Report finds YouTube to be most popular platform for Indian language news consumers

Googleowned YouTube is the most popular platform for Indian language digital news consumers with a whopping 93 per cent using it to access news a report revealed on ThursdayThe report by Google News Initiative in partnership with marketing data and analytics company Kantar captures the distinct news content consumption preferences and behaviours of the online Indian language news consumers in the countryIt showed that an Indian language consumer uses as many as 505 digital platforms on an average to access news onlineYouTube emerged the most popular followed by social media 88 per cent and chat apps 82 per cent to access news Another 45 per cent online news users in Indian languages access news via news publishers websites or appsThe report is designed to help newsrooms prioritise better and inform content strategies to index on relevant content areas for different languagesIt showed that the countrys digital news user is a richly diverse group and in sharp contrast to oftheld perceptions of a monolithic homogeneous regional consumer With one in two Indian languages internet users consuming news in the country the report highlights that consumers with different language preferences also show differing content preferencesFor instance while entertainment crime and national or state or city headlines are top core news genres that readers prefer readers of Malayalam news have a higher preference for international news and education while Bengali readers prefer sports newsThe Indian language news consumer has traditionally been considered less affluent and as having less of an appetite for complex content as compared to the English language news consumer The study shatters that myth the language news consumer is evolved urban diverse and demonstrates a willingness to pay digitally This can unlock enormous opportunities for publishers and advertisers Biswapriya Bhattacharjee Director B2B amp Technology Kantar said in a statementAThe report also showed that digital news readers are more evolved and affluent as compared to overall language internet users They also show a markedly increased propensity for online transactions UPI shopping and OTTAlso one in seven 15 per cent users is ready to pay for news online and this figure is 15 times 22 per cent higher among those users who consume news on publisher websitesappsContent businesses including digital news publishers have the potential to unlock new growth avenues by better engaging with an evolved and affluent cohort of Indian language digital news consumers Sanjay Gupta Country Head and Vice President Google India said in the statementAs a growing digital economy we need to come together and build new propositions and brands across mediums to engage with consumers who are seeking authentic reliable and highquality content he addedFor the report Kantar conducted more than 64 qualitative discussions across 16 cities and more than 4600 in person interviews in 43 urban cities across 14 states from November 2022 to March 2023The report covered eight languages Bengali Gujarati Hindi Kannada Malayalam Marathi Tamil and Telugu and included both male and female respondents above the age of 15Also ReadGoogle launches passkeys to sign in to apps websitesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever