MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • At the CII CEOs' roundtable on broadcast, I&B Minister Manish Tewari mooted the idea of a 'techno-commercial' regulator for the broadcast sector

    Think aloud for a Broadcast Regulator: Manish Tewari

    By A Correspondent

     

    Manish Tewari

    Reiterating the government’s commitment for smooth cable TV digitization and protecting consumer interests, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has asked the broadcast industry to ‘think aloud’ for a separate broadcast regulator.

     

    Speaking at the 4th CII CEOs’ roundtable on broadcast, the minister mooted the idea of a ‘techno-commercial’ regulator for the broadcast sector, which is witnessing rapid changes in the wake of cable TV digitization. He also made it clear that content will not be regulated by the government.

     

    Mr Tewari said that a viable measurement system for assessing audience tastes and preferences would enable the broadcasting industry to position sustainable revenue models. The broadcasting industry needed to initiate immediate steps for setting up the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), he said, adding that the digitization process had created a model where the given database emerging from the process could be analyzed and expanded exponentially. The government was willing to provide this data to an industry-created body. This body in turn could utilize the data for use in the public space. The initiation of this industry-led process would ensure a two-way flow of information necessary for analyzing advertising trends and models.

     

    KVL Narayan Rao, Executive Vice Chairperson, NDTV Ltd outlined how for some broadcasters, carriage fees remains burdensome and subscription revenues are not forthcoming as yet. “Issues such as TRAI regulation on 12-minute ad cap are the issues that need to be deliberated upon,” he said.

     

    Elaborating further, the Mr Tewari said that there had to be a balance between the evolution of technology and the regulatory architecture. In view of the changes taking place in the broadcasting space, a discussion was necessary within the industry regarding the need of a regulator on techno-commercial grounds. Referring to the digitization mechanism, he said that all stakeholders had to ensure that they work together for creating an enabling environment. “This is critical in view of the consumer being the biggest stakeholder and end-beneficiary. The government is aware of the needs of the consumer and desires that the whole process of implementation ought to be done causing the least pain to the biggest beneficiary, ie the consumer. Digitization as a process has to be viewed as a game changer as far as the media landscape in this country is concerned, as benefits will accrue to all the stakeholders involved and each plays a vital role in the growth of the industry,” he said.

     

    In a major relief to broadcast channels, Mr Tewari maintained that a solution would be brought about to the TRAI’s recent regulation barring television channels from telecasting more than 12 minutes of advertisements every hour. He said the broadcast landscape is changing in the country with digitization, and this issue of fixing time slots for advertisements will be taken up at an appropriate time. He also expressed concern over the TAM TRP data and said that the BARC should be created at the earliest.

     

    Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said that the entire exercise of digitization was to bring out a transparent mechanism, credible subscriber data and finally ensure that the dividends of digitization reach the end consumers. “We have discarded a system which was not transparent and are moving towards a system which has to be transparent,” he said.

     

    The government favoured domestic manufacturing and deployment of set-top box and may also consider fixing certain percentage (for domestic manufacturers) for reaching out to the next 50 million consumers in the subsequent phases of digitization, Mr Varma said, and requested domestic set-top box manufactures to match up with quality, price, and competitive standards as acceptable to MSOs.

     

    The ministry is also looking at the status of channel aggregators, in the wake of queries on their ‘legal status’ in the digitization process.

     

  • The projections are published in a new report called India Pay-TV & Broadband Markets

    130mn digital pay-TV homes by 2020 to contribute $17 bn in revenues

    By A Correspondent

     

    New projections released by Media Partners Asia (MPA) indicate that digital pay-TV penetration of TV homes in India will grow from 28 percent in 2012 to 54 percent by 2017, and reach 60 percent by 2020. Digital penetration of total pay-TV homes will double from 35 percent in 2012 to almost 70 percent by 2020. The projections are published in a new report called India Pay-TV & Broadband Markets.

     

    “A successful start for the roll-out of digital addressable systems (DAS) has revived interest in pay-TV among strategic and financial investors,” said MPA executive director Vivek Couto, adding, “The real benefits will become clearer in 2H 2013 and beyond, as multi-system operators (MSOs) drive addressability and work with last mile local cable operators (LCOs) to ramp up tiering, billing and collections. Regulators are committed to curbing delays in the next phases of DAS, while the DTH industry is keen to revive growth by capitalizing on digital transition.”

     

    MPA forecasts indicate that total digital pay-TV homes will grow from 47 million in 2012 to 110 million by 2017 and 130 million by 2020. This implies that the pay-TV industry will remain in a prolonged investment mode, with significant capital intensity. Both DTH and cable operators already have high levels of debt; as the larger phases of DAS come into play, the majority of additional funding will have to come through equity, via IPOs and M&A, the MPA report states.

     

    Total industry revenues will grow at a CAGR of 11.4 percent between 2012 – 17 and 10.2 percent between 2012 and 2020, reaching US$17 billion by 2020 versus US$7.8 billion in 2012. Total pay-TV homes are expected to grow from 128 million 2012 to 167 mil. by 2017, and 183 million by 2020. Pay-TV penetration of TV homes will grow from 80 percent to 85 percent between 2012 and 2020, adjusted for multiple connections in a household.

     

    Cable impact

    Over the medium term, the majority of cable investments will be directed towards digital infrastructure, helping to build operator scale and improved addressability. In the long run, investments will be more focused towards acquiring primary subscriber points and the expansion of high-ARPU products such as broadband and HDTV. According to MPA, the total proportion of cable households with DAS climb from 15 percent in 2012 to 50 percent by 2020.

     

    DTH growth

    In the DTH space, concerns focus on the growth of active subs (i.e. paying customers, net of churn and subscriber suspension), which has moderated in recent times. MPA says that the growth in active subs will rebound however, as more markets undergo analog switch-off. MPA forecasts indicate that active DTH subs will grow from 32 million in 2012 to 64 million by 2017, and 77 million by 2020.

     

    Broadcasters

    Subscription fees for pay-TV channels crossed US$1 billion in 2012, driven by the growing strength of aggregators. This growth has yet to factor in digitalization, which will result in a bigger share of subscription revenue for broadcasters. Operating margins will remain under pressure in the short-to-medium term, due to heavy investments in content for existing channels and gestation losses on new channel launches.

     

    MPA expects total pay-TV channel revenues, including advertising and subscription to grow from US$3.6 billion in 2012 to US$6.6 billion by 2017, and to US$8.6 billion by 2020. The pay-TV ad market is expected to grow at a 10 percent CAGR over 2012-20, while broadcaster subscription revenues are expected to grow at 15 percent over the same period.

     

  • Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Google India, is the new Chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). He will take over from Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO, InfoEdge

    Rajan Anandan takes over as IAMAI chairman

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajan Anandan

    Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Google India, is the new Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Mr Anandan will be taking over from Hitesh Oberoi, Managing Director and CEO, InfoEdge.

     

    Speaking about his new role, Mr Anandan said, “I am excited to take over this responsibility at a time, when the industry is going through an exciting transition. The digital industry has reached an inflection point and is growing steadily. IAMAI, which has been working persistently towards the growth of the medium, is also growing. We plan to engage and interact more closely with the government to ensure that the online industry registers a balanced growth in the years to come and the internet user base widens.”

     

    Kirthiga Reddy, Director of Online Operations and Head of Office, India at Facebook, is the new Vice-Chairman, and will take over her new role from Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder & CEO, Yatra.

     

  • Yahoo! has announced two new mobile experiences – Yahoo! Weather for iPhone (also iPod, and iPod Touch) and Yahoo! Mail for iPad and Android tablets

    Yahoo! Weather & Yahoo! Mail on mobile

    By A Correspondent

     

    Yahoo! has announced two new mobile experiences – Yahoo! Weather for iPhone (also iPod, and iPod Touch) and Yahoo! Mail for iPad and Android tablets. Images from the Flickr community show current local conditions, with forecast details, so that instead of reading about the weather users can now see the weather.

     

    Yahoo!’s goal is to have amazing photos for every weather condition that cover the globe – morning, afternoon, and night – across every city in the world. Users can submit photos of their favourite places to the Yahoo! Flickr group.

     

    Yahoo! Mail for tablet brings users a new email experience, with a lean-back, magazine-style feel.

     

    * Tap the full-screen button in the lower left corner of your message to expand it across the entire screen. If you want to reply, delete, file or star a message simply tap anywhere on the screen and Yahoo! Mail’s familiar icons will appear.

    * To move to the next message on your iPad, simply swipe, as if you’re turning the page in a magazine.

    * To flip through messages even faster, simply tap on the side of the screen to rapidly scan through your inbox.

    * Focus on the messages you care about most with a new feature that lets you easily sort by sender in Yahoo! Mail’s split-screen view.

    * Select a message in your inbox on the left side of the screen by checking the box that appears with the email. You will then see that sender’s name appear on the right side of your screen.

    * Swipe on the sender’s name and you will see Yahoo! Mail’s familiar icons appear to delete, file, star or mark as unread or spam.

    * You’ll also see a plus sign that will indicate how many more messages you have from that sender. If you select that, it will pull all the messages from that sender and then you can star, delete or file them all at once. Just think – you can easily take control of your inbox with just a few taps.

     

  • Mr Prakash will lead strategy and execution for Vuclip, as well as manage all aspects of consumer interactions

    Arun Prakash appointed EVP of Vuclip

    By A Correspondent

     

    Independent mobile video and media company Vuclip has announced the addition of Arun Prakash as the company’s new Executive Vice President of Products, Content and Marketing. Mr Prakash will lead strategy and execution for Vuclip, as well as manage all aspects of consumer interactions.

     

    “We are very excited to have Arun on board. His experience in leading startups to help shape industries, achieve market leadership and realize financial growth in dynamic markets is a terrific asset,” said Nickhil Jakatdar, CEO of Vuclip. “Given the tremendous growth Vuclip has experienced over the past year, Arun will help us further expand our role as pioneers in the mobile media industry,” he added further.

     

    Prior to this role, Mr Prakash led marketing and products at YouSendIt and helped pioneer the company’s freemium business model to deliver outstanding financial success and user growth. Prior to that, he was the head of product development at Ketera Technologies where he was instrumental in developing the world’s first on-demand spend management solution. Previously, Arun oversaw products at Aspect Development, Inc. resulting in its acquisition by i2 Technologies for more than $9 billion.  He also founded and acts as CEO for Spozzle, an online community for US high school sports.

     

    “It takes a lot of sweat, blood and sacrifice to translate an idea into a high growth company, and I have deep respect for what Nickhil and the rest of the Vuclip team have accomplished. I am thrilled to join Vuclip during this exciting time of mobile media evolution. Vuclip is well positioned to define and lead the industry,” said Mr Prakash.

     

  • The partnership will create Highlights Champs and Highlights Genies for Indian children

    Highlights for Children & Delhi Press unveil new kids’ mags

    By A Correspondent

     

    North American children’s magazine publisher Highlights for Children and Delhi Press have collaborated to bring Highlights Champs and Highlights Genie magazines to India.

     

    Highlights Magazine (http://www.highlights.com/) uses stories, poems, and activities to engage children in early learning and helps them to develop a strong sense of curiosity, creativity, confidence, and caring. From its beginning in the 1940s, the magazine has celebrated children’s experiences in many different cultures and religions around the world.

     

    Highlights Champs is designed for children aged 6-12, and includes a mix of fiction, poetry, science, craft and readers’ contributions. It also features beloved content from Highlights magazine such as Hidden Pictures, the Timbertoes and Goofus and Gallant. Highlights Genies targets children aged 2-6 and uses stories, poems and activities to engage children in early learning and help them to develop a strong sense of curiosity, creativity, confidence and caring.

     

    “Parents in India place a high value on education and care deeply about helping their children develop strong learning skills at an early age. With a blend of Highlights’ exceptional content for children and Delhi Press’ unique understanding of the market, Highlights Champs and Highlights Genies will be ideally positioned to fulfill the needs of both parents and children,” said Paresh Nath, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Delhi Press.

     

    Highlights CEO Kent Johnson said, “When my great-grandparents started Highlights in 1946, one of the things they hoped to do in the pages of the magazine was celebrate children’s experiences in many different cultures around the world. I think they would be so pleased – and maybe astonished too – to see how far their ‘Fun with a Purpose’ magazine has travelled.”

     

    Highlights Champs and Highlights Genies will be available through subscriptions as well as in newsstands and books stories throughout India.

     

  • The partnership will enable Sandesh to bring interactive print content 'Live' on readers' mobile

    Sandesh to augment editorial content powered by TELiBrahma

    By A Correspondent

     

    TELiBrahma, mobile advertising solutions company specializing in augmenting real world context with digital engagements, has announced its partnership with Sandesh – to bring interactive print content LIVE on readers’ mobile.

     

    The partnership will allow Sandesh to augment their editorial content across all editions. Sandesh is one of the most widely read Gujarati newspaper. Sandesh Smart, powered by point of TEliBrahma is a visual recognition technology for the publishing house. By integrating augmented reality, Sandesh will be the first and only Gujarati daily to bring interactivity to static print pages with 3D models, videos, slideshows, social media connect, links to download content and emphasize the importance of connecting print publications with digital engagements through mobile.

     

    “This partnership will allow static print content come Live on readers’ mobile,” said Parthiv Patel, Managing Director- Sandesh, adding, “It will definitely add excitement to print content; we see a great opportunity for brands to leverage the same too. TELiBrahma has helped us develop a robust application with one of the best user experience.”

     

    PR Satheesh, Principal, TELiBrahma said, “We are extremely excited to partner with Sandesh, one of the leaders in the print media space and we believe this will add tremendous value to their readers. Sandesh Smart app powered by POINT of TELiBrahma is a way to connect physical world with exciting digital engagements.”

     

  • Aimed at the e-consumer, E-Newspaper will be brought out multiple times in the day – at 1pm, 7.30pm and 12.30am

    BAG Network launches ‘E-Newspaper of India’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Described as “A newspaper that never sleeps”, E-Newspaper of India is a product meant for the digital consumer who is constantly on the move, and is refreshed multiple times in the day – at 1pm, 7.30pm and 12.30am.

     

    E-Newspaper, which is available at www.enewspaperofindia.com, has been brought out by the BAG Network, the media house that has rolled out news channel News 24, Bollywood channel E 24, spiritual channel Darshan 24 and Radio Dhamaal.

     

    Anurradha Prasad

    Speaking on this occasion, Anurradha Prasad, editor-in-chief of the paper and Chairman of BAG Network, said that in the digital era, time is of essence for the person on the go. “Newspaper reading should not be like finding a needle in a haystack. E-Newspaper of India sifts the big news from a mountain of news stories,” she said.

     

    Ms Prasad said that in this digital age, news keeps changing at breakneck speed. “And we want the digital consumer to read today’s newspaper now, not tomorrow, to read the news even as it is happening,” she said.

     

  • DDB Mudra used crowdsourcing via social media to get readers to develop and execute the editorial and design content for the entire issue

    Made By You issue makes Femina a crowdsourced hit

    By A Correspondent

     

    Crowdsourcing, a technique being increasingly employed by marketers, has been used to create logos, movies, books, etc. Femina’s ‘Made by You’ issue is a move to get readers to develop and execute the editorial and design content for the entire issue.

     

    Marketing is inbuilt into the publishing of this issue, and every author is a potential word of mouth marketer. Femina Made by You is thus a bridge in terms of being able to merge the world of publishing and marketing.

     

    Tarun Rai

    Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media, said, “Worldwide Media has grown at a furious pace. From just four magazines four years ago, we now have 13. And as a publishing house we have been leading from the front. Femina Made By You is another first for the magazine industry. A crowd-sourced issue, at the scale we have visualized it, is unprecedented. And it is only appropriate that it is Femina that is bringing it out as there is no other English women’s magazine with the stature and readership that Femina has.”

     

    Tanya Chaitanya, Editor, Femina said, “Femina Made by You is exactly what it promises to be. An issue made by the real women who have always been our core focus. A Mumbai reader’s take on relationships, a Delhi girl’s hunt for the latest It bag, a Kolkata woman’s expertise in the kitchen, a Chennai career girl’s tips on being a 9-to-5 ninja – it’s all trending here.”

     

    DDB Mudra used simple techniques for crowdsourcing and keeping the technology in the background while developing this issue. The techniques included Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. To start with, a Facebook app – “Made By You Issue” – was created on the Femina Facebook page. The app focused on a simple idea that ‘If you’ve got a story, we’ve got the space’.

     

    The second initiative was to introduce the contributors to the Femina India editorial team. The team ‘met’ select authors via Google Hangouts. The objective of this meet was to bring women from different corners closer and give them a single platform to discuss and share their ideas. Finally a filtering process was used for the entries that would finally get featured in this magazine. Here the Femina India editorial team led by the editor, Tanya Chaitanya, was involved.

     

    Besides receiving entries from metros in India, there was participation from non-metros as well including Dehradun, Panchkul, Jalandhar, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Indore, Guwahati, Jalandhar, Bhopal, Kanpur, Nagpur, Amritsar and Surat.

     

    Statistics:

    Facebook

    1.Daily people talking about Femina: 1,20,394(total)

    2. Daily total reach: 2.97 million (total)

    3. Daily total impressions: 12.1 million (total)

    4. Friends of fans reached: 40 million

    5. Fans added: 41, 435

     

    Twitter

    1. Total followers: 10,650

    2. Tweets done: 1578

    2. Re-tweets received: 688

    3. Potential impressions: 17 million

    4. Potential reach: 12 million

    5. Mentions: 4,320

    6. Followers added: 692

    7. Blogger coverages: 30

     

  • Disney UTV Digital has launched a bouquet of four freemium apps for Indian mobile subscribers – UTV, Disney, Comedy and Devotional

    Disney UTV Digital launches freemium apps for feature phones

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney UTV Digital has launched a bouquet of four freemium apps for Indian mobile subscribers – UTV, Disney, Comedy and Devotional. The Nokia Asha series has pre-embedded the UTV app on more than 2.5 million devices.

     

    Content in the UTV app includes latest movie trailers, full length movies (Bollywood & Regional), Bollywood gossip and more. The Disney App includes short form content featuring Mickey and Friends, other Disney classics such as Big Bad Wolf and Santa’s Workshop and Pixar short-form animation such as Reds Dream and Adventures of Andre and Wally B.

     

    The apps support monetization via both ads as well as paid subscriptions enabled through Digital Disney UTV’s mobile operator billing platform. This allows regular mobile users to access both ad-supported content as well as premium content within the same app through a one-click transaction via their mobile operator.

     

    Sameer Pitalwalla

    Sameer Pitalwalla, Director, Celebrity and Video, Disney UTV, said, “While we have a robust smartphone strategy, we wanted to provide feature phone users with an excellent video experience. We combined our great catalogue with best in breed technology and have seen both download and engagement numbers catching fire.”

     

    “Engagement and innovation have emerged as one of the top deciding factors in the mobile phone industry with more and more youth accessing apps that enhance their user experience. Our association with Disney UTV has been extremely successful and, together, we continue to add value to our consumers by offering superior on-the-go video streaming,” said Gerard Rego, Director – Developer Experience, Nokia India.

     

  • Jalsha's 'Chalo Paltai' initiative has won the Olive Crown and Bloomberg Brand Leadership awards for efforts to reduce toxic waste

    ‘Green’ Star Jalsha’s bags Olive Crown, Bloomberg awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bengali general entertainment channel Star Jalsha has won two coveted awards – the Olive Crown and the Bloomberg Brand Leadership Award for Sustainable Marketing Leadership – for its industry-leading green initiative that reduced toxic waste from West Bengal’s capital, Kolkata.

     

    Star Jalsha won these awards in recognition of the ‘Chalo Paltai’ or ‘let’s change’ campaign to recycle a staggering 7,000 kilogram of toxic waste every day in Kolkata.

     

    The Confederation of International Advertising Association in partnership with Asian Federation of Advertising Association awarded Star Jalsha the prestigious Olive Crown earlier this month for the channel’s eco-friendly initiatives that aimed at reducing air pollution in Kolkata.

     

    The Olive Crown follows the honour for ‘Chalo Paltai’ by reputed news organisation Bloomberg which Star Jalsha won in February. The award, endorsed by CMO Asia and Asian Confederation of Business, recognized the channel’s earnest attempt to recycle toxic and household waste into functional, day-to-day use items.

     

    Star Jalsha launched the ‘Chalo Paltai’ initiative as part of its brand re-launch in 2012. The channel converted 7,000 kilogram of waste generated from flex billboards every day by recycling it into shopping bags, folders, CD covers, table mats, wall hangings and other useful items. These billboards are usually disposed of by burning, a process that emits several harmful toxins into the city’s atmosphere every day.

     

    Star Jalsha’s green campaign was developed in association with Ogilvy & Mather.

     

    Kevin Vaz
    Piyush Pandey

    Kevin Vaz, President and General Manager, Star Jalsha and Jalsha Movies, said, “We are honoured to receive these prestigious awards. These awards are a great encouragement for us to continue doing our bit for the society. We are also thankful to the people of West Bengal and all other dignitaries who supported us in our endevour.”

     

    Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather South Asia, said, “Recycling is an age-old tradition in India and I am extremely happy that Star Jalsha, through Chalo Paltai, has stayed true to our traditions. I sincerely hope that other corporates step forward to adopt a noble cause like this.”

     

     

  • The affable Editor-in-Chief and Publisher believes that with increasing literacy levels, magazines will grow

    Times aren’t good, but print media should not give up: Paresh Nath, Delhi Press

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Delhi Press has been on a growth path and much in the news lately: whether it was the acquisition of two-decade-old BS Motoring for an undisclosed amount or tie-up with US-based Highlights to launch two new children’s magazines. Delhi Press has been around since 1939, and has grown steadily from one magazine in 1940 to 35 titles in 2013. According to recent reports, Delhi Press is in talks to buy Man’s World and Rolling Stone magazine, though they prefer not to comment on this.

    MxMIndia interviewed Paresh Nath, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Delhi Press to know more.

     

    These are said to be tough times for the media, and magazines (in print) in particular. Why is Delhi Press then on an expansion spree (organic and inorganic)?

    Yes, times are not good for print media but one should not give up. We at Delhi Press think that the literacy rate is growing and with more money in pockets the will to purchase magazines is still there.

    If magazines seem to be in poorer state, it is because the cover prices of other print product, the daily newspapers, thanks to government advertising subsidy, are low. Magazines are, therefore, not able to distribute free and hence have lower readership. Otherwise interest in magazines will continue to be there and we hope it will grow with increase in literates.

     

    Delhi Press currently has 34 magazines under its fold. How are the magazines doing?

    Magazines are stable despite cover price increase. We think that the magazines are medium of choice and one has to make an effort to get one and that is why it is read and taken more seriously than other media. That is our strength. We have no plan to shut any magazine as of now.

     

    Delhi Press has had a rich past… right from the days it was set up pre-Independence, in 1939. How has it been since you’ve taken charge?

    Delhi Press had been steadily growing ever since inception. From one magazine in 1940 to 35 magazines now it had been a long and fulfilling journey and members of family and others have contributed to its growth.

     

    How has the magazine reader changed over the years?

    Like the society, the readers have also changed. Delhi Press has however been a step ahead. We had started opposing orthodox believes right from beginning and have even faced numerous cases because of our rational and modern approach. For us the change in readers has not been a shock as we had been urging him/her to change all the time. We welcome the change.

     

    Delhi Press already has two titles in its fold that are aimed at kids and young adolescents. Highlights Champ and Highlights Genies were also recently added. Would the magazines not compete with each other (more so, in terms of advertisers)?

    It is true that there will be some duplication and overlapping but Champak is in an Indian product and Highlights are foreign magazines. Those with more international outlook might prefer an International brand. In Champak, characters are Indian in Indian background but in Highlights these are more Western. We are sure that the two can survive simultaneously.

     

    For the titles that have regional as well as national language presence, which language is witnessing more growth?

    All languages are growing more or less uniformly. As far as our case is concerned we are doing better in Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu and Bangla.

     

    The recent IRS does not show much promise when it comes to magazines. Grihshobha and Champak have shown degrowth as well. Are Indian magazines facing tough times?

    We do not have trust in the readership methodology. A Rs 3 publication is being equated with a Rs 30 or Rs 60 publication with no weight being given to the fact that the dailies are thrown around free all over while magazines cannot be as they do not get government money in the form of advertising. Not only that dailies that seem to have grown in recent years, actually grew because these entered into newer geographical territories. Methodology of readership survey is kept secret like nuclear technology. Yes as the magazines do not get government support, these find more difficult to fund money for promotion to retain and gain readers. There is pressure to improve paper and print quality in case of magazines while newspapers continue to be printed on the same newsprint. Indian magazines will continue to suffer as long as there is widespread discrimination.

     

    How is Delhi Press preparing itself for the online reader?

    Online readers have not started paying for content as yet and we do not know how to handle this. Content is king but kings do not come free and that seems to be the mantra of on line content. Now new technology is being developed where the content creator is making money and as soon as it is perfected we will jump into it.

     

    Tell us about the the strategy behind the BS Motoring acquisition?

    We did not have a lifestyle magazine in our group and this may be a good start.

     

    What are the changes that one would see in this magazine?

    Changes will happen but gradually and according to the need. The magazine as it is is well produced and Delhi Press will give it wider spread.

     

    Apart from acquiring, which categories is Delhi Press looking at to launch its own titles?

    We are likely to launch language editions of some of our magazines.

     

    When entering into new categories or new titles, what are the challenges that even an established player such as Delhi Press faces?

    Challenges are plenty. The advertising is now dispersed and pie has to be shared with dailies and electronic medium. It is not easy to convince the generation used to SMS and Facebook that the real reading is not from screen but from paper where you can pay more attention and do real serious thinking.

     

    How is Caravan doing? In terms of impact and mindspace it has picked up a fair bit… but we don’t see too many ads in it?

    We are very satisfied with the progress The Caravan has made. Its editorial team works very hard and has given a good challenge to established players. We miss some ads because of our editorial ethics that we will not promote alcohol, cigarette and pan masala at any cost. Ours is a highly independent group and has no industrial or political connections or financing. Commercial ads will take some time as the advertisers realise that this is no coffee-table magazine and that the reader returns to it again and again.