fundamental business reason for the recent wave of consolidation and shakeout. Shakeout is a business term used to describe the consolidation of an industry or sector after it has experienced a period of rapid growth in demand followed by oversupply.

At least one TV channel, Waqt News owned by Nawai-Waqt Media Group, has closed while several others are downsizing.  “We are trying to compile exact figures of the affected media persons. So far, we can say that around 1,000-1,500 workers have lost their jobs or faced cuts in salaries in the past few weeks,” Muhammad Afzal Butt, president of one the main factions of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) told  The News Sunday (TNS) this week.

Government Spending:

About a quarter of Rs. 80 billion ad revenue comes from federal and provincial government ads in the media. Some of the TV channels receive as much as 50% of their revenue from the government.

"The government has cut its media spend by more than 70% and companies by almost 50%", according to a leading advertising agency owner who spoke to Dawn.

Global Advertising Growth 2018. Source: Magna


"The (federal) government used to spend some Rs. 10 billion on advertisements annually, which was increased up to Rs35 billion in the last years of the (Nawaz Sharif's PMLN) government," Fawad Chaudhry,  federal minister of information,  told The News Sunday (TNS).  This tax-payers’ money, says the minister, was used by the previous government to bribe the media for favorable coverage.

Digital Adverstising:

Growing slice of the media ad spend is being claimed by online advertising with accelerating broadband penetration in Pakistan. Most recent data from Pakistan Telecommunications Authority shows that 62 million Pakistanis now subscribe to mobile broadband and this number is increasing by one to two million new subscribers each month.

Digital media spending rose 27% in 2015-16 over prior year, the fastest of all the media platforms. It was followed by 20% increase in radio, 13% in television, 12% in print and 6% in outdoor advertising, according to data published by Aurora media market research.

Summary:

Significant reduction in government spending on advertising has triggered a long-overdue shakeout after almost two decades of rapid media growth in Pakistan. About a quarter of Rs. 80 billion ad revenue comes from federal and provincial government ads in the media. Some of the TV channels receive as much as 50% of their revenue from the government.  Hundreds of journalists and other staff have lost their jobs. At least one TV channel, Waqt, has closed while several others are downsizing. Those affected by consolidation are accusing the government of exercising press censorship by cutting its ad spending.


Here's a video discussion on Pakistani media business with Misbah Azam, Sabahat Ashraf and Riaz Haq.


https://youtu.be/Nz1axuB5j-Q





Related Links:

Haq's Musings

FMCG Growth in Pakistan

Is Media Free?

Pakistan Retail Sales Growth

Advertising Revenue in Pakistan

Pakistan FMCG Market

The Other 99% of Pakistan Story

PSL Cricket League Revenue

E-Commerce in Pakistan

Fintech Revolution in Pakistan

Mobile Broadband Speed in Pakistan

17 comments:

Abid F. said...

During my recent trip, I heard several examples of how the previous government “bought” media outlets by diverting huge amounts of totally unnecessary government advertising revenue to them. This is money that the government could have been using for the benefit of the people, which the current government is trying to do.

There are dozens of TV channels in Pakistan that had talk shows on all day. Each of these had an anchor and one representative from each of the 3 major parties on the show. So a lot of people were being paid by these advertising Rupees. Can you imagine a dozen each of Fox News, MSNBC and CNN doing nothing but talk shows all day? Haw much “analysis” can the people tolerate?

Riaz Haq said...

Abid: "I heard several examples of how the previous government “bought” media outlets by diverting huge amounts of totally unnecessary government advertising revenue to them."

PMLN and Nawaz did buy a lot of favorable media coverage at taxpayers expense but it didn’t help them get re-elected.

Sami said...

Sir This Is The Best Thing That Happened.Government Ads Had Become A Way Of Subsidising Inefficient Private Enterprise.

Watching News Channel Even An Illiterate Could Note That The Content Is Substandard.Nothing But Talk Shows Which Were Only Shouting Matches and Mud Slinging Contest.No Real Quality Journalism No Informative.

Not Only That This Had Also Promoted Corruption and Destroyed What Was A Great Concept Started During The Musharraf Era

Shams N. said...

In 2007 when MQM was in power in Karachi, I had suggested to MQM leadership to kill all media advertising for the City of Karachi that was under Mustafa Kamal's mayorship. I pointed out that the City could well direct everyone to look at the City website for all bid tenders, news, etc. Lo and behold, MQM acted on it. The news media, with Dawn and Jang in the lead, took them to the court and under the court's ruling, MQM was forced to go back on newspaper advertising.

Let's see if the same approach works this time.

Riaz Haq said...

DIGITAL SPENDS IN PAKISTAN WILL GROW BY 47% IN 2018 – MAGNA STUDY

According to Magna, Pakistan’s advertising market is expected to grow by 13.7% in 2018, reaching $916 million. Magna’s intelligence team found that 73% of media spends are concentrated on television, with spending growing by 14% in 2018.

The report found that the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and Pakistan’s surprise win over India contributed towards strong ratings, as did the Pakistan Super League initiated by Habib Bank Limited and Spark/Blitz of Publicis Groupe.

“The 2018 Elections are expected to create inventory shortage and generate double-digit inflation,” said the report. “In 2019 the Cricket World Cup will be a massive driver, yet again. Digital media is under-developed with just 3% of total media revenues, but growing quickly (+47% in 2018). Social Media is the fastest growing internet category (+70% in 2018), with already 16% of the population being active of which 14% through mobile devices.”


http://www.madvertising.pk/magna-apac-advertising-will-grow-7/

Riaz Haq said...

Najam Sethi accuses Talat Husain of working for CIA.

https://dai.ly/x486y8m

Talat, accused that the word ‘Chirya’, used by Sethi for his source, was none other than Pakistani business tycoon Malik Riaz, main character of Arsalan Iftikhar scandal.

https://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/06/07/malik-riaz-the-chirya-of-najam-sethi-talat-hussain/

"Gaddar" said...

'Najam Sethi accuses Talat Husain of working for CIA'

This seems to be a norm. It is white collar blasphemy. People in high places level charges from Mossad, NDS, RAW etc along with "gaddar" on others without risk of defamation. Pakistan needs strong anti-defamation laws and persecution to stop such nonsense!

Riaz Haq said...

Dwindling advertisement revenues for print and electronic media in Pakistan have brought several news organisations on the verge of closure or staff layoffs in hundreds. According to the chief executive of a leading advertisement firm in Islamabad, the private sector—including banks, textile industry and telecom firms—has slashed their advertisement budget by 50 per cent during the past few years.

https://www.newslaundry.com/2018/11/22/pakistan-media-spend-ownership-layoffs


The executive also said the provincial governments of Punjab, Sindh—the main contributors of advertisement revenues for print and electronic media—and the central government in Islamabad have slashed their advertisement budget by 70 per cent, leaving the media industry in a bad financial situation.

A compilation of advertising spend collected from multiple sources, Dawn reported, estimates that the market size has grown from Rs 66.9 billion in the financial year 2015 to Rs 87.7 billion in 2017. However, the growth share of electronic and print media shows a decline.

This is also evident from the inability of media organisations to pay salary to their staffers and layoffs of hundreds of journalists in Pakistan. Afzal Butt, president of the Pakistan Federal Union of journalists, said that over the past eight months, nearly 500 journalists lost their jobs due to the bad financial situation.


Last month, Waqt Television, a leading news channels owned by the financially-strong Nawa-e-Waqt group of newspapers, decided to shut down its operations suddenly. No prior notice was given to its employees. It closed down all bureaux in different parts of the country and asked its employees to leave the premises of the TV station immediately.

For both electronic and print media in Pakistan, government advertisements act as the backbone of their finances. “The government, both provincial and central government in Islamabad buy airtime in leading television channels during prime time hours (sic) this subsidises their financial operations,” said a senior government executive. Similarly, governments subsidise operations of leading newspapers by providing them with advertisement revenues.


In August 2018, the Pakistan senate was informed that the government provided advertisements worth Rs 15.74 billion to print and electronic media from 2013 to 2017. In the initial year of its growth, electronic media in Pakistan was greatly dependent on advertisement revenues from big telecom firms for their financial strength. The situation is not the same anymore.

“During the last few years, major telecom companies have slashed their advertisement budgets … They (telecom companies) started with a big budget in 2000 and proved to be a lifeline for the newspaper industry,” says Fasih-ur-Rehman, political editor of a local newspaper. “Economic crunch led to slashing of their advertisement budget,” he added.


An analysis in Dawn states: “The newspaper industry has its own demons to overcome. Watching resignedly as companies took a substantial portion of their media spend from print to digital platforms to reach out to their target markets, the good-old trusted newspaper is faced with a mortal threat as incomes fall drastically.” It adds, “Thus starved of resources, newspapers and magazines have shed pages and created redundancies of their own. Some are finding it hard to pay salaries to their retained employees, contributing to the unrest and the increasingly vocal protest among journalists and other workers in the industry”.

On October 9, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists staged a protest in front of Parliament house. The entire leadership of the National Press Club was in attendance at the protest demonstration in front of the Parliament building.

Anonymous said...

As part of CPEC e-silk road project, Alibaba and Tencent will adopt Lahore and Karachi and develop them in to futuristic tech hubs along the lines of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Pakistani technology companies will be given preferential access to Chinese government contracts. Four Pakistani universities, two each in these cities will be identified and fully funded by Chinese and mentored by them using tech incubators. The announcements will be made during next visit by Xi Jin Ping to Pakistan.

Riaz Haq said...

Journalist Saleem Safi accuses #PMLN and #NawazSharif of corrupting #Pakistan #media with "Lifafa" (Checkbook) #Journalism in #Pakistan. #Lifafa #corruption https://youtu.be/YoqA_W0qJ8o via @YouTube

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan #digital #media a threat to broadcast industry. Digital media will soon be replacing broadcast media in #Pakistan. Pak digital media credited for taking up issues that are not covered by #broadcast or #print media which adhere to different rules. https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/04/opinion/pakistans-digital-media-a-threat-to-broadcast-industry/

Last year, one of Pakistan’s most watched television news channels, Waqt News, shut down, citing financial reasons. Tribune 24/7, an English-language news channel owned by Express Media Group, one of Pakistan’s largest media conglomerates, fired more than 100 employees and shut down in a similar fashion. The fact that two news channels owned by two of Pakistan’s most well-established media groups shut down abruptly was a warning sign that more channels might shut down in the future and that digital media are set to replace Pakistan’s broadcast-media landscape.

However, what really frustrated Pakistan’s broadcast industry was when emerging digital-media outlets got the opportunity for an exclusive press conference with Finance Minister Asad Umer. This did not sit well with broadcast journalists, and they criticized the press conference and referred to digital-media journalists as “social-media activists” and “Asad Umer’s social-media team” among other things.

But their frustration was not actually regarding being unable to score an important press conference, but the fact that digital media are the future and will soon be replacing broadcast media in Pakistan. The broadcast media are engaging in an “us vs them” debate as described by the website Bolo Jawan, which commented that they are being threatened by the rising trend in digital media and, because of the financial crunch in the country, when it comes to the broadcast-media landscape, things do not look promising.

Pakistan’s digital media are credited for taking up issues that would not be otherwise covered by broadcast or print media as they adhere to different rules. This does not necessarily mean that the digital media are entirely free from restrictions, as attacks on journalists and those associated with the media are common and digital media do not get any special privileges either. Despite that, Pakistan’s digital media have touched upon topics that have often been considered taboo, such as the debate regarding the blasphemy law, normalizing relations with Israel and LGBTQIA rights. This has not saved digital media from any criticism, since Pakistan is a highly conservative country religiously and culturally, but debates regarding such topics are something the digital media need to be credited for.

There were about 44.6 million Internet users in Pakistan in 2017, with an Internet penetration rate of 21.8%. Those numbers are expected to rise in coming years. It might look like a dark future for the state of the broadcast industry, but in order to keep up with the rising trend of digital media, broadcasters must quickly immerse themselves in the country’s digital-media landscape, as print did when broadcast media were a new phenomenon. The broadcast industry does possess the resources to do so, but if it fails to take steps, people serving in that industry will suffer, and no amount of criticism of digital media will be able to save them.


Riaz Haq said...

According to Magna, Pakistan’s advertising market is expected to grow by 13.7% in 2018, reaching $916 million. Magna’s intelligence team found that 73% of media spends are concentrated on television, with spending growing by 14% in 2018.

http://www.madvertising.pk/magna-apac-advertising-will-grow-7/


The report found that the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and Pakistan’s surprise win over India contributed towards strong ratings, as did the Pakistan Super League initiated by Habib Bank Limited and Spark/Blitz of Publicis Groupe.

“The 2018 Elections are expected to create inventory shortage and generate double-digit inflation,” said the report. “In 2019 the Cricket World Cup will be a massive driver, yet again. Digital media is under-developed with just 3% of total media revenues, but growing quickly (+47% in 2018). Social Media is the fastest growing internet category (+70% in 2018), with already 16% of the population being active of which 14% through mobile devices.”

Demand for advertising services is growing at double digits in the US, China, Russia, and India, with the rationale that the economies are conducive towards start-up ecosystem development and have high ease of doing business. The LATAM and MENA region will grow in single digits.

Revenues from digital and mobile advertising sales are forecast to reach the $250 billion mark, which is a 15.6% spike from the previous year. This will represent 45% of global advertising revenues and is expected to grow by double digits again in both 2019 and 2020. Magna expects that 50% or more of the global advertising revenue will consist of digital and mobile advertising tactics.

Riaz Haq said...

Asia continues with impressive growth. While the global advertising market will rise by +5%, APAC will enjoy +7.4% growth says updated forecasts released this week by Magna.

https://brandinginasia.com/two-thirds-of-apac-ad-revenue-concentrated-in-china-and-japan/

While advertising growth is forecast to increase by +7.4% in APAC in 2019, to reach $186 billion, two-thirds of all regional advertising revenue is concentrated in the two largest markets: China and Japan which make up two-thirds of the total with China holding 44% and Japan 23%.

The fastest-growing markets in the region are in the Indian sub-continent: India (+15% in 2019), Sri Lanka (+14%), and Pakistan (+15%). On the other end of the spectrum, Singapore (+1%), Malaysia (+2%) and Thailand (+2%) will show little advertising growth in 2019.

The report notes that advertising markets in APAC “are wildly different, in terms of both maturity and intensity: it ranges from Australia, with almost $500 in ad spend per capita per year, to India with just $9 per year.”

PAKISTAN: 2019: +14.6%; 2020: +9.9%
The ad market in Pakistan is expected to grow by +15% in 2019, to PKR 88.3 billion ($840 million) following a steep decline (-11%) in 2018. The Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan after the summer 2018 elections, made the decision to cut government advertising as part of Khan’s efforts to reduce expenses and tackle corruption. Pakistan’s media industry has historically relied heavily on government spend.

Waqt Television was forced to close operations, and many other media houses experienced significant downsizing, sparking protests from journalists who had been laid off. Another popular TV station, Geo TV, was off the air for several weeks in the run-up to the general election. Economic uncertainty compounded the effects of the political uncertainty, with the Pakistani rupee depreciating by over -30% amidst a ballooning current account deficit and bailout negotiations with the IMF. For the year, Magna estimates that television ad spend decreased -15%, print by -17%, and radio by -15%. Digital was the only media format to see growth, +24%, a significant slowdown from 2017 growth of +39%.

Advertising revenues in Sri Lanka will grow by +14% to 59 billion SLR ($4360 million), an acceleration over 2018 (+9%) due to the presence of cyclical drivers like the Cricket World Cup. Digital NAR growth, though still significant (+18%) is slowing down, inhibited by the 2018 and 2019 social media bans. The government temporarily blocked access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and messaging app Viber in March 2018 and again in April 2019 following incidences of violence. Digital NAR is expected to reach SLR 8.3 billion ($51 million), 14% of total NAR. This is one of the lowest market shares in APAC, above Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Magna anticipates television spend will grow by +15% to SLR 36 billion ($220 million), with pay TV (+25%) seeing the largest gains. The 2019 Cricket World Cup matches will air in Sri Lanka on Star Sports and on national television network SLRC, which does carry advertising.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan: Newspapers fight for survival as sales plunge
Jamila Achakzai Islamabad
11/22/2022November 22, 2022
Print journalism subscriptions and readership have been plummeting as people increasingly get their information from digital sources.

https://www.dw.com/en/pakistans-newspapers-fight-for-survival-as-sales-plunge/a-63845118


Mujahid Hussain, a news hawker in Islamabad, says he is afraid of losing his job amid a downturn in newspaper sales in Pakistan, where people are increasingly getting their information from digital and social media platforms.

"My employer often talks about a slump in newspaper sales and a possible business shutdown. So even if he doesn't close shop, my job is definitely on the line," the 42-year-old father of three told DW.

Hussain pointed out he has already experienced massive pay cuts over the past three years and that his family is struggling to make ends meet.

Many other news vendors in the South Asian country share similar woes.

It was not always like this, however.

Even until a decade ago, the newspaper industry thrived in the country. Daily newspapers, weeklies and magazines used to be a must in offices, living rooms and cafes.

But print publications were first eclipsed by the dozens of private TV news channels that were launched during the presidency of General Pervez Musharraf between 2001 and 2008.

Then came affordable smartphones, social media networks and widespread internet connectivity, which further dented newspaper sales as more and more people began to consume news on online platforms.


Hawkers' lives hit hard
Since the downturn in the newspaper industry has particularly affected hawkers, who mostly work part-time for meager wages, these low-paid workers are taking on other informal jobs to make ends meet.

"Successive governments haven't taken interest in the welfare of newspaper hawkers, so they are generally disheartened, insecure and always on the lookout for better options to make money," said Aqeel Abbasi, the general-secretary of the Newspaper Hawkers Union.

He explained that before Musharraf's government liberalized the broadcast media and telecom sector, Rawalpindi had around 1,600 newspaper vendors and Islamabad 700.

But with the plunge in sales, the number of vendors has dropped to 900 and 480 respectively, he said, stressing that the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic crisis had accelerated the trend.

Another problem compounding the woes of newspapers is their reliance on government advertizing for economic survival.Outlets that are critical of government and military policies have had a tough time generating enough advertizing revenue in recent years.

Will they survive?
News hawker Hussain warned that if the fall in sales did not stop, the print media would have no other option but to get rid of most of its workforce.

Some senior journalists share a similar view.

Salim Bokhari, who once edited the leading English-language newspapers The News and The Nation and currently heads the digital media team at the City News broadcast network, said that "no one wanted to spend time reading through newspaper columns" given "the ocean of information available on mobile phones."

He said newspapers might disappear if the trend continued, although he did not believe that this would happen that soon.

"The electronic media era will ultimately make newspapers' doom. The advertizers have diverted their money to TV channels and even the government prefers electronic media for advertisements," he pointed out.

Hassan Gillani, a media development professional, was more optimistic.

"Newspaper readership might have declined after the emergence and development of electronic media but it's unfair to suggest that print media could soon become a thing of the past," he said.


Riaz Haq said...

Video Streaming (SVoD) - Pakistan
Pakistan

https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-media/video-on-demand/video-streaming-svod/pakistan

HIGHLIGHTS
Revenue in the Video Streaming (SVoD) segment is projected to reach US$161.10m in 2022.

Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 22.93%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$452.20m by 2027.

In global comparison, most revenue will be generated in the United States (US$34,100.00m in 2022).

The average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Video Streaming (SVoD) segment is projected to amount to US$9.61 in 2022.

In the Video Streaming (SVoD) segment, the number of users is expected to amount to 25.4m users by 2027.

User penetration will be 7.3% in 2022 and is expected to hit 10.1% by 2027.
The usage share of Netflix amounts to an estimated 50% of the Videostreaming (SVoD) segment and the selected region in 2020.

Riaz Haq said...

Ad revenue in Pakistan


https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1144596#:~:text=OOH%20ad%20revenue%20increased%20by,Rs%200.07%20billion%20(5%25).


Total Ad Revenue Rs. 88.73 billion in 2021-22

Total ad spend (revenue) has increased by Rs 13.09 (17%); in FY 2020-21, it increased by 17.04 (29%).


---------


In FY 2020-21, the combined revenues of Facebook, Google and YouTube accounted for 85% of the total ad spend on digital; this year, they account for 87%.

----------

TV ad revenue increased by Rs 4.64 billion (14%).
Digital ad revenue increased by Rs 3.15 billion (19%).
Print ad revenue increased by Rs 0.21 billion (2%).
OOH ad revenue increased by Rs 3.7 billion (44%).
Brand Activation/POP ad revenue increased by Rs 1.26 billion (50%).
Radio ad revenue increased by Rs 0.07 billion (5%).
Cinema ad revenue increased by Rs 0.06 billion (60%).

TV percentage share decreased by 1.4.
Digital percentage share increased by 0.27.
Print percentage share decreased by 2.19.
OOH percentage share increased by 2.51.
Brand Activation/POP percentage share increased by 0.93.
Radio percentage share decreased by 0.17.
Cinema percentage share increased by 0.05.

------

TV percentage share decreased by 1.4.
Digital percentage share increased by 0.27.
Print percentage share decreased by 2.19.
OOH percentage share increased by 2.51.
Brand Activation/POP percentage share increased by 0.93.
Radio percentage share decreased by 0.17.
Cinema percentage share increased by 0.05.

-----------------

Compared to FY 2020-21, the rankings of the Top Three newspapers remain the same.
Most newspapers have registered slight increases in their revenues.

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Compared to FY 2020-21, the Top Five channels have retained their positions.
In FY 2020-21, Radio Awaz Network was #7; this year it is #9.
In FY 2020-21, FM 105 was #9; this year it is #7.

-----------

Compared to FY 2020-21, the rankings of the Top Seven channels remain unchanged.
In FY 2020-21, PTV Home was #8 and Samaa was #9. This year, their positions are inverted.
In FY 2020-21, PTV Sports was #14. This year, it is #10.


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In FY 2020-21, the combined revenues of Facebook, Google and YouTube accounted for 85% of the total ad spend on digital; this year, they account for 87%.

-------------

Compared to FY 2020-21, the rankings of Lahore (#1), Karachi (#2) and Hyderabad (#8) remain the same.
In FY 2020-21, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Islamabad and Multan were #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7, respectively. This year, they are #4, #5, #7, #3 and #6.

---------

Product categories that were introduced this year are Real Estate (#1) and Retail/Online (#5).
In FY 2020-21, Beverages, FMCGs and Telecoms were #1, #2 and #3, respectively. This year they are #2, #3 and #4.
In FY 2020-21, Fashion and Electronic Appliances were #4 and #5 respectively. This year, they are #6 and #7.

----------

Compared to FY 2020-21, the rankings of all the elements remain the same.

Riaz Haq said...

TV Viewership Trends
FY 2021-22

https://aurora.dawn.com/news/1144667/tv-vieweship-trends-fy-2022-23

Compared to the previous fiscal year, the average number of viewership hours decreased by 14%.

Viewership ranges between 3.3 and 2.7 hours a day; it is highest in Karachi (3.3 hours) and lowest in Non-Metro Punjab and Urban Balochistan (2.7 hours).

Compared to the previous fiscal year, viewership has decreased across Pakistan, except in Non-Metro Sindh.


Entertainment channels (40%), unmatched channels (26%), and news channels (19%) have the highest market share. Last year, unmatched channels had the highest share (40%), followed by entertainment channels (36%) and news channels (14%), respectively.

All Genres:

Viewership has decreased among all SECs:
SEC A: Viewership has decreased by 13%.
SEC B: Viewership has decreased by 12%.
SEC C: Viewership has decreased by 9%.
SEC D: Viewership has decreased by 15%.
SEC E: Viewership has decreased by 19%.
Viewership is highest in SEC E; this was the case last year.

Entertainment Channels:

Viewership has increased or decreased among most SECs:
SEC A: Viewership has increased by 2%.
SEC B: Viewership has decreased by 3%.
SEC C: Viewership has increased by 1%.
SEC D: Viewership has decreased by 9%.
SEC E: Viewership has decreased by 9%.
Viewership is highest in SEC C; last year it was highest in SEC E.

Unmatched Channels:

Viewership has decreased among all SECs:
SEC A: Viewership has decreased by 49%.
SEC B: Viewership has decreased by 47%.
SEC C: Viewership has decreased by 38%.
SEC D: Viewership has decreased by 45%.
SEC E: Viewership has decreased by 41%.
Viewership is highest in SEC E; this was the case last year.

News Channels:

Viewership has increased among all SECs:
SEC A: Viewership has increased by 15%.
SEC B: Viewership has increased by 17%.
SEC C: Viewership has increased by 17%.
SEC D: Viewership has increased by 35%.
SEC E: Viewership has increased by 11%.
Viewership is highest in SEC B; this was the case last year.

Children's channels:

Viewership has increased or stayed the same among most SECs:
SEC A: No change
SEC B: No change
SEC C: Viewership has increased by 22%
SEC D: Viewership has increased by 12%
SEC E: Viewership has decreased by 8%
Viewership is highest in SEC E; this was the case last year.

Sports Channels:


l Viewership has increased among all SECs:
SEC A: Viewership has increased by 167%.
SEC B: Viewership has increased by 120%.
SEC C: Viewership has increased by 100%.
SEC D: Viewership has increased by 150%.
SEC E: Viewership has increased by 125%.
l Viewership is highest in SEC B; last year it was the highest in
SECs B and C.


Movie Channels:


Viewership has stayed the same among most SECs:
SEC A: No change.
SEC B: No change.
SEC C: No change.
SEC D: No change.
SEC E: Viewership has decreased by 33%.
Viewership is highest in SECs B, C, D and E; last year it was the highest in SEC E.


Regional Channels:

Viewership has decreased or stayed the same among all SECs:
SEC A: No change.
SEC B: Viewership has decreased by 50%.
SEC C: No change.
SEC D: Viewership has decreased by 50%.
SEC E: No change.
Viewership is highest in SEC E; Last year, it was the highest
in SECs C, D and E.


Cooking Channels:

Viewership has stayed the same compared to the previous year.


Music Channels:

Viewership has decreased or stayed the same among
most SECs:
SEC A: Viewership has decreased by 33%.
SEC B: No change.
SEC C: No change.
SEC D: Viewership has decreased by 50%.
SEC E: No change.
Viewership is highest in SEC A; this was the case last year.


Religious Channels:

Viewership has decreased in all SECs by 100%.

NB:

Figures in this section are based on data collected from Medialogic’s Hybrid Panel which covers 100+ cities and towns and 3,000+ reported households.

Cable penetration in Pakistan’s urban areas stands at 97%.

The data is primarily based on urban regions in Pakistan, and the target audience is limited to C&S individuals only

Numbers have been rounded up in certain instances.*