MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • When the IPL begins, it takes centre stage and other programming has to hustle for eyeballs and ratings. What are channels doing to match the IPL's popularity and also stay ahead of one another?

    IPL vs Drama: Who will win this match?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Since its inception, the cricket Indian Premiere League (IPL) has been in the news – sometimes in the best of ways but often for all the bad reasons, but this hasn’t made any difference to the cricket-crazy country. When the almost-two-month-long tournament starts, there is very little else that occupies top of mind for the Indian public.

     

    For television channels, it is an extra busy time. In addition to their own one-upmanship battles, they also have to step up programming to beat the IPL’s popularity.

     

    Most channels, especially English entertainment, try to woo audiences with special packages. For instance, Zee Studio started it early with its package – Powerplay 2.0, which aimed at its male TG through action movies and lasts till the end of the month. “Cricket being a religion in this country, the idea is not to counter IPL but to create a property that viewers can move on to post the matches,” says the channel spokesperson.

     

    Prashaant Bhatt

    According to the recent data, IPL has impacted ratings, especially that of GECs. And with around 10 days left of the extravaganza, what can or should a channel do to boost its ratings during the yearly event? “IPL is one of the biggest events on television. And it does have an impact on all entertainment channels but beyond a point, since because both have different sets of audiences, the impact varies,” says Prashaant Bhatt, Weekday Programming Head, Colors.

     

    The channel, however, says that their launches and highpoints are thought through months in advance, keeping in mind the audience viewing preferences and content requirements of the channel. “This year as well, we planned our strategy accordingly and now we have four of our shows in the top 10, which is a testament to the fact that we are going about it the right way with our plans. We reckon that there is a loyal audience for cricket just as GECs, and don’t see a huge overlap of the two. Moreover, if the content and concept of the show is strong, the audiences will continue to watch their favourite shows over IPL.”

     

    Having said that, one can easily see that most of them do make certain efforts to make sure that they don’t lose out viewers by showing either maha-episodes or blockbuster movies. Many GECs even wait till the event to finish before they can launch their shows. Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Indian Idol Junior and Dance India Dance are some.

     

    On the other hand, for youth entertainment channels like Comedy Centeral or MTV, UTV Bindaas, the IPL doesn’t matter as most show re-runs of their popular shows during that time slots. Indrajit Ray, Director, Content, DisneyUTV says, “Despite IPL, our channel’s ratings have grown. The genre usually doesn’t get affected by IPL because of the content it showcases. Youth will consume it irrespective of whether IPL is there or not.”

     

    And since cricket cuts through age, are children’s channels wary too? “April, May and June are very important months for the entire category thanks to the kids being on vacations. Over the years we have noticed that IPL has a minimal impact on the category with 5-10 percent deviation. Since it is summer vacation time, we at Nick have a content and marketing strategy that will ensure that kids stick continuously on the channel with the least amount of outage. We will put our best foot forward with our frontrunners Ninja Hattori, Motu Patlu, Keymon Ache and Pakdam Pakdai. Apart from the new shows/seasons there will also be a lot of interactivity through contests like ‘Party with Ninja’ to keep the kids engaged beyond TV,” says Mr Ray.

     

  • Mediapost.com reports that NDTV has appealed a decision of the New York Supreme Court which had dismissed the suit it had filed

    NDTV appeals against NY Supreme Court decision

    By A Correspondent

     

    NDTV has appealed against a New York Supreme Court decision to dismiss its lawsuit, reports Steve McCleellan on Mediapost (MediaDaily News, link: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/200854/ndtv-challenges -wpp-tries-to-revive-lawsuit-in-ny.html#axzz2TzN5Vaz7)

     

    In early March, the New York State Supreme Court judge had ruled that NDTV must file its complaint in India since TAM is based here. However, NDTV’s contention is that since Nielsen is New York-based and controls the process upon which the rating service is based, New York is in fact the correct venue.

    Links to the Court documents:

    https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=ic_PLUS_d/uCSK2JV/vwCVkl9vA==&system=prod

    https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=JphivSpjpXujhPSFuq1f7Q==&system=prod

  • Winning the exclusive broadcast rights across the Indian subcontinent, the channel will telecast live all 51 matches of the tournament.

    Sony Six wins UEFA Euro 2016 broadcast rights

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Six has added the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament to its kitty, winning the exclusive broadcast rights for it across the Indian subcontinent. The channel will telecast live all 51 matches of the tournament.

     

    Man Jit Singh

    Expressing his joy at the acquisition, Man Jit Singh CEO, MSM, said, “Football has grown immensely in India over the past few years and has found great interest amongst the youth. With the successful acquisition of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament broadcasting rights, we look forward to attracting viewership to Sony Six by leveraging on the growing popularity of European football in the country.”

     

    European football’s premier international competition will be Sony Six’s first entry into international football. Having broadcast the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, this will be the first successful acquisition of a major professional football competition by the channel.

     

    NP Singh

    N P Singh COO, MSM, said, “We are delighted to bring one of football’s elite tournaments to the Indian viewers exclusively on Sony Six. As a broadcaster we are always in pursuit of the best of International Sport and through our latest acquisition we will take the fans closer to the high impact action that the UEFA Euro 2016 promises to deliver.

     

    Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s Marketing Director, said, “We are pleased to welcome Sony Six to the family of broadcasters for the UEFA Euro 2016. UEFA believes that the Sony Six channel and its commitment to high quality programming and sport is an excellent home for UEFA’s flagship national team competition.”

     

    The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship will be held in France with provisional dates of June 10 to July 10 2016.

     

  • The crorepati show is getting set to enter living rooms for a seventh season, and the consensus is that it is Amitabh's charisma which keeps viewers watching. Will it work for this season too?

    KBC7: Hit or Miss?

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    The registration promos for the seventh season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) have begun, and Indians from all over the country are queueing up in the hope of hearing the magic words “Aur aap jeet gaye hain!”

     

    The question however is whether KBC this year will be able to garner the same amount of interest amongst its audience and receive ratings on par with previous years’ or will it show signs of the seven-year itch. “It will open below last year’s rating, more close to 4.5 to 5.0 TVR. In any case fragmentation is happening which will cause a drop in viewership. For instance, the IPL may reach more people, but there has been a drop in actual TVRs. Also, there is some amount of boredom that has set in on KBC, which will be the main reason for a drop in viewership,” feels Hariharan Vishwanath, National Trading Director, MEC.

     

    Mohit Joshi

    However, others feel that host Amitabh Bachchan’s charisma is enough to draw people to the show, apart from being a format which everyone – young or old, male or female – can relate to.

     

    “This year will be similar too. Amitabh Bachchan is the key reason for these ratings and his charisma will continue this year as well,” says Mohit Joshi, MD, Havas Media.

     

     

    Neel Kamal Sharma

    Agreeing with Mr Joshi, Neel Kamal Sharma, COO – Buying, Madison Group adds, “KBC continues to be the channel driver and I am confident that it will be the channel driver this year as well. The real challenge for channel will be to bring some element of freshness for viewers so that it continues to attract them in an engaging manner.”

     

    Media planners feel that the format captures the viewers’ imagination by letting them be in the contestant’s shoes as they try to answer the questions. It is this that keeps them hooked to the show. And that is the reason for the show’s adaptation in various regional languages, too. After Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam, KBC was recently launched in Marathi as well.

     

    “Regional is the next big national. Let’s draw a parallel regional daily print titles (Tamil, Marathi, etc) have more readers in the regional markets than English (or even Hindi in these markets ) which clearly tell that there is an audience who will watch and they want to see content in their local language. Therefore, KBC does make sense in regional languages,” explains Mr Vishwanath.

     

    On the other hand, Mr Joshi feels that nobody can match AB’s magnetic personality. “The effort is always to get the regional celebrity to host it which is good. “I would say they do moderately well.”

     

  • Neo's dual feed for French Open helps it get two co-presenting and five associate sponsors

    Dual feed ace nets Neo 7 sponsors for French Open

    By A Correspondent

     

    Neo Sports Broadcast has announced a list of sponsors for the event following the announcement of the dual feed coverage for the French Open. The co-presenting sponsors for the French Open this year are Renault and Micromax.

     

    In addition to these, five associate sponsors have also signed on for the event. These are Cadbury, Carlsberg, Nokia, Coca-Cola and Samsung Smart TV. The number of sponsors announced is amongst the highest for any Grand Slam in the country and with this, NEO is almost completely sold out on the French Open, a communique notes.

     

    As reported earlier, the dual feed innovation ensures that both Neo Prime and Neo Sports will show live feeds from separate courts. Consequently, fans will not miss out on any of the top action.

     

    Prasana Krishnan

    Prasana Krishnan, COO, NEO Sports Broadcast Pvt. Ltd said, “The French Open in 2012 had the highest level of viewership for any Grand Slam. This year, we expect this to go even higher with the pioneering dual feed coverage. We are pleased to note that sponsors have bought into this vision and are supporting us in a big way.”

     

  • It's important for the IBF and the English GECs in particular to ask the government to relook at some of the clauses that constitute the relevant laws

    1 Minute View: 10-day ban on Comedy Central is not funny

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s decision to ban Comedy Central for 10 days would have come as a shocker. A shocker to not just the popular comedy channel, but also to the various English entertainment channels on air in India.

     

    While the ministry may have done no wrong as it’s simply following the rules laid out, we think there is need for a rethink for the government. The audiences who typically watch English GECs can also watch uncensored, unbleeped content via the internet. So, if the government is serious concerned by a billion-plus Indians not getting degraded, then it must do something about the internet too. Which it knows it can’t.

     

    We think it’s important for the IBF and the English GECs in particular to ask the government to relook at some of the clauses that constitute the relevant laws. For, if that doesn’t happen, then they may as well show sanitized stuff like Yes Minister. Or Charlie Chaplin movies.

     

    Many of the complaints received by the broadcasting self-regulator Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) are against the English GECs.

     

    The move is also an alert for all other channels which air content that’s risque, especially reality shows and movies that pass off the “objectionable” stuff in the garb of wholesome entertainment.

     

    For Comedy Central, the ten days will pass off in a breeze. But the real battle will be thereafter. How does it show contemporary funny stuff without upsetting the moral brigade and the government.

     

    We are sure it’ll find the answers. As also must all the others in the business. For in India, only the ‘clean’ can survive.

     

  • Given the clouds over the Indian Premier League, MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals to find out what brands can do in such a scenario

    Is negative publicity a positive for brands?

     

    By Meghna Sharma and Ananya Saha

     

    The Indian Premier League had more than its share of negative publicity this season. Did the brands associated with IPL get affected too? And is it possible for brands associated with an event to avoid negative publicity around the event? Or is any publicity good publicity? MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals to find out what brands can do in such a negative scenario.

     

    Harish Bijoor, Marketing & Brand strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc

    Brands are like human beings; they are born, they live, they thrive and then they die. In this entire life-cycle, if a brand has a slur cast onto it, this slur lasts as long or as short as the memory of the brand-audience. A controversy is both good and bad for the brand. It is good as it keeps the brand in public mindsets longer, it is bad because it is a canker that affects the image of the brand at large.

     

    Brands that are active, dynamic, have large mind-shares and market shares alike, cannot really stay away from controversy. The silver lining is the fact that public memory is proverbially short. Very short. Irreverent brands love all kinds of publicity. Possibly IPL is on the cusp of being an irreverent brand. All controversy is good for such brands.

     

    Vandana Das, President, DDB Mudra Group, Delhi

    I do not think that any brand associated with IPL got affected with the recent controversies. Brands have their own long-standing equity. Controversy is the pivot, but not necessarily everything in the periphery will get affected. What is important to note is that controversies are short-lived and brands have a longer life than a controversy. While one can say that IPL is in trouble, one cannot say that the brands are in trouble. It is not that the brands knowingly get into controversy. Brands do not have the control or have influence over such controversies. The brands tend to tide over it. At that particular moment, controversies seem big but brands tide over it.

     

    But this in no way means that any publicity is good publicity. At the end of the day, even short-lived negative publicity can affect a brand. And if a brand is not strong enough, it can even dilute its equity. Just like people, brands also need to avoid any negative publicity around them.

     

    Sachin Kapur, Chief Marketing Officer, Groupon India

    I particularly do not think that brands associated with IPL will get affected by negative publicity, primarily because it is not in the brand’s or brand manager’s hands. Yes, there are brands riding on the popularity of the event, the association is more to do with individual team or player. The overall interest in the IPL might go down, and while brands might have associated with the event to gain from it, it is still a long shot to say that it might have affect on the brands.

     

    Today, with active social media, even one negative blog post or tweet spreads like wildfire. It will reach your customer.

     

    There are times when there are situations, negative situations, surround a brand. These are times that challenges or reactions from the brand do not go down well with the consumer or audience. But no brand, whether six-sigma complaint or not, can stay down for long. The strategy of every brand should be to focus on customer.

     

    Amitabh Khona, Communication Consultant

    Today, crisis management is very important. Everyone knows about the Cadbury and Coke controversies, but have people stopped eating or drinking them? No. It depends on how a brand strikes back. For instance, Cadbury changed its packaging after worms were found in one batch. Also, another factor is the short memory of people. We will talk about something for a few days or months, but forget about all of it later and move on with our lives. Same can be said about IPL, although the recent events are all over the news channels and newspapers, people haven’t stopped watching the matches.

     

    Also, today where there are too many brands, one can say that any publicity is good publicity. No one will go out of business because of negative publicity or controversies. Such things keep happening and will continue to happen, everywhere in the world.

     

  • New set of locally relevant reality shows launched

    Big Magic Bihar & Jharkhand on a high, launches new shows

    By A Correspondent

     

    There is much activity in the politically fertile lands of Bihar and Jharkhand. The localised Big Magic offering for the two states from the Reliance Broadcast Network is buoyant with numero uno status in Bihar over 8 weeks as per TAM ratings.*

     

    Speaking on the channel’s performance, Sunil Kumaran, Business Head – Language TV, RBNL said, “Our formula of regionalisation of content has worked once again. Our tailored content for the region, basis local predilections, ensures it delivers to requirements, making it an excellent platform for audiences and marketers alike.”

     

    Sprucing up the content line-up, in the coming months, Big Magic Bihar and Jharkhand have announced the launch of locally relevant properties like reality shows BIG Memsaab Bihar – hosted by TV Actress Preeti Chaudhary, Rasoi ki Rani – Star Special hosted by Chef Rakesh Sethi and TV Actress Madhura Naik which will see a stream of television actresses on the  cookery show, Big Fame Star with mentor duo Varun Badola and Rajeshwari Sachdev and Big Junior Star, along with its new fiction line ups titled Beta hi Chahiye and Jai Ma Vindhyavasini all in sync with local sensibilities.

     

    *Note TAM does not share ratings with the media any longer, hence ratings are as claimed by the channel

     

  • Q&A with Vivek Srivastava, Digital Head of Colors, on the online strategy for the 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'

    Jaldi 5 with Vivek Srivastava, Digital Head, Colors: Jhalak online pageviews will double this year

    There’s more to the new season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the Indian version of the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, than just the airing on Colors from June 1. The channel has planned an online offensive that will not just extend the on-air excitement, but also engage internet users with the show and its stars. MxMIndia posed a few questions at Vivek Srivastava, Digital Head of Colors, to get a sneak peek.

     

    01. We’ve been hearing about the various online activities that you are doing for Jhalak. How critical is online for the promotion of a television programme? Or are you looking at attracting an entire set of people online who may not necessarily watch it on telly?

    Digital is a critical part of our promotion strategy. This year, we are taking the brand Jhalak and our promise to make Non-Dancers dance to the next level. Throughout the season,  we will release one dance tutorial every day for our viewers. This will be from different dance forms , for example, Seven Steps salsa etc. These videos will be released every week on our website, Jhalak app and social media. To make this more exciting we have tied up with Dancewithmadhuri.com – Madhuri Dixit’s online dance academy. Viewers can now learn, practise and upload their videos. Madhuri Dixit will herself select the winners and one lucky winner will get a chance to dance with Diva herself.

     

    Apart from this, we are also launching a microsite for Jhalak and soon we would also be launching a Jhalak app. Also, there will be lots of action happening on the day of the launch – June 1, as viewers will get a chance to come face-to-face with Madhuri on our website and Facebook page at 11:30am. In the afternoon (3pm), we have a 20-min web premiere on YouTube.

     

    02. Some of the content that you have on the internet requires fast broadband speeds, which is a reality only with people in offices… at least in India. What were the numbers like last year, and what do you expect it to be this year?

    Connectivity has been improving –  Smartphone/tablet penetration, 3G and access to Internet has gone up significantly in the last few years. We did 100 million pageviews on our website last year. We are looking at doubling these numbers this year.

     

    03. In terms of audiences, how many of them from India and abroad? And in India, where are the people coming from? Could you share some of these statistics?

    At over all level approx 30 percent of our consumption is from outside India. In India, the consumption is across states and towns the Tier 2 however are slowly gaining in numbers and we expect them to be a sizable number this year.

     

    04. In terms of revenues, are you going to be having the same set of sponsors, or will your digital presence have an all-new sponsor set?

    The on-air title sponsors will get preference since they have a existing association. However, we do approach a larger set for digital sponsorship.

     

    05. Until last year the TV show (JDJ) winners were decided by votes received via phone (smses). Will this year’s edition be factoring in votes received via the app?

    A JDJ viewer has the option of voting through sms and the website, last year too, the SMS voting option was incorporated in the JDJ app. We will have the same option this year as well.

     

  • The channels will broadcast the tournament in Hindi and English with cutting-edge production and programming initiatives

    Star Sports 2, Star Cricket gear up for ICC Champions Trophy 2013

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sports channels Star Sports 2 and Star Cricket have announced a slew of production and programming initiatives for the upcoming live coverage of all the matches of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Star Sports 2 will broadcast the event in Hindi while Star Cricket and Star Cricket HD will showcase the tournament with English commentary. Live coverage will start today (May 30), and will continue the action till the grand finale on June 23.

     

    Said Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, “The ICC Champions Trophy is a true test of cricketing excellence with the top eight ODI teams going head to head to be crowned – Champions. There is no room for error as a defeat can cost a team dearly. We will leave no stone unturned to make this tournament an unprecedented viewing experience and are working with the ICC to deliver a world-class telecast for viewers worldwide. With a range of special programming, on-air enhancements, brand new camera angles, state-of-the-art graphics along with a high quality team of analysts comprising some of the great names of international cricket we intend to take the fan engagement to a newer level by redefining the way international cricket has been showcased till date.”

     

    The list of commentators include cricketing superstars like Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sanjay Manjrekar, Arun Lal and Akash Chopra (India); Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton (England); Shane Warne and Tom Moody (Australia); Michael Holding (West Indies); Ramiz Raja and Wasim Akram (Pakistan); Russell Arnold (Sri Lanka); Pommie Mbangwa (Zimbabwe) and Simon Doull (New Zealand). Seasoned analysts like Harsha Bhogle and Jatin Sapru will undertake the hosting duties for the English and Hindi telecast of the event. MxMIndia learns that senior cricket journalist-editor and commentator Ayaz Memon is also on the telecast panel.

     

  • Instead of the regular Indian Idol reality show launch after an IPL, Sony Entertainment Television is bringing in a kiddie version this year

    Kids bring more emotions & cuteness to Indian Idol format: Gaurav Seth

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Gaurav Seth

    The IPL season is over and the GECs are going all out to bring back the eyeballs to their channels. Sony which is the part of the Multi Screen Media network of which Max is also part of, has over the years launched Indian Idol after the cricketing event finishes. However, this year the channel will be launching the first season of Indian idol Junior.

     

    “Our aim always has been to gather eyeballs on a certain platform and them move the same to another. Hence, from the last five years after IPL gets over we try to shift the same set of viewers to Indian Idol. And this year, with the launch of Indian Idol Junior we aim to generate even more viewers as kids will bring more emotions and cuteness to the format,” says Gaurav Seth, Senior Vice President, Head-Marketing at Sony Entertainment Television.

     

    When asked about the expectations from the new version of the format he added, “We thought why can’t we showcase the same talent which adults have in the children? Apart from bringing freshness it will also get more attractions as children bring with them the whole family.”

     

    A look at the promos explains this year’s theme “Gaano Ka Wahi Jaadu, Ab Bachon Ki Aawaaz Mein”, wherein participants between the ages of 5 – 15 will lend their voice to just not one but, many tunes. The channel along with the agency (Leo Burnett) went through a lot of ideas before locking in on it.

     

    “The idea was brilliant but without proper execution it would have failed. After choosing the four landmark song, we had to decide how to put children into the theme. But the responses we have got so far has told us that the execution has been good,” says Mr Seth.

     

    However, when asked about the pressure and expectations such shows put on children and how does the channel plan to tackle it, Mr Seth clarifies, “We have set timings for children – when to do rehearse, study or relax. Parents too will be staying with them throughout the process. We don’t want to compromise the health of the kids as well as their day-to-day life. We will do our best to make sure there is no exploitation.”

     

    Apart from television, the channel will be using a 360-degree marketing mix for the show. A lot of radio activations wherein a junior idol will be chosen from various housing societies, mainstream print launch will be done on the launch of the show and hoardings across Mumbai and other 29 cities have been launched.

     

    The show has already got six main sponsors on board – Nissan Micra, Horlicks, Kelloggs Oats, Alpenliebe, 99 acres and Real. The channel aims to garner a premium spot rate from the show.

     

  • The season-opening episode will take a walk down memory lane and meet the yesteryear news anchors of Doordarshan such as Shammi Narang, Salma Sultan, Sarla Mahesvari and Minu Talwar.

    Zindagi Live announces Season 6

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hindi news channel IBN7 is back with the sixth season of its award-winning reality show, Zindagi Live. The show, hosted by Richa Anirudh, will present the most heart-rending, courageous and inspirational stories.

     

    The season-opening episode will take a walk down memory lane and meet the yesteryear news anchors of Doordarshan. Twenty years ago, presenters like Shammi Narang, Salma Sultan, Sarla Mahesvari and Minu Talwar were household names. They were admired for their style, diction and appearance. But in today’s cutthroat world of 24-hour television news and numerous news anchors, they have been completely forgotten. Zindagi Live takes this opportunity to talk to these icons and reveal some untold stories about them.

     

    The previous seasons, over the last five years, have won numerous accolades for highlighting issues that relate to every household. In its sixth season, starting Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 11 AM and 8 PM, Zindagi Live will draw attention to new topics and untouched issues.

     

    Said Ashutosh, Managing Editor, IBN7, “Zindagi Live, the flagship show of IBN7 has over the years drawn attention to various issues. The show is a platform for those brave spirits who have stood strong and conquered hardships. Season six will showcase many more stories of such courageous people who believe in themselves and refuse to let anything deter them from their destiny.”