Sport Not On: Falling Quality Takes Its Toll On Viewership; Cricket Still The King Despite Decline, Says BARC Data 

Cricket continues to top the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) television rating chart for week 46 (November 10-16) despite having depleted numbers. The ratings show that sports genre programming on Indian television has taken a big hit due to a massive fall in sports audience and the lack of quality content, reports Inside Sport.

Cricket, which is extremely popular in the country, occupies the top five positions for shows for both live English and Hindi broadcasts due to the ongoing series between India and the West Indies, simulcast on DD Sports, and the review shows on DD Sports and Star Sports 1 Hindi respectively. The remaining top five spots will leave the broadcasters, stakeholders and other sponsors worried due to the significant decline in impressions.

The lack of live cricket content apart from the series has led to a massive fall in gross impressions for the top five sports channels in the country. However, sports is set to make headway as India start their tour Down Under. Sony is expected to be at the forefront of this rise as they are Cricket Australia’s sole and exclusive media rights holder for the Indian sub-continent

A new campaign launched by Star Sports through the Hindi movie channel Star Gold, featuring former Indian team skipper and World Cup winner Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is expected to enhance the numbers for Pro Kabbadi, which has a lot of potential.