Sushant Singh Rajput's Dil Bechara tops OTT viewership on smartphones: BARC-Nielsen report

Dil Bechara, the last film of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has emerged as the top movie in the first week of release on an OTT platform, when it comes to the content viewed on smartphones. According to the latest report by TV viewership monitoring agency BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) and data measurement firm Nielsen, "Dil Bechara" tops the movie charts in week one of release, followed by action thriller "Khuda Haafiz".

The data is based on Hindi films released directly on major streaming services, including Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hotstar, Zee5, Voot and MX Player, from July 1 to August 20.

When it comes to original series, "Mastram" continues to top, followed by "Bandish Bandits", "Dangerous" and "Aarya".

The report also stated that overall smartphone usage dipped slightly, with the banning of apps being one of the main factors.

It also reported that the annual Independence Day function at Red Fort, addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, garnered 4.6 billion viewing minutes, accounting for the highest viewership in the last two years. It is higher than all previous addresses by Prime Minister Modi during the Covid-19 period.

More viewers tuned in this year during the live event than on August 15, 2018 and 2019. A growth of 29 per cent and 41 per cent as compared to 2018 and 2019 respectively, was recorded.

The report also mentioned that the live telecast of Ayodhya Bhoomi Pujan garnered 7.3 billion viewing minutes. The event was viewed live by 163 million people.