‘Dancing uncle’ overshadows PM Modi on private Hindi news channels in June

MUMBAI: Sanjeev Srivastava, the 46-year old professor from Madhya Pradesh, who became a sensation overnight after his dance video went viral early last month, stole limelight from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the most talked about personality on Hindi TV news channels on June 2nd and 3rd.

The data sourced by ET from viewership monitoring agency BARC India shows that after his video of dancing at a wedding went viral on internet on May 31st and June 1st, private Hindi news channels left no stone unturned to get the ‘dancing uncle’ (as he was named by the social media) on their screens.

No wonder, between June 2nd and 3rd, Srivastava was heavily covered by almost all the Hindi news channels.



As per BARC data, five news channels covered Dancing Uncle’s story for over 1 hour. These include India News (2 hour 33 minutes), Tez (1 hour 51 minutes), Aaj Tak (1 hour 34 minutes), ABP News (1 hour, 23 minutes) and News 18 India (1 hour 6 minutes). News24 (28 minutes), Zee News (23 minutes) and News Nation (19 minutes) also gave considerable screen time to Srivastava. DD News and India TV were the only two channels which did not air any story on him during the two days.

During the weekend, PM Modi, who was on his Singapore tour, was covered by DD News for over 9 hours and 3 minutes, which catapulted the PM to be most covered personality. Among other channels, News Nation (34 minutes) and Zee News (36 minutes) were the only two channels that gave Modi more time on screen than Srivastava.


The stats also show that in terms of share of duration, Srivastav’s story got more coverage than reports about ceasefire violation by Pakistan at the Indo-Pak boarder, Indian Premier League (IPL), 2019 Lok Sabha elections, NDA government completing four years in power, farmers’ protests, clash between TMC and BJP workers in west Bengal, and stone pelting in J&K.

The only news reportage that got more duration on news channels was PM Modi’s Singapore visit, thanks to over 9 hour coverage of the tour by DD News.

Top news stories in terms of share of duration during 2,3 June
- PM Narendra Modi’s Singapore visit
- Video of Dancing Uncle going viral
- Ceasefire violation at Indo-Pak border
- IPL
- Lok Sabha Elections
- 4 years of NDA
- Farmers’ protest
- TMC-BJP workers’ clash in West Bengal
-Stone pelting in J&K

Top Personalities covered on Hindi news channels:
- Narendra Modi (because of 9 hour coverage by DD News)
- Sanjeev Srivastava
- Arbaaz Khan
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Mayawati

(Source: BARC India, 10 Hindi news channels, 2,3 June)

Top Videos That Went Viral On YouTube In 2017

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YouTube was launched in 2005 - and since then it has made many people - celebrities and one-hit wonders alike - into stars overnight.

That was no different in 2017: YouTube’s top 10 trending videos for the year have garnered more than 633 million views collectively, up by 83 million compared to last year’s list. They were watched for a collective 40 million hours, and the channels that created them have more than 55 million total subscribers.

Here’s a look at the YouTube videos that got the most attention in 2017.

YouTube was launched in 2005 - and since then it has made many people - celebrities and one-hit wonders alike - into stars overnight. That was no different in 2017: YouTube’s top 10 trending videos ..

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YouTube's top viral video in 2017 was a singing man in an oyster costume. The masked performer was a contestant on Thailand's aptly-named singing
competition show "The Mask Singer." The man in the mask sings "Until We Will Become Dust," which starts out as a ballad and eventually breaks into a rap.

The video has more than 182 million views on YouTube.

Watch the video here.

YouTube's top viral video in 2017 was a singing man in an oyster costume. The masked performer was a contestant on Thailand's aptly-named singing competition show "The Mask Singer." The man in the ma..

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Not only did the popular video made it to YouTube's most-watched music videos but Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You' had people dancing all summer, although most people probably didn't have moves like the ones in this choreography. Th video has a staggering 120,730,321 views.

Watch the video here.

Not only did the popular video made it to YouTube's most-watched music videos but Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You' had people dancing all summer, although most people probably didn't have moves like the o..

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Trust us, you would want to do this! With over 9 crore views, this 7-minutes-and-16-seconds of incredible table tennis trick shots was a winner.

Watch the video here.

Trust us, you would want to do this! With over 9 crore views, this 7-minutes-and-16-seconds of incredible table tennis trick shots was a winner. Watch the video here.

She is no little wonder. This 12-year-old singing ventriloquist's amazing performance on "America's Got Talent" was so good that it got her the Golden Buzzer treatment, sending her straight to the live shows. The video has over 4 crore views, and counting.

Watch the video here.

She is no little wonder. This 12-year-old singing ventriloquist's amazing performance on "America's Got Talent" was so good that it got her the Golden Buzzer treatment, sending her straight to the li..

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The year seems to have been really lucky for Ed Sheeran, considering he made it to the list, twice.

This time, it was his debut on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke," in which we learned that Sheeran could stuff 55 Maltesers into his mouth at one time and that he doesn't own a cellphone. Oh and the video garnered 40,199,040 views.

Watch the video here.

The year seems to have been really lucky for Ed Sheeran, considering he made it to the list, twice. This time, it was his debut on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke," in which we learned that Sheeran ..

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Lady Gaga's Super Bowl half-time performance got everyone talking. Sometimes doing an entertaining Super Bowl halftime show makes a bigger statement than dressing in meat.

Gaga's 13-minute gig pulled an astounding 117.5 million viewers, making it the second-most-viewed halftime show in Super Bowl history, behind Katy Perry's set at Super XLIX, which drew 120.7 million viewers.

Watch the video here.

Lady Gaga's Super Bowl half-time performance got everyone talking. Sometimes doing an entertaining Super Bowl halftime show makes a bigger statement than dressing in meat. Gaga's 13-minute gig pulle..

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How could Mr. President have not been part of this list? The bad lip reading of Donald Trump's inauguration video is so bad that it is actually great. The hilarious video takes moments from the inauguration festivities - featuring President Trump, President Obama, Vice President Mike Pence and many others - and gives them very bad lip-reading voiceovers. Donald Trump in a video is bound to garner 35,297,327 views.

Watch the video here.

How could Mr. President have not been part of this list? The bad lip reading of Donald Trump's inauguration video is so bad that it is actually great. The hilarious video takes moments from the inaug..

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This one does not come as a surprise. A history of the entire world. Errrr -- sort of. It's basically years of science and social studies classes compressed into 20 minutes and translated for the internet era. Millennials viewed the video over 3 crore times.

Watch the video here.

This one does not come as a surprise. A history of the entire world. Errrr -- sort of. It's basically years of science and social studies classes compressed into 20 minutes and translated for the int..

Read More

This animated short film about a closeted boy who fears being outed by his own heart will melt your heart. It did strike a chord, leading to 3 crore 26 lakh views.

Watch the video here.

This animated short film about a closeted boy who fears being outed by his own heart will melt your heart. It did strike a chord, leading to 3 crore 26 lakh views. Watch the video here.

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