Oh God! Devotional channels viewership falls 13% in Covid-19 lockdown
With a likely surge in coronavirus infection over the next few days, people might flock back to religious discourse for a sense of sanity and security, say analysts
First, the facts. The daily average time spent (ATS) on devotional and spiritual channels during the week starting March 14 saw a dip of 13%, the second biggest dip after sports viewership, according to the latest BARC-Nielsen data on TV viewership in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, the numbers. On March 14, the reported infected cases in India stood at 100, which increased to 169 over the next four days, and 194 by March 19. The infection was not widespread yet, the threat not yet existential; Indians were most likely playing down the potency of the virus. This might explain why people were not glued to devotional channels to seek refuge during the time of crisis.
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“The TV data for devotional channels might be an aberration,” reckons Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing at IIM Ahmedabad. “Wait for the next week, and you might be surprised,” he says.
As the virus spreads at an alarming pace now—and it’s estimated to take on a more threatening trajectory over the next few days—people might watch less news and seek more divine gospel. “The threat has to be real and the crisis has to be severe for people to actively think of God,” Koshy contends.
Godmen are not amused. “It’s a conspiracy to show that people are losing faith in God,” says a self-proclaimed godman in Delhi, who claims to have massive following. On a phone call with Forbes India, the ‘baba’, requesting anonymity, says that when people are not going to temples or mosques, the only way to seek solace and comfort is by watching such channels, to soothe nerves during stressful times. “How can viewership fall?” he questions.
