ITV

Category: Comment

  • How Colors is adding ‘colours’ to its content

    We produce over 7500 hours of original content per year only amongst the top six GECs, which by itself is a tall order, and yet we produce great shows that goes on for over five years on almost a daily basis. Internationally also shows go on for years but they are in seasons and they take a break and most of them are not daily. So to that extent, in a way we can say we create great content, especially given the budgets we operate in.

    I believe that the 12 minute regulation on advertising inventory will act as the much needed catalyst for the advertising yields to go up, so I am very optimistic about the future
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    At this moment, the budgets we work with is very very low for fiction shows as compared to worldwide benchmarks, and it shows in the quality of the product that goes on air. It is an chicken and egg situation, you can‘t produce high quality shows if you don‘t invest…You can‘t invest if you do not generate sufficient revenue. Right now we have too much dependency on advertising revenue, where the yield has been stagnant for years and a fair share either in increased subscription revenues or a decrease in carriage fees hasn‘t really happened yet. But with digitisation progressing and the remaining phases to be implemented soon, I believe that over the next two-three year horizon this correction is bound to take place. What it means is broadcasters will then have more money in their kitty to reinvest on quality programming, thus enriching the viewing experience multifold for the consumer. I also believe that the 12 minute regulation on advertising inventory will act as the much needed catalyst for the advertising yields to go up, so I am very optimistic about the future.

    Yes we have some challenges facing the industry. There is a dearth of good script writers, most of the stories that come to us are unfortunately cut and paste jobs, either from movies or from across different shows. Original thinking is surprisingly missing. Then if you look at the comic genre, there are hardly any good comedy writers, in fact you can count them on your fingers. So either there is a genuine dearth or we haven‘t been able to scout & nurture talent as an industry. We like to work with the same people who are so overloaded with work and are unable to devote 100 per cent to one story (There ofcourse are exceptions to the rule). Production houses have become executors, the channel EP‘s take credit when a show does well but blames the production house, script writer, everyone else when the show flops. We need to move to a system where the production house takes cent per cent accountability to deliver a show and its ratings. A system where they are both incentivised and penalised for performance. The channel EP‘s must strictly supervise that all deliverables are met & quality check. The producer of the show must have a skin in the game so that they are fully involved.

    Right now we have too much dependency on advertising revenue, where the yield has been stagnant for years and a fair share either in increased subscription revenues or a decrease in carriage fees hasn‘t really happened yet
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    Talent is another challenge, inspite of being a country of 1.3 billion people, talent is still an issue. Again, part of the problems lies with us broadcasters, we don‘t want to experiment with new people. We want the same hosts, same judges, and are not willing to look beyond. Its a musical chair. Everyone wants to play safe. We prefer to stay in our comfort zone and we need to change this mindset.

    Last year we had a list of names floating to anchor our show Jhalak Dikhhlaa Jaa. Also for the judges. My non fiction programming head and I were insistent that we needed a face that was new…Thus we got Manish Paul & see what a success he has been! We got Karan Johar again from outside the regular judges list and he has turned out to be the best judge on any TV show! His contribution to the show, like Madhuri & Remo has been enormous.

    Television is a very potent medium. The beauty of TV is, you take anybody and put them on television a couple of times and they will become a celebrity. TV fiction stars are more popular than film stars even though they may not get the same adulation as a film star. But the truth is they invade millions of drawing rooms and bedrooms day in and day out 365 days of the year in the remotest parts of the country. I have had legends in the field of art and culture or even very eminent people from different walks of life wanting to meet some of the characters from their favourite shows. I have seen film actors‘ parents wanting a picture with their favourite TV star…The problem with TV stars is their life span is comparatively short and their fortunes are linked to the performance of, at most times, just one show. Once the show is successful some of them forget what got them there in the first place and there is no one to counsel them or professionally manage them. So that is another area, that we need to work on and develop as an industry.

    We as a channel have taken the first step in upping the ante by announcing a high production fiction show 24 with Anil Kapoor. Sony has followed by announcing a fiction show with Amitabh Bachchan. We are happy that we have set another new trend.

  • What now for broadcasters and advertisers?

    What now for broadcasters and advertisers?

    The clock is ticking down for the seven broadcast networks, (actually eight, if you include Discovery too that joined the fray over the weekend) which coerced TAM to report on them on a monthly basis unilaterally without consulting either the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) or the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

     

    Late Friday evening, advertisers such as Levers, P&G, Loreal, ITC, Britannia, Marico and Godrej put these broadcast networks on notice that if they did not revert to weekly ratings within 72 hours, all advertising on their channels would be pulled off and release orders would stand cancelled, 48 of those hours have already gone past. These broadcasters have only 24 hours left to take a decision.

     

    More advertisers have been sending in their notices over the weekend and this is likely to continue over today. And their 72 hour time bomb notice will also continue to tick.

     

    Advertisers sent the emails over the weekend to probably show they too mean business. Senior managements and sales heads in broadcast networks normally head of for their weekend holidays or timeoffs and hence are normally loathe to convene for any major decisions. With two days out of the three day notice period gone, now broadcasters will be hard-pressed to congregate and do some brainstorming and decide on their way forward today itself.

     

    Above their heads is the guillotine of losing revenues. An estimate is that these broadcaster will lose Rs 22 crore a day collectively should there be a pullout.

     

    There’s more to worry about for the broadcasters. If there are no TVCs, what will they do with the time that has been left vacant by the absence of ads? Fill it with promos of their own shows? Film trailers? But for how long?

     

    They may have to incur further costs should they rely on extra content from 22-24 minutes being churned out currently to 26-27 minutes. That is going to mean writing out larger cheque amounts to TV producers as they will have to work their crew and casts for longer hours.

     

    Continuing being rigid is an option broadcasters have. But it could lead to advertisers being equally rigid, leading to a standoff. Somebody will have to blink.

     

    Even though some of the broadcast CEOs have been haw-hawing, saying that it is the advertisers who will do so, because they need the TV channels and history shows that they are prone to buckling under earlier when they are threatened with no ads, it need not hold true on this occasion.

     

    Advertisers have options today: there are close to 300 channels which are continuing with weekly ratings, while around 105 channels are on a monthly engine. They could put their ads on the weekly-rating- channels. Unless of course the eight “rogue” (in the eyes of the advertisers) networks convince the remainder to join the monthly ratings gang.

     

    At this stage, media observers feel, both sides are doing some grandstanding, watching each others’ moves closely. The squeeze will come when ads stop on TV, and if there is a stalemate. And it will be felt by both.

     

    The year has already seen a slowdown on the economic front, thanks to a weak rupee and a general slowdown. Financial results for most companies are not expected to be something that shareholders will take too kindly by end this year.

     

    Hence, it is in the interest of both to come to the negotiating table, and hammer out a face-saving solution, sooner than later, and keep the advertising cash flows going between each other. A week’s loss of advertising equates an estimated Rs 150 crore in revenue. And a possible further slow down in consumer off take of products from shop shelves for the advertisers. That’s something both cannot afford.

  • The TAM story continued…

    The TAM story continued…

    It has clearly broadcast its intent: the Rs 37,000 crore Indian TV broadcasting industry wants change in the way TV viewership is monitored in India. Though a lot of noise has been made about the quality of and what was wrong with the ratings, followed by broadcasters‘ cancellation notices to TAM Media Research‘s service, nothing specific was forthcoming from them on what those changes should be. This was followed by a period when speculation was that TAM‘s ratings would be blacked out for a while until it corrected itself and satisfied broadcasters.

     

    But despite denials from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) very senior management sources in television channels have toldindiantelevision.com that the cancellation notices by the broadcasters stand cancelled. I guess one shouldn‘t be surprised. Long after some broadcasters unsubscribed, they continued to claim their No 1 position. How? As per ratings, of course.

     

    Confirming this is the CEO of a TV channel: “Most of the broadcasters who sent in their subscription cancellation letters to TAM have withdrawn them. Nobody will come on record; the IBF will say no it has not happened, but the cancellations stand cancelled. All the channels who say they have unsubscribed have been circulating ratings internally and to their producers. So who says that they have cancelled their subscriptions to TAM?”

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    Most of the broadcasters who sent in their subscription cancellation letters to TAM have withdrawn them. Nobody will come on record; the IBF will say no it has not happened, but the cancellations stand cancelled. 
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    But to be fair, the broadcasters did write to TAM withdrawing their subscriptions, but they did not ‘enforce‘ those letters. TAM continued to give out ratings and the industry continued to download them. Besides, one-third of the broadcasting industry unsubscribing was not a shut-down, but a warning. A warning which was very much required. 

     

    While Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is underway and will possibly take over the industry as the sole ‘currency‘ for television ratings by mid-next year, a black-out in the interim period is not a desirable situation for any of the stakeholders, is what we understand.

     

    So the fact is TAM never went away really. What happened was that there were threats to make it go away, but behind closed doors the broadcasters worked on elucidating what they would like TAM to do to win their favour and their custom. Their list of demands, part of which was reported by Mint, includes:

     

    Monthly data v/s Weekly data

     

    Broadcasters prefer their ratings on a monthly basis as opposed to every week. This means data will be week specific, yet it will be available for consumption only at the end of the month.

     

    No ratings for smaller niche

     

    Any cell or segmentation which has less than 30 peoplemeters employed in it, should not be reported. This translates to no ratings for smaller niche channels in that particular month. The idea behind this restriction is self-explanatory. ‘No data is better than insufficient data.‘

     

    CPT v/s CPRP

     

    A lot of the chaos surrounding TAM ratings arises out of tall claims made by channels based on ‘share‘. The broadcasters wish to do away with the share syndrome and want the data strictly in numbers. This implies that the market standard will now have to change from Cost Per Rating Point (CPRP) to Cost Per Thousand (CPT). Broadcasters want to be told the exact number of viewers they are reaching in thousands, irrespective of the share aspect, which as I understand, is prone to loopholes.

     

    BARC supervision

     

    The broadcasters‘ have demanded that the implementation of all their demands and the overall technical procedure is subject to BARC‘s tech committee‘s supervision.

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    Broadcasters have complained for long, that in a country where millions of viewers are getting added annually and there is a robust digitization exercise in place, how can they believe TAM’s claim of the TV universe shrinking? In this context, the demand for increasing the viewers, only seems justified.
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    From 145 million to 260 million

     

    The total television viewing universe in India is approximately 500 million. Out of this, around 240 million comprises rural viewers which are not covered by TAM. This leaves 260 million urban, semi-urban and semi-rural viewers. Currently, TAM covers a universe of 140 million viewers only. The broadcasters rightly demand that the sample base should be boosted to 260 million viewers to cover the entire non-rural universe.

     

    Broadcasters have complained for long, that in a country where more viewers are getting and there is a robust digitization exercise in place, how can they believe TAM‘s claim of the TV universe shrinking? In this context, the demand for increasing the viewers only seems justified.

     

    The fallout happened due to a number of causative factors. Inaccuracy, lack of transparency and illogical explanation were some of the complaints made by the broadcasting industry for a considerably long period of time.

     

    Besides, it was important to send out a clear message to TAM and the rest of the world, that the Indian broadcasting industry is capable of dismantling an existing system by their united strength. Also, the time was right to set the stage for the upcoming BARC. The sudden outburst against TAM was not so sudden after all.

     

    The concerns of all involved have to be addressed sooner than later. And it is definitely a positive development to know that broadcasters finally chose to break their golden silence and initiate corrective measures.

     

    The consensus between TAM and broadcasters is believed to have been reached for the above-mentioned demands. So far everyone stands divided on the way forward based on broadcasters five or six point plan. It is now up to TAM to convince agencies and advertisers, both of which are very crucial stakeholders in the entire set up.

  • Indian TV B’casters: ‘TAM’ing TV ratings

    Indian TV B’casters: ‘TAM’ing TV ratings

     Does the Indian TV broadcast industry want TAM? In one word, the answer is No. Definitely not in the form and manner it is monitoring TV viewership in India. Definitely not the kind of viewership numbers it has been spewing out for them week by week. The major Indian TV broadcast networks have already shown their utter disgust and disregard for its TV ratings by closing their checkbooks on TAM.

    On almost every front, the Indian TV broadcasters – through the IBF – have been flexing their muscles and showing that they mean business. And they have been sorting out troublesome issues: like striking a wage accord with TV industry technicians; setting set up a self-regulatory mechanism when government wanted to muzzle the media; getting the advertising industry to agree to net billing after the government demanded taxes for the gross advertising agency bills it used to make payments on.

    But one of the most vexatious issues it has been grappling with is the TV rating‘s one. And now that the lights have been put out on TAM, what now for the broadcast industry? What are the options before it? Let us take a look at a couple of them:

    *For one they can continue with TAM Media. However, they can give TV ratings a hiatus for a couple of months. It‘s quite possible the chaos that is happening on account of analogue shutoffs and digital set top box switch-ons, will settle down and the ratings will stabilise in that period. They can also dialogue with TAM and ask it to get back to basics and do an establishment survey once again (if possible), represent the peoplemeters appropriately in power-lit areas in LC1, rather than in power-dark areas. And finally, take a closer look at the entire process of churning out ratings that happens every week, through a committee constituted for the very purpose.

    There is a possibility that we could end up with a period of no TV ratings in India if issues are not sorted out by all concerned. How long that period will be is not clear (some say it could be until BARC comes up), but broadcasters will need to get advertisers and agencies’ support for their decision. So far, both have said they are not comfortable with ratings going away, and have spoken up for TAM.
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    With all major B‘casters unsubscribing from TAM TV ratings, only time will tell if the viewers‘ true choice can be reflected with the emergence of BARC

    * Or if this is not working out forget that TAM exists, cut off its blood supply, and watch it gradually bleed and die. Come up with a viewership metric that works in the interim for all concerned – broadcasters, advertisers and agencies – and allows the business of communicating brand messages through television for a fee to continue.

    The broadcast industry is torn between the two options. The first has been done before between October and December 2012 and it was painless for all concerned and allowed TAM to continue its existence in a profitable manner. 

    The second option, while it appears the easier one to see through, comes with its set of challenges.

    The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)‘s TV ratings system seems nearly a year away and could take longer to get to the levels of coverage TAM is providing now. Unless, under the leadership of Puneet Goenka and Partho Dasgupta, BARC manages to do an Ambani on the system and get the establishment survey, the constitution of the sample, the installation of the meters, the development of the software, the stabilisation of the findings and everything down stream thereof completed in super record time. Most advertisers and agencies have been optimistic about BARC.

    Industry can learn some lessons from the experience of Turkey in 2011. Turkey‘s broadcasters and the industry shut down the ratings service run there by AGB Nielsen in late December 2011, amidst allegations of corruption, which were denied by the ratings service provider. The industry body – The Television Audience Research Committee (TIAK) – prematurely severed its contract with AGB and urged TNS – part of the WPP Group‘s Kantar Research – to set up an alternative ratings system which finally got going in May 2012 with a 1000 peoplemeter panel, as against 2,500 people meters earlier.

    Industry can learn some lessons from the experience of Turkey which faced a ratings blackout in 2011. During the blackout TV ad rates and prices were determined by using average ratings from the month before the shutdown, combined with monthly share performance from the whole of the year.
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    In the interim, adage.com reported in March 2012 that life went on for Turkish advertisers, agencies and broadcasters though the “TV-buying system has since been in shambles. Without reliable new-audience measurement data, prices have been determined by using average ratings from the month before the scandal erupted, combined with monthly share performance from the whole of 2011. The industry is working to regain media agencies‘ and advertisers‘ trust.”

    Agreed, we are not questioning the ethics of TAM in India, though many have hurled allegations against it. There is a possibility that we could end up with a period of no TV ratings in India if issues are not sorted out by all concerned.

    How long that period will be is not clear (some say it could be until BARC comes up), but broadcasters will need to get advertisers and agencies‘ support for their decision. So far, both have said they are not comfortable with ratings going away, and have spoken up for TAM.

    With reason. Two or three months without TAM mean they will have little data to support a TV advertising expenditure between Rs 3,600-4,200 crore. That‘s not an amount you can sniff away.

    Hence, all three will have to come to the table and agree on a performance metric to justify the expenditure and offer some accountability. Could the Turkish media industry‘s interim solution during the TV ratings shutdown there be adapted to work in India?

    Broadcasters are slated to huddle very soon (either this week or next) to get some consensus on which route they will take. Some broadcast CEOs have been travelling and hence have not been able to get together.

     

  • Against all odds, Prasar Bharati continues to swim upstream : Brigadier V A M Hussain Member (Personnel) Prasar Bharati

    Against all odds, Prasar Bharati continues to swim upstream : Brigadier V A M Hussain Member (Personnel) Prasar Bharati

    An institution that has been the chronicler and mirror of India‘s history is feeling crippled. With a tenacious CEO under a dynamic Minister of Information & Broadcasting, it is striving to reinvent itself to meet the challenges of contemporary media scenario. Many new experiments are on to change the behemoth called Prasar Bharati that cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 150 crore every month. This public service media organisation is one of the oldest statutory bodies with a hoary past. It is under siege and calls for expeditious intervention to revive the glory of the old faithful that is All India Radio. Doordarshan, the audio-visual arm of Prasar Bharati is always in the public eye with viewers asking for more sumptuous and scintillating fare.

    The Organisation is saddled with a disgruntled work force of about 50,000 who did not get a promotion for decades. To make matters worse, there was no attempt to infuse new blood in the system, either. An out-of-the-box solution is inescapable to break shackles of archaic regulation. The definition of autonomy needs to be revisited to meet the upheavals on the audio- visual landscape, in recent years. Section 33 of the Prasar Bharati Act directs prior government approval for all regulations governing conditions of service. Every employee appointed before October 2007 is considered a government servant on deemed deputation and their promotion is in government ambit. Instead of being a nimble, vibrant media organisation driven by merit, seniority and ‘babudom’ rule the roost. Proposal for a Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board as mandated by the Act of Parliament vide Sections 9 and 10 of The Prasar Bharati Act 1990 is gathering dust in files while government persisted in stalling promotions and new recruitments for two decades now. In effect, Prasar Bharati is like a ship caught in the turbulent waters in the mid sea with none to care on the shore for the SOS of the ship-wrecked crew. Merit and flexible structures are essential for a dynamic and extremely competitive media sector. Meeting the content needs of 750 million people through regional and national infra structure and boosting DTH and terrestrial audience are complex challenges, CEO Jawhar Sircar faces, along with ‘Sarkar‘, the real power.

    A recent experiment showed how independence in Prasar Bharati can make an impact. A truly independent team with young professionals in DD News prime time has rattled the industry with ratings showing an upswing.
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    A recent experiment showed how independence in Prasar Bharati can make an impact. A truly independent team with young professionals in DD News prime time has rattled the industry with ratings showing an upswing. Doordarshan launched a big advertising campaign for the revamped time bands of DD News, DD National and DD Urdu. This was the first such campaign in decades. A little more attention and circumspection are needed at AIR too which got maligned unfortunately by recent media reports of alleged harassment of its women Radio Jockeys. It is staring at a PIL now. FM Gold channel, with practically no permanent staff, earns substantial revenue for the entire AIR network while private FM channels are yearning for popularity with smart young professionals even in small towns and villages. The recently appointed Sam Pitroda Committee has set itself tasks suggesting visible changes for reviving Prasar Bharati. There is a wealth of data and content in archives that can propel AIR to the top of the charts. The expert groups are offering many practical suggestions and initiatives on many fronts including technology, content management, financial independence, government relations and human resources. Dr. Pitroda believes that generational change can be brought about by radical thinking instead of mere cosmetic changes.

    The financial situation continues to be precarious for Prasar Bharati with complex legacies. An unprepared bureaucracy opted for accrual system of accounting and enforced income tax while loans in perpetuity and penal interests soared.The government rescued Prasar Bharati by writing off large sums due as segment hiring and space spectrum charges incurred in the course of broadcasting mandated content, non commercial in nature. Income tax claims stand withdrawn while local bodies continue levying the public broadcaster with huge taxes on property of Union of India but Prasar Bharati has just been permitted use of the government emblem. This is a paradox since 50,000 salaried employees of government are using these assets for functions statutorily assigned by an Act of Parliament. Welcome initiatives of the GOM relieved Prasar Bharati from its financial crystal maze for now by converting loans in perpetuity as grants.

    The need of the hour is to professionalise Prasar Bharati with content-driven channels and professional-driven management owing total allegiance to Prasar Bharati to meaningfully accomplish objectives that were originally dreamt and scripted by the authors of an autonomous public service broadcaster. The dream is worth realising.
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    Apprehensions often raised on the need for a government-funded national public broadcaster are ill-founded. We need an unbiased institution to bench mark initiatives on information, education and entertainment. At the same time, the government needs a media window to show case its policies, initiatives and views by running its own video and audio channels. Government staffing of DD News and AIR News Service Division through Indian Information Service is controlled by the Ministry. The easiest course would be to sever the current nebulous association with Prasar Bharati and declare them government channels on the lines of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TVs and leave Prasar Bharati to professionalise with autonomy.

    The efforts of the government to empower through The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007 get breached frequently. Private business houses that own broadcasting rights of World Cricket tours use pre-embedded feeds of commercials and cause losses in hundreds of crore to Doordarshan. Expeditious amendments would help Prasar Bharati and the government. Despite its huge work force, Prasar Bharati has inadequate structure of professionals managing its own security, assets, property, content, new media, revenue and marketing at the highest levels. The need of the hour is to professionalise Prasar Bharati with content-driven channels and professional-driven management owing total allegiance to Prasar Bharati to meaningfully accomplish objectives that were originally dreamt and scripted by the authors of an autonomous public service broadcaster. The dream is worth realising.

    Will the Committee of Sam Pitroda be able to persuade the government to truly empower Prasar Bharati? On thoughts like this, we often remember Baba Amte’s saying “Faith is the promise of tomorrow” while the swimming upstream by Prasar Bharati continues.

  • Media’s independence needs to be zealously guarded: Narayan Rao Executive Vice Chairperson at NDTV

    Media’s independence needs to be zealously guarded: Narayan Rao Executive Vice Chairperson at NDTV

    Freedom of the media is a fundamental component of a vibrant democracy. It is what differentiates a democracy from a dictatorship and all forms of totalitarianism. Indeed a democracy cannot function without a free media while the latter can only exist in a democratic state.

    As Lord Northcliffe, owner of The Times during the First World War once said, “News is something someone somewhere wants to suppress”. As a free media in the world‘s largest democracy, it is our job to ensure that nothing ever gets suppressed. Also, dissemination of news is really the performance of a public service. We seek to inform and educate and to do it with independence….from Government and from revenue considerations. Our responsibility is not to the Governors but to the governed.

    While a free media is an absolute need, it is also necessary to stress that with freedom comes responsibility. Responsibility to ensure that one is always accurate and credible and respectful of the privacy of an individual.

    It is in this need for freedom with responsibility that talk of regulation comes up every now and then. I would like to state with all the emphasis at my command that the only regulation that is acceptable in a democracy is self regulation. And by this I do not mean that each news organization regulates itself by following its own editorial policy and standards which would naturally be of varying levels from channel to channel, but to have a structured self regulatory mechanism that watches over a common expectation of what constitutes good, responsible journalism.

    While a free media is an absolute need, it is also necessary to stress that with freedom comes responsibility. Responsibility to ensure that one is always accurate and credible and respectful of the privacy of an individual.
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    I honestly believe that the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has made remarkable progress in this regard. We created a common code of ethics, a wonderful document of journalistic good practices and expectations, which is available for all to see on the NBA website. We then set up a News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) with a Chairperson and several eminent members to monitor and ensure that this code is followed by all our member channels. Our first Chairperson was the most ethical, learned and highly regarded, late Justice J S Verma. He ensured along with the eminent members, that the NBSA is truly independent. It also needs to be noted that the NBSA is the “standards authority” and not merely the complaints authority.

     

    The aim is to improve standards of news broadcasting over a period of time and we are well on the path to realizing that aim. In probably the only such example of its kind in the world, every member channel carries a scroll several times a day, exhorting viewers to approach the NBSA if they have any complaint against a channel. The decisions of the NBSA can be seen on the NBA website and over time action has been taken against several of our channels. We also have some Editors sitting on the NBSA for fixed terms and on a rotational basis as it is believed that self regulation flourishes and standards improve when it is known that, among others who will look at the quality of your content, will be your own peers.

    We will miss Justice Verma immensely. But the show must go on and I am honoured and delighted to announce that Justice R V Raveendran, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, has very graciously accepted our invitation to be the next Chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.

    Justice Raveendran brings with him incredible legal and judicial ability, a wealth of experience and outstanding reputation in upholding democratic institutions and values through strict and fair implementation of the law of the land. He very ably takes the baton from the late Justice Verma to chart out the next leg of our mission to establish that the media must function through structured self regulation.

    In such a robust system where is the need for a media council? With all due respect to our Parliamentarians in the Standing Committee and some others, very erudite people who have pushed for such a Council, my counter question to them is what for? When we have the NBSA which is doing such magnificent work in an independent and strict manner, what is it that a media council will do? Who will appoint such a media council? Government? How can that be acceptable?

    We will miss Justice Verma immensely. But the show must go on and I am honoured and delighted to announce that Justice R V Raveendran, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, has very graciously accepted our invitation to be the next Chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.
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    The media is the fourth estate, the fourth pillar of democracy, and has to be independent of the other three. And like the three zealously guard their independence of each other and safeguard their positions, as they must and should do, so should the media zealously guard its independence.

    That in part means, no Government appointed body to oversee the media. 
    Some complain that the NBSA does not have statutory powers. I would urge that they only take a look at the NBA website to look at the powers that the NBSA has been given. These range from censure to asking offending channels to carry apologies, retractions and corrections on the same slot where the offense was first carried (if, for example, the offending story was in the 9 pm news, the retraction/apology has to be carried in the 9 pm news as well), a fine that can be up to Rs one lakh, and finally, the power to recommend to the licensing authority that the license of a particular channel should be suspended, even cancelled. Isn‘t that power enough?

    (To take a dekko at some of the decisions that the NBSA has taken click here)

    Also, it needs to be noted that in the Cable Act, when it comes to the advertising code, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has been mentioned as the standard under which advertising can take place. Similarly, for programming, why can‘t the same be the case with the NBSA for news and the BCCI for other categories of television? In fact this has been one of our long pending requests to the Ministry of I&B.

    What is necessary is to ensure that all laws are implemented strictly and speedily by our courts. We have laws against defamation and libel but the general feeling is that there will be no decision in most such cases for 20 years. That can sometimes make our journalists complacent about essential things like accuracy. If one knows that the law will be applied with effect and expeditiously, one will be far more conscious of the need for absolute accuracy. We have the laws. Please implement them.

    (The views expressed in the comment are in author‘s personal capacity and do not represent the corporate viewpoint)

  • 2012 : A year of agency consolidation : Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media India and South Asia

    2012 : A year of agency consolidation : Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media India and South Asia

    India because it is English speaking, in addition to all the other factors, has every global brand, executive and company vying for a place in the sun. Exchange rates and need of funds coupled with the revered Silicon Valley philosophy of getting bought has made buying of media assets, namely smaller agencies, very lucrative. They called it ‘Consolidation’ and this phenomenon was big in 2012.

    Consolidation seems to be the name of the game with agencies today and has caused a lot of excitement with the media too. It signifies growth, scale, of having arrived, of expansion – resources, fresh finance, services, markets, leverage and professional management, for the partners. Sure, it includes all of it and monopolistic rates for the biggies.

    With a sluggish global economy, emerging markets are havens for international companies, advertising having dried in their primary markets. This environment has been great for a bear run to pick up preferred stocks — digital is A list — at the best price to scale up the portfolio and create volume. Economies of scale drive this from all sides – agency, client, target audience, brand and along with the online ad world being truly flat, it makes perfect business value for groups with deep pockets or who wish to be right at the top.

    Customers want it too, more so planning and buying over creative as did Marriott International. With global presence it needs a global agency from the ‘best’ aspect of brand understanding and inventory.

    These are the Pros and they are far more. It builds market share, creates brand opportunities, allows buying options and deals, has finance and human resource, markets and clients can be leveraged, knowledge and systems are at the core and so on.

    However the Cons part is not without its challenges – internal and external.

    Internal Challenge

    The acquisition culture shock has far reaching effects on work output, people morale and also unknowingly to their client . The essential attractive part that defines them comes from their environment. Chances are this could get lost with the change of culture.

    •  Independent or smaller agencies are more nimble having fewer or no bureaucratic networks of process, reporting and structure.
    •  Competitive and enterprising they go to the client with a ‘less is more‘ approach; redefine the brief and some come up with radical solutions.
    •  For their survival they are democratic and encourage creativity from across the board.
    •  Opposition to mandated thoughts is not career suicide.
    •  There is more focus on ideas over targets, while targets never lose sight
    •  There is more interaction and integration with the boss and across teams.
    •   Even smaller clients get the attention of the boss.

    The adjustment factor takes place from both parent and network, working fruitfully only when financial and human value is accrued.

    External Challenge

    The other aspect is monopoly and stifling of competition.

    Also talent moves to the highest bidder. They cut their teeth and shift; which can lead to boxed horizons right in formative years, as agencies get more specialised and the ‘gurus’ do not really interact with them.

    As business increasingly goes to the behemoths that command better rates, use their network and media relations; small and medium sized agencies are restrained from delivering their best work. In the long term this does not auger well for client or industry and certainly not for the agencies who put their best foot forward.

    2012 in many ways was a landmark year of endurance for media in India, in yet another dismal twelve months of depressed global and local economy.

    Traditionally, when markets do not perform the first thing that gets cut is secondary expenditure, marketing and adverting first. The overall growth from 2011 was about 8 per cent; even the festive seasons did not see the spurt of good times as also the duration of activity which was more curtailed.

    To note is that from this 8 per cent not more than about 2 per cent would be new advertisers or channels, attributed towards new brands or media vehicles. The major share is rate increase in cost of purchase.

    “It is not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

    2012 taught agencies yet again to be more responsive to change:

    Resourcefulness

    Advertisers with their experience of recessionary years have learnt to deliver more with less. But 2012 brought to the fore that this might be here to stay for a longer time and have learnt to work around the client within their budgets and deliver.

    New Media and Clients

    Digital and mobile are now an essential part of a clients marketing plan. They ask for it directly or need to be led towards it. Most have already been approached by at least 2-3 agencies or are already being serviced. They know they want to be up there but many are either not savvy enough or not sure exactly what should be done. Agencies, who force too detailed a brief and asking the client what exactly they want, stand to lose the business to a smaller incumbent.

    Performance, frequency capping and changing of creative’s, altering the ad in real time; alternate ad formats using content and sponsorship have gained prevalence for clients especially those focused on digital; and all are learning fast.

    Working without TAM

    For the first time since its inception almost a decade ago, TAM stopped, chaos was anticipated but clients trusted their agencies and agencies did their job. Advertising continued, inventories were bought, plans were auctioned and the results after the data was released justified that TAM was a report card for good performance not the sole reference point of disbursement of client investment. The “GUT” did return.

    Digitisation

     Finally, the much awaited digitisation set in and 2012 will be a milestone year for TV in India. While it is not complete it moved at a faster pace than people actually expected. Viewers have been sensitised to ‘pay’. It will open alternate revenue streams, create new and differentiated content as also patterns of viewing and grow the platform.

    Integration & Specialisation

    Integrated & Innovative solutions are the flavour of the season. Agencies are positioning themselves as integration specialists along with dedicated teams for clients to become their extended marketing arm in the true sense. Different communication touch points impacting the different stages of the purchase funnel are being looked at as key differentiators.

    Agency Marketing

    More agencies are coming to the fore and marketing themselves, availing the opportunity the industry media and marketing associations afford them. They are more present, more vocal with a shifting mindset from even the more restrained ones.

    2013 is not going to change the economic or advertising scenario. We should see an overall growth of about 9 per cent but when you break it, it shows how lean advertising break-even is and the positives and negatives of economies of scale.

    However, these are realities the industry must contend with. Given its past record, agencies large and small will deliver some great work and value to most of their clients.

    Though what will not change are the growth targets both for top-line and bottom-line.

    Lets wish for happier times going forward. As they say there is no harm in wishing for the best!!

  • 2012: Industry unites to avert deadlocks : Arvind Sharma, Chairman of Leo Burnett India Sub-Continent

    2012: Industry unites to avert deadlocks : Arvind Sharma, Chairman of Leo Burnett India Sub-Continent

    As the ancient Chinese proverb goes – May you live in interesting times! 2012 was certainly an interesting year. Worsening economic conditions caused India‘s GDP growth rate to fall dramatically and its credit rating to be downgraded (much has been written about its causes and remedies). The telecom industry survived the impact of an unprecedented cancellation of 122 licenses. Clients approached life with what is euphemistically called ‘cautious optimism‘. In the middle of all this action, there were a number of good campaigns and a number of unorthodox marketing initiatives – Goafest is round the corner and we‘ll celebrate these soon. These included an unlikely one by Arvind Kejriwal. I was amused that his party‘s name came out of a slogan I had written for the 2004 Congress election campaign, ‘Aam Aadmi ko kya Mila?‘

    Each one of these topics is worthy of a piece in itself. However, in this piece I am writing about a new perspective. A perspective derived from a very unique situation that my industry colleagues put me in. I was requested to perform three industry level roles – each one of them probably a whole job in itself. The roles were that of the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Chairman of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and a member of Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI).

    For the last several years, the broad view that industry bodies have been taking was that they represent special interest groups and they must confront associations and institutions which represent other groups. This philosophy has merits – it is fair and legitimate that all sections of the industry aggressively push their viewpoints and interests. However, demerits of this approach should be equally obvious. If every association is locked into an inflexible position of self interest, you only have deadlocks and ‘cliffs‘. 2012 was a year where my colleagues across associations, took a U-turn on this mindset. We were able to resolve a number of deadlocks that had dogged the industry for years.

    Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), promoters of erstwhile National Readership Survey (NRS), and Media Research Users Council (MRUC), owners of Indian Readership Survey (IRS), not only came together but actually agreed on all the improvements that were required in readership studies. They agreed on major methodological issues. They even agreed on choice of a new research agency to conduct the new IRS.

    On the TV measurement front, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and AAAI actually signed an agreement to create the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). And surprise surprise! Everyone agreed on the choice of the technical committee chairman! Hopefully, BARC will now move forward and deliver us a new TV audience measurement system in around a year.

    A few years ago, an attempt to introduce digitisation under the name of Conditional Access System (CAS) in metros failed miserably. One of the reported reasons for the failure was that under CAS, measurement data is bound to be unstable for some weeks which resulted in unexpected winners. The winners tried to make the most of their weekly bonanzas and the losers retaliated by withdrawing support for CAS. AAAI, IBF and ISA, looking at the big picture, agreed to suspend release of audience measurement data for a few weeks. Of course, the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Mrs. Ambika Soni‘s role in making digitisation possible has been recognised across the country. However, the role that the three associations collectively played to ensure successful implementation of this law has been critical.

    On regulation of advertising content, similar positive and collaborative dialogues are under way between ASCI and various other institutions.

    Various institutions and industry associations do represent interests of various segments of the society and business. However, in 2012, the wisdom that segments cannot improve their lots unless the whole improves, is the wisdom that prevailed. I fervently hope that this will continue to be the industry‘s mindset as we move forward to address many issues that the society at large and the industry face moving ahead.

    With some definite signals and many forecasts optimistic of a better year ahead, I eagerly look forward to 2013. I believe that it will not just be an interesting year but a year of growth and progress for all of us. Wishing everyone a happy 2013!

     

  • Sunny, porn and big bad world of TV

    Sunny, porn and big bad world of TV

    It took a lot of frisking around in bed in the buff – with first, women,and then men – for the camera to transform an Indian Sikh girl Karenjit Kaur Vohra from Ontario into a global porn star who goes by the handle of Sunny Leone. From there she made her way back to India and into our homes with the fifth season of Bigg Boss where she has surprised all.

    Her face is finely structured, her smile bewitching the youth of India. She is comfortable in her skin as a sex goddess. Her laugh is gay, full of abandon. She comes across like a person who knows what she is all about, and she loves it. She has all the oomph and jiggles in the right places to make her stand out from the rest of the Bigg Boss 5 gang. She is Indian, and looks partly so, but sounds totally foreign. And yet she speaks Hindi with a charming accent and style. She is exotic. A mysterious enticement.

    Yes, she has that seductive figure, the seductive American/Canadian accent and a very seductive way of carrying herself.

    But she has done nothing – yet – to warrant her the porn star status that has made her the wet dream of millions of her fans the world over.

    Adult content can offer a release for many frustrated youth, who, in its absence, tend to vent their pent-up frustration out on girls as young as four or five as newspaper reports have revealed
    _____****_____

    The media has gone to town with Sunny. Reams and reams of pages of editorial have been written about her. Internet news sites, facebook communities and blogs have gushed about her porn star status in the hope of titillating readers to consume more of their pictures, and the accompanying puerile editorial. (This piece hopefully is not adding to the pulpy content). News channels too have spent thousands of minutes of on-air time examining Sunny Leone from every angle and even flashing pictures of her nearly undressed.

    Then some unknown organisations backed by shady characters have been grappling at straws to nail her and the show for crossing the boundaries of decency. And cash in on the Sunny phenomenon. And possible bask in the glare of the media by sending out dubious press releases about her being banned by some unknown associations of persons.

    But Sunny -the consummate professional that she is – she has not given them the chance; she has walked the thin line extremely well.

    Do you know Sunny Leone may have never made it to Bigg Boss 5? Well, she had been signed on earlier this year. But folks at the channel were balking at having her on-air as there were concerns whether cause-hunting groups would make a pornographic star’s appearance on the show as a cause celebtre.

    Finally, however, senior management decided to bite the bullet and go ahead, and ordered the channel’s standard and practices division to keep an even sharper watch on the content before it is pushed out on air.

    India which has given the Khajurhao, the Kama Sutra to the world has hypocritically been blocking out risqué content for years, nay decades.

    While most progressive countries allow adult content on air late night with some controls, India‘s lame policy makers and influencers have shut the door on it. Pseudo moralists in government and pseudo social activists have strangled and paralysed any movement on this score. India has millions of sex workers nationally servicing 10 times as many men daily. Parlours offer sex services from young masseuses under the guise of massage. There‘s a strong underground pornographic production network on anyway which disseminates clips through the net and through illegal channels in South East Asia and even India. These continue to flourish under the very noses of these same pseudo moralists. Some may also have the blessings of some of these very protesters in power.

    The Bhatt angle may have been just a ploy to attract eyeballs, deflect some heat the channel may have been getting-courtesy – Sunny, and also bring in Bollywood to make it look legit.
    _____****_____

    The fact is that adult content can offer a release for many frustrated youth who in its absence tend to vent their pent-up frustration out on girls as young as four or five, something which we tend to see in shocking newspaper reports day in day out. The government‘s Victorian approach is helping no one, apart from giving some ammo to the moral brigade to make noise from time to time and keep the information and broadcasting ministry busy. The government has set a digitization of Indian cable TV deadline. The technology that digital cable TV and DTH brings with it enables selective blocking of what can be termed objectionable content in the home by the viewer himself. The viewer will get to decide what he/she and his family members will be permitted to watch.

    So it’s about time that the powers-that-be drop their pseudo-moralism and take steps to rethink broadcast of adult content in the age of the internet where sex is the most searched term on google. And there are more visuals of the sexual act easily accessible to even underage kids at the click of a mouse then ever in mankind‘s history. Also, remember an extremely bold film like The Dirty Picture by the queen of family dramas Ekta Kapoor is getting rave reviews and attracting the so-called "conservative Indians" to cinema halls and multiplexes.

    Back to Sunny. She has tried to break out into Hollywood in the past, without much success. But Bollywood seems to be more accepting and welcoming than mainline or B-grade movie makers of the good old US of A. Earlier this week, she cast her spell on film maker Mahesh Bhatt who has been linked with the most beautiful of actresses and has had several relationships with the most desirable women. Bhatt fawned over her, showered lavish praise on her – behaving like an ageing, veteran film maker who has found his muse towards the sunset of his career.

    And he has offered her a part in Jism 2. Sunny, appears warm to the idea, and has left it to her agent in the US and Pooja Bhatt’s Fisheye Network to hammer out an agreement on her behalf for her Bollywood debut. If that is worked out, it will be a dream come true for Bhatt.

    A performer who has done it all, will be relatively easy to deal with.

    Dropping clothes will come naturally; smooching will not be a problem, she will possibly go the Full Monty; no body doubles will be needed. It will make for an interesting movie

    Sunny times are ahead. Yeah!!!

    Or at the end of it all nothing may emerge from it. The Bhatt angle may have been just a ploy by the channel‘s marketers and spin doctors to attract eyeballs, deflect some heat the its management may have been getting courtesy Sunny, and also bring in Bollywood to make it look like even India‘s most respected entertainment institution is wooing her and possibly get a veneer of legitimacy attached to what is going on on-air.

    If this is true then, our dear Sunny will head back to Los Angeles at the end of Bigg Boss 5, and remain a much remembered nymph. And she will be doing what she knows best: producing and marketing herself in the big lucrative world of porn.

  • Goafest: Of Then and Now

    Goafest: Of Then and Now

    Leo Burnett chairman and CEO, India sub-continent and Goafest Committee chairman

    By ARVIND SHARMA

    (11 february 2012)

    I was fortunate enough to be the Chairman of the Goafest Committee in the founding year- 2006. We envisioned it as a platform for celebrating Indian advertising creativity and for the Indian advertising talent- young and not so young- to rub shoulders with the best in the world, exchange ideas, grow and become the best in the world.

    We wanted to make the festival accessible to youngsters and to that end we put together a special package for under-30’s. We were immensely pleased on the launch day of Goafest when we found that more than 800 delegates had chosen to travel and attend the festival. There were people who had already registered and many more who had just turned up at the venue to register and be a part of the event.

    Over the last six years, the quality of the event has been improving each year from the event organisation point of view. 2008 was a significant year. Ad Club Bombay came on board and Abbies at Goafest became the definitive awards of the industry. Last year, International Advertising Association used Goafest as a platform for launching the Olive Crown Awards. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) used it to reach out to the industry to spread its self-regulation message wider. In that sense Goafest has evolved into an industry event, finding relevance amongst every person who is involved in advertising.

    Learning is a continuous process. There were occassions when Goafest was criticised for the way it ran the vital Award shows. And there were others where delegates expressed a desire for better speakers and seminars. What is important, though, is that we learnt quickly and made the next year better. And that we succeeded in staying true to the original vision of Goafest – celebrating advertising creativity and providing a platform for the advertising industry to get together and exchange ideas about our creative business.

    Goafest 2011 was by far the biggest and most successful year yet with nearly 3000 delegates, 80 sessions and discussions held over a period of five days. The Conclave saw participation of over 250 senior marketing and advertising practitioners from across the country. On the awards front, there was tremendous participation from over 140 organisations with over 4000 entries.

    This year while staying true to the Goafest vision, we plan to focus on ‘The Magic of Ideas’. What we do in our business is really magical. It takes serious investments, meticulous planning and complex operations for clients to put out their products and services to consumers. Sometimes consumers embrace them and sometimes they ignore them. Often the difference is in the power of ideas they use to connect with the consumers. Some ideas succeed magically. They can come from anywhere. It is important to recognise them, embrace them and celebrate them.

    This year Goafest has opened its doors to all its South Asian neighbours including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. The response that we have received has been extremely enthusiastic and it presents a great opportunity for the entire South Asian marketing and advertising fraternity to exchange ideas, perspectives and experiences for our greater collective progress.

    Another exciting aspect is the strong client participation that we are expecting this year. It is our strong belief that for clients to pick the best creative solutions for their marketing challenges, they have to be deeply engaged with the phenomena called creativity. We believe that Goafest 2012 will provide a great platform for the advertising and marketing fraternity to come together. The Goafest Committee is also looking forward to young client delegates in large numbers by offering a special package for under-30 marketers.

    Goafest has also taken a conscious step to acknowledge what’s over the horizon. And all of us know what is over the horizon- a far more diverse media environment. The rate at which new media are catching up with the traditional ones poses interesting new challenges. This year we will be awarding nine Grand Prix. There will be Grand Prix for Out-of-home & Ambient, Design, Interactive Digital, Direct and Media. These are in addition to TV &Film, Radio and Integrated Advertising. We believe that this step of extending the Grand Prix to wider number of categories will encourage many more specialist agencies to come forward with their work.

    The theme for the Conclave this year is ‘Ideas for impacting the full circle’. The ultimate objective of this conclave will be to help gear up the industry for opportunities that lie ahead. We are expecting participation of global leaders from marketing as well as the major communication groups.

    I look forward to seeing you there on April 20th and 21st at the Zuri White Sands. Goa here we come!