16 crore people watched Ayodhya ceremony live on Doordarshan: Prasar Bharati CEO

Over 16 crore people are estimated to have watched the live telecast of the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony in Ayodhya for the Ram Temple by Doordarshan, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi S Vempati said on Friday.

He said it resulted in the viewership of more than seven billion viewing minutes.

"(As) Per preliminary estimates over 160 million people watched the live telecast of the Ayodhya Ram Temple Bhoomi Pujan ceremony, resulting in viewership of more than seven billion viewing minutes across the TV universe in India," Vempati tweeted.

"Above viewership is of Doordarshan’s live coverage which was carried by nearly 200 TV channels during the main events between 10:45 AM and 2 PM on Wednesday," he added.

On August 5, Vempati tweeted that there was a viewership of 15 million digital watch minutes on the YouTube channels of DD National and DD News.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the temple in Ayodhya, where Lord Ram is believed to have taken birth.

Doordarshan, the state broadcaster, had telecast the entire function live. Earlier, parties like CPI(M) and CPI had objected to the use of the state broadcaster for the live telecast of the event, saying the government was mixing religion with politics.