MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • Mr Andhare replaces Vikram Malhotra, who put in his papers, some time back, to pursue his entrepreneurial interests

    Viacom18 brings Ajit Andhare to head motion pictures biz

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajit Andhare

    Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd has announced the appointment of Ajit Andhare as Chief Operating Officer of its films business – Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Joining today (April 15), Mr Andhare will be responsible for the growth and profitability of Viacom18 Motion Pictures and will be reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO – Viacom18 Media. In this role, he will also lead Viacom18 Motion Pictures’ distribution alliance with Paramount Pictures.

     

    Mr Andhare replaces Vikram Malhotra, who put in his papers, some time back, to pursue his entrepreneurial interests.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Mr Vats said, “In Ajit, we’ve found the right leader to drive Viacom18 Motion Pictures to the next level of growth & profitability. His passion for films coupled with his education and experience across varied fields like engineering, marketing and creative production give him the edge to build a Business that would become a benchmark in the industry.”

     

    With an experience of over 17 years in FMCG and Media, Mr Andhare has been the CEO of Colosceum Media Pvt Ltd since 2007, a venture that he founded, along with Capital18. Colosceum is today amongst the leading media content development & production companies, having produced some of the very successful TV franchises like MTV Roadies and MTV Splitsvilla & Jai Shri Krishna for Viacom18, Wheel Smart Shrimati for Unilever and Master Chef India series for Star India.

     

    Prior to setting up Colosceum, Mr Andhare worked with Unilever Plc. in India and Asia Pacific region for over 12 years across Sales, General Management and Marketing roles. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business & B Tech from REC Rourkela.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Mr Andhare commented, “The fundamentals of the motion pictures business in India are improving with growth in digital distribution, multiplex screens, emerging digital platforms and above all success of high content cinema. It’s a great opportunity to lead one of country’s premier studios recognized for its distinguished work in this exciting context.”

     

  • As NDTV celebrates its Silver Jubilee, it announced the winners of 'Indian of the Year'

    NDTV honours Indians of the Year

    By A Correspondent

     

    Celebrating its silver jubilee, NDTV announced the winners of the sixth edition of its ‘Indians of the Year’ awards at a ceremony with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as chief guest. The NDTV ‘Indian of the Year’ Awards are held annually to recognize Indians whose contributions to the country have strengthened the foundation of our society and helped build Brand India.

     

    Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj was guest of honour. Others present included chief ministers Sheila Dikshit, Omar Abdullah and Dr Mukul Sangma; External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and I&B Minister Manish Tewari.

     

    Congratulating NDTV on turning 25 this year, Prime Minister Mannohan Singh said, “The period of 25 years that NDTV has been in business is also broadly the period of economic reforms in our country. I am also very happy that NDTV has taken up many campaigns on vital issues such as education, health and environment. I hope to see many more channels put in such efforts.”

     

    The awardees are:

    1. Daughter of India – Nirbhaya

    2. Justice for the Indian woman – Justice JS Verma the JS Verma Committee, Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramaniam

    3. Lifestyle Achievement Awards – Late Yash Raj Chopra, Late Pandit Ravi Shankar and Dr. C Pratap Reddy, Founder Chairperson, Apollo Hospital Group

    4. Sportspersons of the year – Gagan Narang and Yogeshwar Dutt

    5. Business Leader of the year – N Chandrashekaran, Tata Consulting Services

    6. Entertainer of the year – Sridevi

    7. Entertainer of the decade – Kareena Kapoor

    8. LIC Unsung Hero – Rajni Sekhri Sibal

     

    The awards ceremony was spiced up with a performance by Farhan Akhtar.

     

  • To mark the new episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon has partnered with Toy Triangle to bring in an exclusive toy range targeted towards boys

    Nickelodeon targets Rs 250cr fm merchandising this yr

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Sandeep Dahiya

    Nickelodeon, the children’s channel from Viacom 18, began its merchandising journey five years ago. Merchandising became a critical part for Nick India to engage and interact with its young audience. While in the recent financial year-end, merchandising only contributed to high single-digit percentage towards the revenue, Nick India managed collective net retail sales of Rs 120-130 crore (of which 8-20% go towards paying royalties), according to Sandeep Dahiya, SVP & Business Head – Consumer Products, Viacom18.

     

    This financial year, Mr Dahiya hopes to garner revenues of Rs 250 crore through merchandising. And he is hopeful to achieve the target, given that Nick has partnered with Toy Triangle to bring an exclusive toy range of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles targeted towards young boys in India. The range will debut on May 1 at Hamleys. Post two weeks, it will be available at various big-box retailers and large format stores such as Shopper’s Stop, Hypercity and Reliance Timeout.

     

    The launch will be supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign across the nation. Mr Dahiya reasoned, “We could not have timed the launch better. The series has registered some great ratings across US, UK, Canada and Australia, and is now set to launch in India in early May, coinciding with the launch of the toy range.” He added that beginning with toys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will soon expand into other key categories – stationery, back-to-school, publishing and apparel.

     

    Syed Adil Qamar, Country Head, India, Toy Triangle says, “We are delighted to partner with Nickelodeon India on such a huge property, which is already creating waves internationally. We have already received an overwhelming response from retail buyers who believe that TMNT will re-invigorate the toy aisle in the action.”

     

  • Despite the underreported numbers, IPL is a brilliant mix of cricket and entertainment and has seen an excellent start, says Neeraj Vyas of SET Max

    Data reporting is complex as of now: Neeraj Vyas

    The start to the sixth edition of IPL couldn’t have been better. At 100 million, the week 1 numbers from the tournament has generally surpassed expectations. But the sentiment is not as cheerful for Neeraj Vyas, Business Head of SET Max. According to him, the viewership numbers could have been more than what was reported had the digitization exercise not been underway. Especially data being reported from LC1 towns, which is turning out to be problematic for broadcasters, according to Mr Vyas.

     

    Mr Vyas shares his viewership sentiments with Johnson Napier of MxMIndia, and what he expects from the tournament in the coming weeks.

     

    The opening week numbers for IPL 6 seem impressive. Has the outcome been along expected lines?

    We have reported 100 million viewers this year compared to 78 million in the first week last year. So in a way it is good. But given the fact that TAM’s reporting of numbers has undergone such a sea change since September 2012 when the DAS exercise kicked off…that is when a change was observed in the Universe size. That was also a time when the LC1 data started to be reported and the weightage again changing to 20-25 per cent of the total Universe…this suddenly resulted in ratings coming out of rural India out of nowhere. If you were to do an apple-to-apple comparison, all of this was not happening last year. Also when the IPL 6 started off was when the phase II of DAS was underway…so it’s a fairly complex data reporting environment right now where there could be a lot of abnormalities. I am not saying there are but there could be. So given all the flux in the market, the fact that we opened to these numbers goes to show that there is a massive appeal in the IPL and that through our efforts we have managed to get viewers to come and sample the property by large numbers again this year.

     

    But digitization in a sense has helped you to attain high viewership numbers, hasn’t it?

    Digitization has indeed helped; if you see the GRPs of SET Max it has jumped from 134 last week to 245 this week. We have virtually driven the growth with this property.

     

    Despite the rise in overall viewership, the average match ratings for the first week have remained steady compared to last year. Why haven’t the numbers seen a spike?

    As I said, the LC1 data from markets like MP, UP etc have an audience base of 0-50,000 which translates to very minute and small towns but these places will never give you high ratings because of the problems faced like power shortage for 7-8 hours etc…so television numbers for channels including GECs have only come down due to LC1. Also, the advertiser doesn’t buy a spot in the IPL to reach out to the LC1 audiences…so if you remove the LC1 audiences and compare it to what it was last year then there is a growth at an all-India level of 4.1 and in HSM markets at 4.5. So it’s a hugely successful story for us.

     

    Do you think you were able to achieve the 100-million mark primarily due to the marketing initiatives undertaken? Any other factors that helped propel you to get there?

    The marketing initiative has indeed worked well for us. The track is something that is being loved and imitated by audiences across age groups. It has helped lift the happiness factor among the masses and the marketing execution has only fuelled in it getting there.

     

    Does this feat prove wrong the notion that cricket is seeing a downfall in India in recent times?

    IPL is a brilliant mix of cricket and entertainment. The matches have been good so far and the intensity has been phenomenal. So the start has been excellent so far.

     

    With such a bumper start, what are your expectations from the rest of the tournament?

    It’s too early to predict. As I said, because of the DAS 2 issue there is always going to be a fluctuation in the numbers that get reported…some places digitization is happening in other places it is not..and we are talking about 38 cities here. Had it been any other year I could have given an estimate but that looks difficult right now with the DAS exercise underway.

     

  • Along with 8 metros, the channel will now be available across 30 million households in Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan

    Big CBS expands reach in 1mn+ HSMs

    By A Correspondent

     

    Riding on the back of digitization Phase II, the male-centred channel Big CBS Prime has expanded reach to more than a million towns across HSMs. The channel has inked deals with leading distribution platforms and will reach 30 million households across the markets of Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and eight metros.

     

    Key distribution deals across HSMs, which enhance the channel’s reach in the markets thereby increasing sampling opportunities as follows:

     

    Market Towns Distribution Platforms Penetration (%)
    Gujarat 1mn+ Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara GTPL 100%
    Punjab 1mn+ Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana Fastway 100%
    Punjab 0.1 to 1mn Chandigarh Fastway 100%
    Maharashtra Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad Hathway, IN Cable 75%
    Madhya Pradesh Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur DigiCable, SITIcable 60%
    Rajasthan Jaipur, Jodhpur DigiCable, Den 60%
    Uttar Pradesh Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Varanasi Digi Cable, Moon Cable, Sea cable, Silverline Partially

     

    Anand Chakravarthy

    Anand Chakravarthy, Business Head, Big CBS Networks, said, “With the launch of the Hindi language feed, BIG CBS PRIME now expands into 1mn+ HSMs in the country, expanding its audience base. The channel has seen very encouraging results over the last few weeks, since launch of the language feed in metros, and we expect to get an even better response in HSM’s. We are sure that the channel will build a strong viewer base ensuring better ROI for marketers and advertisers.”

     

    The channel, which is already available on all leading DTH platforms and national MSOs in metros, has now inked deals with regional MSOs as well, making its feed available to a larger cross-section of male audiences, showcasing the best international content in a dual feed.

     

    This expansion will also ride on Reliance Broadcast Network’s recently launched consumer awareness campaign called ‘Choose Your Set Top Box Wisely’ / ‘Samajdhari se Chune, Apna Set Top Box’. The 12-week campaign, launched April 1, has been designed to empower consumers with information on digitization. Simultaneously, it also offers distribution partners an excellent opportunity to strengthen brand equity.

     

  • Media insights firm Ormax Media announced the launch of OWA, India's first scientific launch viewership forecasting model for Hindi GECs. OWA stands for Opening Week Average

    Ormax to forecast Hindi GEC launch viewership

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media insights firm Ormax Media announced the launch of OWA, India’s first scientific launch viewership forecasting model for Hindi GECs. OWA stands for Opening Week Average. The model forecasts the opening week average viewership of all weekday launches across six Hindi GECs (Star Plus, Zee TV, Colors, Sony, SAB & Life OK) from two weeks before launch till the week of launch.

     

    The OWA model takes into account a series of input parameters. These include inputs from Ormax Media’s Hindi GEC awareness tracking tool Ormax Showbuzz, which tracks the performance of new Hindi GEC launches for more than four years now. Ormax Showbuzz covers 14 cities across India, with an annual sample size of over 42,000 Hindi GEC viewers. Other OWA model inputs include slot competition, audience profile and channel equity, on which normative data has been built by Ormax Media over the last five years.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    Speaking about OWA, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media said: “The forecast will be available upto two weeks before launch, giving the broadcasters enough time to take corrective action in their creative and media strategies. The forecast model that has self-learning built into it, guaranteeing progressively better results with time.”

     

  • Disney UTV's Indiagames has launched the official IPL season 6 mobile game, 'IPL Cricket Fever 2013'. It has associated with the Parle brand, 20-20, within the game

    Indiagames & Parle launch IPL Cricket Fever game

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney UTV’s Indiagames has launched the official IPL season 6 mobile game, ‘IPL Cricket Fever 2013’. It has associated with the Parle brand, 20-20, within the game.

     

    The in-game branding includes mat branding, four branding (every time the player hits a four), cheerleader stand branding, in-stadia branding etc. Available on Android, the mobile game is close to the actual on-ground IPL match with all official 9 teams – Mumbai Indians, Chennai Superkings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, King XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors.

     

    Vishal Gondal

    Vishal Gondal, Managing Director – Digital, Disney UTV said, “We have been providing cricket enthusiasts with the official IPL mobile game year-on-year successfully since season 3. With the IPL frenzy growing with every passing year, we have witnessed millions of downloads of the game which has been growing exponentially.”

     

    This is the second time that Parle has associated itself with a mobile game. In 2011, Parle G featured in Ra.One’s official game.

     

    Pravin Kulkarni, General Manager, Marketing, Parle Products said, “India is a cricket loving nation and IPL is the current craze in the audience. The format of IPL, which is T20, fits perfectly well with our brand Parle 20-20 cookies.”

     

  • The quantum increase by TV Street Maps in coverage, from 700 head-ends last year to 2,200 already so far, translates into more robust and widespread distribution data collection

    TV Street Maps increases reach by over 300%

    By A Correspondent

     

    TV channel distribution and connectivity monitoring system TV Street Maps (TSM) has announced an increased coverage in its geographical coverage. TSM’s footprint now stands at 2,200 cable head-ends and control rooms across more than 1,700 towns across the country. This is a massive increase from the 250-odd towns that TSM covered till last year.

     

    Given the continuous ground level changes that happen at the cable operator’s end in terms of channel availability and lineup, TSM delivers day-to-day TV channel monitoring by head-ends and towns to the TV industry. TSM also monitors Cable & DTH Channel Packs, Pack prices and EPG quality – all of which are mission critical for the TV industry in view of digitization.

     

    The quantum increase by TV Street Maps in coverage, from 700 head-ends last year to 2,200 already so far, translates into more robust and widespread distribution data collection. TSM Business Head Joydip Kapadia says, “We’ve seen tremendous support from broadcasters for our initiatives. They understand that in the fast evolving digital landscape, distribution, reach and quality play key roles. The consumer is spoilt for choice and the onus is on the broadcasters to ensure that their channel is readily available to viewers in the best possible quality. Last year, TSM promised the industry a huge expansion and we have delivered it.”

     

  • The information ministry has sought recommendations from the TRAI for laying down comprehensive guidelines and accreditation mechanisms for TRP (Television Rating Points) rating agencies in India, to ensure transparency and accountability in the rating system

    TRAI seeks views on TV ratings guidelines, accreditation

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a consultation paper on ‘Guidelines/Accreditation Mechanism for Television Rating Agencies in India’. The Minisgtry of Information and Broadcasting MIB has sought TRAI’s recommendations for laying down comprehensive guidelines and an accreditation mechanism for TRP (Television Rating Points) rating agencies in India to ensure transparency and accountability in the rating system.

     

    A release from the TRAI said that since TRP ratings indicate the popularity of a channel or a programme and assists advertisers, broadcasters and advertising agencies in making business decisions. Better ratings would promote a programme/channel while poor ratings will discourage a programme/channel or content. Incorrect ratings will lead to production of content which may not be really popular while good content and programmes may be left out. Therefore, there is a need to have an accurate measurement and representative television ratings for the programmes.

     

    The importance of a credible, transparent and representative television audience measurement system is recognized the world over. At present television rating in India is being done by only one agency and issues related to credibility and transparency of the ratings services in India has been raised by certain stakeholders.

     

    The key issues discussed in the consultation paper pertain to:

    Establishing an accreditation mechanism for the rating agency

    Methodology of audience measurement

    Sample size

    Secrecy of sample homes

    Cross holding between rating agencies and their users

    Complaint redressal

    Sale and use of ratings

    Disclosure and reporting requirement

    Audit competition in rating services

     

    Written comments are invited from the stakeholders by May 9, and counter-comments by May 16.

     

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  • 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.