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Will Geo News climb up in UK after Sky EPG move?

Geo Network surprised many when it had acquired one of the Sky EPG slots left vacant after the exit of ARY Network from the UK market.

No doubt the decision to purchase EPG 802 was taken consciously, after all it previously belonged to its biggest rival, ARY News. However, after spending a reportedly in the region of £200k, how much of an impact will the move have on Geo News’ UK ratings?

Earlier this week, Geo News moved from EPG 817 to EPG 802 – much lower in the EPG scale and in the midst of some of the bigger broadcasters. The question arises – Will Geo News be able capture some of the loyal viewers that ARY News had constantly switching to EPG 802? Furthermore, this will be the ultimate test for Geo News to see if its programming can attract the viewership has been left behind after ARY News’ departure.

Geo Network is planning a big marketing campaign to inform viewers of the EPG number changes but it will be interesting to see whether viewers will stick to the channel. Barring a few weeks, ARY News was ultimately the biggest South Asian news channel in the UK. Geo News has somewhat benefited from the exit but its Samaa TV that has witnessed the biggest growth, in terms of weekly reach.

Comparing Geo News’ UK ratings for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week (when the EPG changes happened) to the week prior when Geo News was available on Sky EPG 817, this is what the primetime viewership looked like:

Tuesday 14th March
17:00 – 23:00 Average viewership 2,000 viewers – Peaking at 12,400 viewers

Tuesday 21st March
17:00 – 23:00 Average viewership 0.7 viewers – peaking at 11,800 viewers

Wednesday 15th March
17:00 – 23:00 Average viewership 1,500 viewers – peaking at 20,300 viewers

Wednesday 22nd March
17:00 – 23:00 Average viewership 6,000 viewers – peaking at 44,200 viewers

Thursday 16th March
17:00 – 23:00 Average viewership 2,000 viewers – peaking at 15,900 viewers

Thursday 23rd March
17:00 – 23:00 Average viewership 7,200 viewers – peaking at 37,600 viewers

From the above data supplied by Attentional, it’s evident that Geo News’ ratings are seeing an upswing compared to the old EPG. However, its worth noting that this week, the consumption of news channels has been high due to viewers switching on for coverage of the terror attacks in Westminster, London.

With ARY News making a return via New Vision TV next week, it remains to be seen how the market will change again.

Keep it with BizAsiaLive.com for more exclusive reports.