COVID-19 and its

impact on Digital
Media Consumption
in India
Neha Singh
D I R E C T O R , S Y N D I C AT E D C L I E N T I N S I G H T S
Comscore is a trusted partner for planning, transacting
and evaluating media across platforms

Founded July, 1999

Clients 3,200+ worldwide

Employees ~1750

Headquarters Reston, Virginia, USA

Global coverage 78 countries reported

Big data 1.9 trillion global interactions per month

All stats as of April 2019 2

India Digital Universe reported by Comscore
UNIQUE VISITORS

Total Digital Population (Desktop 6+ and Mobile

405,883,213
18+)

Desktop / PC (Home & Work) 94,155,718

Mobile (Smartphones and Tablets) 385,351, 632

Mobile Phone (Android) 376,896,500

Mobile Phone (iOS) 4,662,968

Tablet Android 14,662,329

Tablet iOS 653,165

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, March 2020, India 3

Total Digital Population at a glance

Unique Visitors Unique Visitors

38% 36% 34%

62%
30%
Male Female 15 - 24 25 - 34 35+

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, March 2020, India 4

COVID-19 Timeline
EVENT D AT E

Initial reports on coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in

December 31, 2019
China

First case recorded outside of China in Thailand January 13, 2020

COVID-19 announced a pandemic March 11, 2020

India observes 14 hours Voluntary Curfew March 22, 2020

India blocks arrival of international flights March 22, 2020

India Announces 21 days nation wide lockdown March 24, 2020

Lockdown Extended to May 3rd , 2020 April 14, 2020

Source: who.int 5
Total Visits to the internet increased with the dawn of
COVID-19 in India
Total Visits (Billions)

36 12%
All
32

23 10%
Males
21

13 18%
Females
11

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Mar-20 Feb-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, February 2020 - March 2020, India 6

Average Time Spent per visitor online also went up

Avg Minutes per Visitor

3114 18%
Females
2527

3340 15%
Males
2909

3254 23%
All
2763

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Mar-20 Feb-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, February 2020 - March 2020, India 7

Social Behaviour Shifts
Social Media

• Reaches 96% of the internet audience

• Increase in Total Minutes: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 28%
• Increase in Total Visits: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 19%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Social Media Category, 9

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Social Distancing leads to online social connectivity

19% increase in Total Visits in March over Feb 2020

Total Visits (Millions) Total Visits (Millions)

5800

5600
5677 3435 -1%
5443
5400
5356 2019
3495
5200

5000

4800 5677 19 %
4760 2020
4600
4760
4400

4200
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20
March Feb
Total Visits (mn)

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Social Media Category, 10

February 2019 - March 2020, India
Segments across Gender and Age contributed to the
increased engagement on Social Media

Total Visits (Millions) Total Visits (Millions)

2500

18% 29%
15% 2000 12%
Males

1500

1000
27%
Females
500

0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 15 - 24 25 - 34 35+
Mar-20 Feb-20 Feb-20 Mar-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Social Media Category, 11

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Top Social Media Sites and Apps
TOP MULTI-PLATFORM ENTITIES UVS (000) TOP APPS UVS (000)
[P] Facebook 382,756 [C] Whatsapp 357,334
[P] Bytedance Inc. 197,076 [S] Facebook 204,614
[M] Blogger 110,543 [C] Instagram 143,239
[P] Telegram.org 106,221 [C] Tiktok 125,607
[P] Twitter 105,060 [S] Facebook Messenger 120,924
[P] Linkedin 93,290 [M] Telegram 101,174
[C] Messenger (Mobile App) 86,650 [C] Messenger 86,650
[C] Google Duo (Mobile App) 63,556 [M] Helo 82,682
[P] Pinterest 61,841 [M] Google Duo 63,556
[P] Snapchat Inc 43,235 [S] Facebook Lite 63,194

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform and Mobile Metrix, 12

Social Media Category, March 2020, India
Games

• Reaches 60% of the internet audience

• Increase in Total Minutes: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 49%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Games Category, February 2020 - 13

March 2020, India
Gaming comes to the rescue

49% increase in Total Minutes in March over Feb 2020

Total Minutes (Billions) Total Minutes (Billions)

70
42 17%
60 62 2019
53 35
50 46
40
42
30 63 49%
2020
20 42
10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
0
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 March Feb

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Games Category, February 2019 - 14

March 2020, India
Young females show 100% growth in time spent on
gaming sites

Total Minutes (Billions) Total Minutes (Billions)

Females 15 - 24
102%
43%
Males

31%
Females 25 - 34

64%
Females
Females 35+
60%

0 10 20 30 40 50 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Mar-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Feb-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Games Category, February 2020 - 15

March 2020, India
Top Gaming Sites and Apps
TOP MULTI-PLATFORM PROPERTIES UVS (000) TOP APPS UVS (000)

[P] Gametion.com 58,811 Ludo King 57,855

[P] Activision Blizzard 40,169 PubG Mobile 36,886
[M] PUBG Mobile (App) 36,886 Google Play Games 32,584
[P] Google Play Games (App) 32,584 Candy Crush Saga 31,970
[P] Miniclip.com 25,447 HAGO 21,309
[P] IHago.Net 21,857 PubG Mobile Lite 19,078
[M] PubG Mobile Lite 19,078 Subway Surfers 16,134
[P] Garena Online 16,553 Garena Free Fire 15,965
[P] Kiloo.com 16,240 8 Ball Pool 9,454
[P] VooDoo.IO 15,505 Carrom Disc Pool 8,584

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform and Mobile Metrix, Games Category, 16

March 2020, India
Business
Continuity tools Zoom
+1361%
aid work from
Google Go To
home Duo Meeting
+36% +823%

Business
Continuity
Tools
% Change in total minutes
Go To
consumed on select apps in no Skype
particular order of rank Webinar
+115%
+606%

Microsoft
Teams
+506%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Custom List, March 2020, India 17

Individual Behaviour Shifts
News/Information

• Reaches 97% of the internet audience

• Increase in Total Minutes: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 23%
• Increase in Total Visits: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 32%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, News/Information Category, 19

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Audiences flock to News/Information sites to stay
updated
32% increase in total Visits since Feb 2020

Total Visits (Billions) Total Visits (Billions)

14 14 32%
13
12 11 10 12 13
10
10 10
10
8 8 10%
6 6 7
6
4 4

2 2

0 0
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 2019 2020
Total Visits Feb March

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, News/Information Category, 20

February 2019 - March 2020, India
Increased engagement with News/Information sites is
seen across Age and Gender

Total Visits (Billions) Total Visits (Billions)

7
40.8%
6
28%
Males
5

4 24.5% 29.4%
3

42% 2
Females
1

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 15 - 24 25 - 34 35+
Mar-20 Feb-20 Feb-20 Mar-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, News/Information Category, 21

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Top News/Information Sites and Apps

TOP MULTI-PLATFORM NEWS ENTITIES UVS (000) TOP APPS UVS (000)

[P] Times Internet Limited 317,428* [C] Dailyhunt 31,600**

[P] Network 18 193,974 [C] Briefing 19,582
[P] India Today Group 168,997 [SG] Newspoint 12,296
[P] Zee Digital 152,323 [C] Aaj Tak 10,728
[P] Dailyhunt 152,201 [C] Google News 8,650
[P] HT Media Group 137,828 [M] Inshorts 7,073
[P] The Indian Express Group 133,461 [M] BuzzBreak 5,344
[P] NDTV 105,019 [S] Money Control 4,405
[P] Jagran New Media 95, 894 [M] The Hindu 4,076
[P] ABP News Network 70,300 [M] JioXpress 4,000

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform and Mobile Metrix,

News/Information Category, March 2020, India
22
* Data Alerts (2) for [P] Times internet Limited in MyMetrix
** Some of the traffic of the App is listed under [P] Dailyhunt
Government Sites – A trusted source of information
10% increase in Total Visits in March 2020 over Dec 32% increase in Week beginning Apr 13
2019 over Week beginning Mar 30

Total Visits Index Total Visits Index

Dec 2019 = 100 Week of Mar 30 – Apr 5 = 100
135

130 135
130
125
125
120
120
115
115
110
110
105 105
100 100
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2020 Apr 6 - Apr 12, 2020 Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2020
Total Visits | Index: Dec-19 = 100 Total Visits | Index: Mar 30 - Apr 5 = 100

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Government Category, December 23

2019 - March 2020, India
Comscore MMX, Custom Reporting, March 2020 – April 2020, India
Health

• Reaches 40% of the internet audience

• Increase in Total Visits: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 50%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Health Category, February 2020 - 24

March 2020, India
Netizens become Health conscious

50% increase in Total Visits in March over Feb 2020 Highest % growth seen in 35+ Age Group

Total Visits (Millions) Total Visits (Millions)

600

500 515 272 11%

2019
420 246
400

300
357 343
200 515 50%
2020
343
100

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20
March Feb
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Health Category, February 2019 - 25

March 2020, India
 Top Health Sites and Apps

TOP MULTI-PLATFORM HEALTH ENTITIES UVS (000) TOP APPS UVS (000)

[P] WHO.INT 53,864 Stepsetgo 19,961

[P] Healthline Media 27,807 1mg 11,736
[P] 1MG.com 26,629 Samsung Health 7,832
[P] WebMD Health 20,427 FeetApart 6,659
[P] Stepsetgo.com 20,362 Mi Fit 5,892
[P] Myupchar.com 15,052 Google Fit 4,769
[P] Everyday Health Group 8,723 Healthifyme 2,500
[C] Samsung Health (Mobile App) 7,832 Huawei Health 2,178
[S] MensXP.com 7,204 GOQII 1,851
[P] Feetapart.com 6,717 Yodo-Running & Pedometer 1,808

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform and Mobile Metrix, Health Category, 26

March 2020, India
Investments

• Reaches 13% of the internet audience

• Increase in Total Visits: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 32%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Investments Sub-Category, 27

February 2020 - March 2020, India
With market volatility there is increased focus on
Investments Apps/Sites
30% increase in Total Visits in first 3 weeks of April 2020
32% increase in Total Visits since Feb 2020

Total Visits Index Total Visits Index

Dec 2019 = 100 Week of Mar 30 – Apr 5 = 100
140
140
130
130
120
120
110
110
100
100
90 90

80 80
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2020 Apr 6 - Apr 12, 2020 Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2020
Total Visits | Index: Dec-19 = 100 Total Visits | Index: Mar 30 - Apr 5 = 100

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Investments Sub-Category, 28

December 2019 - March 2020, India
Comscore MMX, Custom Reporting, March 2020 – April 2020, India
Top Investments Sites
T O P M U LT I - P L AT F O R M I N V E S T M E N T S E N T I T I E S UVS (000)
[P] Zerodha.com 8,861
[P] NSEINDIA.com 6,674
[P] 5Paisa.com 5,645
[P] Olymptrade.com 5,298
[P] IDFCMF.com 4,098
[P] IQOption.com 3,324
[P] Angelbroking.com 2,309
[P] Smallcase.com 2,230
[P] ICICIDirect.com 1,938
[P] Mutualfundssahihai.com 1,884

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Investments Sub-Category, 29

March 2020, India
Entertainment

• Reaches 97% of the internet audience

• Increase in Total Visits: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 11%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Entertainment Category, 30

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Entertainment sites witness surge in engagement
11% increase in Total Visits in March over Feb 39.6% increase in Total Visits in March over
2020 Feb 2020

Entertainment Entertainment Music

2,600 600
536
2,502
2,500 500
475
2,400 2,408 400
414
2,300 300 341
2,352
2,200 200

2,100 2,168 100

2,000 0
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20
Total Visits (mn) Total Visits (mn)

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Entertainment Category, 31

December 2019 - March 2020, India
Top Gainers in Entertainment Music Category
Unique Visitors (Millions)
120
32%
110
100

80
83

60
20%
40 46
38

20
26%
18
14
0
[P] Saavn Group [M] Gaana.com [P] Spotify
Feb-20 Mar-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Custom List, February 2020 - 32

March 2020, India
Lockdown unlocks growth for VOD players
Unique Visitors (Millions)
160
8%
140 -7%
141 141
120 131 130

100

80
2%
60
59 60 82% 21%
40 84% 4% 23%
40 39
20
32 28 29
22 26 25
20
14
0
Hotstar.com MX Player Zee5.com Netflix.com Amazon Prime Primevideo.com Sonyliv.com Voot.com
Video (Mobile App)
Feb-20 Mar-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Custom List, February 2020 - 33

March 2020, India
Top Entertainment Sites and Apps

TOP MULTI-PLATFORM ENTITIES UVS (000) MOBILE APPS UVS (000)

[C] Youtube (Mobile App) 359,799 [C] Youtube 359,799

[M] MX Player 140,652 [C] MX Player 113,487
[M] Star India (Hotstar) 131,160 [S] Hotstar 112,641
[P] Saavn Group 109,956 [C] Google Play Music 95,773
[C] Google Play Music (Mobile App) 95,773 [M] JioTV 84,062
[M] Jio TV (Mobile App) 84,062 [C] JioSaavn 61,256
[M] Zee5 59,994 [C] Gaana Music 39,123
[M] Gaana.com 45,682 [C] Amazon Prime Video 38,900
[M] The Times of India - Etimes 42,286 [C] Google Play Movies & TV 37,774
[P] Netflix inc 40,418 [C] Zee5 Mobile App 37,632

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform and Mobile Metrix, 34

Entertainment Category, March 2020, India
Religion/Spirituality

• Reaches 30.5 million Unique Visitors

• Increase in Total Visits: March 2020 vs Feb 2020 – 60%

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Religion/Spirituality Sub-Category, 35

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Engagement with Religion and Spiritual content soars

60% increase in Total Visits in March 2020 Corresponding increase in 2019 was only 7.7%
over Feb 2020

Religion/Spirituality
80
Total Visits (Millions)
70 73
55 38 7.7%
60 52 46 2019
50 36
40

30
73 60%
20 2020
10 46
0
Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 0 20 40 60 80
Total Visits (Mn) March Feb

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Religion/Spirituality Sub-Category, 36

February 2019 - March 2020, India
Young and old seek spiritual solace in
Religion/Spirituality
Total Visits (Millions)
35
86%
30 32
25 38%
54%
20 22
15 18 17
16
10 12
5

0
15 - 24 25 - 34 35+
Feb-20 Mar-20

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Religion/Spirituality Sub-Category, 37

February 2020 - March 2020, India
Lockdown slows down select sectors

T O TA L V I S I T S ( M I L L I O N S )

Feb 2020 March 2020 % change

Travel 631 468 -25.8

Sports 758 493 -35.1

Maps/GPS/Traffic 117 108 -7.4

Retail 6,491 6,378 -1.7

Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Multiple Categories, February 2020 - 38

March 2020, India
Key takeaways

Social Distancing News, Gaming, Health, Since March 2020

has brought Entertainment Investments and witnessed major
people closer and Social Spirituality impact only
online both continue to stay content categories towards the last
personally and the most visited are gaining week, the trend
professionally content categories unprecedented will further evolve
with increased traction in April 2020
engagement

39
Thank
you!
Neha Singh
D I R E C T O R , S Y N D I C AT E D C L I E N T I N S I G H T S