Geopolitics scores but other influencer contents take a hit amid Bangla turmoil

Time of India

2 days ago

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Kolkata: From a noticeable dip in viewership from Bangladesh to a marked increase in hate comments, Bengal's content creators have encountered significant changes amidst the ongoing volatility in Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh relations.
During the Aug uprising, content creators observed a drop in viewership from Bangladesh. While some managed to regain their audience, many continue to report persistent declines. In a bid to attract more engagement, several creators recently pivoted to producing more content focused on geopolitics. The escalating cross-border tensions have led to a surge in hate comments. Interestingly, this phenomenon has resulted in heightened viewership, greater audience engagement, and increased revenues for the creators.
For many YouTubers, political tensions often lead to restrictions on the flow of media and content, directly affecting the reach and accessibility of creators and their material. Digital creator Zeeshan Ali, who runs a channel with 71K subscribers on Instagram, was badly hit. "I have a good following in Bangladesh, and they would visit the food joints I recommended once they visited Kolkata. After the uprising, the reach went.
According to the trend, I should have 90K subscribers by now. Unfortunately, people from Bangladesh started unfollowing me. They are not keen on watching entertainment at all and are busy surfing content related to politics and conflict," he said.
Actor and content creator Aparajita Ghosh, who presents podcasts on YouTube, expressed certainty that the viewership of her content would be double if the Indo-Bangladesh relationship had not become strained.
"Any content I shared earlier would receive so much love from Bangladesh. People would generously comment. After the uprising, I hosted a podcast called Off Screen With Aparajita Ghosh. I am surprised that there is not a single comment from Bangladesh.
I am sure the viewership would have been double, had this podcast been shared at least a year back," Ghosh stated.
Aritra Banerjee, who has 176K subscribers on YouTube, faced the heat when the watch hours of his videos dipped during the Aug uprising in Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh is a big market in terms of our viewership. The internet services were down during the Aug uprising. While my subscriber base remained the same, the watch hours dipped by 25% then. Once the internet connections resumed, the viewership was back," Banerjee said.
"My show is about ghosts, and their viewership in Bangladesh remains steady at 11% regardless of any political developments. Ghosts are a different ballgame altogether, but I noticed several content creators who never engaged in geopolitics previously now produced three videos instead of one per day to take advantage of the increased viewer interest.,"
said Gourab Tapadar, whose 'Pretkotha' channel has 883K subscribers.
Recent times have seen a surge in the number of hate comments for Indian content, with hyperactive trolls having a field day. Sharmila Maiti, who currently has 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube, experienced a 60% increase in hate comments on her channel.
"People often watch content which they absolutely hate. They watch it to ridicule or troll. Last week, I posted a vlog with an interview of a meritorious student. Among the 600 comments I got, 550 were from Bangladesh. Most of them were very critical," Maiti stated.
Such hate comments are not overtly detrimental for a channel as they help generate the engagement necessary for revenue.