Chrome DM’s Week 37’26 Opportunity to See (OTS) report adds a distribution lens to India’s TV news market. The data, covering September 12 to 18, 2026, tracks channel availability across distribution platforms rather than actual viewership.
Hindi news: a near tie at the top
Zee News recorded the highest Hindi news OTS at 98.39%. Times Now Navbharat was close behind at 98.35%, and Aaj Tak followed at 97.99%. News18 India stood at 96.28%, while ABP News rounded out the list at 96.02%.
The clustering at the top means audience preference, appointment viewing and brand loyalty carry more weight in the Hindi news race than raw access. When channels are available almost everywhere, distribution becomes table stakes rather than a differentiator.
English news: Republic TV leads by a wider margin
Republic TV topped the English news segment at 94.70% OTS. RT News came in at 82.00%, followed by CNN News18 at 77.63%. India Today recorded 71.87%, and Mirror Now stood at 65.74%.
The wider spread in English shows that carriage and package decisions vary more sharply from channel to channel. That can change how a national news buy performs, especially for advertisers targeting metro and premium audiences.
Distribution churn across genres
Alongside news rankings, the report tracks channels switched on and off, LCN changes and package changes in key television genres. These movements reveal how active distribution partners were during the week.
- Hindi Movies: 1,684 switched on, 93 switched off, 201 LCN changes, 201 package changes
- Hindi GEC: 1,024 switched on, 318 switched off, 174 LCN changes, 26 package changes
- Telugu Music: 400 switched on, 22 switched off, 93 LCN changes, 648 package changes
- Kannada GEC: 356 switched on, 1 switched off, 9 LCN changes, 149 package changes
- Marathi GEC: 449 switched on, 3 switched off, 14 LCN changes, 3 package changes
Hindi Movies saw the highest number of switched-on channels, while Hindi GEC recorded the largest number of switched-off channels. Telugu Music showed significant package-level movement, which can shift regional audience availability quickly.
Why this matters for media planners
OTS is the percentage of connectivity or availability of a channel across TV households, after accounting for package off-take across all reported distribution platforms in India. It is a measure of potential exposure, not a guarantee of viewing.
For marketing and media teams, this report is a useful pre-campaign check. Before finalising a TV plan, compare OTS figures with audience measurement data. A channel with high availability but weak viewership may inflate reach estimates, while a channel with lower OTS may be missing from packages in specific markets.
The genre-level churn is also a planning signal. Sudden package changes in Hindi Movies or Telugu Music can disrupt regional campaigns, so buyers can watch these updates to avoid underdelivery and adjust distribution-based buys.
Source: MediaNews4U
