Television remains people’s primary source of information in Georgia, albeit its dominance has been steadily declining over the years. Indeed, TV viewership, especially among younger audiences, has dropped as they turn to the internet and social media instead for news coverage. Nevertheless, TV retains a high level of trust among older generations who still consider it a valuable means of acquiring information.

Of course, public interest in current events and news intensifies around elections, and particularly on election days. In Georgia, between 2016 and 2024, election days consistently saw high television viewing figures. For instance, in the 2016 parliamentary election , across seven major Georgian cities (Tbilisi, Rustavi, Gori, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Batumi, and Poti), an average of 19.6% of residents aged 18 and above were watching TV at any given minute, with 63.6% of them tuning in for at least one minute.

Election day ratings have generally shown an upward trend through the years, with the exception of the  local elections in 2021, which garnered fewer viewers compared to the previous two elections (2018 and 2020) and the subsequent 2024 election. In any case, despite a relative decline, election day in 2021 still recorded an average TV viewership rating of 20.7%.

In 2020, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, overall TV ratings in Georgia rose by 9% compared to previous years. As a result, TV viewership on election day in 2020 peaked in the covered period (2016-2024).

Overall, the majority of the TV audience (60%) in the reporting period were women, and this trend held on most election days as well. However, during the 2018 presidential election this dipped somewhat, with 54.6% of the audience being women.

Throughout election days, TV viewing patterns generally mirror typical viewing habits on regular days, with peak viewership during the prime time slot of 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM. During the 2024 election, viewership was at its lowest between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM, while the period between 1:00 PM and 9:00 PM saw the highest ratings compared to all previous elections.

Monitoring TV viewership distribution on election days elicits some revealing patterns, especially given the emergence of new channels and diminishing popularity of older ones.

In 2016, 2017, and 2018, the Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2 led the rankings on election days, followed by Imedi in second place. However, 2019 saw significant changes in the Georgian television market. This was largely attributable to some journalists and management personnel leaving Rustavi 2 to join two new channels, Mtavari Arkhi and Formula, which nearly halved Rustavi 2’s viewership figures significantly. Another contributing factor here was the establishment of a new channel, POS TV, which entered the Georgian market in 2019.

Due to these changes, the 2020 election day TV rankings differed markedly from those of the previous three elections. Mtavari Arkhi led the ratings with a 21.91% share, with Imedi following in second place on 17.81% and Formula (1.89%) and POS TV (1.72%) both attracting relatively small audiences.

In the 2021 and 2024 elections, Imedi rose to the top of the ratings, while second spot was taken by Mtavari Arkhi in 2021 and TV Pirveli in 2024.

TV Pirveli has recorded a steady increase in viewership figures on election days, with both its share and position in the rankings improving consistently.

Imedi, on the other hand, has maintained a stable rating of approximately 4% across all six election days.

Some entertainment channels that do not broadcast news content have also ranked highly on election days in recent years. Back in 2020 such channels were less popular, with GDS being the only entertainment channel to feature among the most-watched channels.

Since December 2022, television ratings provided by Tri Media Intelligence have included data for all of Georgia, encompassing urban centers, regional centers, and rural areas. This expanded dataset allowed for a more detailed analysis of viewership figures on election day in 2024, with data segmented by city and region.

The rankings reveal distinct preferences for channels according to location. For instance, Formula and the Georgian Public Broadcaster had the highest viewership figures in Tbilisi but the lowest in rural areas. Conversely, Imedi and POS TV attracted the largest shares of viewers in rural regions but the smallest in Tbilisi. Elsewhere, Rustavi 2 and Mtavari Arkhi drew most of their viewers in cities, with relatively low rural viewership. The election day rankings also saw the entertainment channel GDS claim eighth place in seven cities, and fifth in the national rankings thanks to its substantial rural audience.