When asked about a statement that 'News channels in India are more entertainment than news', a whopping 73.9 per cent respondents agreed, while 22.5 per cent disagreed. A minuscule 2.6 per cent said that they 'don't know' or 'can't say'.

 

The agreement to that statement is across the gender barrier, as 75.1 per cent men and 72.7 per cent women agreed that new channels have become a source of entertainment.

 

This agreement also finds unanimity across age barriers. Saving 55+ years, more than 70 per cent in every section of the age brackets gave their nod to the changed nature of news channels. Among those above 55 years, 68.7 per cent agreed to the assertion.

 

The statement also found approval among different income groups -- with the low income groups complaining the most at 75.9 per cent, while the others too were above 70 per cent.

 

Across social groups also, people agreed to the assertion that news channels have become a source of entertainment. As many as 72.1 per cent Dalits and 73.5 per cent upper caste Hindus agreed to it, while 85.3 per cent Sikhs agreed that news channels have changed.

 

Across regions, Indians agreed to the assertion emphatically at more than 70 per cent. However, respondents from south india were in a bit less agreement at 67.1 per cent. Be it urban or rural, Delhi-NCR, Hindi belt or the rest of India - all agreed that news channels have become a source of entertainment.

 

It is common knowledge that social distancing and lockdown measures have impacted the production pipeline of general entertainment channels. In the absence of "fresh" creative content, the audience has turned to reality shows like news coverage.

 

But the idea of seeking entertainment in news channels is damaging the credibility of most of the news brands in more ways than one.

 

The survey had a sample size of of 5,000 plus respondents from across India covering all the districts in all the states, representing the demographic profile according to the latest census figures.

 

The interviews were conducted in the last week of September and the first week of October 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3 per cent at the national level and +/- 5 per cent at the regional levels.