Affluent Indians prefer to watch TV in local language: Survey

“The primary reason for conducting Nielsen UMAR was to obtain first of all a realistic estimate of this segment,and secondly,to profile their media and consumption habits,” says Partha Rakshit,MD South Asia,Nielsen.

According to Nielsen,the survey covered more than 18,250 individuals across 35 Indian metros and identified three segments of affluence from lifestyle and consumer durables mapping – Upper Middle,Upper-Upper Middle and Rich.

The grouping was done based on the ownership of a car,a computer,a LCD television,and enjoying a holiday abroad.

“English language gives wider perspective of general knowledge and news happening all across the world. People want to assert their modernity by reading in English but at the same time they want to keep themselves connected with their roots through television programmes in their mother tongue,” says Tanvi Sirari,Research Scholar,Sociology,Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Studying other habits of the affluent Indians,the survey reveals that 67 per cent watch movies outside home; 55 per cent use the internet; 54 per cent listen to the radio; while 38 per cent and 10 per cent read magazines and English business dailies,respectively.

The survey ranks Delhi,Bengaluru,Greater Mumbai and Chennai as the most affluent cities in India,followed by Hyderabad,Kolkata,Kochi,Pune,Jaipur and Ahmedabad,respectively.

The survey estimates a total of 2.5 million affluent households in India,of which 2.2 million belong to the Upper Middle segment,the Upper Upper Middle consists of some 0.2 million households and The Rich of about 0.1 million households.

Households that own a car and a computer,but without an LCD and a holiday abroad,were considered as upper class.

Likewise,the Upper Upper Middle segment consisted of the owners of a car,a computer,an LCD,but miss a holiday abroad. The Rich segment owned a car,a computer and an LCD,and also take a holiday abroad.