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Tag: appointment viewership

  • Appointment viewership is the acid test for any programme, says Shailesh Kapoor in his weekly column, TV Trail

    Shailesh Kapoor: Is Appointment Viewing a myth?

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    It’s a much-used and much-abused term in the television business. Appointment Viewership. Indeed, appointment viewing is the Holy Grail for the television business. It’s the acid test of a good programme or channel – Does it have the ability to get eyeballs by appointment? In simple terms, does it have the ability to make its audiences incorporate the program (or channel) into their daily or weekly schedule, in a way that it becomes a fixture for them?

     

    Appointment, as a dictionary word, suggests the same: ‘A meeting set for a particular time and place.’ How complex can it get, after all?

     

    Yet, the degree to which the concept of ‘appointment’ viewership is misunderstood in the television industry can be baffling. I discovered it about three years ago when a research revealed that a programme on a niche channel had very high appointment viewership. The client (who happened to be competition to the said programme) argued how that was possible, given the 0.7-rating of the program. I gave them an example of a 2.5-rating programme on a leading GEC that was being watched almost entirely in breaks and without any semblance of appointment viewing. How the debate went thereon is another story altogether.

     

    But that’s the lack of understanding I speak of. Appointment viewership is associated with high ratings, while lack of appointment is associated spontaneously with low ratings. Many media experts believe that our myopic view of the ratings system leads our television business into operating in the short-term. And this is yet another symptom of the same.

     

    As we have dived deep into the appointment-viewing concept over the last two years, many discoveries have happened over time. Only about a dozen Hindi GEC programme have a significant (20%+) base of appointment viewers. Others are watched for various reasons, none of which have any direct connection to the concept of ‘appointment’. Reasons such as:

     

    • My mother watches it, so I watch it too.
    • It’s the most watchable of all the programs on TV at that time, so I end up watching it.
    • I finish the chores and am free before dinner time, so I watch this program. (The ‘timing suits me’ reason)
    • It’s a good ‘time pass’ programme to watch.

     

    The ratings system doesn’t distinguish such types of viewing from appointment viewing. Back in 2010, a top-rated programme on a GEC was in an extremely vulnerable position. Research after research, viewers would trash it, saying that they are hating how the programme has moved from being a classic to a bore. The signals were clear. The viewing behaviour had moved from appointment to casual to cold & passive. But there was no strong competition to take the audience away. And hence, the ratings maintained themselves by and large, helped by sporadic high points in the story.

     

    The channel remained in denial on the programme for almost six months, questioning research design instead. And then, a competition channel launched a worthy show, and the much-touted show sank to less than one-third of its rating within three months, only to die an impending death over the next six months.

     

    But there are other examples too, where shows or channels run on a small but dedicated viewer base for months, even years. Music channels have certain time bands that manage this, by creating content affinity by showcasing music that a particular segment (e.g. retro music fans) may want to watch. News channels too rely on marquee anchors to create an appointment viewer base. Far and few in between they may be, but such properties serve their channels and advertisers very well over time.

     

    The confusing element in appointment viewing comes from lack of clarity in measurement. Appointment viewing should be defined as the percentage of a programme’s viewership that comes from its core, appointment-viewing base. Because this is the viewership that’s safe, secure and future-proof. The rest is all transient, or simply a matter of chance. Instead, it is often argued that a bigger audience size implies more appointment viewership.

     

    Only about 20 channels in India have even one programme that has a 20%+ appointment viewing base. Others are all creatures of destiny, at the mercy of the viewer, and at the mercy of events in the viewer’s life that the channel has absolutely no control over.

     

    I have maintained for a while that executive producers should be measured on appointment viewing proportions, and not rating points. It will be fairer on them, and on the business. But for that, we need to shed some of our obsession with the weekly ratings.

     

    Easier said than done?

     

    Shailesh Kapoor is founder and CEO of media & entertainment research and consulting firm Ormax Media. He spent nine years in the television industry before turning entrepreneur. He can be reached at his Twitter handle @shaileshkapoor

     

  • The next step forward for the industry should be attempts to create differentiation in content in order to create more appointment listeners

    Can a Satyamev-like show be created for radio? Yes, say broadcasters

    By Robin Thomas

     

    Aamir Khan’s ‘Satyamev Jayate’ is the hope to recreate the Sunday morning appointment viewership that was probably lost with the entry of multiple cable television channels in the late 90s. The Sunday morning programme, which premiered on May 6 with much fanfare, has already received rave reviews from viewers and marketers alike.

     

    Appointment viewing in television has become a common practice, with examples galore like season one of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) or soap operas suchas ‘Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ or even earlier epic programmes like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, wherein viewers would often set the time aside for their favourite shows.

     

    But can the same be said about radio? Does a radio programme have appointment listenership? Can they create shows of the calibre of ‘Satyamev Jayate’?

     

    One of the reasons why television programming has evolved is said to be only because of multiple channel offerings, similarly radio programming is also said to evolve with more channel offering, different genres and thus big property shows which could draw more loyal listeners.

     

    According to GG Jayanta, National Marketing Head, Radio Mirchi, a similar kind of experience exists on radio, albeit on a smaller scale, despite the fact that music is the largest chunk of programming on most radio stations. “The breakfast show, from 7am to 11am, usually tackles issues that resonate with local sentiments – be it the case of the battered girl child or petty corruption or question paper leaks or pot-holed roads. There are expert opinions, listener call-ins, diverging points of view et al – but the tone and manner is always upbeat and offers a ray of hope to the listener – entertaining, but not frivolous. It makes for engaging content leaving the listener with a feeling that there is someone listening to their plea. This interactivity is what makes radio powerful.”

     

    One of the challenges for radio today is the lack of differentiation in content as most radio stations arguably sound the same, especially in the kind of music they play. Gone are the days when radio programmes like ‘Binaca Geet Mala’ and ‘Sangeet Ke Sitaron Ki Mehfil’ were highly popular with listeners who set aside time to listen to these programmes.

     

    Anil Machado, National Programming Head, Radio One, felt: “Radio has a lot of appointment listeners, mostly during the weekends. Programming in every medium is a challenge today, but it depends on how you create a differentiation in your content. The moment a radio station begins to move away from the herd and create a differentiated content, it will attract more listeners and thus bring appointment listenership.”

     

    Nonetheless, those were the days when there were not as many FM stations and the television onslaught was yet to take place. Whether or not multiple frequencies in FM Phase III would create differentiated and innovative shows and shows that of a ‘Satyamev Jayate’s’ calibre, only time will tell. But radio broadcasters would like to disagree. “In fact, Aamir Khan was on air with RJ Jeeturaj on Radio Mirchi Mumbai, wanting to interact with the audience and gauge their reaction to the show. Therefore, a similar sort of programming can happen on radio or for that matter any medium but, what is important is the audience should feel enriched,” said Mr Jayanta.

     

    Radio broadcasters are of the view that such programmes have always been part of radio and that the next step forward for the industry should be attempts to create differentiation in content in order to create more appointment listeners. But there are some who feel that more than shows like Satyamev Jayate, what would work on radio are shows with localised content.

     

    Sarthak Kaushik, Director, Programming, Hit FM felt: “A radio version of Satyamev Jayate’s calibre will not work because radio is an intensely personal and a local medium, so essentially it is the local issues that work on radio. As far as appointment listenership is concerned, it is mainly depends on the maturity of the audience. Radio is one medium which allows a lot of experimentation, all one needs is courage to experiment with a programme and how confident one is to promote that programme.”