Pakistani television serials have always enjoyed an edge over global competition, and have enabled the Pakistani entertainment industry to establish itself on a firmer footing over the years. Be it the yesteryear classics like Tanhaiyaan or Meray Paas Tum Ho from the present day, the television industry has provided audiences with high-quality entertainment and is now conquering new horizons in the fast-expanding digital arena.  

As local television offerings have become savvier production and content-wise, their viewership footprint has expanded quite significantly as well. With the emergence of YouTube and other popular online streaming platforms such as Netflix, local dramas have been viewed across the globe online in increasingly large numbers, with the greatest jump in viewership statistics having been observed in the last three years.

The amount of hits a serial gets on platforms such as YouTube is now considered to be one important barometer of a drama’s popularity and success. YouTube views are celebrated and heavily marketed over social media – almost as much as television ratings (TRPs), indicating the importance of the digital viewership platform. 

Breaking new records in digital viewership

Earlier this year, ARY Digital’s Do Bol broke all records when it comes to online viewership – the serial (and its associated videos, such as its OST) are estimated to have received well over 250 million hits on YouTube alone.

It should, therefore, come as no surprise that Pakistani serials are now breaking new benchmarks in online streaming. Based on our estimates from YouTube alone, television serials are now enjoying close to 200 million monthly hits. Part of this may have to do with the clustering of popular content – productions such as Meray Paas Tum Ho, Ehd-e-Wafa and Alif are arguably three of the most long-awaited projects in recent memory, and they are all running simultaneously. As evidence of their increasing global reach, almost all major television shows provide English subtitles on YouTube.

Hitting the 2 billion annual views mark?

If local production houses continue to produce content at a similar pace, Pakistani television serials are likely to cross 2 billion annual views this year from YouTube alone, which will be a massive victory for the television industry.

ARY’s Meray Paas Tum Ho starring Humayun Saeed, Ayeza Khan and Adnan Siddiqui is touching the unprecedented heights of success and that’s referencing to its overwhelming Youtube views which are increasing with every episode. When the team of MPTH recently marketed an episode of theirs claiming it wouldn’t be released online, the fans went berserk and demanded that the episode be streamed online – and it eventually was. The serial’s channel, ARY Digital, is inching towards 10 Million subscribers on YouTube, a first for the country. HUM TV and Geo TV are not too far behind with 6.4M and 5.8M respectively. 

For HUM TV’s Ehd-e-Wafa has been a game-changer. Despite being uploaded on two different YouTube channels, i.e ISPR’s and HUM TV it has still managed to surpass the numbers of previous dramas from the channel. It’s aggregate viewership routinely touches the 7 million mark. For Geo Entertainment, Hamza Ali Abbasi’s Alif is currently ruling the roost and cementing Geo’s position in the digital spectrum.  

Overseas viewership

With several overseas channels such as MBC and Zee broadcasting Pakistani television plays, local productions have gained immense overseas viewership and this is one of the factors contributing to the drastic increase in digital viewership numbers from countries in North America, Europe, and the South Asian region. One indication of the immense popularity of local content is that Pakistani dramas have even been dubbed in Arabic for Gulf audiences. Sarmad Khoosat’s directorial Humsafar was the first modern-day play to be dubbed for gulf audiences. 

Final word

Television serials conquering the digital medium is a good omen for the local entertainment industry. With potentially lucrative partnerships with platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, local production houses can further improve and expand their content, allowing them to cater to an even more diverse audience.