ISLAMABAD: Gallup Pakistan, as part of its Big Data Analysis initiative, is looking at TV Viewership Trends 2023-24, a comprehensive and multidimensional analysis of media spend and agency positioning within the industry. The broader Big Data Analysis Initiative series' main aim is to provide data. Implications of these data points for development sector as well as wider socio-political ramifications is something we would like to trigger in relevant circles.
Main messages emerging from this report: TV viewership in Pakistan is stabilizing but shows signs of a slow overall decline, with regional disparities in trends, especially a noticeable drop in major urban centers like Karachi.
Entertainment channels continue to dominate the Pakistani television landscape, significantly outperforming news and other genres in terms of market share.
A small group of channels captures the vast majority of viewership within both entertainment and news, indicating a highly concentrated media consumption environment.
Top media groups-particularly Geo, ARY, and Hum-exert significant control over viewership across genres, shaping public opinion and entertainment choices for a majority of the TV audience.
Despite slight shifts in individual rankings, the top players have remained largely consistent over the years, suggesting brand loyalty and sustained audience trust in select channels.
The average daily TV viewership per person increased marginally by 0.6%, from 172 minutes in 2022-23 to 173 minutes in 2023-24, indicating overall stability despite regional declines.
Entertainment channels held a 41% market share in 2023-24, up slightly from 40% the previous year, maintaining their position as the most watched genre, while news channels rose from 19% to 26%.
ARY Digital, Geo Entertainment, and Hum TV collectively accounted for nearly 74% of entertainment viewership, with ARY alone increasing its share from 29.5% to 32.2%.
Geo News, ARY News, and Dunya News maintained their top-three rankings in the news category, with Geo News growing its share from 21.3% to 24.5%, despite ARY News seeing a slight drop.
In Karachi, daily TV viewership declined by 9% (from 3.3 to 3 hours), while Lahore and Non-Metro Punjab recorded increases of 3.6% and 7.4%, respectively, illustrating shifting regional engagement.