MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • Successful media offerings have a peculiar problem. If you don't change, people could tire of the same look-and-feel and content. And if you change much, then you could lose your core viewership.

    1 Minute View: Sab’s gambit to get to the top

    There is a story about how a popular newspaper which coincidentally celebrates its anniversary in this season of the year lost circulation majorly when it turned upmarket. Or appealing to the Sec A audience, as they say.

     

    Sab TV Exec VP and Business Head took pains to clarify that the basic character of his channel is not changing with the new look which came into effect at 9pm last Friday.

     

    He also informed us that the perception that his channel is more popular in small town India and the lower socio-economic classes is incorrect as research has shown that it’s the higher SECs that are more loyal viewers of his shows.

     

    Media offerings which are successful – and Sab is clearly that – have a peculiar problem.  If you don’t change, people could tire of the same look-and-feel and content. And if you change much, then you could lose your core viewership. But every entity needs a refresh once in a while, even if it’ss a mild one. In this case, Sab has taken care not to change the character of its programming.

     

    What it hopes to achieve with this is achieve a bit of gloss which may appeal to a larger set of viewers. It will be interesting to see if the change helps it get to the Top 3 slot that it is desirous of occupying.

     

  • Along with Engage Sports Media, the media partnership deal will offer Rajasthan royals fans a compilation of team-based content across all media platforms worldwide.

    Rajasthan Royals launches new media asset for enhanced content

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajasthan Royals has announced the launch of RR TV, a new media asset that offers enthusiasts a compilation of up-to-the-minute content related to the team and its activities across all media platforms worldwide.

     

    Launched in partnership with Engage Sports Media in order to give fans access to exclusive original content, RR TV fired up a week before the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 started, and goes behind-the-scenes with Captain Rahul Dravid and the Royals team.

     

    The partnership between Rajasthan Royals and Engage Sports Media will create, produce, distribute and market a broad range of media products to help build a worldwide fan base and boost the commercial value of the Indian Premier League franchise.

     

    RR TV includes daily online video clips of the team and offers a number of TV shows during the current season and post-season. It is syndicated and distributed to the Royals’ website and fan zone, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as online publishers, news and sports websites, radio, mobile and television networks in India, the sub-continent and selected international territories. The platform will continue to produce and distribute content in the off-season to give a year-round media product to build both the fan base and fan engagement around the world.

     

    Talking about the association, Raghu Iyer, CEO, Rajasthan Royals, said, “We believe our fans are our biggest stakeholders. They live and breathe the brand, taking it with them wherever they go. As far as the IPL is concerned, RR TV is a highly innovative media platform and one that looks at offering enthusiasts exciting exclusive team-based content. We’re continuing to give fans a unique digital experience taking them very close to the team and all the action.

     

    Gregg Oldfield, CEO of Engage Sports Media, said, “We are delighted to be working with Rajasthan Royals and to be building RR TV into a valuable media asset for the IPL franchise. There is real fan engagement as we bring to life ‘behind-the-scenes’ and ‘player access’ for fans across all digital and TV platforms.”

     

  • English daily DNA has launched an augmented reality application ('DNA It') to further enhance the reader experience. Most of the important stories are supported with multimedia features including video playback, audio transcripts, image galleries, related web articles, etc.

    DNA launches Augmented Reality application

    By A Correspondent

     

    English daily DNA has launched an augmented reality application (‘DNA It’) to further enhance the reader experience. Most of the important stories are supported with multimedia features including video playback, audio transcripts, image galleries, related web articles, etc.

     

    DNA Editor Ravi Joshi said, “In today’s age when the young urbanite prefers to Google it, Tweet it and even WhatsApp it, we give our readers an opportunity to DNA it. The ethos of the new paper is to ensure that the connect between DNA and readers is no longer a one-way street. Interactivity is the only way forward and we are taking multiple steps to remain the most vibrant newspaper product. The response has indeed been overwhelming.”

     

    The ‘DNA It’ app can be downloaded from the App Store for Apple and Android devices. Readers can also download it from www.dnaindia.com/apps. The entire application and the technological backbone has been built by Prisma Global.

     

    Amitabh Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director & COO of Prisma Global, said, “This unique technology provides an excellent opportunity to amalgamate the print media with the mobile digital world, thereby providing relevant, timely, handy and augmented information to increasingly discerning readers. For today’s increasingly info-hungry, Google-addicted generation, this app whets their appetite for augmenting real news with add-ons in the palm of their hands.”

     

  • While broadcasters have been adamant and have aired their grievances in the media, it is learnt that the representatives of the advertisers and media agencies too have adopted a tough stand on the issue.

    Measurement impasse to end with stakeholders set for a compromise

    By A Correspondent

     

    There appears to be a solution emerging to the prevailing imbroglio on television viewership measurement. With many broadcasters choosing to unsubscribe to TAM ratings and some even asking the research body to not report its numbers, the pressure was on to reach a settlement that would satisfy all stakeholders.

     

    While the key constituents of advertisers and media agencies who require the ratings to base their decisions, have not turned off the tap, the problem is that around 80 percent of TAM’s revenues come from broadcasters, and eventually the measurement process could have suffered if the Nielsen-Kantar Media jv was compelled to cut corners.

     

    According to information received, four of the five key stakeholders of the Indian Broadcasting Federation, Indian Society of Advertisers, the Advertising Agencies Association of India and TAM have been in dialogue – formally and informally – to work out a consensus. It is not known whether the government – Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati specifically – is participating in the discussions.

     

    Although there’s no clear formula arrived at the time of writing, the discussions are veering around a changed periodicity of release of numbers, a switch from cost per rating point (CPRP) for media buying and a relook at how niche channel numbers would be published.

     

    While broadcasters have been adamant and have aired their grievances in the media, it is learnt that the representatives of the advertisers and media agencies too have adopted a tough stand on the issue. And even as there is agreement that broadcasters have been facing tough business conditions, there is unanimity that an independent, credible measurement system is imperative. Also, since BARC is in the process of finding vendors for measurement by early next year, it is prudent to continue with what’s around with tweaks, if necessary.

     

    Broadcast industry observers also alert that whatever settlement is reached now will have far-reaching implications on the new measurement process that BARC introduces next year.

     

  • The only reason why many political leaders visit disaster locations is for television and print/online media camerapersons to take their pictures

    1 Minute View: No ‘bhav’ to the Netas, puhleez!

    One may think there’s anything wrong in reporting on the visit of a politician to the Uttarkhand disaster locations. It’s news after all as the politicians are public figures. The problem is that every such visit leads to a disruption in rescue and relief activities which are naturally more important than the politicians providing aid in kind or in monies. Also, in reality the only reason why many political leaders visit disaster locations is for television and print/online media camerapersons to take their pictures.

     

    It’s in the light of this, that we believe the comment made by our Editor-at-Large Anil Thakraney deserves to serve as a guideline for our news media. Do read: News media must black out netas at Uttarakhand.

     

    As they say in Mumbai lingo, let’s stop giving ‘bhav’ (importance and credence) to the netas in our nightly news and newspapers.

  • Take the spotlight away from politicians and they won't disturb rescue & relief ops: Anil Thakraney

    Comment: News media must black out netas at Uttarakhand

    Representative picture courtesy PIB of the IAF rescue helicopters at Gauchar airport, in flood-hit Uttarakhand on Wednesday, June 26

     

    It is indeed sad to see several dead and many injured as rescue operations are still on in Uttarakhand. What rages us is the game of one-upmanship between political leaders in grabbing camera time and the importance our news vehicles give to these visits. We present the comment by our Editor-at-Large and senior journalist Anil Thakraney on the issue which would normally appear as Hard Knocks on a Friday. – Editor

     

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    In the entire television din over the role of politicians on the Uttarakhand disaster, Prasoon Joshi made the most valid point. (Prasoon, if you are reading this post, I would urge you to take part in the tube debates regularly, we need a few sensible voices out there.) While the others were heatedly accusing the netas of seeking photo-ops during the tragedy, Joshi said the media must consider WHO is providing them with these photo-ops. Very true. If the media stopped covering these opportunistic politicians, they will immediately vanish from the scene.

     

    The defining neta moment so far was the two Andhra politicians exchanging fisticuffs at the Dehra Dun airport, as they fought over who would fly with the ‘cargo’. And no, the cargo in this case wasn’t medical supplies for the victims, but those people who had been rescued, and were anxiously waiting to be flown back home. Absolutely pathetic. And then there is Pheku and Pappu busy scoring brownie points over each other, and the many chamchas defending their actions. At least half of the media time and space gets spent on these jokers. What a bloody waste!

     

    My humble request to colleagues in the media is this: For the Uttarakhand news, take a firm decision not to provide any coverage whatsoever to the visiting politicians. Not only are they unable to help in any way, with their shenanigans, they come in the way of rescue and relief operations. And there’s no keeping these hyenas away, they will come to feed on the dead, it’s in their nature. Emotional situations like these give politicians a cool opportunity to win more fans, or so they believe. Let’s deprive them of it. And let the entire media effort be focused on the victims, the rescue and rehab. And on the jawans who are doing all the hard work, these brave souls who are putting their own lives on the line so that maximum number of people can be saved. I want to see their faces, I want to hear their voices, I want to know their stories. And this is what the media must provide us.

     

    Net net: Let’s make Uttarakhand a template for future disasters. No spotlight on any neta. Let it only be about those who matter, and those who do the real work. That done, no politician will ever arrive to disturb rescue operations. Once the oxygen supply (cameras) is cut off, they won’t see any point of jet-setting in. Good riddance.

     

    Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist and commentator. He is also Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached via Twitter at @anilthakraney

     

     

  • Hindi news broadcaster India TV has awarded its creative mandate to Eleven Brandworks. The win came after a multi-round & multi-agency pitch process.

    India TV awards creative duties to Eleven Brandworks

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hindi news broadcaster India TV has awarded its creative mandate to Eleven Brandworks. The win came after a multi-round & multi-agency pitch process initiated in April. Eleven’s bouquet of clients includes Eristoff (Bacardi), Times Brand Capital, Archies, NDTV Good Times, Onjus and Nokia maps.

     

    Prateek Bhardwaj, Founder Director, Eleven Brandworks, said, “It is truly exciting to partner one of the most influential media brands in this country. We share the vision the management has for the brand, and our mandate is to enhance India TV’s stature within its viewers as well as non-viewers.”

     

    Ritu Dhawan

    India TV MD & CEO Ritu Dhawan said, “Political reporting is gaining momentum in run up to the elections. In the coming days India TV will present most engaging and interactive news content. Team India TV led by Rajat Sharma is ready to comment, analyze and decode political mysteries. In line with the intent of refreshing the brand, Eleven has been successful in pitching with a few really reassuring ideas. We welcome Eleven & look forward to working with them.”

     

  • Buoyed by the success in Delhi, Big FM Mumbai too adopts differentiated strategy to break clutter

    92.7 Big FM goes retro in Mumbai too

    By A Correspondent

     

    After achieving much success in Delhi with the retro re-positioning adopted late last year, 92.7 Big FM’s Mumbai station has also turned retro. With its new tag line ‘Hit the, Hit Rahenge’, the station promises music from the 1960s to the 1980s along with heritage songs from the ’50s.

     

    The repositioning was effected on Sunday, June 23 and unveiled to the media last Friday (June 28). The announcement comes close on heels of its show ‘Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor’ launching with much fanfare.

     

    Said Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head – 92.7 BIG FM, “The decision to turn retro is backed by extensive research and audience mapping. As has always been our endeavour, we innovate with our offerings to ensure highest levels of listener engagement providing a ‘Life Banao’ experience. Our new positioning allows listeners to live in the present, while celebrating the past and we are confident of an excellent response as we look forward to further engaging with listeners and marketers alike.”

     

    According to a communique, the relaunch also promises a local flavour with Marathi-speaking RJs and play-out of Marathi music in the course of the week. The revamped content strategy will offer updates on stock and gold prices, city and sports news, traffic and weather status, music-related trivia, etc.

     

     

  • While cricket in Hindi is a boon in HSMs, does it work for advertisers? And what about other languages?

    Is Cricket a big hit in Hindi? Time for Tamil, Telugu, Bangla…?

    By Johnson Napier

     

    After a brilliant display of form in the just-concluded Champions Trophy, the men in blue have made it clear where they intend to be at the moment. And that’s at the top. Having won the confidence of their fans in a big way, their success is now being consumed in a language with an even wider scope – Hindi.

    After sampling preferences over the past few seasons, broadcasters have now taken the plunge by relaying cricket feed in Hindi, which has matched up to its English counterpart and attracted its set of fans too. MxMIndia speaks to a cross-section of experts to analyze how Hindi cricket commentary has fared in the recent past in India (in alphabetical order of their last names).

     

    P Balakrishna, COO - Allied Media

    I am sure that there has been a positive impact that has been created by broadcasting commentary in Hindi. Let’s not forget that Hindi is the language which has the biggest and largest penetration as far as the pan-India market is concerned. All it has done is brought the game closer to the viewer. At the end of the day, while English commentary has its own charm but in terms or reach and understanding of the language, Hindi is of course the language that can connect with all HSM markets. While I am not sure on the numbers, I am sure that it has resulted in an incremental viewership numbers. What is critical with a game of cricket which has a huge mass connect is that the language of Hindi definitely has its charm of creating a strong impact with the audiences.

     

    As for it being relayed in multiple languages, I do not see any scope for commentary to be expanded to other markets as largely between Hindi and English most of the markets are covered in India. If you see the non-Hindi markets, English has a very good penetration including in the South and the East. Doing commentary in other regional languages won’t really result in any rise in viewership or even monetary-wise.

     

    Mona Jain, CEO, Vivaki Exchange

    India has been performing very well so from that point of view there are audiences right now on that medium. In terms of brands who want to reach out to the audience through medium of Hindi, it could be a little low-key as of now as it is not a peak season and only those with deep pockets could be taking the plunge on the Hindi medium.

    Also, cricket is very popular in the northern region so having a feed in that language makes sense; it also is the primary language at the moment. But it’s too early to discuss whether we need commentary in Tamil or Telugu or Bengali. There have to be enough numbers (audiences) out there for broadcasters to take that decision.

     

    Hemant Kenkre, PR Professional and cricket columnist

    I think it is great to have commentary in Hindi on major sports channels. In the past, All India Radio always combined English with Hindi with noted Hindi commentators like Jasdev Singh. During the Champions Trophy Indian cricket legends like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar (for the first time in Hindi) reached out to many viewers who are comfortable in Hindi.

    The reach for Hindi channels is much more than that of any other language – which may have prompted Star to hire former Indian cricketers (including non-Hindi speaking commentators) to attract eyeballs. It is too early say how other languages will work but going by the success of Hindi, it is a matter of time before sports broadcasters look at other languages too.

     

    Ayaz Memon, editor, veteran cricket writer & commentator

    I think Hindi commentary has managed to create a huge impact in the recent past. You can see it happening in the recent India-West Indies-Sri Lanka Series and also the just-concluded Champions Trophy where it was well-received. In the earlier days, and as research would prove while a lot of people used to watch cricket on television in English they used to mute it and hear the commentary in Hindi on radio. So Hindi enables one to reach out to a far bigger and wider audience base which, I am sure, has seen an incremental hike in the numbers in recent past.

    At the end of the day, when you pay the price for buying rights then your objective is to reach out to as large a number of audiences as possible. And if you can do that by broadcasting content in different languages then why not. It would be a sensible thing to do by broadcasters as India is a very diverse country that boasts multiple languages. Unlike countries like England that can air only in English or Pakistan in Urdu, we have an advantage of airing content in multiple languages and we should take advantage of that.

     

  • Not only will the viewership for cricket increase, there will be a new set of advertisers who may get attracted to the telecast.

    1 Minute View: Let’s have cricket commentary in regional languages

    India is a country of many languages and many, many dialects. So while English may have been fine with the urban elite for cricket coverage, people even in the cities are more comfortable with their native languages.

     

    To be fair, pubcaster Doordarshan has always had commentary in Hindi alternating with that in English for the cricket matches it airs. Even the private satellite channels have experimented with Hindi, but the problem has been that the quality of commentators has been erratic and the best talent is almost always in English.

     

    It’s only in the recent past that a concerted effort is made to have top draw commentators on the Hindi feed. Folks like Kapil, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram, Arun Lal and even journalist Ayaz Memon are now regulars for the Hindi feed. In fact it’s because the likes of Mr Sidhu are exceedingly colourful, there are many who prefer the coverage in Hindi to that in English.

     

    One of the benefits of digitization is that multiple audio feeds can be managed with relative ease. So, we could well have at least 10 versions other than English and Hindi including dialects like Bhojpuri and Tullu and all of which could be reasonably advertiser-friendly.

     

    One distinctly remembers the Marathi commentary that All India Radio would air in Maharashtra:: the batsmen or ballebaaz is called falandaaz and when the ball crosses the boundary, it’s: chendu seema paar!

     

    There is enough commentary talent available in regional languages from amongst ex-cricketers. Not only will the viewership for cricket increase, there will be a new set of advertisers who may get attracted to the telecast.

     

    The real power of India is in the regions and some of our television networks who are strong in non-English and non-Hindi television have been huge success stories of the media in the last two decades.

     

    Jai ho!

     

  • Makemytrip, Yatra and Cleartrip may move fairplay panel as the Google move could well make them redundant

    Desi travel portals not amused as Google is set with flight search in India

    By Indu Nandakumar

     

    A fledgling effort by Google portending the launch of its flight travel search service in India is creating jitters among online flight aggregators, who fear their business model is under threat.

     

    Google, whose services include Gmail and YouTube, is “very close” to introducing Flight Search in India, according to people with direct knowledge of the plan. Flight Search – first launched in the US and then in parts of Europe – lets users compare fares offered by airlines and book tickets directly from airline websites. This could, in effect, make flight aggregators such as Makemytrip, Yatra and Cleartrip redundant, industry observers said. Another website, kayak.co.in lets users compare flight options from hundreds of travel sites at once.

     

    In response, the aggregators are considering steps to protect their interests, including a possible complaint to the Competition Commission. They claim discrimination by Google when it comes to search results for queries relating to online travel.

     

    Separately, Google is the subject of investigations by the Competition Commission based on complaints that it is abusing its dominance in the country’s search-engine market. In February last year, matrimonial site Bharatmatrimony.com had filed a complaint against it.

     

    Company already faces probes in US, Europe

    Last month, Google launched a ‘Start Searching India’ campaign aimed at providing users with instant responses on weather and flight status, among other things. This move was read as precursor to the eventual launch of Flight Search in India. Google India said in May that it does not comment on future plans or speculation when asked about its plans to launch Flight Search in the country.

     

    Hrush Bhatt, founder and director of travel portal Cleartrip, refused to count Google’s Flight Search as a direct threat but conceded that it could alter the way aggregators allocate their online marketing budget. “We are not sure what value Flight Search would add to consumers, especially if it can only let you compare prices,” he offered.

     

    Online travel firms such as Yatra.com, Makemytrip and Goibibo declined to comment. Google denied any knowledge of market participants planning to approach the Competition Commission but said that in the event of that happening, the company will extend “full assistance and cooperation on the matter.”

     

    “We’re always happy to answer questions about our business,” the company said. KPMG’s Tuteja said that Flight Search is likely to be popular among India’s fast-growing internet user base-150 million at the end of 2012-that has been increasingly been booking travel tickets and hotels through online portals.

     

    In Europe, Google’s Flight Search is under pressure from travel portals such as Expedia and Trip Advisor, which have filed antitrust complaints against Google with the European Commission for promoting rival services and disrupting fair competition in the online travel space. Flight Search makes use of the vast amount of flight-related real-time information from US based travel information company ITA Software.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The first series of the comic will be named as "The Discovery of Worldoo"

    Worldoo woos kids with comics

    By A Correspondent

     

    Worldoo.com, the online ecosystem for kids, has launched the first part of an eight-part series titled ‘The Discovery of Worldoo’. Called doo comics, the editions – one will release each month – will be exclusively available on worldoo.com.

     

    “We see it as a continuation of our on-going commitment to delivering quality, original experiences online to the kids,” Harsh Wardhan Dave, Head – Experience & Brand, Worldoo.com

     

    Worldoo.com claims a to have attracted 18,000+ children since launch around two months back. The average time spent is close to 9 minutes and 11 pageviews are happening per visit, adds a communique.