Aaj Tak Advertising

Who reads Aaj Tak online?

Aaj Tak started as a 24-hour Hindi news channel in 2000 and has carried that name onto the web, the app and YouTube. Its digital readers look a lot like its TV viewers. They are Hindi speakers, spread across the big northern and central states, and most of them read on a mobile phone.

The India Today Group, which owns Aaj Tak, reported 295 million unique visitors in the News and Information category for July 2025, based on Comscore multi-platform data that includes social. That number covers all the group's brands, not Aaj Tak alone, so treat it as a ceiling. Aaj Tak was also reported in February 2022 as the first news channel anywhere to cross 50 million YouTube subscribers. We share current, campaign-level reach estimates when we plan your buy.

What ad formats can you buy on Aaj Tak, and what do they cost?

Most of our Aaj Tak campaigns mix display and video. The table shows what each format is good for.

Takeovers are sold directly by the publisher. We request them for you and fold them into the same plan and report.

Aaj Tak ad rates depend on the format, the section and the day. As an indicative guide, PG and private deal CPMs sit between ₹150 and ₹400. Open auction display runs ₹40–120, rich media ₹90–220 and in-stream video ₹120–280.

The minimum spend is about ₹5 lakh per campaign. Rates rise on counting day for elections, on Budget day and during big cricket series, because every advertiser wants the same traffic. Final CPMs are confirmed per campaign, and GST is extra.

When should you advertise on Aaj Tak?

News traffic follows the news. That makes timing a bigger lever here than on an entertainment site.

General and state election results pull some of the heaviest traffic of the year, and banners on results pages get noticed. The Union Budget in February brings a strong business and personal finance audience. India cricket matches lift sports pages. The festive run from Navratri to Diwali is when consumer durables, two-wheeler and FMCG brands crowd the inventory, so book early.

Quieter weeks are still useful. A regional paint brand running in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, for example, can buy steady frequency at lower CPMs between news peaks.

How do you keep ads brand safe on a news site?

Hard news includes crime, accidents and conflict. Some brands are fine with that, and some are not. We handle it in three ways.

First, we pick sections. Business, auto, technology, sports and entertainment pages carry far less sensitive content than the main news feed. Second, we apply keyword and category exclusions in DV360. Third, we review placement reports during the flight and block anything that does not fit.

Do not over-filter, though. Blocking every news topic can cut your reach by half and push up the CPM you actually pay.

How do you measure Aaj Tak campaigns?

We report impressions, unique reach, average frequency and viewability for display. For video we add completion rate and cost per completed view. Where your budget and setup qualify, we run a brand lift study.

If you sell online, tag your site with Floodlight or your own pixel. Then we can show visits and conversions by section and format, which helps decide what to scale.

How does Aaj Tak compare with other Hindi news sites?

Aaj Tak, Zee News, ABP News and News18 Hindi all reach large Hindi audiences, and their readers overlap. Aaj Tak brings strong brand recall and a deep video habit. Zee and ABP add more regional language sites under the same network. For pure scale, many planners run two Hindi publishers together with a frequency cap across both.

Tips for better results

Make Hindi creative, not a translated English line. Keep banner text short, because most readers are on a small screen. Cut a 10 second video version for out-stream and a 20 second version for in-stream. Book results days and Budget day at least two weeks ahead. And if you want to compare Aaj Tak with other publishers on cost and reach, ask for a free media plan.