Television endures as digital disruption reshapes India's media

Despite digital growth, television and print remain powerful pillars shaping India's information ecosystem.

- ALOK MEHTA

Despite the digital revolution, television in India remains alive and powerful. In Delhi and Mumbai, many influential people assume that no one watches TV anymore or reads newspapers or books. Senior government officials and corporate managers disconnected from ground reality often repeat this belief. I have always disagreed.

Even those who believe only official government or corporate data will find that the numbers clearly affirm the message of 2025 - television is still alive, reaching 230 million homes and 900 million viewers. No wonder Russian President Vladimir Putin chose to give interviews to India's TV news channels Aaj Tak and India Today just a day before his India visit. In earlier years too, he spoke to NDTV in 2002 and Doordarshan in 2007. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' on radio is relayed by most news channels, and ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he gave a record number of interviews to national and regional TV channels, besides appearing frequently at their events. Direct communication with the public rarely gets a more effective medium than this.