Viewers' perception and expectation for media content with reference to Tamil news channels in Chennai

The digital age has really challenged the future of traditional media like newspapers and broadcast television. This can be associated with many of the recent developments such as the World Wide Web, the emergence and fragmentation of media, and the popularity of social networking media which have reshaped the media dynamics. Though television is categorized as a traditional medium still its relevance and reach is quite obvious as viewers spend considerable time on this. Further, the competition across various channel categories is intensifying and we have a good number of channels in the `news' category at regional, national and international levels. As these channels compete for a sizeable viewership, it becomes imperative to know what the viewers' expect and perceive regarding the programme content so that the channels stand to gain a high TRP (Television Rating Point). This study was conducted in Tamilnadu with the primary objective of analyzing the news viewing habits of people and to find out the viewer's opinion about Private TV News channels with reference to awareness, positioning and program content and how it influences the viewers' satisfaction level. 200 respondents were approached with a structured questionnaire containing items on the above mentioned objectives from Chennai. The results indicate that there is a strong preference among the viewers for an edutainment oriented programme in place of mere current news. Further, health awareness, travel and lifestyle programmes are very much expected.