ITV

Category: Special Report

  • “With IPL you have the power of 10”

    “With IPL you have the power of 10”

    It’s the festival of lights. And for many the festival of noise courtesy exploding fireworks. In the hope of reducing the number of those belonging to the latter tribe, we, at indiantelevision.com, decided to put a display of firecracker articles for visitors this Diwali. We have had many top journalists reporting, analysing, over the many years of indiantelevision.com’s existence. The articles we are presenting are representative of some of the best writing on the business of cable and satellite television and media for which we have gained renown. Read on to get a flavour and taste of indiantelevision.com over the years from some of its finest writers. And have a happy and safe Diwali!

    Written By Thomas Abraham

     

    Posted on 28 April 2008

     

    The Indian Premier League (IPL) has got off to a solid start. The ratings have been positive and crowds have thronged the stadiums. For Sony the IPL marks their return to cricket. Set India CEO Kunal Dasgupta offers Thomas Abraham and Ashwin Pinto his views on what he expects IPL to do for the game, telecast channel Max, as well as the importance of sustaining the brand. Excerpts:

     

    As a broadcaster what do you expect?
    T20 is a made for television format. When India played a T20 match against Australia at the Wankhede stadium, ratings touched 20. I am looking for a rating of 4 or 5, which is possible, given that ICL, which has retired players, got 2.5. This is a good base for us to take off from.

     

    The format will mean that besides country against country, one will also view it as being team versus team. This is what exists in other sports like soccer, hockey, and baseball.

     

    IPL is being pushed as being the ultimate in reality television. In that case how do you get that competitive environment?
    The prize money (Rs 48 million goes to the winner) will ensure this. This is much more than you get for playing for the country and so the players will go all out. The matches will be hard fought. Here all the teams are evenly balanced and so you do not know the result. It will be unpredictable and matches will go down the wire. All teams have a good mix of batsmen, bowlers and youth.

     

    What are you hoping for in the first year as the telecast partner?
    Ideally I would want the IPL to be a successful brand that has a long term play. After June, I will continue to do promotions to keep the team brands alive. This was one of the conditions on which we bid.

     

    We will do shows around the IPL. You could see teams (franchises) practicing and discussing strategies for the next season.

     

    ‘The trick for us is not getting ratings for the first season. The challenge is to sustain the excitement after that’

     
    But wouldn’t an ideal situation be for a franchise to build a brand without the big names who might be on national duty?
    This might happen. Apart from April-May, you cannot have another period where all the stars are available. What will happen is that once the league is built the new players who are playing will become the core. You can then have matches in different parts of the world to popularise the game there using these new players.

     

    The trick for us is not getting ratings for the first season. This will happen as a matter of course because of the way the IPL has been hyped. The challenge is to sustain the excitement after that and it is here where we will have to take a leaf out of the book of the EPL. Teams have marketed themselves and have thus become iconic brands.

     

    So Mallya for instance, will use the Royal Challenger brand name to go out there and create opportunities for exhibition matches. They can do charity work in Bangalore and build a fan base. Each franchise will have its own website where clips will be available. They can create merchandise.

     

    Sony will pitch in through magazine shows. Otherwise it will just be a flash in the pan. As we come closer to the next season you will see transfers and there will be speculation.

     

    New heroes will be born. It is possible that the likes of current heroes like Glenn McGrath, Kumble, and Saurav will not play beyond two seasons. Once that happens, then the brand will live outside the big names.

     

    One of the aims is to broaden the viewer base is to get in more children, women, But for that you have to create marketing that speaks to those demographics. What is Sony planning?
    One of the major attractions will be the presence of big Bollywood stars. Akshay Kumar will perform for Delhi. SRK will perform for Kolkata You will see proper Bollywood entertainment.

     

    We have even tweaked the timings of some of the matches to accommodate our entertainment specials. One match was supposed to start at 4 pm but we have pushed it back to 5:30 pm. We will even have stand up comedy for Extraaa Innings. On air we have gone in for fresh faces. We did not want Mandira (Bedi) for this. She is more suited for ODI cricket. I want 20-year-olds in T20. We also did not want Kapil Dev, Gavaskar. We wanted anchors who represent today’s kids. With the ICC World Cup we broke the mould and brought in females. Now we are breaking the mould back

     

    What is the distribution upside from IPL?
    This is a question mark. We are supposed to have a dip but we will retain the same level. There is no minimum guarantee now. Had Ten Sports still been present it would have been difficult to determine the value of IPL. Our team is happy as they are closing deals for the year and it is one of the distribution cornerstones.

     

    At $ 59 million in Year 1 and an average of $ 61 million over five years, IPL was literally sold at floor price. Wasn’t that a great deal?
    It was. Most of the payout ($ 612 million) is from the next five years. ESPN’s bid was $150 million for the first five years. They had put in conditions that the top players should be there. We did not put in any conditions.

     

    Anyway, the way it has turned out, all the top players are taking part.

  • Marathi GEC space: Zee Marathi winner in numbers game

    First the good news. The Marathi general entertainment space is expanding. The market is currently estimated to be above Rs 2 billion for 2007-2008. Now the bad news (for the current players). New entrants are eying a share of the pie.

    At present, there are just four players in the space – Zee Marathi, ETV Marathi, Sri Adhikari Brothers Mi Marathi and public broadcaster DD Sahyadri.

    A point of note is that apart from GEC, Marathi broadcast arena also includes three players in news – Star Majha, Zee 24 Taas and new entrant IBN-Lokmat. Additionally, there is Zee Talkies which enjoys a monopoly of being the only Marathi movie channel.

    Backgrounder:

    In the first phase of launches in this space there was DD Sahyadri, Zee Marathi, ETV Marathi, Tara Marathi and Prabhat.
    DD Sahyadri was launched in 1998 followed by Zee Marathi in 1999. Later ETV Marathi, Tara and Prabhat joined the arena between 2001-02.

    By 2003, Tara Marathi and Prabhat channels had gone off air.

    In 2007, Mi Marathi entered the fray.

    Position as of now:

    In the fiscal 2007-2008, If we check the Tam data for Maharashtra market in cable and satellite homes (4+ TG, 1st April 2007 to 29 March 2008), it has clearly been a two-horse race between Zee Marathi and ETV Marathi, as 1st and 2nd respectively. Though ETV Marathi got the better of the ratings in the period June-August 2007, it started losing ground after that and Zee Marathi emerges the clerar winner in the numbers game. (See the table).

    Channel share %
      Zee Marathi ETV Marathi DD10 Sahyadri (Marathi) MI Marathi
    Apr ‘07 51 28 13 8
    May ‘07 45 39 9 6
    Jun ‘07 41 41 12 6
    Jul ‘07 39 43 13 5
    Aug-07 41 43 12 5
    Sep-07 44 39 12 5
    Oct-07 52 36 8 4
    Nov ‘07 45 38 11 6
    Dec-07 48 35 11 6
    Jan ‘08 51 32 11 7
    Feb ‘08 51 32 12 6
    Mar-08 48 33 12 6
    Source TAM:- Market: Maharashtra Mkt TG: CS 4+ years Period: 1 April 2007 to 29 March 2008

    ETV chief producer Manvi admits, “We were on top from June till August in 2007. However, because of some connectivity and distribution issues we have fallen behind. Zee Marathi is doing well and it is not easy, but we are trying hard, to regain the lost position.”

    Among the other players, DD Sahyadri is maintaining its channel share of 12 in the market. However, also ran MI Marathi has not shown any growth and is stuck with an average channel share of 5. MI Marathi, despite having 3,000 hours of content and boasting of strong brand value among Marathi people, has not managed to get significant viewer eyeballs.

    All year performance:

    Zee Marathi is leading in this market with an average of almost 46 per cent channel share. At the beginning of April, it was holding 51 per cent market share, but slid after that to a low of 39 per cent in July, wherein ETV surged ahead. On the back of movies, reality and soaps, Zee Marathi had regained its lead position by September and has remained close to an average of 48 per cent ever since. ETV Marathi, meanwhile, has a channel share of 33 in March 2008. The average channel share of ETV Marathi is around 37 for the fiscal 07-08.

    DD Sahiyadri had average channel share of 11 for the whole year. While 6 per cent went to MI Marathi.

    Content:

    So what is it that clicks with the viewer? Is it a feature film, reality show, or fiction based daily soap?

    From Tam top 100 programmes for the period under review, Marathi feature film Subh Mangal Savadhan has got the highest TRP of 7.85 on Zee Marathi in April. Second and third were reality shows based on comedy (Hasyasamrat) and dance (Eka Pekshya Ek). Event show Swartarang was fourth while ETV Marathi serial Hya Gojirvaanya Gharat made it to fifth in the Top 5.

    Data from the month of march depicts that apart from dance reality show Eka Pekshya Ek, soaps from Zee Marathi like Avghachi Sansaar and Vahini Saheb are also getting an average rating of 5 and 4 respectively in the All Maharashtra Market.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL) director (Zee regional channels) Nitin Vaidya told Indiantelevision.com, “Zee Marathi is offering viewers variety with quality and continuity. Viewers are very smart and demanding, so we are offering them a mix of reality and fiction. This explains why we are on top.”

    Talking about content, here it is interesting to note that Marathi soaps do not focus on so much on saas-bahu tussles and kitchen politics like Hindi GECs.

    “Maharashtra is a state of progressive minded people. They don‘t like the typical Hindi saas-bahu sagas. Viewers can see completely different programming on Zee Marathi,” explains Zee TV programming head (till recently Zee Marathi VP) Ajay Bhalwankar.

    That makes sense. But are daily soaps or reality shows the ticket to success? Bhalwankar says, “For Zee Marathi both the genres are working.

    For ETV Marathi however, it is the soaps that are working. Its soaps Char Diwas Sasuche, Hya Gojirvaanya Gharat and Kata Rute Kunala are getting decent TRPs of 4, 3.3 and 2.6 respectively.

    But to be on top, Manvi believes that his channel will have to ramp up its reality quotient. “Reality shows are in. Audiences like to watch dance and music shows rather than fiction. So we are putting emphasise in this genre.”

    Will reality help ETV turn the tide in its favour? Time will tell.

  • IPL is the name of the game

    Three decades after Kerry Packer revolutionised cricket with the World Series, cricket stands on the threshold of another potentially disruptive revolution. On 18 April, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will unveil the Indian Premier League (IPL), a format the Indian board hopes will change the way Indians watch the game.

    Instead of cheering the country, one will cheer city-based leagues. Eight teams – Jaipur, Mumbai, Mohali, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi – will take the field.

    Can this work? The answer is yes if one looks at the experience of the first mover in India – Essel Group’s Indian Cricket League. The ICL is currently holding its second event and is getting good visibility as matches are also being aired on Ten Sports. The on-ground attendance has also been decent, showing that if an event is well marketed there is scope. Considering that ICL has managed all this in the face of a take-no-prisoners onslaught by the Indian cricket board, what the officially sanctioned event might well deliver boggles the mind.

    One must also note at the outset that IPL and ICL are possible because of the success of the T20 format. Initially there was some cynicism even within the BCCI as to how the new format would fare. The T20 World Cup, though, changed all that. With India winning, the viewership grew and the final scored a ratings of 9.81 TVR (Tam data, C&S 4+).

    Broaden the game’s appeal: The aim of the IPL is to broaden the appeal of the game. Since matches will take place in the evening, the hope is that families including women and children will turn up in large numbers.

    The IPL has also brought corporates closer to the game. Companies like Reliance Industries now own a team. This is expected to inject professionalism and also entrepreneurship. The larger aim is to push cricket at the grassroots and domestic level.

    The IPL is conceived as a city-based league format. With the base price set at $50 million for the city-based franchisees, the teams were bought for well above that.

    The prices paid show that after a lot of due diligence, corporate India views the IPL as being a serious business venture. Reliance Industries, for instance, paid $111.9 for Mumbai while Dr Vijay Mallya’s UB Group shelled out $111.6 million for Bangalore.

    The IPL will have flair and flamboyance when you consider that Bollywood also got into the act. Shah Rukh Khan paid $75.09 million for Kolkata. Preity Zinta took Mohali for $76 million. On the other side, we have Emerging Media, an expert in organising sport, paying $67 million for Jaipur.

    The broadcaster’s viewpoint: The BCCI hit the jackpot when the Sony-WSG combine bought the ten-year broadcast rights to the IPL for $918 million. Compared to this, the price that ESPN Star Sports (ESS) paid for ICC rights looks like a good bargain.

    While many have questioned the financial wisdom of such a huge payout for an as yet untried format, the numbers do not look quite so daunting when the fine print of the deal is examined. The guaranteed payout commitment by Sony-WSG is $306 million for the first five years. The remaining $612 million, to be paid out in the second half of the deal, comes with an exit clause built in.

    Sony president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta is gung ho about the IPL, noting that T20 is the game’s future. “If you see the scene for the last four years, ratings for ODIs have been steadily falling. T20 brought the game back in a big way. The stickiness is far higher than it is for the other forms of the game.”

    Marketing is of paramount importance: The main challenge for IPL is for the franchises to build up fan clubs. After all, Indians are not used to cheering at a local level. As Gupta notes, the key challenge for each of the franchisees is getting fans of that state to identify with the team.

    The first step in that direction was to have names that reflect the city. So Emerging Media christened the Jaipur team as Rajasthan Royals. The aim is to convey the pomp and regal splendour of the city.

    Reliance has called their team Mumbai Indians to show the character of this city. They, like the other franchises, will run a 360-degree marketing initiative with a strong local flavour.

    Glamour is also an important quotient in the marketing strategy. Cricket and Bollywood are two religions in India. Mix them and the result is potent. For instance, Bangalore has roped in actresses Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone for a music video to promote their Royal Challengers.

    A push for domestic talent: One of the great things about the IPL is that it gives youngsters the chance to prove themselves. At the second auction, a draft for the Under 19 was held. This was to ensure that in a few years time India will have a young talent pool who are experts in this format of the game.

    RoI: There are several revenue streams available for franchisees. There are central revenue streams, which include a share of the TV rights. The franchisees will get 80 per cent of TV revenues in the first five years and 60 per cent from the next five. They will also get 60 per cent of sponsorship revenues. The franchisees get all local revenues.

    The revenue will come from many sources including gate revenues, franchisee shirt sponsorship, local sponsorship, licensing programme and uniform merchandising.

    Reliance and Emerging Media are looking at a three-year time frame to break even. If, however, the IPL takes off, then that period could be sooner.

    Gupta adds that corporate involvement is the best thing that could have happened. “Now you will see more accountability from the players. If a corporate house has paid over a million dollars for Dhoni, then he better perform. It can no longer be a case of doing well in one match and taking it easy for the next three.”

    Performance is key in brand perception and each franchise will be doing its utmost to ensure that perception is not hurt by a lack of on-field performance.

    Infrastructure will get a boost: Corporates will back infrastructure creation like academies and training camps since these are the places where talent will bloom.

    Mindshare’s Hiren Pandit says that Deccan Chronicle is looking at grassroots activities. There are plans to take this concept to schools and colleges. Therefore, there is a larger picture at stake.

    A mix of caution and optimism: As far as advertiser interest is concerned, DLF, which lost out on the franchise bid, has taken the IPL title sponsorship. Hero Honda is the co-sponsor.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) India, which has telecast rights for the matches, has closed its advertising sales. Set India CEO Kunal Dasgupta says ad sales revenues have already crossed Rs 2 billion.

    Pandit says that companies that get involved with the IPL early will reap the benefits in the long run. When asked about the mix of sports and entertainment, he says that for IPL it is important that while the entertainment quotient like the opening ceremony is good, the cricket played should be serious.

    “It should not be treated as a tamasha. Otherwise you lose out on both,” warns Pandit.

    Lodestar Universal CEO Shashi Sinha, though, has doubts over whether the high rates of sponsorship are worth it for clients. In his opinion, it might be over-priced. “If the IPL does not live up to expectations of advertisers, there will be losses,” he cautions.

    IPL could boost globalisation of cricket: What IPL might do is globalise the game. T20 is, in fact, the best way to get new countries like China involved with the game. Since it is only three hours long, it is easier to get new audiences to sit through it. Adam Gilchrist seconds this view saying that it is important that other nations start playing the game.

    Gilchrist also says that IPL should be given time to grow. It is important not to be pessimistic about it straight away. One will get an idea of how it is faring after a few years, he adds.

    Conclusion: BCCI VP and DLF IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi is very confident that the IPL will mark the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket. One would, however, be better served by not getting bowled over by all the hype and hoopla that is surrounding what could well be termed the ‘gentleman’s game’ on steroids. The maidens may be bringing in sex appeal to the new format but how the event fares over the next three years will be the real test to assess where the IPL, and for that matter ICL, stand.

  • Channels line up battle for afternoon viewers

    The Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) space is getting replete with strategies, counter strategies, experiments and innovations.

    While newbie NDTV Imagine has grabbed the number three position withRamayan as its content driver, Zee TV has topped the prime-time slot with shows like Banoo Main Teri Dulhann and Mayka.

    The battle for supremacy in prime time is being fought hard by Star Plus and Zee. The other GECs are also investing heavily to grab viewership in this time band as it attracts a major chunk of the revenues.

    However, the story does not just end at the prime time. Since a major chunk of the total GRPs comes from prime time, every channel wants to leverage it. But the fact remains that a Hindi GEC with the core target of active female viewers has to focus not only on the prime time but also on the afternoon slot, which is the second most sought-after in terms of revenues.

    While at the moment only Star Plus, Zee TV and 9X are the players that have an afternoon slot with fresh programmes, others in the field have either repeats of their prime-time shows or movies. But they are also eyeing this space.

    To understand the dynamics, let’s take a look at the afternoon slots of these channels.

      1:00 pm – 1:30 pm 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
    Star Kumkum Bhabhi Karam Apna Apna Grahasti
    Zee Saath Saath Rakhi Meri Doli Tere Angana
    –

    Star Plus has its top performing shows which have been traditionally doing well for it. The slot begins with Kumkum at 1 pm followed by Bhabhi andKaram Apna Apna at 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm, respectively. All the three shows have delivered well for the channel. The third show is Grihasthi, which was launched last month, replacing Sarrthi at 2:30.

    Zee presently has Sath Sath at 1 pm, Rakhi at 1:30 pm andMeri Doli Tere Angana at 2 pm.

    STRATEGY

    It was Star who first dominated the afternoon turf with fresh programmes. Zee had, more or less, fixed its eyes on the lucrative prime-time band.

    Until May 2007, afternoons on Zee TV meant a repeat of prime-time shows. But having stabilised the prime-time band, Zee launched the attack to grab the afternoon viewers.

     

    The first to fill this space was Meri Doli Tere Anganaon at 2 pm. This was then followed by the launch ofRakhi at 1:30 pm in August.

    Zee’s strategy was to first hit the slot where Star Plus was relatively weak and from 2 pm to move to the 1 pm band.

    “We have already consolidated the prime time and now our focus is on the afternoon slot,” says Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) president of revenue Joy Chakraborthy.

    This obviously came as a strategy to increase the GRPs for the channel.

    On Star Plus’ front, the “K” shows from Balaji Telefilms have been the ruling ragas on the channel. Interestingly, of the present lot of the K shows, one is on the afternoon band ( Karam Apna Apna) while Kumkumfrom Bag Films has played a long innings and still going strong. All these shows are running for long and have consistently delivered well for the channel.

    The consistency and loyalty of viewers reflect well in the TRPs these shows deliver. How will Zee break the cult?

    “We are gradually building over the slot with shows. Moreover, one should not forget that Star Plus has been running these shows for two to three years and the loyalty has been built already. Gradually, we will also secure the afternoon slot with shows targeted towards women,” says Chakraborthy.

    It seems the hide-and-seek game will persist for some more time.

    FEASIBILITY

    Launching a slot is not an easy job because revenues play an important role. Every slot should be workable.

    With huge monies involved, channels need to be more cautious while launching shows. The afternoon band also is relatively low paying but there is potential to up the rates.

    “The CPRP is also lower and because of which the afternoon inventory is choc-a-block and that makes an investment worth returns,” says Chakraborthy.

    “The female viewership is higher in the afternoon slot because of which there are 65 per cent to 70 per cent of FMCG brands advertising in the afternoon slot,” he adds.

     

    However, the trend remains that the prime time, which constitutes the major chunk of the GRPs, has to be consolidated first and then comes the daily afternoon slot.

    If that is the case, Zee launching an afternoon slot makes sense. But the middle rung channels which are still toddling behind have to still give it a thought.

    “The investments that go into producing the shows are huge but the RoIs have to be equally huge. At this time, we want to establish our prime time. However, afternoon is something that needs to be addressed on our channel and we will focus on it very soon,” says Sahara One programming head Kalyan Sundaram.

    “With this kind of investment, a lot of research needs to be done and everything has to be worked out,” adds Sundaram.

      12:00 pm- 12:30 pm 12:30 pm – 1:00pm 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
    9x Rasme Rasoi Dahhej Neelajanaa Veeranwali

     

    Industry observers say that only after the prime time is strengthened, the channel should intrude the afternoon slot. Traditionally that has been the case.

    Kumkum was a low-budget show, and later on went on to become the major driver of the channel.

    “I was involved in the mounting process of Kumkum which was the show that gave insight of using afternoon slot for building GRPs,” says Sony Entertainment Television (SET) creative head Sanjay Upadhyay.

    The other channels repeat the shows that are aired in the prime time.

    “Repeats drive the prime-time slot. It is our extended offering to viewers who could not catch the shows at prime time. We don’t want to get scattered everywhere. As the industry says, first strengthen the prime time and then focus on afternoon. By showing repeats, we are trying to build up our prime time and as far as movies are concerned, they have their own strengths,” adds Upadhyay.

    9X, which is a new entrant in the genre, launched its afternoon slot in January 2008 with Rasm-E-Rasoi at 12:00 noon. 12:30 pm has a repeat of a prime-time show Daheej. Then comes Neelanjana at 1 pm and Veeranwaliat 1:30 pm – both of which are fresh shows.

    9X’s afternoon slot begins at 12 noon which is one hour ahead of Star Plus and Zee’s slot.

    “A strong daily afternoon band will only add variety to the offerings of a GEC, which have to be rich and varied because it’s a general entertainment channel. We have two original daily dramas and a cookery show. We wanted to offer our key audiences the best of programming not just in prime time but in the afternoons too,” says INX Media founder-CEO Indrani Mukerjea.

    Star and Zee have fresh programming in the afternon slot, but they have an established prime time. Considering that, isn’t it too early for 9X to launch the afternoon slot with fresh programmes?

    “These programming decisions are in keeping with our business plan, and we have a long-term perspective. We believe that the homemaker female audiences need good, original programming that informs and entertains in the afternoons. Hence, we are offering cookery shows and two original daily dramas for them,” adds Mukerjea.

  • Where is the ‘News’?

    News is back,” said Anurradha Prasad at the launch of B.A.G Films and Media‘s Hindi news channel News24. Now does that simply indicate that news channels in India are currently devoid of “news” in its truest and purest form? A content analysis reveals something more…

    India‘s experience with TV remains unique. It is the only country in the world with more than three dozen 24-hour TV channels broadcasting programmes on news and current affairs, barely a quarter-century after the world‘s first 24-hour TV news channel (CNN or Cable News Network) came up in 1980. Till 1991, television viewers in India could view only the channels broadcast by Doordarshan. That landscape significantly changed with the invasion of private satellite news channels.

    Hindi news channels have been consistently accused of invariably having less news and more entertainment. Litres of ink and loads of paper have been spent, arguing that news channels are no longer part of the anti-establishment group as they carry only those stories that fetch them gold.

    Agrees IBN7 managing editor Ashutosh: “Over the last few years, the concept of news has changed. Even for those who used to watch political news, it is no longer a good proposition, as there are no charismatic leaders. The UPA government has not thrown up any leader worth following as news. Even the newspapers‘ political coverage has changed. All this has happened mainly because it is now all about eyeball chasing, and it is getting from bad to worse.”

    While speaking to indiantelevision.com earlier, Aaj Tak news director QW Naqvi had said: “Talking of the year 2007, I feel the audience has changed its choice and appeal. Issues like corruption don‘t appeal to viewers anymore. Maybe, people have accepted it as an integral part of our society. Therefore, an exposé featuring corruption doesn‘t interest the audience, to a large extent.”

    Undoubtedly there has been a paradigm shift of news. While many argue that news in itself has shifted its meaning, others ask who defines news. For some, naag-naagin shaadi (marriage of snakes) is just as important as a barbaric killing in Singur or Nandigarm.

    To further quote Naqvi: “No doubt, television news industry has grown at such a frantic pace that it has created certain pitfalls. All-out efforts in the past year were made to grab viewership. In this mad race, at times content was compromised and true journalism took a back seat. Compounding this malady, mushrooming news channels tended to water down the impact of many meaningful news reports.”

    Says Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS) managing editor Shazi Zaman, “Central to our selection of news is the impact it will have on people and the interest that people have in the story. The last few years have seen new viewers added, many of whom have non-traditional preferences. The changes in the content of news channels are a reflection of this shift.”

    In the last one or two years, it seemed Hindi news channels took a cue from the Hindi film fraternity. Whatever was hit in the news space was seen as a formula and followed thereafter.

    First came a wave of family drama, matrimonial discord, violence and divorce. Once it reached its fatigue, the audience got bored and the news content searched for a different formula.

    Then came ghost stories. News channels vied with each other for showing horror stories. While this content was very short lived, it was also alleged that some of the news reports were concocted.

    After ghost stories, came the Baba wave, followed by amazing videos. This was a completely new phenomenon. In these videos, channels showed people performing crazy feats. But finally this, too, seems to be nearing its end.

    Says Zaman, “Experimentation is the result of a desire to reach out to more and more people and to cater to as many tastes as possible. In 2007, news became more encompassing than ever before. Thus, it was no coincidence that the year of experimentation was also the year that saw genre expansion.”

    A study by the Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies (CMS) says that the three C‘s of cricket, cinema and crime lord over politics in Hindi news channels. The study shows that news channels have undergone a radical transformation, whereby news has not only changed in its definition and content, but also in the manner in which it is presented.

    Hindi news channels have seen a rise in comedy and reality show content, the emergence and establishment of trivia in news, and most significantly, the end of political news dominance.

    According to the CMS Media Lab, the time spent on political news in the year 2007 has come down by more than 50 per cent. Political news coverage by Hindi news channels has dipped from 23.1 per cent in 2005 to 10.09 per cent in 2007.

    On the other hand, sports, entertainment, crime and human interest news have managed to almost double up from 27.9 per cent in 2005 to 53.1 per cent in 2007. At the same time, agriculture, education, health and environment-related news have not seen any net change; their coverage has been as insignificant in 2007 as earlier.

    Ashutosh reverts, “Careful studies show that it is not sports coverage that has gone up, but cricket. There is hardly any non-cricket sports news. For the past two years, there have been so many controversies, and cricket news is being covered even for other reasons like Sourav being dropped, Rahul Dravid becoming the captain, the entire Chappell controversy. Secondly, in cricket India has been doing exceedingly well. So far as crime reporting is concerned, there is a lot of drama, and it is just right for television.”

    “Besides, the entertainment industry has grown tremendously, and they have realised the power of news channels. They are marketing their products through news channels, and all the big films have media partners,” he adds.

    News broadcasters also feel that serious stories without any element of drama have a short life in the Hindi news space.

    Naqvi points out that “Operation Kalank” (the Aaj Tak-Tehelka exposé on the connivance of state administration in sheltering and helping the riot accused in 2002) in a normal news environment would have shaken the foundation of governance in both Ahmedabad and Delhi.

    “But the shelf life of this haunting exposé was hardly a few days. It did shake up the intelligentsia and society for a while, but it was not the topic of discussion in most drawing rooms after even a week. Not much changed either. Even though our channels kept the issue alive for a few days, the story did not really move forward. And this, I presume, is largely due to a variety of news being aired by a host of channels.”

    He says further that there was another good story on another channel, portraying a major scandal in UP. That exposé showed how police in UP has surpassed all levels of corruption. For as little as Rs 3,000, police officers were acting as contract killers and shooting down people in fake “encounters.” This was not an insignificant story. Rather, it was a crucial exposé showing the depths of corruption within the police force. Had this story appeared a few years ago, it would have made national headlines and would have been the talking point for a long time. But in today‘s circumstances, it vanished from the scene within days and could not even attract print media‘s attention.

    A few broadcasters also believe that in the last two years there has been a clutter in the Hindi news space with some addition to it, which subsequently had its toll on the quality and focus of the content.

    “This has to be attributed to the overcrowding in the TV news space, which has reduced the audience attention span. There are so many news items being dished out that your interest in something of importance vanishes swiftly. Rather, to retain audience interest many a time too many stories are being splashed, so that the audience doesn‘t move away,” added Naqvi.

    A general rundown of Tam‘s (television audience measurement) top five programmes on Hindi news channels cannot be hard to guess: wrestler Khali, stand-up comedian Raju Srivastav, Lord Ram have been a hot favourite with the Hindi news channels in the past few months.

    Star News‘ comedy capsules edited out from Star One‘s The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, which is hosted by an anchor in a virtual studio with good number of ad breaks, has figured highest in the top five programmes in the last few months as per the data provided by Tam.

    Cricket has been featured differently in Ye Cricket Kuch Kehta Hain (Aaj Tak), Nach Le Cricket (Aaj Tak), Disco Cricket (Star news) while Khali has seen a variety of presentations like Khali Ki Khalbali, Khali Karega Khatma and Khali Sae Bali. Gods blessed the news channels in shows like Zinda Hain Rawan, Sabko Mil Gaye Ram and Kaise Dekhe Ram.

    Star News claims that in the week 9 ending 1 March, 41 per cent of the content in its channel was news bulletin while the rest was religious, crime and cricket-centric stories. Religious stories were 8 per cent while sports reviews, comedies, business shows, crime and thriller were 7 per cent each. Cricket-based shows grabbed 10 per cent while film shows managed 1 per cent of the entire content pie.

    One of the senior editors of a Hindi news channel vehemently opposes the Tam rating system. He argues that content is mainly driven by the Tam ratings. Explaining further, he says that most of the time the editorial is forced to do stories which categorically caters to the places or states where the Tam Peoplemeters are placed.

    A man hit by a bull in the streets of Delhi will get more coverage and footage than five men killed in Darjeeling or Assam. The reason is only that peoplemeters are located in places of Delhi and not in the hill zones. For a Delhite, the former story is about the neighbouhood which compulsorily gets more hits in the peoplemeter.

    “The content is decided by the geographical placement of the peoplemeter to get spikes in the ratings chart. Hence, some parts of India (where peoplemeter is absent) and some stories are left untouched or given very little importance,” says the senior editor.

    Another complaint of the news broadcasters is the heavy distribution cost. Broadcasters say more than half of the outlay goes in the distribution cost, which cuts other costs like human resources. That is why a reporter cannot be placed in the interiors as it has its own costs. A virtual studio ultimately becomes the easy answer.

    Ashutosh says, “Distribution cost has gone up tremendously because of the clutter of channels. This is in fact affecting quality as a lot of money from a fixed budget goes into distribution, and channels have not learnt to be patient enough to give quality products. If only we could be patient, a lot of difference could come in.”

    All said and done, Hindi news content is still doubted of its news value. Instances like a sting operation on a Delhi school teacher gone horribly wrong by Live India have forced the Information and Broadcasting ministry to consider taking the editorial reigns in its hands by the Broadcast Bill. Until then it is a merry time for all.

  • Time for global news in Marathi

    With national news broadcasters feeling the need to expand into regional markets, it is the Marathi space that is grabbing their attention.Joining Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha in the fight for the 120 million TV viewers of Maharashtra will soon be IBN-Lokmat, the Marathi news channel from the GBN-Lokmat joint venture (JV) company.

    So, is the Marathi TV news market getting cluttered or will there will be a slice of the cake big enough for them?

    For starters, let us look at the fight between the two existing channels – Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha, the eight-month-old channel from the JV between the ABP group and Star.

    Star Majha is leading the race by far, stepping ahead since its second month of launch (See table for channel share).

    Channel Share 2007 (%)
    Channel Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    Star Majha 30 56 56 58 59 63 58
    Zee 24 Taas 70 44 44 42 41 37 42
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter System, Maharashtra Market, CS 15+

    The gap has widened in 2008 with Star Majha enjoying a higher channel share (See table).

    Channel Share 2008 (%)
    Channel WK 1 WK 2 WK 3 WK 4 WK 5 WK 6 WK 7
    Star Majha 70 69 69 65 77 78 75
    Zee 24 Taas 30 31 31 35 23 22 25
    Source: TAM Peoplemeter System, Maharashtra Market, CS 15+

    Zee 24-Taas explains its slip to distribution issues. “In terms of reach, we are less than half of that of Star Majha. There are issues that involve revamping the deals with cable operators,” says Zee 24-Taas news head Ravikant Mittal.

    Mittal, however, claims viewers spend more time on the channel than on Star Majha. “Though our reach is limited, a viewer spends about 33 minutes on our channel as compared to the 26 minutes on Star Majha. We have faith in our content,” he adds.

    In terms of content, Zee 24-Taas claims of being a regional channel with national outlook and an international look, whereas Star Majha says it is a national news channel in Marathi.

    “The reason for our growth is that we know our viewers like to see global news in their mother tongue. That is what we are providing them – world-class news in their own language,” maintains Star Majha editor Rajiv Khandekar.

    IBN-Lokmat is looking at a different positioning. Says editorial director Nikhil Wagle, “Ours will be a global news channel in Marathi language; we are not regional players.”

    IBN-Lokmat is banking on a large infrastructure network to cover the state. Says Wagle, “We will have 13 bureaux spread across the state. We are also going to have the latest technology to support our news flow.”

    Zee 24-Taas has a network of eight bureaux and 30 stringers across Maharashtra while Star Majha has six bureaux. For news outside Maharashtra, both rely on their national news networks.

    The Marathi news channels agree that the needs of the local viewers are different. They cannot be fobbed off with infotainment; what they look for is hardcore news – be it regional, national or international. For informative entertainment, they have the option of tuning in to other Marathi and Hindi general entertainment channels.

    “More competition will prompt us to bring quality to our viewers,” says Wagle.

    As far as revenue is concerned, Zee 24-Taas and Star Majha claim to have roped in a long list of advertisers. Says Mittal, “We have every big advertiser with us. Maharashtra being a big and financially important state, it is natural to see ad growth.”

    Agrees Khandekar, “30 per cent of all the GRPs of national Hindi news channels come from Maharashtra. With the kind of ratings and programming we have, revenue is kicking in.”

    The climate may get spoilt with the entry of IBN-Lokmat. The size of the Marathi TV news market isn‘t big enough, with estimates putting it at under Rs 600 million. Besides the two dedicated satellite news channels, there is ETV Marathi which runs a popular band of news slots and DD Sahyadri.

    The channels, however, feel that the size of the pie will only grow with more entrants. Says Mittal, “The space is not cluttered; it can fit in more players.”

  • English GECs: Localisation and variety the road ahead

    For the English general entertainment genre, 2007 was the year when they looked at increasing variety in their offerings and breaking out of a mould.

    The aim was also to increase relevance in some cases through local shows. Besides, the channels brought in the latest shows at the same time as their US premieres.

    Tam data for C&S 15+ shows that among the three channels – AXN, Star World and Zee Café – AXN‘s channel share has been well over 50 per cent. In August, it touched a peak of 66 per cent. Zee Café has managed to close the gap on Star World to an extent. In March, Star World‘s channel share was 34 per cent versus 24 per cent for Zee Café. In April, the gap came down, and for the month May Zee café overtook Star World. Its share was 21 per cent versus 15 per cent for Star World.

    Since then while Star World has been ahead, the gap was close. This was until September. After that, the gap widened again. In December, while Star World has a share of 29 per cent Zee Café has a share of 13 per cent.

    In terms of the top 20 shows, AXN has got 16 in that list. The top entry interestingly enough is a film Spiderman 2. Other shows that made it include Guinness World Records, Ripley‘s Believe it or Not and David Blaine.

    Still, it is not as though all was smooth for the leader. In January, AXN was banned for a month by the I&B Ministry for what it termed as “objectionable content.” The ministry had taken issue with the channel repeatedly telecasting such programmes such as World‘s Sexiest Commercials. The ministry found these programmes to be against good taste or decency that could adversely affect public morality.

    AXN India business head Sunder Aaron puts on a brave face, saying that no corrective measures were really required as all programming conforms to Indian norms and guidelines for content. “As with any new season, we had new television series and programmes which we refreshed the channel‘s schedule with,” says Aaron.

    In terms of the highlights of 2007, Aaron notes that there was a strong mix of local and international fare. “We had the gorgeous Sameera Reddy host the second AXN Action Awards. This is an on-air award show that felicitates the action heroes from Bollywood.

    “We also satiated the viewers‘ needs with the premiere of the internationally acclaimed series –Damages and new seasons for the loyal fans of CSI: Miami, Alias and CSI: NY.”

    AXN also strengthened its focus on the reality genre. The highlight here was the second season of The Amazing Race Asia. To break out of the mould, the channel aimed to showcase diverse content within the reality genre. So the likes of Top Chef, Top Design and So You Think You Can Dance were featured.

    To hook viewers to its fare, two timeslots were created. “The Reality Stash” slot showcases reality content from 9 – 10 pm. This is followed by “Elite Weekdays,” showcasing international drama series at 11 pm.

    Aaron adds that the non-primetime band has grown in importance for the channel. “Our scheduling of programmes across non-primetime is also well-thought-out, keeping in mind the viewing pattern of our target audience.”

    He offers the example of “Elite Weekends” which is the non-primetime slot on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 pm. The aim is to allow the dedicated fan base to sit back and enjoy catching up on their favourite international series which they have missed out over the week. “We have, therefore, ensured they get to watch all the series back to back and have clearly positioned the band as – ‘Catch all the week‘s action on AXN Elite Weekends‘.”

    As always localisation plays a key role for the channel. Besides the earlier mentioned The Amazing Race Asia initiative, the channel also finished the shoot Magic Asia. This showcased two street magicians Chris Korn and JB Benn. Aaron notes that the show actually touches a chord with the real spirit of Mumbai and is slated to go on air in March this year. One show done at a pan-Asian level was the boxing show The Contender Asia. The show produced by the czar of reality television Mark Burnett emulates the original concept with Muay Thai fighters.

    Over the years, localisation has been playing a huge role in positive brand-building as it showcases the channel‘s endeavour to identify and fulfill the viewers‘ needs. The main value is in sustaining a loyal fan base besides helping manage and create an ideal mix of original and acquired content that facilitates long-term brand-building.

    Aaron attributes AXN being ahead constantly to firstly having a clear brand positioning. “I think that we follow the very basic principle of being absolutely clear of our target audiences‘ needs and showcasing the kind of content that they wish to see. We have also been dynamic enough to not get stuck in a mould and constantly showcase fresh and innovative programming. This prompted our move to broadbase our reality offerings. We have also been the only international channel to create so many original productions.”

    For Zee Café, the strategy has been different in that it decided not to focus much on local shows. In the past, it had done shows like Bombay Talking but the channel‘s business head Neil Chakravarti feels that Indian audiences are not ready for Indian fiction. The focus rested on showcasing the latest from the US. Since September, it started to bring in shows from the US at the same time as their premiere there.

    The aim was also to pick and choose shows that Indians would find the most relevant. Therefore, four of the shows including The Big Bang Theory and Aliens in America have South Asian characters. The new programming strategy had been decided after six months of intensive research among Indian viewers who said they learnt a lot about new shows from the internet or sites like YouTube. They did not want to wait several months or years later to watch them.

    Star World‘s focus, meanwhile, rested partly on the tried and tested shows like Desperate Housewives, Heroes and Ugly Betty. Complementing this were special events like Miss World and the Grammy Awards.

    Star World tried to break out of the mould as well. To identify the need of the market it revamped its schedules. For instance, it created an afternoon slot for youth/women with shows like Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, etc. The block is called essential afternoons. Star VP content and communication Prem Kamath says, “We‘ve seen a change in the genre preference for English entertainment wherein comedy is the flavour of the season.”

    “We have strengthened our late prime slot with male skewed programming starting 11 pm. We believe that the day prime/early prime bands are equally important, there is a definite audience in these bands and our endeavour is to bring in quality programming to build these slots. For example we have a line-up of the best of comedy shows during weekday evenings,” adds Kamath.

    When asked as to whether Star World took any preventive measure to ensure that it did not suffer a similar fate like AXN, he maintains that Star World has a social responsibility and has stringent internal censorship guidelines prior to broadcast.

    In terms of local initiatives, Star World has the property Koffee With Karan. The channel is exploring other local concepts.
    Kamath says that on the advertising front, clients belonging to different categories like telecom, computers, mobile phones, electronics, financial, automobile, net portals are with it.

    “English entertainment is evolving in India and more new audiences are tuning in to the genre. Clients find English entertainment a very important differentiator in the content arena and a strong association for their brands with evolved audiences. We have new launches every month and give a variety of programming mix to our viewers and advertisers that give a light viewing environment,” avers Kamath.

    At the same time, he concedes that it is really challenging to retain clients amidst a bouquet of channels in the English genre per se at the time of evaluating a media plan.

    Star World offers customised packages to advertisers in partnership with their media agencies based on their brand brief. Packages consist of the shows that are associated with advertisers for sponsorships and a mix of other programmes that have synergies with the brand environment and commercial creatives. All sponsored programmes consist of sponsors commercials to derive strong brand connect with the association. RODP and ROS also form a certain component in the overall package.

    From general to more specific entertainment:

    As digitisation grows, more players are looking to enter this space. Last year, this genre got a new entrant in BBC Entertainment. As of now though the channel is only available on Tata Sky. The channel brings shows from the UK such as Spooks. The British sensibility is the starting point for this channel in terms of its USP. The programming strategy is such that there are horizontal and vertical strips.

    In the evening, it is more family oriented. There are shows like the comedy My Family, My Life In Film so that viewership is widespread across the family. Later on, it gets more specific with shows like Waking the Dead which the channel says is a more realistic version of CSI. Murder mysteries are solved using the latest forensics technology and old-fashioned police methods.

    At the same time, English entertainment will move from general to more specific. For instance, later this year, AXN is expected to launch another channel called AXN Beyond. The focus is on science fiction and the supernatural.

    US media conglomerate NBC Universal, through its tie-up with NDTV, will launch two channels Sci Fi and Universal. The former specialises in science fiction, fantasy, horror and paranormal programming; the latter has movies and TV series in the thriller, drama, horror, crime and investigation genres.

    More specific entertainment could come from E! which might launch in India this year. This channel focuses on Hollywood extensively through news and specials around the industry. The challenge for it is to find a distribution partner.

    Viacom has a JV with TV18. If digitisation moves at the expected speed, one could see the likes of the male channel Spike TV entering the country. Comedy Central might also figure in the scheme of things. So expect a lot of activity in this space.

  • Govt case for administered content code gains ground

    Big Brother will soon not just be watching but acting, and news broadcasters will have nowhere to hide because they will not have much of a case to defend.That is a hard truth that otherwise responsible heads of news networks accede to in private but refuse to acknowledge in public.

    The first practical signs of that came on 4 February. The spark: coverage of the political skirmishes over ‘outsiders crowding out locals‘ in Mumbai city.

    Invoking for the first time the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, the Mumbai Police reportedly ordered transmission of two news channels – Sahara Mumbai and India TV – be stopped “for repeatedly telecasting clippings of tension between workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Samajwadi Party (SP)”. Cable operators were directed to stop transmission of the two channels for 24 hours from the time they received a copy of the order.

    Joint commissioner of police (law and order) KL Prasad was quoted in an Indian Express report as saying, “We have issued an order under Section 19 of the Act, which specifically states that ‘half truths‘ cannot be spread.”

    The ‘half truth‘, Prasad said, was in the manner in which the channels tried to depict through pictures, videos and words that ‘Mumbai is tense‘. “A situation controlled in 20 minutes was made to look as if it was still happening,” Prasad pointed out.

    Sahara Mumbai head Rajeev Bajaj‘s reaction was on expected lines: “If an order has been passed, we will fight it out in court.”

    The 4th February action by the authorities becomes even more relevant if we keep in mind the fact that the I&B ministry is already majorly upset with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for having failed to meet their own stated deadline of 31 January for submitting a Content Code.

    “They have sent us nothing, despite the fact that they themselves had set the deadline and we think they are not interested,” senior I&B officials complained.

    The government is worried about the excessive repetitions of shots of violence – whether against women, or communal in nature and says, “This is really dangerous and the editors must now take a call on this.”

    Incidentally, the ministry is also gearing up to meet a Delhi High Court deadline on sitting down with the Indian Newspaper Society, the Indian Media Group and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation to thrash out depiction of violence and obscenity in the media.

    Hearing a writ petition requesting the court to pass an order to tell the ministry to take action on such depictions, the court had given an interim order on 14 December, for the organisations and the ministry to thrash out issues and report to the court within 10 weeks.

    The government feels that the NBA is wasting time and that the ministry would have to soon come out with its Code.

    So just what is it that forces otherwise responsible news channel heads to do what is so patently against all norms of even the most basic of journalistic practices?

    A one line answer could of course be, ‘The low road is the easy road to ratings riches‘. An already cluttered market getting ever more crowded by the day and with no regulation to govern conduct, it‘s easy to see why most channels are taking this route.

    There is another factor at work here that is worth a mention. Which is that the tabloid news channel proposition is a viable entry strategy for those without the deep pockets that are required for launching an entertainment channel. So in essence these channels are not too far removed from entertainment channels, with a whole load of extremely low cost fictional content to offer as well in addition to the regular fare that is principally infotainment rather than news.

    There is an added intrinsic logic that we believe is driving this obsession with the bizarre and the salacious as far as the ‘tabloidised‘ Hindi news channels are concerned. It might well be that these channels are filling a real and existing need gap for the Hindi male viewer looking for entertainment.

    After all, where does the Hindi heartland male viewer get his daily dose of TV entertainment if we accept that Hindi GECs are targeted mainly at women? Where else but Hindi news channels – which might explain why the preponderance of sex, crime, and the plain bizarre is working for Hindi news channels.

    Coming back to where all this started, the present situation is clearly becoming more and more untenable. Something has to give. The sad part of this is that it will likely be the government giving a bull in a China shop solution that will be to the detriment of all news broadcasters; and more importantly, the public at large.

  • Syndication: The new script for movie channels

    A new volley of Hindi movie channels are expected to hit the market soon. With UTV, Reliance and NDTV readying for launch, the movie acquisition landscape is seeing a significant change.

    Costs, for sure, are ballooning. Libraries are also just not available for the new entrants.

    The industry, though, seems to have found an answer: syndicate titles. The trend which was started by Sahara when it lent a pack of big titles to Star, seems to have caught on.

    BANKING ON SYNDICATION

    Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India has syndicated 70 titles to INX Media, the Peter-Indrani Mukerjea venture, for over Rs 400 million. These include recent titles like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Jaan-e-man, Cheeni Kum, Omkara, Eklavya, Parineeta, Partner, Namaste London, Golmaal, Baghban, Waqt, Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Viraasat, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, and others. There are also classics such as Guide, Deewar, Jewel Thief, and Satte pe Satta, among numerous others.

    For 9X, the Hindi general entertainment channel from the INX Media stable, this was an important part of the overall programming strategy. Movies have primarily driven the ratings of the channel.

    The film purchase story doesn‘t end there. Star India and Filmy have inked barter deals for titles like Rang De Basanti and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd in exchange for titles like Guru. Of these, Guru and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd were released in 2007.

    Filmy has syndicated few titles like Abra Ka Dabra and Chhota Chetan to Pogo. Even Star has given away children‘s films to kids‘ channels while receiving Gadar – Ek Prem Katha from Zee.

    Ready to jump on to this new bandwagon, broadcasters are going heavy with syndicating titles. It is a new business model that seems to be evolving and is expected to take good shape in 2008.

    TERMS

    Their could be various factors determining a syndication deal. A title is given away either for a certain period of time or for limited airings. Sometimes it could be a combination of both. For instance, SET India has syndicated titles to 9X for one airing followed by a repeat.

    “Titles are cautiously picked up suiting the programming requirements of a channel,” says SET India head of telephony and licencing Kaushal Modi.

    For example, channel X is running a thematic festival at a particular slot and wants few titles. It will buy those titles from Channel Y for a particular period of time.

    Star Gold is airing Gadar – Ek Prem Katha, which it has bought from Zee, and Guru, which it has bought from Filmy, in the 20-day film festival which will roll out on 18 February.

    Titles are also picked up, depending on how well it delivered on ratings during previous airings.

    REASONS

    With an ever-increasing number of channels and a limited number of big-ticket films available for sale, there seems to be a crunch in the availability of films because of which prices increase.

    Are broadcasters ready to pay so much?

    Modi says, “If the deal is such that it will give a good recovery, then why not buy an over-priced product.”

    Thus, it is a clear case of demand and supply. The workable model is to sell the movies to multiple broadcasters.

    The Indian Film Company (IFC) sold out Jab We Met to four broadcasters at a reported price of around Rs 220 million.

    Of the lot, Zee was the first to air it. This will gradually be followed by 9X, Sony and UTV‘s upcoming Hindi movie channel which is slated for launch on 24 February.

    IFC‘s CEO Sandeep Bhargawa says, “As a producer/distributor, my motive is to exploit my product on as many platforms as possible in a limited time.”

    Contradicting this, NDTV Imagine‘s EVP of business operations and ancillary revenues Gaurav Gandhi says, “The movie loses its freshness due to frequent airings which affects the channel. People may not come to watch the movie again and again if it is aired within a gap of 15 days.”

    “A Hollywood model works better wherein the perpetual rights remain with the producers and the movie keeps rotating among channels year after year or a stipulated period of time,” adds Gandhi.

    Thus, syndicating a title works when there is a hiatus between the first and second channel‘s airings.

    Title syndication becomes necessary when it comes to enriching the repertoire.

    Filmy business head Shailesh Kapoor says, “The idea is to create as many windows and get maximum viewers, as we did by selling children‘s films to Pogo.”

    Adds an industry obserever, “Big-ticket films cost a lot of money for a broadcaster. Syndication can also be a feasible model to recover that cost.”

    WHAT REMAINS EXCLUSIVE?

    Amidst all the barters and syndications, one thing which channels still want to bank on are exclusivity.

    SET India has retained all the Yashraj titles from being syndicated to 9X. These titles are with SET till 2012.

    Star India SVP Sameer Rao says, “The deal has to be commercially workable. At the end of the day, movie channels rely on a differentiating factor which is exclusive titles. I would not be different anymore if I give my strong titles to several other channels.”

    If exclusivity matters, then how will a new channel start? New movie channels have to start up with a sustainable library. They may not have good big-ticket films to start with.

    Commenting on this, Gandhi says, “Upcoming channels have to work very hard to get the library. That is when syndication happens. However, a channel with exclusive titles will enjoy an upper hand. A premium title will fetch premium results.”

    But how far will the syndication model succeed? Says Gandhi, “This will be clear once the channels are operational. But one factor which has given it a shape is the fight for big-ticket titles which will always remain.”

  • Old question, new perspective: celeb vs non-celeb ads

    Testimonials by celebrities “are below average in their ability to change brand preference. Viewers guess the celebrity has been bought, and they are right…. Viewers have a way of remembering the celebrity while forgetting the product,” quoth David Ogilvy in Ogilvy on Advertising (1983).

    Much ink has been spilt over the in/efficacy of using celebrities in ads. Even David Ogilvy, “the father of advertising,” did not spare the issue a good whipping. From Kapil Dev‘s Palmolive ka jawab nahin in the eighties down to Shah Rukh Khan‘s recent endorsement of Nokia – almost all the ads on TV, radio, print and the internet are accompanied by the physical presence or voice of some celeb. It is also true that we all liked the Palmolive ad and of course still remember it in spite of Palmolive no longer being the only lajawab shaving cream brand in the market. Indeed, advertising is just as competitive as the business of selling a product or service.

    But one thing is sure – that a memorable ad has the power to render a product memorable by making it a generic byword for all products in its category. As asianmarketresearch.com says, “The first recalled brand name (often called ‘top of mind‘) has a distinct competitive advantage in brand space, as it has the first chance of evaluation for purchase.” The “Got milk?” campaign in the US that put life back into milk sales nationwide after a 20-year slump, the Dhoondte rahe jayoge ad of HLL‘s Surf Excel that was meant to be an entertaining rejoinder to P&G‘s Ariel, the “Sunil Babu” ad of Asian Paints – are examples of memorable commercials that definitely aid in the brand recall. But how many of us can recall the ads (if there were any) of Ariel and Berger from that period? Too few, I am sure.

    Moreover, in view of Forrester Research‘s recent report that ad agencies of today are not well-structured to tackle tomorrow‘s marketing challenges and that consumers increasingly do not trust marketing messages, this old “effectiveness” debate between celeb ads and non-celeb ads ultimately boils down to the debate between ads and no-ads.

    The difference between a celebrity and a non-celebrity is obvious. A celebrity is a person who is publicly recognised and who uses that recognition to further the goals of marketers by appearing in advertisements directed at consumers. Similarly, a non-celebrity is a person who, prior to placement in the campaign, has no public recognition but appears in an advertisement for the product.

    Network 18 Group‘s network creative director Zubin Driver places importance on the script of an ad. He says, “The effectiveness of an ad depends on the script. I think it‘s a creative mistake to use a celebrity when the script is weak. There‘s also the question of execution – how the idea behind the whole project is being executed. A good idea, coupled with an original script and good execution, makes all the difference.” He adds, “There should always be an association between the image of the endorser and the product/service being endorsed. These days, celebs are being overexposed in ads. People are being confused and bored.”

    For an ad with a non-celebrity spokesperson, credibility is highly correlated to advertising authenticity, which is in turn correlated to purchase intentions. For example, we can take a recent Canara Bank TVC where a middle-aged South Indian lady learns Punjabi to welcome her son‘s Punjabi fiancé into the family. Capturing every detail and nuance of a Kannada household, the TVC lends believability to the locale and situation. In other words, the ad makes viewers feel “at home”.

    However, researchers also found that under high-involvement conditions, arguments but not celebrities influence attitudes, whereas under low-involvement conditions, celebrities but not arguments influence attitudes. This suggests that celebrity influence may be related to the nature of the product rather than the person.

    Since celeb ads are expensive, the question arises whether such ads pay in the long run. It is relevant to note here that according to media reports, Shah Rukh Khan‘s “income from endorsements fetches him Rs 1.5 billion ($38 million) a year, the highest for any Indian advertising ‘model‘.”

    Driver agrees and adds, “Like celebs, cricket is also being overexposed and overused. Everyone‘s trying to cash in on the popularity of cricket. As I said earlier, without an original idea, cricket as a background in ads doesn‘t work.”

    According to Ogilvy & Mather‘s executive creative director Abhijit Avasthi, it is wrong to say that celebrity advertising is a shortcut method but certainly not a creative way to reach out and better brand recall.

    “I‘ve worked with Abhishek Bachchan in the Motorola ad, which is a very successful ad. If a strong idea is executed well, celeb ads definitely work,” he says.

    It is also true that celebrity endorsements in India and abroad are different. In the west, celebs endorse brands that are associated with their image, fun, sports, etc. One remembers St John‘s ad with Angelina Jolie, Louis Vuitton ads with Catherine Deneuve and Scarlett Johansson, and the ads of VISA featuring Pierce “Bond” Brosnan.

    Avasthi says, “I don‘t think that there should necessarily be an association between the celeb‘s image and the product being endorsed.”

    But is Amitabh Bachchan in a Reid & Taylor ad just as effective as Amitabh Bachchan in a Navratna oil ad?

    Avasthi defends, “Celeb ads of lifestyle products are always effective because of the presence of the celebs. People tend to use such products. The celeb factor may not be a necessary component of the ad – his/her presence may be natural. Amitabh Bachchan is one of the greatest actors of our time. Since an ad is like a film, having Mr Bachchan act in an ad pays doubly.”

    Indeed, people can relate to the celebrities very easily. They talk about Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in such a way as though they were members of their family. They know about the celebrities more than their own close relatives!

    There is also the matter of trust. If one sees an unknown face in a commercial for a new product he or she will not be buying it very easily unless the person concerned is an early adapter and is obsessed with that product. On the contrary, if a person sees some known face with whom he can easily relate, the trust will come automatically.

    For sure, in the successful “Got milk?” campaign, believability, knowledge, appearance and liking for the celebrity were highly correlated to each other and also with purchase intentions.

    Thus, an ad has to bring in the right person for the product. If Aishwarya Rai is made to advertise for some sport material that ad will not be as successful as those projecting her as a beauty icon.

    As McCann-Erickson‘s regional creative director (South & South-East Asia) Prasoon Joshi says elsewhere, “Celebs should be used as messengers, not the message.”