MxMIndia

Tag: Doordarshan

  • MxMIndia learns that the I&B Ministry may set up a joint government-industry committee if BARC activities don’t kick off by November

    Govt may set up own body if it doesn’t see action on BARC by November

    By A Correspondent

     

    Even as I&B secretary Uday Verma met stakeholders of the three industry bodies who are setting up the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) – the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) – yesterday, MxMIndia learns from sources that the government is exceedingly upset with the delay and if it doesn’t see any action by November 2012, it may set up a joint government-industry committee to take things forward.

     

    Other than the collective pressure of the News Broadcasters Association, the NDTV case against TAM and its principals and Doordarshan’s own misgivings on the issue are among the compelling reasons why the I&B ministry is in a rush for the formation of the BARC. The government is aware that like in the case of content regulation, it would not like to play a role in the issue, however it believes that precious time has been lost. MxMIndia was told the pressure consumer/advocacy groups and Members of Parliament have also been asking for a look-in at the ratings process.

     

    While representatives of the IBF, ISA and AAAI have reassured the Secretary that all is well, the fact is that misgivings are still simmering given the recent charges that have been traded between the IBF and the ISA and AAAI.

     

    BARC was mooted way back in 2008 and the formation process had started in 2010, with an announcement on the setting up earlier this year – in March at FICCI Frames, to be precise. However, there have been stumbling blocks, all of which have been are said to have been cleared.

     

    BARC and consequently an all-new system of data collection could mean investment of around Rs 1000 crore, depending on the number of measuerement boxes to be installed. To start with, a CEO needs to be appointed as presently all stakeholders have their own business responsibilities, the demands of which are increasing with the festive season coming up.

     

  • Presenting the sixth edition of MxM Buzzer where the focus is on Doordarshan!

    MxM Buzzer # 6 | Quiz on Doordarshan

    Welcome to the Sixth edition of MxMIndia’s media quiz – MxM Buzzer, that happens every Friday and where our prizewinners are real people . Our quizmaster is Sorbojeet Chatterjee, Vice President – Marketing at Neo Sports. To enter this quiz, simply email the answers with your personal details (Name, email id and telephone number) and a five-word descriptor for EMVIES 2012 at editor@mxmindia.com with Buzzer#6 in the subject. Standard contest rules apply (see box below).

    Note: entries without the descriptor will not be considered for prizes.

    There will be two prizes for Buzzer #6. One First Prize of Rs 1001 and One Second Prize of Rs 101.

    If there’s a tie, the best descriptor for EMVIES 2012 will get the prize (note: tie-breaker question will change every week).
    Last date for sending entries: THURSDAY, August 30, 2012. Entries must reach us by 5 pm IST.

     A sitter to begin with – Which Bollywood superstar made his acting debut in a serial on DD called Fauji?
     Satyamev Jayate was simulcast on Star Plus and DD. Which current television programme on Zee TV is also simulcast on DD?
     Vasant Sathe is given credit as the I&B Minister under whom DD moved to colour broadcast with the Asian Games in 1984. However, an extremely popular and path-breaking soap was also his brainchild. Identify the cult programme?
     Swabhimaan was an afternoon soap opera on DD that was directed by Mahesh Bhatt and featured a stellar star cast. Which popular writer scripted it?
     Karamchand, a detective serial on DD, featured Pankaj Kapur. Which GEC revived it in 2007?
     Ramesh Sippy, the ace Bollywood director of several blockbusters including Sholay, directed a TV serial for Doordarshan. He fell in love with the actress Kiran Juneja on the sets and eventually married her. Identify the cult programme?

     This is the logo of which Doordarshan channel?
     Superhit Muqabla was one of the longest running No. 1 show on DD Metro. Identify the production house that created it?
     Which rib-tickling sitcom on DD Metro was inspired from the British sitcom Mind Your Language?
     This show on DD was so popular in terms of audience participation that the Indian Postal department introduced higher priced ‘Competition Postcards’ to increase revenue. Identify the popular programme?

    Winner of Buzzer # 5 is Anilkumar Sathiraju (Tel No xxxxxx 4896). Mr Sathiraju (who works with DDB Mudra) wins a Prize of Rs 1001. The Second Prize of Rs 101 is won by Jolly Garg (xxxxxx 0053) who works with Accenture.  Congratulations, Mr Sathiraju and Ms Garg. Please await our mail, send us your coordinates and we will wire/ courier/ deposit you the prize… within a month.

     

    Answers to Buzzer # 5

    1. South Korea or Bahrain or Republic of Congo, 2. Mudra, 3. Jai Jawaan, 4. CNN IBN & History TV18, 5. Sushil Kumar (Indian flag bearer in Olympics), 6. Aamir Khan (He has named his son Azad after Maulana Azad), 7. Rabindranath Tagore, 8. ABP News, 9. Mahatma Gandhi, 10. 9XM
    1. The families and employees of MxMIndia Private Limited and its associates are not eligible to win prizes.
    2. You can send as many entries as you would like. There is no entry fee.
    3. In case of more than one all-correct entry, the Tie-Breaker will be the decider. Entries without the Descriptor for the Tie-Breaker will not be considered complete.
    4. The decision of the Quizmaster and/or the MxMIndia editor will be final.
    5. If the winner is not reachable by phone/email, the next best entry will be awarded the prize.
    6. By sending your entry, it is assumed that you are in agreement with the rules.
    7.  Entries for Buzzer #6 must reach us latest by 5pm IST on Aug 30.
  • A weekly column by Paritosh Joshi, until recently CEO, Star CJ. Given his varied experience in the media and industry bodies, Mr Joshi will analyse issues concerning the business of media, measurement and research

    Paritosh Joshi: Independence and Free Media

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    Constitutional Law is assumed to be arcane, dense and generally beyond the comprehension of anyone except the most learned of legal minds. And yet, some of the most soaring, inspiring expressions of humanity’s pursuit of a higher ideal, the greater good, a more just world are to be found there. Here are two splendid examples:

     

    “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

    JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

    LIBERTY, of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

    EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

    and to promote among them all

    FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

    IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949,DO HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”.

     

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

     

    84 words in that first quotation, the Preamble to the Constitution of India (and it was only 82 before Indira Gandhi imposed ‘SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST’ upon it vide the Forty Second Constitution Amendment Bill, 1976) and a mere 45 in the second, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Look at how emphatic both are on the matter of Free Speech.

     

    Why should this be so? Jurists aver that all other fundamental freedoms can be logically derived from Free Speech. Conversely, truncate Free Speech from the rights enjoyed by the citizens of a nation-state and you have an inevitable path to oppression and tyranny. The Scottish essayist, Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Her Worship cites the British Parliamentarian Edmund Burke as the progenitor of the phrase “Fourth Estate” to describe the Press. The quote that has passed into common usage is: “There were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all”. The importance of this Estate grows exponentially as private and state power expands in a rapidly growing Socio-Economy. By ensuring that the reader or viewer is kept abreast with the latest developments in the world around them and, in particular, calling out malfeasance, misdemeanour and mischief in high places, the media keep untrammelled might in check.

     

    How well are we inIndiadoing on this front?

    Not very, one has to say, with the greatest regret.

     

    Doordarshan, set up with an ambitious charter of achieving everything from “Catalyst for change”, “Promote National Integration” all the way through to  “Create values of appraisal of art and cultural heritage” has now been reduced to an anamic copy of private Hindi GE channels. So much for our much vaunted “Public Broadcasting System”.

     

    And have the private broadcasters covered themselves with glory? Let’s look at news in India’s most widely spoken language: Hindi. With a potential audience footprint running into several hundred million people, the genre must surely recognize its indispensable role in protecting the rights of this, often disadvantaged, class of viewers / citizens. What do they actually get? A puerile confection of tabloid sensationalism, GE quasi-reruns and an endless barrage of news pablum.

     

    Can we be hopeful that things can or will change? Yes. For the strangest reason.

     

    The promise of BARC to give us a wider and deeper understanding of the needs and interest of the television audience. And its other promise of shifting the inventory valuation from a relative currency (CPRP) to an absolute one (CPT). As broadcasters receive a more fair value for the product they sell, their need to be incessantly strident to get audiences or perish trying, will be replaced by greater sobriety and a renewed focus on creative quality.

     

    66th Independence Day Greetings to all my readers and their families!

     

  • Prasar Bharati, which believes that the TAM data under-represents terrestrial and rural reach of Doordarshan, is holding consultation with the ministry and contemplating appropriate action against TAM

    AAAI, ISA to meet TAM on Aug 16 as MIB, Prasar Bharti mull probe

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ministry of information & broadcasting and Prasar Bharati will jointly investigate allegations of fudging of television viewership by TAM Media Research. The two have also sought an explanation from TAM on this issue.

     

    Prasar Bharati, which believes that the TAM data completely under-represents terrestrial and rural reach of Doordarshan – the state broadcaster, is holding consultation with the ministry and contemplating appropriate action against TAM, a senior government official, who asked not to be named, said.

     

    “It is high time transparency and fairness came into the system,” the Information & Broadcasting ministry official said. The ministry has written to TAM asking for an explanation. “Within this week, we are also sending out reference letters to TRAI, the telecom regulator, and Competition Commission of India,” the official added.

     

    The Prasar Bharati board has already given in-principle approval to collate facts, seek legal opinion and hold consultations with the ministry on the issue of misrepresentation and under-reporting of data for Doordarshan by TAM.

     

    “Prasar Bharati also feels that TAM data completely under-represents terrestrial and rural reach of Doordarshan. We always felt that this has caused immense losses to the state broadcaster,” said the person.

     

    TAM Media Research India’s chief executive officer, LV Krishnan, said he has no comments to offer on the issue.

     

    New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has sued The Nielsen Company, a global research and information firm, and its partner Kantar Media Research in a New York court for tampering with TV viewership data to favour broadcasters who allegedly bribed executives in its Indian JV, TAM.

     

    NDTV has filed a suit in the New York State Supreme Court seeking damages of around $1.4 billion for negligence and fraud and hundreds of millions more for interference and breach of fiduciary duty. Advertisers and media agencies depend on TAM data-the only available measurement for TV viewership – to negotiate ad rates.

     

    Meanwhile, concerned by NDTV’s allegations on TAM, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has called for a meeting with TAM officials later this week. “We are meeting the TAM officials to get the facts rights and understand the issue in the right perspective,” said Arvind Sharma, president, AAAI. The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) would be attending the meeting, which has been scheduled for August 16, 2012.

     

    “Since advertising agencies are involved in media planning and buying, which is dependent on TAM ratings, we need to know if there is anything to be concerned about,” said Mr Sharma.

     

    Advertisers also say that it was time for media buying agencies to stop relying only on TAM. “Our media buying agencies depend on the ratings provided by TAM. The onus is on marketers to demand from the agencies basis at which they have been spending the advertisers’ money. There have been issues like TAM’s sample size, but over a period of time lethargy had set in,” said Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer, Dish TV.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • The primary objective was to design a policy ecosystem in which new ideas would be integrated into the mainstream and get converted into policy initiatives by the government

    MIB looks ahead as Sectoral Innovation Council recommends embracing tech & new media

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Sectoral Innovation Council of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, under the Chairpersonship of Ms Asha Swarup, Retd Secretary, Government of India, on July 26 submitted its report to Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Ms Ambika Soni.  The primary objective was to design a policy ecosystem in which new ideas would be integrated into the mainstream and get converted into policy initiatives by the government.

     

    Ms Soni said that the issues deliberated upon by the Council would be looked into by the Ministry in the policy domain. The recommendations made by the Council in different Media and Entertainment sectors would act as a roadmap in the future. The Council, in its report, analysed the growth potential of the media & entertainment industry by recommending changes in critical areas such as broadcasting, print media, animation, gaming and VFX, Media education and films.

     

    The Council has made 64 recommendations in seven areas concerning the media and entertainment sector. Some of the key recommendations are:

    1. A comprehensive policy media policy that integrates all existing media segments and addresses the emergent issues. The council has recommended bringing out a National Media Policy that addresses the new media landscape.

    2. The government may look into the existing licensing procedures and requirements to ensure further liberalization and reforms in the broadcasting sector.

    3. Content innovation is required in the radio segment which would be possible only if the government comes up with a separate licensing model for niche channels.

    4. Ministry of I&B, as the policy head of public service broadcasting and community radio service could come out with a formal arrangement by which CRS could provide community based programme content to AIR and AIR could provide capacity building and training to CRS workers in content creation, management and operation of stations.

    5. The process of digitalization in DD and AIR was likely to release airwaves which after due utilization in house could be used for creating a public service broadcasting fund in line with USO fund of telecom sector. This fund could be utilized exclusively for public service broadcasting.

    6. In view of the potential in the films sector, the Council has recommended a National Film Policy that will address the role of the government vis-à-vis the private sector.

    7. Film Institutes in the country may be upgraded to ‘Centres of Excellence’. In the long term, these Centres of Excellence could become part of a Central University of Films, Broadcasting and Animation by an appropriate legislation.

    8. The government must have a National Policy for Animation, Gaming and VFX.

    9. The government should go for co-production treaties in the animation sector to ensure flow of international projects toIndia. Ministry could also consider giving responsibility to the Children’s Film Society and Doordarshan to produce animated content and create Indian IP.

    10. Reliable Single Source Data on all mediums of advertising should be made available by the government so that advertisers are able to take decisions on reliable data.

    11. Government should interact with key stakeholders and expedite a consensus on developing an alternative to TAM so that an appropriate mechanism is developed with industry participation to study audience viewing and listening behaviour and bring out reports on weekly basis.

    12. Government should regulate media education to ensure orderly growth of the discipline as part of higher education.

    13. Like medical education and technical education, Media Education to be regulated by a new organisation known as Media Education Council. The Media Education Council should be assigned the task of setting up curriculum for all levels, so that standardised curriculum with national accreditation becomes a possibility.

    14. There is need to make IIMC, FTII and SRFTI into real centres of excellence.

    15. The government should reformat the course curriculum, improve faculty of the institutes. These institutions could either be separate universities or become a part of one central university.

    16. National Awards for Innovation in different segments of M&E Sector be instituted by the ministry.

    17. New Media should be utilized for media campaigns by the government.

    E-mode transactions should be a priority for the functions of DAVP, RNI, CBFC and licensing activities of the Government for ensuring transparency.

     

    The Sectoral Innovation Council was set up on July 28, 2011 as part of the Government of India’s initiative of declaring 2010- 2020 as the Decade of Innovation. Accordingly, the Government set up a National Innovation Council with Mr Sam Pitroda as Chairman and 16 distinguished members. The members of the I&B Sectoral Innovation Council comprised of Chairperson, Ms Asha Swarup, retired Secretary, Government of India and 10 other distinguished members from the field of media and entertainment.

     

  • With everyone being on-the-go 24/7, 365 days a year, on demand services give people the luxury to watch their favourite movies/new release at their preferred time and place, says Shreyash Sigtia

    The Anchor: 5 reasons why online demand services are the next big thing

    By Shreyash Sigtia

     

    1. Paradox of Choice

    Earlier audiences had very limited choice with only Doordarshan and DD Metro as channels for entertainment. Cut to a couple of decades back where audiences were spoilt for choice with nearly 500 channels to select from. But all this time viewers did not have much choice in terms of content/data selection; they never really had complete control on the viewership. So now, with the advent of online demand services, this situation has improved considerably. Customers now have the freedom of paying for the content of their choice and watch it at their own preferred time slot

     

    2. Choice of Devices

    As a country, we have moved from joint families to nuclear families to finally being cellular families, our lives revolve around smart gadgets from morning to evening. Along with internet on PC, people today also have a choice to stream these videos on their smart phones and tablets. With the current boom in the smart phones and tablets market due to competitive price offering supported by 3G and 4G high speed internet browsing, the consumer can easily view the videos on multiple connected devices.

     

    3. Convenience of time and place

    With the kind of hectic lifestyle one has today, taking out time to visit a theatre for every movie has become a little cumbersome and difficult. With everyone being on-the-go 24/7, 365 days a year, on demand services give people the luxury to watch their favourite movies/new release at their preferred time and place.

     

    4. Beyond the metros

    Indiais diverse and wide-spread. There are several small budget and/orHollywoodmovies that get released only in the top metros. Consumers residing in tier 2 and 3 cities earlier had no access to such films But with the availability of on demand services, even a consumer  living in tier 2 or 3 towns and cities can enjoy such releases, be it Hindi, English or any other language at the click of the mouse.

     

    5. Easy Payment Options

    There has been an increase in the online payment options for consumers. It is no more limited to cash or credit cards. Services like ITZ Cash and Suvidha Pin allow the user to do payment online. An individual doesn’t have to move from places to places for paying the bills.

     

    Shreyash Sigtia is the Business Head at BIG Flicks Pvt. Ltd.

     

  • Unless Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bengalsee the DAS in their own interest, Mrs Soni and her two key satraps won't make progress beyond impotent bluster, says Rohit Bansal

    The Anchor: Rohit Bansal on 5 must-dos for the sun to rise on Digitization on Nov 1

    By Rohit Bansal

     

    1. Govt and Ambika Soni must stay

    To state the obvious, for The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011 to kick in the mandatory switchover of the existing analogue cable TV networks to Digital Addressable System (DAS) in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the government must survive.

     

    Even if that’s a given, the minister Mrs Ambika Soni mustn’t be allowed to meander into party work. If she does, a new minister will take his or her own to time settle down, and pernicious lobbies for a status quo will have an upper hand.

     

    2. Ambika Soni and her babus get three states into action

    Though Shastri Bhavan bears the mantle of implementing the Act, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has no boots on the ground. So, unless Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu andBengalsee the DAS in their own interest, Mrs Soni, Uday Varma and Rajeev Takru, her two key satraps, won’t make progress beyond impotent bluster.

     

    3. There’s deeper monitoring and a few scalps on the lamp post

    Albeit coming late, TRAI regulations on Tariff & Interconnection would have had enough time since April 30 to sink in. The Quality of Service Regulations and the Consumer Complaint Redressal Regulations would have existed since May 14, requiring every Broadcaster and MSO to publish its Reference Interconnect Offer within 30 days of issue of the regulation, and the stipulated 30 days for negotiations between Broadcasters and MSOs, and thereafter, the MSOs and LCOs to arrive at agreements for us ordinary Joes would have been exhausted many times over. No one could then cite lack of time for fuzziness over the terms and conditions for installing Set Top Boxes and the prices of channels on an a-la-carte as well as on a bouquet basis. Also, every MSO or its linked Cable Operator would have no excuse for failing to put a Consumer Complaint Redressal System consisting of a complaint centre with toll free consumer care number, web based complaint monitoring system, as well as appoint or designate one or more nodal officers and publish consumer’s charter for DAS.

     

    Thus Verma and Takru have their tasks cut out. Implementation is their dharma, the concerned states their believers.

     

    4. ISRO delivers the promised launch

    For any stick that Takru and Varma may hold, the cable operator is wily enough to dodge them. What she can’t is if Indian Space Research Organisation’s much-delayed GSAT-7 multi-band satellite, carrying payloads in UHF [ultra-high frequency], S-band, C-band and Ku-band, leaves the ground and starts doing some work. It would then be left to Doordarshan’s Tripurari Sharan to show his mettle and put together a free-to-air DTH platform of 200+ channels on GSAT-7. If Sharan can swing that, the cablewalla will embrace DAS with a measure of fear if not conviction.

     

    5. The DTH Gorilla Begins to Maraud

    These folks have sat on their backsides sleeping over the opportunity that “DAS Confusion” presents to them. If only they can get cable operators to become LMOs and leverage some Rs6,000crore residing in their war chests, the pure-play cablewalla will see more in digitization than what the long-arm of the regulation can ever achieve by scaring him.

     

    Rohit Bansal is CEO & Co-Founder, Hammurabi & Solomon Consulting

     

     

  • In Media Matrix, Paritosh Joshi discusses, analyses and deliberates on the fundamentals of key industry issues

    Paritosh Joshi: Unbundling the Living Room

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    An erstwhile colleague was talking about the proliferation of the second television set. In her assessment, as many as 10% of all C&S homes now have more than one TV. Listen close. 10% of ~100 million homes. That’s 10 million multi-TV homes in the country. From 1 TV for every 5 viewers, the equation has changed sharply, for these 10 million homes to 1 TV for every 2.5 viewers. Evidently there will be consequences. (And as you shall soon see, it is even better (or worse) than that).

     

    Whether you look at Hindi, English or any of the languages in which TV is offered in India, there is a common architecture that defines the structure of the market. Three pillars hold it up: big and hefty General Entertainment, massive Sports (shared across language barriers by offerings only in two languages) and wildly proliferating News with lots of fragile strands. Since Sports really has no local identity, focused as it is on the national obsession with Cricket, and News offers no heft, the defining feature of TV in every language is GEC. Dig a little deeper and the content logic of the GEC genre starts to become evident.

     

    GECs got blueprinted by the late 1990s. Indeed, you could argue that the basic template was in place even long before that, in the form of Doordarshan. Homes had one TV. Most people in the family, barring the housewife, would be away from the home for educational or employment reasons for several hours a day. The family would only start to congregate in the Living Room from about 6 p.m. as the members returned from wherever the day’s chores had taken them. By 8ish, there was a full house and smart programmers would be offering up delights that everyone would lap up without discomfort or embarrassment. The stereotypical picture of the Great Indian Family sharing and bonding before the Great Indian Entertainment TV Channel would now be complete. It was almost hard to discern where the khandan on TV ended and the parivaar in the Living Room began.

     

    Anyone who lived through the late 90s and early years of this millennium will recall vividly, as the stentorian authority of Amitabh Bachchan delivering his signature ‘Namaskar! Aadab! Sat Sri Akal’ echoed through domestic hallways in over a half of our country, he would have everyone jostling to find their favourite spot before the TV dabba. Once said spot was secured, it would be squatted on until the day’s K serials and such wrapped up.

     

    While all Hindi channels picked up the simple formula of family values and ‘rona dhona’ very quickly- thereby making them all look like reduced sized copies of the industry’s 500 pound gorilla, the regional players weren’t far behind. The model was perfected in Hindi and swiftly exported to markets in all regional languages.

     

    In the meanwhile, India was getting more prosperous as the economy saw half a decade of near double-digit economic expansion. At the same time, the telecommunications revolution was well and truly upon us. Call rates for mobile telephony fell in a frenzied race to the bottom. Handsets started developing capabilities far beyond the basic voice and text and shedding the boring monochrome screen for a jazzed up colour display. More onboard memory with scope of incrementing it further by more and more capacious SD cards, faster processors and rendering engines that took blur and dullness out of the mobile desktop screen enabled altogether new consumption possibilities on the tiny (but also growing fast) cellphone screens. Other screens were entering the repertoire. A second TV was seen as a mark of upward mobility. Desktop computers were becoming indispensable particularly in middle class homes with school- or college-going youngsters.

     

    Sources of AV content were growing far beyond C&S TV with young, urban consumers discovering the forbidden joys of ‘torrents’ that had reawakened, in a new morph, the only recently exorcised Napster. And there were so many alternatives on where the content, thus secured, could be consumed. The second TV would often come attached to a DVD player, or even a gaming console both of which did a commendable job of playing content. Even the little mobile device in the pocketwas rapidly becoming powerful enough to store and play not just songs and clips, but long form entertainment sourced from friend and stranger.

     

    The tyranny of the compulsory assembly before the glowing siren in the Living Room was being challenged by sundry interlopers big and small that were leading an uprising of person specific content.

     

    Oblivious to these tectonic changes in the landscape, programmers and channel heads, with their heads still stuck firmly up their <scatology deleted> outmoded notions of the ‘One big, happy family’ continued to design and programme General Entertainment. “Hey, you can have a car of any colour you want”, they incanted, “so long as it is black”. But who was listening? The young ‘uns had already found shiny, sleek, colourful new rides that they could scoot away in.

     

    p.s. for Programmers and Channel Heads: You may not have noticed it yet, honey, but someone just unbundled the Living Room.

     

    Paritosh Joshi was until recently CEO, Star CJ. He has been a marketer, a mediaperson and a key officebearer on industry bodies. He can reached via the comments board below or his Twitter handle @paritoshZero.

     

     

  • They say that TRPs should decide the ad rates of reality shows instead of the channels charging advertisers fixed rates even before the show goes live

    Advertisers crib as TRPs fall for Satyamev Jayate

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    The truth isn’t quite triumphing – not at least in the way some advertisers on Aamir Khan’s hyped debut television reality show Satyamev Jayate thought it would. Television rating points (TRPs) have fallen short of expectations, say at least two marketing heads of associate sponsors, although publicly most advertisers are making the right noises. That, however, hasn’t stopped media buying firms, on behalf of advertisers, from pushing for result and performance-based ad rates on reality shows. They say that TRPs should decide the ad rates of reality shows instead of the channels charging advertisers fixed rates even before the show goes live.

     

    As per rating agency TAM’s data released by Star on June 13, Satyamev Jayate – which is being aired on Sunday mornings across nine channels of the Star Network (as well as on the state-owned Doordarshan) delivered a national TVR of 3.9. That’s lower than the ratings of blockbuster shows of the past like Kaun Banega Crorepati (Sony Entertainment) and Bigg Boss’ debut show (Colors).

     

    Navin Khemka, managing partner of media buying firm ZenithOptimedia, which represents consumer goods major Reckitt Benckiser, one of the associate sponsors of Satyamev Jayate said: “All the risk cannot be passed on to the advertiser. With high entry-level costs on reality shows, it is critical that channels take more accountability on the returns on investment.”

     

    Increasingly, agencies and clients will ask for certain minimum guarantees on programme performance and viewership, he added: “It has to be a win-win for both the brand and the show.”

     

    While Bharti Airtel coughed up a chunky Rs17-20 crore for the presenting sponsor slot, associate sponsors like Axis Bank, Reckitt Benckiser, Skoda, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson paid Rs6-7 crore each for the 13-week show.

     

    Star has charged Rs8-10 lakh per 10 seconds for spot rates for Satyamev Jayate while spot rates for KBC were Rs 3.5-4 lakh per 10 seconds.

     

    According to the marketing head of an associate sponsor who did not wish to be quoted, returns on investment on the show could have been higher. “The way the show was sold to us, we expected higher ratings. It’s disappointing and we hope the ratings increase as the show progresses.”

     

    However, Bharat Bambawale, global brand director at Bharti Airtel, defended the investment: “To view the success of a show based only on television ratings would limit its overall value. The success of a show has to be looked at collectively and in a holistic way… the content of a show will impact ratings.” On whether broadcasters should rationalise ad rates on reality shows, Bambawale said: “It’s a matter of individual judgement for every sponsor.”

     

    Basabdutta Chowdhury, CEO of Platinum Media, a division of media buying firm Madison World, which buys media for Bharti Airtel, said: “Advertisers do want accountability and minimum guarantees factored in for reality shows in general, although Satyamev Jayate was not meant to be a mass ratings show.”

     

    On reality shows, deals are structured in a way that they cannot be re-negotiated through the entire program. This is unlike cricket where broadcasters keep at least some ad inventory – like the semi-finals and finals – open to negotiations based on the ratings.

     

    Ajit Varghese, MD, South Asia of Maxus, which is owned by the country’s largest media buying house Group M, said: “While there’s no standardised way of looking at a deal, we all are pushing for deals with a minimum guarantee. Of course, the arrangement should factor in an upside too, but overall ad deals should be linked to a programme’s performance.”

     

    Veteran ad man Santosh Desai is of the view that Satyamev Jayate needs to be evaluated not just by viewership but also for the impact it has. “It’s a difficult show to watch…. Some subjects don’t have a mass audience at all so to be watched week after week by masses will be a challenge.” KBC’s most recent season had opened to a rating of 5.24, and Bigg Boss Season 5 had opened to a TRP of 4.25. The Amitabh Bachchan-hosted KBC had managed ratings of over 4 all through its run.

     

    A Star India spokesperson says the show has delivered a reach of Rs40 crore over the first five episodes (including repeats). The launch episode delivered a TVR of 4.9 in Hindi-speaking markets and a 4.1 TVR all-India. Subsequently, all episodes have consistently delivered a 4+ rating in HSM and 3.5+ ratings at the all-India level.

     

    Kevin Vaz, Star India president, ad sales said: “Satyamev has ranked amongst the top few every week on an all-India level.”

     

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Chandradeep 'CD' Mitra on why general entertainment channels rule telly-land!

    The Anchor: Chandradeep Mitra on 5 reasons why GECs rule the Indian TV industry

    By Chandradeep Mitra

     

    1. Historicity – General Entertainment Channels (or GECs) were the first and the main channels which started the TV culture in our country – Doordarshan (DD), then Zee, then Star. In fact, all other channel genres – news, sports, kids, music, etc. – started off as sections within main GECs before being spun off separately. However, GECs have remained the main draws, the big brothers and the bouquet-drivers in the TV business.

     

    2. Mainstream Entertainment Quotient – In an entertainment-crazy nation fed on Bollywood and other escapist fare, GECs provide the most broad-based mass-appeal entertainment platter (think ‘Thali’!) that aims to please most, if not all, of the TV audiences, unlike more niche options targeting smaller audience groups.

     

    3. Targeting Remote Controllers – Among various TV audiences, GECs have traditionally targeted the middle-class, middle-aged women the most, who form the largest and most loyal TV viewing group. Long-running soaps and popular well-tested formats ensured repeat viewing of this core audience. And the fact that most Indian households are single TV homes ensured that GECs won over other channels during primetime by targeting the folks who controlled the TV remote at those hours. The creation of the afternoon slot also resulted from targeting this audience group, further consolidating the lead of GECs.

     

    4. Resource Prioritization – As GECs were historically the bigger TV channels, media owners as well as advertisers put greater focus and energy on continuing their success, hence dominance. The biggest production budgets, the slickest marketing campaigns and the biggest stars (think Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan…) all were marshaled to make GECs bigger and stronger. Success perpetuated more success.

     

    5. Biggest Innovations / Breakthroughs – While a number of GECs continued to play safe and repeat successful formulas (remember the Saas Bahu serials?!), the high stakes game in the GEC genre also ensured that the biggest innovations and introduction of breakthrough formats also happened on GECs (think KBC and Satyamev Jayate). This ensured that more often than not, it was a GEC that benefited from a positive discontinuity in Indian television (IPL is perhaps one exception).

     

    Chandradeep Mitra is CEO, PipalMajik

     

     

  • A simple story and real emotions propelled Balika Vadhu (and Colors) to the top. The show completes a thousand episodes of airing tonight.

    1000 episodes, and counting!

     

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Avika Gaur

    In 2008, when general entertainment channel Colors, was launched by Viacom18 – a joint venture between Viacom Inc and the Network18 Group, there was much promise of  a new spectrum of emotions and entertainment. While there were high profile reality shows on offer, the one serial that caught everyone’s attention was Balika Vadhu, a story of Anandi, married off in a rich family as a child. The show will complete 1,000 episodes today (May 14), a feat not many shows have accomplished in the Indian television industry.

     

     

     

    Ashwini Yardi

    Balika Vadhu show caught everyone’s attention because of its simple story and real emotions. Anandi captured the hearts of millions, making it the No 1 show at that time slot. Talking about Balika Vadhu, former programming head of the channel, Ashwini Yardi recollects: “It is the only show I said yes to in 30 seconds. Balika Vadhu is a cult show that portrays the journey of a child bride into womanhood. Even when the channel was launched, the show wasn’t promoted or marketed as much as the other shows. So, it has achieved everything on its own.”

     

    Child marriage isn’t something new, many young girls and boys are forced into it even today and the government and activists have tried to curb this social evil. Through the show, the writer and the channel wanted to convey the side-effects a child marriage can have on one’s life.

     

    Purnendu Shekhar

    “The realism in the characters and storyline is what made the show connect with its audience. We have never compromised of the plot and concept of the story to gain TRPs. Balika Vadhu is the first show which raised a social issue as its main plot on a primetime. And we wanted to educate people as well as entertain them,” says Purnendu Shekhar, the writer of the show.

     

    Agreeing with Mr Shekhar, Prashant Bhatt, fiction head, Colors says: “The story is the hero. The concept of the show decides how the look and treatment of the show will progress. So much so that the cast, the sites, the look, the makeup, even the language is completely tied to the concept. Balika Vadhu brought about authenticity, consistency and meaningfulness and that has worked. Today, Anandi, Sumitra, Dadisa, Bhairon and many others are household names solely because of the way the characters have been portrayed; the actors literally live their roles. The dialogues and its delivery has raised the bar completely. In totality, the show is an honest effort from our end to highlight issues to a mass audience and its acceptance is a great high for us.”

     

    Monaz K Todywalla

    Of the 197 weeks of being on-air, it’s been the No 1 show in the slot for 172 weeks. According to Monaz K Todywalla, general manager, Madison Media, the reason why the show has worked well for so long is: “The simple storyline of Balika Vadhu, in its early days was a refreshing change from the high drama soaps that existed. The show started off a new trend of addressing social problems that exist within the fabric of the country; people empathize with the story of a young girl who was married at a young age – the twists in her life deal with problems that women in India face. More importantly, because Anandi doesn’t play a victim, but fights odds to emerge a winner.”

     

    Deepak Netram, vice president, Lodestar UM, reasons why Balika Vadhu has been able to cut across masses. “The show was a milestone in the GEC space. It redefined a lot of trends and was a winner for the channel for a long time in many aspects. The show targeted a certain TG and that’s the audience many advertisers want too,” he said.

     

    OTHERS IN THE 1000+ EPISODES CLUB

    Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi – April 2005
    Kahaani  Ghar Ghar Ki – Aug 2005
    Kasauti Zindagi Ki – May 2006
    Kumkum – April 2007
    Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki – June 2009

    At 1,000 not out, Mr Shekhar shared that it wasn’t easy to keep freshness alive in a daily soap: “When I had written the show for Doordarshan in 1992, the show was supposed to have only 25 episodes. I feel till the time the viewers continue watching and enjoying the show, we’ll continue to write.” For the DD version, the young couple were supposed to grow-up in the fourth episode itself, whereas on Colors the show took a time-leap in the 517th episode.

     

     

    Jaahnavi P Paal

    But not everyone believes that the show must be allowed to continue till the ratings become negligible. TV analyst and columnist, Jaahnavi P Paal rues that Indian soap operas tend to lose the plot and drag. I guess the same has happened with Balika Vadhu too. Today, many avid viewers of the show have lost interest in it. Maybe that’s why it has lost its  number 1 spot. I’m a firm believer that a show must end at a proper time instead of being dragged.

     

    However, there’s no denying the fact that as a serial Balika Vadhu changed the trend with its interesting and unusual concept. Social awareness through primetime benefitted the show as well as the channel.

     

     

  • TAM released its mid-week ratings for the six metros with the show garnering a TVR of 3.79 on Star Plus and 0.43 for DD

    TAM releases mid-week TVRs for SMJ

    By A Correspondent

     

    Since Sunday last, when Aamir Khan made his debut on the small screen with Satyamev Jayate, there has been much discussion on the show and how it has established a new dimension to  entertainment television. Albeit only on Sunday mornings.

     

    While the all-India ratings will be out only next Wednesday, those for six metros was released this morning. According to TAM Media, in the All4+ category, the show’s prime telecast got a rating on 4.27 in the six metros for all nine channels. In the C&S4+, overall viewership TVR of the prime telecast was 4.08. In the three Hindi-speaking metros (Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata), the show got a TVR of 3.79 on Star Plus itself. In the 6 metros (all4+), DD National scored a TVR of 0.43.

     

     

    Pratap Bose, COO, DDB Mudra was disappointed by the ratings. “To be frank, I was expecting a higher rating, so I’m surprised at a 3.79 TVR in the three metros. According to me, the show should have gotten at least a rating of 6 across sections. However, I’m optimistic and hope that as the show progresses, it will be able to do well.”

     

    On the other hand, Ashwini Kamat, GM, MediaCom feels that the ratings are okay since it’s mid-week rating only. “I’m sure the ratings which will come out on the coming Wednesday would be much higher. It would be closer to 4.5 TVR for the three metros.”

     

    Echoing the view that one must wait for the All-India ratings is Sundeep Nagpal, Director, Stratagem Media. “Given the canvas of the issues raised and the multi-channel simulcast across the country, the six-city numbers are probably not the best way to judge the popularity of the programme,” he said.