MUMBAI: For the first-ever time this year, India Today has become the most-watched channel in the megacities, clinching number one spot in week 13 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. The channel has secured second spot in the previous week in the same category.

The channel has grown by over 12 per cent to 657,000 impressions in megacities among NCCS 22+ Male AB in week 13 as compared to 583,000 impressions in the last week. Republic TV has fallen by around 19 per cent to 619,000 impressions this week from 763,000 in the last week.

Republic TV has been leading the chart in megacities in terms of viewership. However, India Today reaching a new high is something that was speculated considering last week’s stellar performance of the channel in terms of viewership.

In the same category, Times Now, being at the third spot, garnered 386, 000 impressions, and CNN-News18 with 195,000 impressions has been ranked at the fourth position.

The viewership of news channels has grown exponentially in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 situation. Moreover, except news, all other genres have stopped producing fresh content, which could be termed also one of the reasons for the rise in the viewership of news broadcasters.