MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • A Triton-created brand campaign by Bloomberg TV India asks viewers to upgrade to the channel

    Bloomberg TV India asks viewers to upgrade in new brand campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading English business news channel Bloomberg TV India will launch a new brand campaign that invites viewers to ‘upgrade’ from their current choice of business news channel.

     

    Said Ms. Amrit Rai, Business Head – Bloomberg TV India, on the new brand campaign: “As the nation’s leading English business news channel, our viewers have had the opportunity to watch and listen to some of the biggest names in business share their perspectives and insights. The new brand campaign emphasizes these key attributes of the channel and the inherent advantages that a viewer can enjoy by being with the world’s largest financial news network.”

     

    Vivek Law

    The campaign created by Triton Communication will reflect the inherent benefits that a viewer will get, given the strong content that the channel presents, backed by a strong Indian editorial team led by Vivek Law, Editor Bloomberg TV India and the advantage of its global network, noted a communique. The Triton creative team is headed by Renton D’Souza.

     

  • The re-run Hindi GEC genre could come alive with Rishtey from Viacom 18's Colors bouquet being tested and Pratik Seal moving to Star Utsav as business head

    Re-run Hindi GEC genre could see some action as Colors tests signals for Rishtey & Pratik Seal moves to Star Utsav

    By A Correspondent

     

    The re-run Hindi general entertainment channel genre has met with limited success in the country. Doordarshan had DD Bharati, Star India has Star Utsav and earlier this year, Zee launched Zee Anmol. But now comes the news that Colors is set to launch Rishtey. How well Colors is able to rewrite the rules of the game remains to be seen, but the action in the genre has begun. According to industry circles, some revving up with news on Rishtey is being seen. Star has already moved former Life OK marketing head Pratik Seal to the role of the Star Utsav business head. Mr Seal was marketing head of Micromax before he moved to Star India.

     

     

    Pratik Seal

    Rishey is an existing Viacom18 entertainment channel from the Colors bouquet. It was launched as the second entertainment channel from Viacom18 in the UK market and has met with much success.

     

    Now Colors hopes to extend this relationship with viewers to India with the free-to-air GEC. In fact Doordarshan’s DD Direct DTH service website already has this post: “DD Direct Plus added a new general entertainment channel Rishtey to its channel line up by replacing Test 308 channel. Rishtey is a new Entertainment channels from Viacom18 group. The channel is a test feed and it is going to be officially launched soon.”

     

    When asked, a Colors spokesperson said “Rishtey, the second entertainment channel from the Colors bouquet that was launched in UK last year has had a very successful run. This free-to-air channel has reached out to a much wider audience base and has held a strong No 2 position in the Hindi GEC category in UK. We are currently testing the signals for Rishtey in India and will launch the channel at an appropriate time.”

     

    Media planners are meanwhile happy to see the revival of the re-run genre. According to a planner who preferred anonymity, television has various new entrants, and re-runs can do very well if packaged and marketed well. “What we have seen right now is shovelware – just dump some old hits. If there’s a good programming strategy and if marketed well and even if there’s some new content put in as a teaser, it could easily cross the 100 GRP mark,” he said adding: “We have seen a classic case of CID re-runs on Sony. The channel has made hay with them.”

     

    Hmmm. Watch this space.

     

  • Sony Entertainment Television's gross viewership ratings in Week 48 of this calendar year, as per TAM, is at a lowly 238987. Colors is twice that at 478534.

    Sony’s slide unabated. Now Colors at #2 is twice gross viewership of SET

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s a story that saddens our heart. Sony Entertainment Television, the Hindi general entertainment channel with spunk, the channel that’s got in some really top programming like CID, Indian Idol, Crime Patrol and even Kaun Banega Crorepati (though not this season), continues to have awful ratings.

     

    Its gross viewership ratings in Week 48 of this calendar year, as per TAM, is at a lowly 239 million. To be precise 238987. Colors is at 479 (or precisely 478534). And Star Plus way ahead at 548 (548331).

     

    This is how the ratings numbers stood (in million)

    Star Plus              548         (560)

    Colors                479         (513)

    Zee TV                 449         (433)

    Life OK                 334         (335)

    SAB                       269         (308)

    Sony TV                239         (269)

     

    The figures in brackets are those for last week (Week 47). It may be noted that TAM does not (or is not allowed to) share viewership numbers with the media. So we rely on what is dished out to us by some subscribers. Consequently, we can’t vouch for the authenticity for these numbers with a ‘sar pe haath rakh kar’, but we trust the source reasonably.

     

  • Election results coverage is now all about thinking on your feet as hosting live election coverage has to be the most challenging camera-facing job on TV today, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor | Live Election Results: A Reality Show Like No Other

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    In more than 30 years of active television viewing, no content has fascinated and captivated me more than live election results coverage. It’s the biggest reality show ever, unfolding in real time, with aftermath that can last for years, if not decades. One such reality show will play out this Sunday. And then there will be an even bigger one some time in the summer of 2014.

     

    In the good old Doordarshan days, General Election results were four-day long affairs, interspersed by Manoj Kumar films. When the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were introduced in 1999, it meant that four days of excitement would crash into about four hours. Initially, I detested the EVMs for doing this to me. But over time, I have grown to love this new rapid-fire, T20 format of election results.

     

    Election results coverage is now all about thinking on your feet. As new data flows into the system in real time, it is impossible to rehearse this coverage out. From shifting between politicians and experts on one hand and between various states on the other, the anchor of such a show can find his plate too full for his own liking. Hosting live election coverage has to be the most challenging camera-facing job on TV today. The post-analysis leading upto government formation, which may last anything from one day to upto two weeks, is the more familiar news part, albeit nail-biting at times.

     

    Much as I enjoy it immensely, I have two pet peeves related to live election coverage that I hope are addressed soon. The first one is about the use of technology. There is just too much focus on portraying the technology as the hero of the coverage. Many channels run promos of their election results shows highlighting how their touchscreen-based technology or their graphics software are the best in the business.

     

    I fail to see the point. Good technology, unless it is a technology program we are talking of, should always be invisible. It is meant to seamlessly enhance the viewing experience, than become the star in the room. Live sports do it so well. Perhaps, they get more practice. And with so much talk about ‘high-end’ technology in live results coverage, if you still can’t ensure basics like your cameramen are not visible all over the show, you haven’t done your technical rehearsals right!

     

    My second pet peeve is more psephology-led in nature. With 63 years of elections history behind us, out of which about two decades have involved active use of computers, one would have expected news brands to have created some concrete metrics and indices to capture insights in a more structure and predictive form. This has not happened, and as a result, rarely are learnings from past elections used to analyze current results, except an odd anecdotal comment by an expert, which is often biased to lead to a pre-decided conclusion in his mind anyway.

     

    Psephology is a science before it’s an art. Yet, it unfolds on our television more like the latter, with wordsmithery being its primary form of execution, instead of any robust data-led indicators. In fact, such indicators, and not technology, can become true differentiators of a news channel’s election results coverage.

     

    But these are only minor irritants in what is the most enthralling television content for me. Come Sunday, and I shall be all eyes and ears from 7 am onwards.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor is founder and CEO of media insights firm Ormax Media. He spent nine years in the television industry before turning entrepreneur. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached at his Twitter handle @shaileshkapoor

     

  • Other than Mumbai and Delhi, the male and female sporting stars will also visit Lucknow

    Sony Six and TNA bring in wrestling champs Kurt Angle & Gail Kim to India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Six and TNA have announced that two of their global wrestling champions Kurt Angle and Gail Kim will conduct a variety of events to engage with audiences. Kurt Angle, the Olympic Gold Medalist and multiple time TNA World Heavyweight Champion along leading female wrestling superstar Gail Kim are in India on a promotional tour that will see them visit Mumbai, Lucknow and Delhi from December 9 to 13. The announcement was made in Mumbai in the present of Multi Screen Media bosses Man Jit Singh and NP Singh.

     

    “Kurt is a wrestling superstar who not only garners critical following but is also a personality that attracts a huge fan base globally. With Kurt and Gail on TNA, fans will get to meet them up close and personal duringtheir visit to India,” said Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony Six. Setting a different pace to the stars visit, SIX and TNA have taken an unconventional route to the tour by featuring the city of Lucknow as one of the pit stop.

     

    Said TNA President Dixie Carter: “We have been so pleased with the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response fans in India have shown TNA, and we cannot wait to bring Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle and reigning Knockouts Champion Gail Kim for our first press tour.

     

  • Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV India on the 'Rock the Vote' campaign and how he hopes to drive home the point that it's 'cool' to vote and sport the indelible ink marker

    Jaldi 5 with Aditya Swamy: Making voting cool with Rock the Vote campaign

    If Sunday’s Assembly elections results have already rocked the nation with the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party as a potent force, youth channel MTV has unveiled a campaign asking young voters to register with the Election Commission and vote on Polling Day. MTV has partnered with 21-year-old non-profit organisation Rock The Vote for the initiative. Speaking to MxMIndia, Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV India spoke on the ‘Hero Rock the Vote’ campaign and how he hopes to drive home the point that it’s ‘cool’ to vote and sport the indelible ink marker

     

    01. And we thought at least on MTV, we could have things beyond elections. Politics and voting sure is in the air for you guys too?!

    Clearly, voting is the flavor of the season. Everyone is doing a voting campaign, especially the news guys. And they are talking to the electorate as a whole. But some interesting facts were thrown up from the Election Commission saying that 12 crore first-time voters this time. And that’s more than the number of votes the leading party got last time. And if they are all young people, then why not have a call to action that is only talking to young people in their language.

     

    So when we scoped out the environment we figured that internationally MTV works with the US-based organization Rock the Vote. Their sole objective is to make it a fun election campaign. It’s not calling it a youth parliament, it’s not calling people to debate on the Top 5 issues of the country and looking for ways to change them.

     

    It deals with issues that touch the youth everyday in their lives. It’s simple things like ice-cream has become expensive so you and your girlfriend can’t have two ice-creams, you have to share one. Your bike…you don’t go for a joy rides anymore, you go from Point A to Point B…because petrol has become expensive. It’s about talking about issues that are relevant to young people and talking in their voice with their ambassadors.

     

    The biggest platform for Rock the Vote is using music and humour. All communication is very tongue-in-cheek. One of our ambassadors we have selected is YoYou Honey Singh, the music star. He’ll reach out to the youth through music videos and music anthem. The effort is to talk the youth in their voice, with things that interest them, and not make it preachy.

     

    We are not saying log onto the MTV and register. We are not saying become a fan on MTV Facebook page. We don’t have to build our audience through this. All we are saying is: ‘Go Press the Button’. It is – ‘Dabao na Button’ …that’s the tag line for the whole campaign. As we build the campaign we’ll say… Log on to electioncommission.com. A lot of people think we are doing this to build our brand, to increase our Facebook fans, to add Youtube views, to boost viewership to the channel. But that’s not it. We don’t believe it doing it just on TV. We start with the first leg on TV. And then we have 200 college campuses that have tied in with an MTV programme currently where we have campus ambassadors. So we will actually go down to campuses and engage with them. And the fun part is, at the end of it, we hold a mega concert for which there are going to be no tickets. All you need is the voting ink on your finger. And that’s how you get entry.

     

    When is the concert?

    After the elections, a couple of days after the elections. We have worked this campaign out in multiple phases. It has a bunch of promos on air, there are several kind of creatives, we’ll have a lot of user generated videos, we have nice set of animation videos made by some young kids, we have college contact programme, we have the music video and the song, we have a mega concert.

     

    02. Do you think this campaign will be able to address the real issues as to why people don’t go out to vote?

    Of course yes! Like I was in Delhi last week and I was able to drive from Gurgaon to the airport in less than half an hour. When I asked the cab driver why the roads were empty, he said it was because of elections. Voting is essentially considered a holiday, so most people take off on short breaks. I think as it becomes more and more cool to vote… that’s the change we want to bring about. We want to make voting a cool thing to do. So an Arnab Goswami asking the youth to vote versus Honey Singh urging them will be different. So that’s what we are trying to tap.

     

    Our second ambassador is Rannvijay, the most followed celebrity on Indian television. Now on the Roadies audition (which will be aired in January), the first questions being asked of participants is – ‘Do you Vote?’. So we have woven it into our content as well. The idea is to make voting cool. Why do you think we are calling it – Rock the Vote…because its with music..it’s with concert… it’s with cool stuff.

     

    03. Are you also looking at reaching smaller towns?

    Yes. These 100 colleges are spread over 25 cities. The idea is spread to the interiors. I’ll take him Honey to Jabalpur, to Kanpur.

     

     

    Essentially the HSM markets?

    If I take him to Kerala or Karnataka, the language becomes an issue. Rannvijay connects with a crowd that speaks in Punjabi. If I take him to Chennai, and he speaks in Hindi, he’ll will be a loser there.

     

    So you are not looking at South?

    If we find some interesting people, who want to be a part of the campaign, we would love to go South. If there is a cricket icon like Rahul Dravid who wants to talk to masses in Kannada, I would love to do it in Karnataka as well. But right now, we are largely at the Hindi belt.

     

    How else are you promoting your campaign, besides television?

    We are looking at Twitter in a large way. Twitter has come in as a strategic partner. We don’t have a press partner. I don’t think young people read newspapers that much. I would rather have Twitter as a partner. And Twitter is a partner with MTV Rock the Vote in US as well. So through Twitter, we hope to engage the urban youth.

     

    04. Don’t you think it will be good to have the youth as consumers of news so that they understand the real issues?

    Before, young people just wanted to fight the system, fight their parents, be very cynical. Now the attitude is: I will go get drunk, I will go party, I’ll go for a concert, I’ll have a girlfriend, but I’ll also go plant trees, I’ll also use eco-friendly bags and I’ll vote. There is a thing if I am not being responsible about the world around me, I’m not been cool anymore. Some of the lines we have used is : “I can’t picture myself sleeping with a non-voter.” “If you don’t do politics, politics will do you.” “Waiting in line to vote is a welcome respite from waiting in line for gas”.

     

    We’ve had campaigns like these in the past like Jaago Re of Tata Tea. As a campaign it was feel good. What is it that you’ll think will actually get people to get down to come and vote and not take Voting Day as just another holiday?

    If voting becomes a fashion, having a tick, the colour on your hand has to be a cool thing. Looking the number of people who posted their picture on Facebook – “I voted, have you?” It has to become the coolest tattoo in town is the ink on your finger. Every young person today, boy or girl, wants to have a tattoo. Tattoo means rebel, no tattoo means mainstream. We had an office party on Wednesday. Thursday was voting day in Delhi. Lot of people flew back to Delhi just to vote. And some of them couldn’t. And you should have seen the thing on Facebook, Shit man, I missed the voting. Ink your pink…that was one of the things. If you have not inked you are not cool. We are talking about things that young people are.

     

    05. Are you going to sync this with Roadies?

    Right from Barney wearing Rock the Vote T-shirt. For us, Roadies has been a great huge place to partnership. One, that’s the audience we are talking to. Two, it is a great partnership with a hero who is in Roadies, and thirdly, we are using Rannvijay as a very powerful face of the entire campaign, and he is the face of Roadies as well.

     

    And you’ve got Hero which is a Roadies sponsor to back Rock the Vote too?

    We’ve got Hero as our partner. We’ve also got Karbon Mobile. Hero has been associated with us for long time. It is interesting to have Indian brand talking Rock the Vote. They genuinely want to involve the youth to make a better India. Otherwise why would it go and sponsor hockey, when everybody is supporting cricket. Hockey is India’s national sports. Also, Hero’s huge network with their dealership huge is a good way to take the campaign to the masses.

     

  • Having completed two years, Helios is now transitioning to the next level with revenue management extending beyond traditional space-selling. Business Director Bala Iyengar has been elevated as Chief Operating Officer.

    Helios Media expands, elevates Bala Iyengar as COO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bala Iyengar

    Helios Media, the speciality services company for the broadcast sector recently completed two years in operations, already carving a niche within the industry as a revenue maximization catalyst. With MTunes HD, Channel X, FoodFood, Fashion TV as the properties it services, Helios is now transitioning to the next level. Business Director Bala Iyengar has been elevated as Chief Operating Officer.

     

    “As we move forward, our focus will be on getting into deeper partnerships with relevant platform creators to enhance the solutions we offer our clients. A TV channel is not just for TVCs anymore, and we will work with them in the overall revenue management space, going beyond traditional commercial inventory. In addition to inventory sales, we have enhanced our teams to include talent in the areas of content syndication, custom events, celebrity management and strategic digital initiatives, said Divya Radhakrishnan, Founder & Managing Director of Helios Media.

     

    Divya Radhakrishnan

    “To take this scale of operations forward, it’s only natural that Bala steps up to take charge of our complete offering and provide seamless service to our clients,” Ms Radhakrishnan added.

     

    Commenting further on his elevated role and plans ahead, Mr Iyengar said: “We will shape ourselves to be the go-to destination for advertisers seeking innovative ways to connect with audiences, and for channels seeking breakthrough strategies to boost revenue.”

     

  • Star India will not just be the 'Official Team Sponsor' but also have the rights to to display a commercial logo on the team clothing of the Senior Men's Cricket Team, the Under-19 Men's Cricket Team, the Men's A-Team and the Women's Team.

    Star completes full control on India cricket by turning Team Sponsor till March 2017

    By A Correspondent

     

    If it’s Cricket, it’s Star. Watch out for its familiar ogo across cricket as Star India extends its broadcast, internet and mobile rights-owner status for July 2012 – March 2018 to the ground.

     

    Star India has bagged the bid for the Team Sponsorship Rights for various cricketing events including the Senior Men’s Cricket Team title and logo sponsorship rights from 2014 to 2017 at the price of Rs 1.92 crore a match. This is a sharp drop from Rs 3.34 crore that Sahara India is paying as well as the Rs 2 crore that Star India is currently paying for the title and logo sponsorship.

     

    The base price was recently revised to Rs 1.5 crore from Rs 2.5 crore, and the Star bid was Rs 0.42 crore higher.

     

    The Team Sponsorship Rights cover BCCI Events, ICC Events and ACC Events, for the period January 1 2014 to March 31, 2017. The rights include the right to be called the ‘Official Team Sponsor’  and to display a commercial logo on the team clothing of the Senior Men’s Cricket Team, the Under-19 Men’s Cricket Team, the Men’s A-Team and the Women’s Team.

     

    The decision was taken at a meeting of the BCCI’s Marketing Committee yesterday (December 9). The tender document, which was available from November 11, 2013, was picked up by seven prospective bidders (Bharti Airtel, Games Unlimited, Multi Screen Media, Sahara India, Star India, UB Group, World Sport Group). Bids were accepted until 3 pm on Dec 9 at which time the bids were opened and evaluated. Two bidders – Star India Pvt Ltd and Sahara India Financial Corporation – were in the fray. Although Sahara’s bid was higher, it was found to be ineligible.

     

    “Star is the Title Sponsor for BCCI international and domestic matches for the period October 2013 to March 31, 2014, as well as the Holder of the Broadcast, Internet and Mobile Rights of cricket in India, for the period July 2012 – March 2018. Star has a deep understanding of the game of cricket, and what it means to the nation. We are pleased to extend our association with them,” Sanjay Patel, Honorary Secretary, BCCI, said.

     

    “Star is delighted to become the Official Sponsor of the Indian cricket team. It’s a team of brilliant talent and we are proud to be associated with them. This is further endorsement of Star’s deep commitment to Indian cricket and Indian Sports in general,” added Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India, said.

     

    Sanjay Gupta

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta has indicated that the sponsorship will be used to promote any of his brands – be it the sports channels or even entertainment offerings like Star Plus and Life OK.

     

    Meanwhile, there have been murmurs that the BCCI decision to award the rights to Star India may be contested. Sahara India is peeved that it was not informed that it was ineligible for the bid given its ongoing litigation with the Board on the IPL team disqualification. The Sahara bid was higher than that of Star at Rs 2.35 crore per match.

     

  • According to the latest findings of the Ormax Characters India Loves research, Jodha from Zee TV's daily fiction show Jodha-Akbar has emerged as the most popular fiction character on Indian television

    Zee TV’s Jodha is most popular fiction character on telly: Ormax

    By A Correspondent

     

    According to the latest findings (November 2013) of the Ormax Characters India Loves research, Jodha from Zee TV’s daily fiction show Jodha-Akbar has emerged as the most popular fiction character on Indian television.

     

    Ormax Characters India Loves (Ormax CIL) research is conducted in 19 Hindi-speaking markets in India, covering a monthly sample size of more than 3,000 respondents in the 15-44 years age group. Since the start of Ormax CIL in August 2009, Jodha is only the fifth character to have taken the top position, the other four being Anandi (Balika Vadhu), Suhaana (Sasural Genda Phool), Jethalal (Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah) and Ram Kapoor (Bade Achhe Lagte Hain). Jodha is the first Zee TV character to have taken the top position.

     

    Anurag Bakhshi

    Speaking about the findings, Anurag Bakhshi, Insights Head – Television, Ormax Media, said: “Jodha’s popularity is a result of her unique portrayal of a historical character whose aspirations are relevant to the young audience of today’s evolving India. Her popularity is particularly strong in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab markets.”

     

    According to the November 2013 Ormax CIL Report, the Top 5 fiction characters on television are Jodha, Sandhya (Diya Aur Baati Hum), Jethalal (Taarak Mehta…), Anandi (Balika Vadhu) and Mahadev. Kapil Sharma (Comedy Nights With Kapil) is by far the most popular non-fiction character on television.

     

  • Leading food channel FoodFood has launched 11 new shows in sync with its new lifestyle positioning of 'It's Sizzling…' focusing on young urban audiences while continuing to serve its broader traditional audience base

    FoodFood adopts new lifestyle positioning of ‘It’s Sizzling…’ with 11 new shows

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading food channel FoodFood has launched 11 new shows in sync with its new lifestyle positioning of  ‘It’s Sizzling…’ focusing on young urban audiences while continuing to serve its broader traditional audience base. With a whole new feel, look, colour, logo in its fresh, new repackaging, the channel aims to be a differentiator in the category of food lifestyle channels. The content is put together in tune for the discerning viewers.

     

    While the new seasons of some of the existing popular shows like Cook Smart, Turban Tadka, Style Chef, Mummy Ka Magic, High Tea… will reflect the change in the repositioning ,the channel  aims to woo and build a connect with today’s busy, yet health-conscious men and women who are looking for indulgence and adventure when it comes to their palette, notes a communiqué.

     

    Sanjeev Kapoor

    Said celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor who helms the channel: “I’m using food as a way to communicate with people that I never would have known otherwise. While we will continue with some of our extremely popular shows, all now in their new seasons, our content will be in tune with our loyal consumers enjoying the diversity in taste. Our focus is to deliver in multicultural cities, quality content that is compelling and entertaining irrespective of its origin. The channel   with its new shows and repositioning will ensure that the bouquet offered is complete and sizzling for today’s busy generation.”

     

  • Adspends will increase 11.5% in 2014, forecasts ZenithOptimedia

    Digitization will help broadcast economics: ZenithOptimedia forecast

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    This is the season for annual adspend forecasts and global media agency network ZenithOptimedia unveiled its Advertising Expenditure Forecasts predicting a year-on-year growth in ad spends in India of 11.5 per cent in 2014. The growth number for 2013 (over 2012) is 8 percent. The global ad expenditure growth from 3.6% in 2013 to 5.3% in 2014.

     

    Anupriya Acharya

    Said Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO, India, ZenithOptimedia group: “Our outlook for 2014 is cautious, though we expect the growth to happen mid-year onwards.” According to Ms Acharya, there appears to be an upswing in the mood since the Assembly election results on Sunday. Added Satyajit Sen, CEO, India, ZenithOptimedia: “All policy-making has been in a limbo, but we expect a spurt in the second half with digitization happening in full-swing.”

     

    According to the agency’s research team, 2013 has “overall been a turbulent year for the media industry”. “In March/April we saw changes to the TAM panel following the second stage of the digitization process (of which more underneath), followed by changes in the TAM data reporting period from a weekly to a monthly format and finally the flip-flopping over the new 10+2 advertising regulations (a cap on advertising minutage set at 10 minutes of advertising and 2 minutes of programme promotion per hour), which was supposed to take effect from Oct 2013 onwards. However, some channels have been slow to comply.”

     

    “Growth will be driven by inflation measures and pricing actions due to the 10+2 advertising regulations, as the restriction of supply will lead to rising prices,” it notes. “All of which means that advertisers are looking seriously at redistributing budgets to other media. On the whole, quality of content will improve on TV and we expect a consequent ratings boost thanks to 10+2 regulation. The change comes at a cost, however. There was a two-week stand-off between TAM, broadcasters and advertisers when data reporting formats were in flux. During this period, the top seven advertisers pulled their ad spots from all TV channels.”

     

    The ZenithOptimedia research notes that digitization will help the broadcast sector: “Following the second phase of digitization of distribution in Q1 2013 in 38 cities, the TV broadcast industry has achieved approximately 77% digitization and expects to reach 100% within the next two years.” The report adds that even though viewership ratings have been impacted, in the long term, digitization is expected to improve broadcast economics significantly.

     

    Internationally, the research has been bullish on adspends in the mobile sector. Mobile is going to take off big time and has already crossed television in terms of number of units, said Ms Acharya. “The internet consumption is going to increasing on the mobile and even though the smartphone number is not very high, it’s rising rapidly.”

     

    “The increase in mobile phone connections continues to drive growth of mobile internet penetration in India,” notes the study. “Cheaper mobile handsets and affordable mobile data packages are helping increase content downloads, and millions of users are engaged with wireless internet on a daily basis. FM Radio listenership is rising and it is a key feature used by mobile phone brands to sell handsets,” the report adds.

     

    On activation and BTL, the report says: “Along with changing lifestyles and the emergence of modern trade and malls in India, there has been an increase in consumption of outdoor advertising. Brands are keen to connect with consumers via experience zones and activations to ensure greater recall and amplification of brand values.

     

    Activation/Events are becoming more and more of a key offering in the radio and print channels. Live Music Events/Festivals have been successful in attracting widespread audience and engaging youth across key cities. Hand in hand with proliferation has come the challenge of fragmentation among audiences. Hence, advertisers are increasing the number of touchpoints to cater to addressable audiences and are selecting media beyond TV, print and radio.”

     

    Government advertising spend has begun ramping up as a precursor to the 2014 general elections, the report adds even as the final quarter of 2013 has “seen lower levels of investment than usual because of the soft economic environment”

     

     

     

  • Nielsen will source Peoplemeters etc locally, use audio watermarking tech and assure service ownership by BARC

    Kahaani Mein Twist: Nielsen cuts costs 20%+ for BARC TV measurement contract

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    In entertainment television, it’s called ‘kahaani mein twist’. In cricket commentary, you hear of ‘glorious uncertainties until the last bowl is bowled’. But in the course of business deals too, we often see twists in the tale. Or is it case of people getting real? Or is it too little, too late?

    For, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (or BARC) bosses are seeing a real-life soap opera playing out for them.

    Readers of MxMIndia would recall the reports that the BARC board had selected French joint industry body Mediametrie (along with watermarking tech provider Civolution and one or more set-top box providers) as the vendor for television measurement.

    It was a done deal. We even carried a ‘Big Story’ on Mediametrie. BARC representatives had visited France and the Frenchmen were in turn in India. The papers were getting readied, with a back-and-forth between the legal eagles.

    But after the news on Mediametrie was published, at least one other contender for the coveted contract got into action. As we know, TV measurement is currently managed by TAM, a joint venture of the research specialists Nielsen and Kantar. The latter is owned by WPP, which also runs GroupM, Ogilvy, JWT and several other media entities.

    The proposed government regulations are clear on cross-ownership – that the measurement company can’t be owned/co-owned by anyone with stakes in some media businesses. Sound logic, but then given ownership patterns of research companies, it rules out some firms. Also, cross-ownership rules have still not been administered in other media sectors.

    Given this although Kantar had made a bid for the all-important hardware tech partner phase of the BARC-ruled measurement business, there was a cloud on whether it would get the contract given the TRAI guidelines which are set to be notified soon.

    But cross-ownership wasn’t the reason why BARC ruled out Nielsen. It was dosh. Nielsen was charging the moon. Or so we were told.

    Pardon us for the looong backgrounder. But, this is television, and like the various soaps and sitcoms, some foreplay is a must. Okay, so let’s get to the point.

    Nielsen has now written to BARC saying it’s cutting price.

    Yes, you read it right. Nielsen has shaved off over 20 percent of the annual cost. President – India Piyush Mathur has reportedly written a letter bringing down the cost by Rs 13.1 crore per annum. This is thanks to the research major striking a deal with a large business conglomerate (rumoured to be the Tatas) to produce set-top box/meters and a few other components locally. The move saves Nielsen vital monies on custom duties and affords them another shot at the multi-million dollar contract.

    The rest of the scope of the project stays: 20,000 households, 25,000 meters, data, metering and collection systems and software. The all-important technology factor is a non-issue since Nielsen too is employing audio watermark knowhow. Nielsen Watermarks using audio signatures will ensure non-stop daily ratings. Given infrastructure issues in India, the crediting approach becomes critical which Nielsen has ensured it will administer very strictly.

    What Nielsen has also assured BARC is that the service ownership will be BARC’s.  Also, at the end of five years, the ownership of the meters will be transferred to BARC.

    So what does all of this mean? BARC has another Board meeting coming up next week and before that some of the technical/ commercial committee members may meet.

    What’s important to note is that the Nielsen pricing is in the region of what will have to be paid for the Mediametrie++ alternative. An industry observer told us this could only have happened with the Mediametrie number leaking out from someone in the BARC Board.

    While MxMIndia couldn’t reach BARC officials to confirm or deny these developments, according to the information available, there is a view that Nielsen may be excellent option in the short run and is a more tried-and-tested vendor, but there are many concern over costs escalating over time. The worry is that even though Nielsen has assured that the service ownership is that of BARC, in actual terms this may not be the case and BARC may have to fork out more. A lot of what Nielsen offers is proprietary, for which it could charge a royalty.

    Will TAM co-owner Nielsen be the new hardware/technology/data collection vendor for television measurement? It’s not going to be an easy decision for BARC. Like the soap opera on the GECs, we have already seen many twists and turns with television measurement. Watch this space for what happens next.