ITV

Category: Year Enders

  • Size Does Not Matter Curry-Nation – Director Priti Nair

    Size Does Not Matter Curry-Nation – Director Priti Nair

    2011 has been good for independent agencies with a whole bunch of them sprouting in the year.

    The trend actually started three years back. Taproot. Cartwheel. Scarecrow. And what you witnessed was a fantastic new advertising culture emerging.

    The market is ready and willing for smaller non-network driven agencies. The big and small marketers are willing to experiment and are quite happy actually to have smaller agencies as their partners.

    Overall, it was an enormously encouraging place for you to start on your own if you wanted to. And that is how in 2011 there were more of us – indies as the media call us – coming up.

    The advertising world seems to be coming a full circle .The trend that happened many years ago suddenly stopped. It continued in other parts of the world, but not in India. With most Indian agencies selling stake, full or part, I am glad it is back.

    What is it that is letting the clients find ways around alignments and also breaking the self-created rule of working with big names only?

    Primarily I feel it is the partnering, the passion and the closely knit teams with which smaller agency set ups approach the business and the brands.

    And finally you don’t really deal with organisations, you deal with people. If the same people that you dealt with before and were happy with what they delivered for you, then how does it matter if they are in a small or a large agency? Also as small start-ups, you automatically work harder and harder and there are no goof ups whatsoever because there is no longer any cushioning or complacency. I guess all these factors combined make small start-ups an equally attractive option.

    It has been an amazing experience for Curry-Nation. We already have 10 brands with us. And have also done projects for four other brands. It was a good and solid foundation.

    Size has stopped bothering us. It is now about quality, service, partnerships and output.That is what matters. And that is what should have mattered all along.

    So last year for us was all new. A combination of getting talent, winning clients and working like close knit family that has got together. Evolving new ways of working, creating your culture. We got talked and written about.

    Now is the second year and the challenge is even bigger. Because once the ‘newsiness’ on your newness dries out, it is only your work that will make you stand shoulder to shoulder with the biggies. Taproot has done an admirable job. It is an agency we look up to in terms of what they have achieved over the last few years after starting.

    And there are our bold clients who have made the call, broken norms, put aside big agency repute myths and stood by us. Their faith is what made us smile everyday through last year and made us feel that we are on the right track.

    So we do salute the year that went and welcome 2012 with open arms as we step into the second year of our business.

     

  • Infotainment & lifestyle genre in a new wave of evolution

    Infotainment & lifestyle genre in a new wave of evolution

    The infotainment and lifestyle genre is going through a new wave of evolution as more entrants, channel launches and regional-language feeds marked the whole of 2011. While challenges dogged the year, digitisation threw open opportunities. With the four metros having a sunset date of 30 June 2011, channels are looking at sprucing up their content and preparing for differentiated offerings to tap into audience segmentation as about one-fourth of their viewership comes from there.

    Clearly, defined brands will hold the edge and distribution revenues will have to look up for the genre to grow. The overall ad revenue market for infotainment and lifestyle is estimated to be around Rs 3 billion and with so many channels in the fray, the pie is not large enough for all of them to dig into.

    The focus in 2011 was on increasing investments in content and expanding reach and time spent on all the networks. Said Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri, “We made ingenious innovations on all fronts: programming, language offerings, availability and marketing.”

    Discovery upped the ante launching over 100 series across its seven channels with the aim to offer Indian audiences multiple new hosts and entertaining formats. “We brought brand defining programmes like ‘Curiosity’ on Discovery Channel, ‘Oh My Gold’ on TLC and ‘Taking on Tyson’ on Animal Planet. We introduced a number of interesting new formats and engaging hosts,” said Johri.

    The result was telling. While feeling the heat from competition, Discovery maintained its lead among the infotainment channels. According to Tam data (C&S 15+, All India), it had a share of 53 per cent in 2011, though it fell to 49 per cent in the second half of the year from 57 per cent in the first half. In 2010, Discovery had a share of 57 per cent.

    Arch-rival NGC is behind with a share of 25 per cent, slightly up from 23 per cent in the earlier year, while Animal Planet’s share has gone down from 18 per cent to 15 per cent. New entrant History TV18 has an average share of 9.9 per cent ever since it launched in October 2011.

    Discovery has a monopoly on the top 10 shows, both in 2011 and in 2010. Episodes of ‘Man Vs Wild’ were the top shows in both years. Other shows that rated include ‘Destroyed In Seconds’ and the special ‘Death of Bin Laden’.

    National Geographic Channel went through a global rebranding. Said National Geographic Network, Fox International Channels India MD Keertan Adyanthaya, “2011 has been a very important year for National Geographic Channel. We have completely changed the way we look and are perceived by our audience. The ‘This is who we are’ campaign, launched in December, showcased the range of experiences, passion and adventure that lies within the channel. NGC has always been dynamic, experimentative and larger than life and this campaign helped articulate this appropriately; it gave us a sharp spike in viewership.”

    Maintaining the genre share remains a huge task in the wake of increased competition. Said Adyanthaya, “ Our mix of diverse series, a new theme every month and having best-rated shows will ensure that our viewer base remains unshaken.”

    The preference is to have daily striped programming. Said Adyanthaya, “If viewers like a show, then they are more comfortable if that series is made available to them as a daily stripe rather than being showcased once a week. As a result, we have striped the popular promotable series on our grid, and we’re seeing daily sampling for these shows recording higher numbers than previously when they were available just once a week.”

    The Regional Language Push: 2011 was a year when players in this genre tried to boost viewership by launching regional-language feeds. Discovery, for instance, increased the reach of the channels on both digital and analogue platforms, launching the Bangla and Telugu language feeds and expanding lifestyle channel TLC’s Hindi feed. “Supplementing our regional strategy, we launched a dedicated 24-hour regional channel – Discovery Channel Tamil catering to Tamil speaking viewers,” averred Johri.

    NGC launched channel feeds in Tamil, Telugu and Bengali. “We feel that our content is universal in its appeal and, hence, language should not be a barrier to viewership. We have seen very strong results with these feeds. The introduction of regional feeds has seen the channel penetration and reach numbers improve significantly in these states,” said Adyanthaya.

    New entrant History TV18, launched last year as a JV between AETN and TV18, has taken the lead in regional languages by being present in as many as seven languages. “We launched with six languages and we have just added Gujarati to our portfolio. Going regional does two things – it helps us to penetrate geographies and SECs, thus helping us aggregate audiences; it will also help us monetise the GRPs.”

    Incidentally, Fox History and Entertainment had exited the space last year and became a lifestyle channel, thus making it easier for a new player to come in. History TV18 aims to change people‘s perception of history by making it contemporary; it also shows action and adventure.

    A+E Networks TV18 JV GM marketing Sangeetha Aiyer believes the Indian market is ripe for alternative formats. “That is one of the reasons for the Network18 group to foray into the factual entertainment space. Factual entertainment as a genre competes with general entertainment or fiction-based entertainment and unscripted formats in evolved markets like the US. It is also emerging as the new preferred choice across other markets in Europe and South east Asia. We believe that the trend will continue and the genre has the potential to become a relatively mainstream option for entertainment in India as well.”

    History hopes to break-even in three years and has invested close to Rs 150 million in 2011. “Going forward, we will be looking at creating innovative clutter-breaking marketing concepts, along with exploiting synergies within the network,“ said Aiyer.

    The Lifestyle Genre: Activity intensified in the lifestyle space as well. Fox History and Entertainment rebranded as Fox Traveller, learning from the experience that travel shows were performing well.

    “2011 was about rediscovery and revamping. Since the travel shows were doing well for us, we started a dedicated Traveller band in January 2011; the shows were well received by our viewers as the band witnessed a significant increase in ratings. In May 2011, Fox History and Traveller was reborn with increased focus on travel-based programming and local productions. The channel was renamed Fox Traveller in October 2011,” said Adyanthaya.

    According to Tam data (C&S4+ All India), TLC leads with a 35 per cent share in 2011. Fox Traveller enjoys a share of 28.7 per cent share while NDTV Good Times has 28.7 per cent. Travel XP follows with a share of 7.6 per cent. The top shows for 2011 are well distributed among the players.

    Lifestyle is an evolving genre. Said Johri, “TLC brought lifestyle programming in India, offering a wide variety of series in the travel and cuisine genre. It later added new genres like makeover, grooming, health, fashion and home. It further created new trends in India by its brand defining programmes on subjects like tattoo and yoga.”

    TL went a step further last year by adding another layer with programming under the jewellery and high-life genre. Most noted amongst them was ‘Oh My Gold!’ with model and actress Lisa Ray.

    “The channel’s success in lifestyle is due to its ability to identify the global and India trends and present entertaining programmes,” said Johri.

  • 2011: Getting ready for the next growth phase: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific SVP and general manager (South Asia) Rahul Johri

    2011: Getting ready for the next growth phase: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific SVP and general manager (South Asia) Rahul Johri

    2011 was a year of dynamic transformation for the industry. It will be remembered as a landmark year with the most noteworthy announcement being the government‘s new Digitisation Policy. The other major development which stands out was the sizeable M&A activity in the sector.

    The competitive landscape intensified with every major broadcaster expressing their interest in India with strong actions. New channel launches increased fragmentation. To keep the viewers engaged, companies invested on the brands and launched multiple high-cost productions. Offering a new experience, the HD channels gained attraction. And, of course, there was increased pressure on the limited distribution bandwidth.

    During the year, one of the most evident trends we witnessed in favour of the lifestyle and factual entertainment genre was the increased preference and value for differentiated, high-quality and entertaining content amongst all stakeholders.

    For Discovery India, it was a momentous year. We consolidated our leadership as India‘s No. 1 non-fiction media company by making consistent investments in content, distribution and promotion.

    During this exciting period, we expanded our business on all counts: new channels, new language feeds, path breaking India productions, quality global programmes like Curiosity, increased availability to over 173 million households, robust ad sales growth, all round innovations and high-decibel marketing and communications.

    Discovery‘s guiding principle, “Right Place, Right Time” was in action in all our strategic launches in the year – be it the introduction of our first regional channel Discovery Channel Tamil or the 24-hour Bangla and Telugu language feeds or the innovative local productions like Oh My Gold with Lisa Ray. During the last year, we also showcased our preparedness for the emerging new media landscape.

    India is witnessing a strident demand, amongst all stakeholders, for refreshing and distinct television entertainment. Discovery Channel has risen to the challenge and is today ranked in top 10 channels in India amongst more than 600 plus channels, measured on cumulative annual reach. A nationwide distribution encompassing more than 200,000 villages and a notable presence in the basic packs of the DTH companies are prime indicators of changing India and its strong preference for quality and differentiated entertainment.

    Comprehending the emerging trends, along with the ability to produce matching products and solutions, has been the foundation on which Discovery has created its robust business in India. I am confident that Discovery will continue to be both a beneficiary and catalyst of this fantastic change.

    2012 will be a year of new opportunities. However, it will also present unique challenges. The environment will be extremely vibrant with action on all levels – policy, industry, regional and genre. The year, amongst other things, will test the brands‘ strength and viewer loyalty. One can also expect an increase in spends by channels on both content creation and promotion. The viewer will get an even wider choice of networks, programmes and distribution platforms.

  • 2011: The defining year for the music genre

    2011: The defining year for the music genre

    Year 2011 was special for the youth and music channels in more than one way. For starters, the genre grew with the advent of focused new players, and also came of age as channels clearly selected the model they want to follow.

    If 2010 was the year of uncertainty for the genre, 2011 was the Buddha moment, when the players found the light, the path and, most importantly, the business model.

    So far the category was suffering with the biggest limitation – no scope for differentiation as every channel had access to the same pool of music. But 2010 end was a watershed moment, after which viewers started witnessing an urge amongst the players to be, for the lack of a better word, different.

    Finally, in 2011, the two clear categories emerged within the genre – one was pure play music and other was youth centric channels.

    The clear distinction or segregation happened with the launch of pure play music channels like Mix and MTunes. This channel brigade was led-by 9XM with other players including B4U Music, Music India and, up to some extent, Mastiii. Meanwhile, the youth genre found stability on the tri-pad of MTV, Channel [V] and UTV Bindass.

    Though executives of all of these channels differ on their content strategies and business models, they all agree that this genre is extremely competitive and in order to reach their target audience, they need to be far more than a mere TV channel.

    The biggest challenge is that the genre is highly fragmented and is marred with low viewership. As it is, music is no longer the mainstay of music channels. So experimentation by the youth channels continued in 2011. While Channel [V] found solace in fiction properties, MTV went for a mix of reality along with non-film music. UTV Bindass targeted youth from campuses and also focused on relationships.

    Similarly, among the pure play channels, while 9XM continued serving latest Bollywood music with the animated characters, Mastiii had comedy gags to retain audiences. Mix, the four-month-old channel, opted for mood mapping and is working on improving its distribution.

    The genre now has 19 players and they are fighting for an ad pie between Rs 3.5-4 billion yearly and a share of 200-240 GRPs (gross rating points)on a per week basis. Thankfully, the music space has undergone transformation and today they have some differentiated content and not the same generic content – be it music or reality shows.

    UTV Bindass business head Keith Alphonso says, “Finally, after 14 years, the genre has matured in 2011. We have taken the positioning of a youth channel and it is a three-horse race – MTV, UTV Bindass and Channel [V]. Though every channel is creating its niche, we have decided that we want to own the three verticals which are close to heart of the youth – campus, relations and music. For us, it is important to emerge as a brand.”

    But the question remains: How will the music and youth channels survive with such competition? Answers MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy, “Unlike general entertainment channels, youth genre is not sold on GRPs. In any case, the difference between the top and the eighth player will be less than 10 GRPs. Advertisers and clients look at what more we are putting on the table; its always GRP++. And so, we give them much beyond TV. We give social media, digital etc as we are engaging our consumers on multiple platforms.”

    Agrees Channel [V] EVP and GM Prem Kamath, “First I think calling this genre niche is a big oxymoron. Youth constitutes 60 per cent of total population. Everyone is targeting them, so definitely its not niche. But, having said that, the problem with the genre is that with only music, there is a certain level you can grow. Best chances are you can get up to 30-35 GRPs. Yes, you can make some money if you are on top, but there is no growth.”

    About Channel [V]‘s decision of entering into fiction, he says, “Our offerings are customised for the youth. The two fiction properties are top rated shows and in certain markets, they rate even higher than shows on the GECs.”

    Among the three youth channels, Channel [V] plays least amount of music. It has only two bands — 8-11 am and 4-6 pm – reserved for music.

    Kamath explains, “Today the maximum consumption of music is happening over the phone or music players. Secondly, it is same everywhere and exclusive music is not working as it is not monetiseable. Plus we do
    not want just a visual radio.”

    Interestingly, the genre suffers from a very low time spent of around 25 minutes per week. Even FM radio stations become a competition for the channels, given the passive listening that is happening with pure music channels.

    “The biggest challenge is to increase the time spent on the channel. The average time spent on our channel is 28-30 minutes per week, but that needs to grow. Secondly, the whole genre is struggling to get the due respect from viewers as well as advertisers,” Max EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas says.

    Vyas adds that in order to increase the stickiness and to get appointment viewing, the channel will have more format shows, and Mix will be a platform for the singers and other musicians.

  • 2011: Pure music, regional key trends 9X Media head – New Business Punit Pandey

    2011: Pure music, regional key trends 9X Media head – New Business Punit Pandey

    If a picture is worth a thousand words, music is worth millions and the year 2011 helped the industry to generate multi-millions. Year 2011 can be called the year of growth for the music channels. And it is Bollywood that provided some of the most popular numbers to the music television industry in India, which has 49 channels in the genre and is way ahead of other media markets across the world.

    The Hindi music category operates at approximately 245 GRPs and Rs 3.92 billion. From year 2010 there were two distinct categories of music channels seen in the country, the ones that focused more on non music content than music and the ones that focused on pure play music content like 9XM. These Pure Music channels contribute 48 per cent of Hindi music GRPs and 36 per cent of revenue for the genre.

    One of the main reasons for the growth of this genre was the advent of so many new players in this space. With just 10 music channels in 2010, today we have at least 14 channels concentrating on the music genre. The music genre share in the year 2011 increased from 2.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent. This increase of the absolute channel shares can be attributed to trends which were seen prominently in the year 2011.

    The music genre has traditionally been highly fragmented and characterised by low viewership. To hold viewer interest and differentiate themselves, channels keep innovating their programming and content. Continuing from last year, music is no longer the mainstay of music channels. The year 2011 saw these channels experimenting with content and positioning appeal to the audiences. These experimentations included large format reality based shows being launched on channels to expand their viewer base.

    However, the format that has stood the test of time and gets the viewers hooked on was sticking to simple and pure music content. Hence 2011 saw channels returning back to the roots and concentrating on playing pure music as they realised that viewers tune in to music channels for music and not for reality shows which they can watch on GECs.

    Another major trend seen in the year 2011 was the growing importance of the regional markets – Regionalisation of media. Regional channel revenues across all genres are growing at 26 per cent (YOY across Year 2006 – 2010). The revenues recorded for year 2010 was Rs 42 billion across all genres.

    Taking cognizance of the potential of these regional markets, 2011 saw launches specifically made for these regions. We at 9X Media Group forayed into this space with the launch of our very first regional music channel 9X Tashan – a Punjabi music channel that rules the charts and has been the No.1 channel in the space since the very first week of its launch. We also launched 9X Jhakaas – India‘s very first Marathi music channel in 2011.

    The advent of social media and digitalisation has also extended the reach of the channels. Digital platforms and social media have changed the way media is consumed and 2011 saw channels increasingly experimenting with various online strategies and use of social media tools to connect and interact with their target audiences. The content provided on the channel is developed keeping the online viewers in mind and this has been tremendously appreciated by viewers and online users. Today Bollywood music premieres simultaneously on YouTube and On air – that‘s how important this platform is today.

    2011 saw the advent of Mobile TV – the on the move television and with the technological developments like 3G, these platforms have created the larger reach for the music channels and helped the viewers consume content on the move. 9XM is the first music television channel to have a live streaming facility of its on-air content on the official website – www.9xm.in. In fact, we have also extended the live streaming facility across our regional channels – 9X Tashan and 9X Jhakaas.

    Given the interactive ability of the medium to provide direct access to consumers going forward, we see media companies and advertisers leverage this platform to understand consumer behaviour and influence their choices. Content consumption will no longer be restricted to television sets and 2012 will witness a substantial increase in the consumption of music via You Tube and other online sites and via Mobile TV.

    Content development for the regional audiences and focus on innovation of content is another trend that will be seen gaining importance in the upcoming year.

  • Telugu television rewrites script in 2010 – Sun TV Network SVP, business head- Telugu cluster Sanjay Reddy

    Telugu television rewrites script in 2010 – Sun TV Network SVP, business head- Telugu cluster Sanjay Reddy

    It could be over two decades now that cable TV brought changes to our living room. Looking back in the year 2010 in Andhra Pradesh Television, the changes have been more real and how. One can clearly attribute the C&S penetration to have fuelled a number of changes in the overall consumption pattern of television. The C&S market saw a steady growth in the past one year. Out of the total of 19.9 million households, C&S households stood at 11.3 million and with a 95 per cent penetration.  

      TV viewing Individuals(Millions) CS individuals (Millions)
      2009 2010 2009 2010
    Hyderabad 6.6 6.9 6.4 6.7
    Rest of AP 9.3 9.9 8.9 9.5

    Echoing the pan India trend, the DTH market in Andhra Pradesh has also seen a slow penetration. But as per the trends, the growth in the past year has been encouraging.

      2009 (Mn) 2010(Mn)
    Hyderabad 0.3 0.5
    Rest of AP 0.2 0.5

    Until 2008, there were only a few Telugu news channels in the state such as TV9, ETV2, NTV and TV5, alongside the entertainment ones, like Doordarshan’s Saptagiri, ETV, Gemini TV, Teja TV, Maa TV and Zee Telugu. In 2009, the simultaneous holding of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections marked a surge in news channels as film star Chiranjeevi announced his entry into active politics. These included Sakshi TV, HMTV, HYTV, Maha TV, Studio-N, Zee 24 Gantalu and ABN Andhra Jyothy.

    With the launch of Raj TV, the state now has 15 news channels compared with nine general entertainment channels. This year also saw the opening of two other news channels – Janta TV & Channel 4. It’s intriguing to see this rush to start news channels in an already cluttered space. It can be seen that there was neither clear economics nor appealing newsworthiness in the launch.

    The GEC space also saw a shakeout with Asianet Sitara near close down after the initial euphoria. MAA TV’s ambitious launch of news channel also was ephemeral. The start of 2010 also was abuzz with recession and in the guise channels slashed salaries of middle and top executives, while revenue showing northward trend had it’s effect on the talent movement.

    Matter-of-Fiction

    The best kept secret in television is out. The year 2010 saw many a script rewritten in Telugu television – be it fiction, reality, or movies. The race for number one slot in GEC heated up. Gemini TV remained the undisputed leader followed by ETV, and then MAA TV and ZEE TV taking the place in rounds over the past 52 weeks. What’s to be taken note here is Gemini Movies, the only 24 hour Telugu movie channel, cemented its position as a clear number 2 in the channel rating list.

    Telugu audience has seen a transformation in terms of when faced with a choice between convention and crudity on television, but for a change in the year 2010 the audiences opted for family fun. It‘s not only because 90 per cent of AP’s TV households have one TV and TV-watching is still a collective experience. When faced with the option of watching a story and watching an done to death dance/item number, the audience choice was clear: they would rather be engaged than amused. So it comes as no surprise that fiction ruled the roost with serials like Mogilirekulu of Gemini consistently delivering numbers, proving to be APs no 1 fiction at 8:30 p.m.

    Aata of Zee TV showed crudity, and this came under scanner with women activists crying hoarse because of the content and young dancing with almost little or no drape and suggestive moves, thus showing what the audience prefer. And the second half started to witness a decline in the viewership in the same genre.

      Serials Reality/ Non
      Oct-Dec(09) Oct-Dec(10) Oct-Dec(09) Oct-Dec(10)
    Gemini TV 295 380 70 58
    Maa Telugu 52 25 120 80
    Zee Telugu 45 100 150 54
    Eenadu TV 140 175 85 70

    From a audience perspective, AP market became a copycat market as the non-fiction/reality show of the north were audaciously duplicated with shows like Genius on MAA TV being a pale copy of multitude of reality shows from UTV & MTV, Adrustham on MAA was a near copy of Deal No Deal, a format owned by Endemol which was later pulled off air after being served a notice from Copyright holder Endemol.
    The second half also saw a resurgence of a new format in the name of family show & game show. ETV launched “Genes” and Zee TV “Bathuku Jatka Bandi” with Sumalatha. The chat show format got a much needed impetus with Jayaprada joining the bandwagon with “Jayapradam” on MAA TV.

    Fiction gained the foothold through the year with socially relevant topic and better technical value in production. “Sundarakanda” on Gemini TV is a case in point where daughter married to NRI and the subsequent fallout in the marriage came to the fore; hence a case where media is called upon increasingly to educate, not merely excite.

    From a content perspective also, it was the younger clique on television while keeping in sync with the social moorings

    Year 2010 also saw Tollywood stars going beyond shaking their legs on TV reality shows to promote their films. To create a win-win situation for both channels and production houses, there is an exploration of synergies between movies and popular soaps/shows. Some of the prominent faces on television in the year 2010 were Nagababu in “Aparanji”, Vani Vishwnath in “Samudram” on Gemini TV, Jagapathy Babu in “Raju Rani Jagapahty” on ETV, Jayapradha in “Jayapradham” on MAA TV, Saikumar on WOW on ETV. This for sure is bridging the gap between television and Tollywood.

    Marketing & Advertising

    The relationship between sales growth, ad spend-sales ratio and market share is complex. Having said that, television is still the lord of the world and a powerful medium. In Andhra Pradesh, TV and print spends in the year 2010 have been huge.

    Year 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011
    Revenue in Crores in TV 340 460 528 601 725

    Before I sum up let us take a look at how TV network shares moved in the last one year.

    Network wise GRP Trends, CS 4+ All SEC

      2009(Oct-Dec) 2010(Oct-Dec) Change in %
    Sun Network 1144 1388 21.3
    Etv Network 456 420 -7.90
    Maa Network 447 384 -14.1
    Zee Network 410 380 -7.32

    Network wise Absolute Channel share %, CS 4+ All SEC

      2009(Oct-Dec) 2010(Oct-Dec) 2010(Jan-Dec)
    Sun Network 27.2 32.1 18
    Etv Network 10.6 9.7 -8.50
    Maa Network 10.9 8.9 -18.35
    Zee Network 9.8 8.8 -10.20
  • Whither, or Wither, Cable TV industry? Star India President (South India) Jagdish Kumar

    Whither, or Wither, Cable TV industry? Star India President (South India) Jagdish Kumar

    Circa 1994: Star Movies decides to convert from a free-to-air service to become the first pay TV channel in India. Negotiations between the pay channel and cable operators went thus:

    Pay channel executive (prosperous looking and suited executive): “You have to pay to receive Star Movies”.

    Operator (not very prosperous looking and ordinarily dressed): “Only some of my customers watch Star Movies and my customers pay only Rs 150 per month. After meeting my operating expenses, how much can I pay?”
     
    Pay channel executive: “I have a budget to achieve. I don‘t have a lot of time to negotiate. I have a flight to catch to get to headquarters. My target for this town is Rs 10000 and I have decided your share is Rs 1000. I will send you our standard agreement shortly. That‘s it- no further negotiations”.

    Circa 2010: There are 154 pay channels registered with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the negotiations between channels and cable operators go thus:

    Pay channel executive (casually dressed): “You have to increase your payment by 20 per cent to receive our bouquet of channels”.

    Operator (very prosperous looking and attired in designer brands): “Only some of my customers watch your bouquet and my customers pay only Rs 150 per month. After meeting my operating expenses, how much can I pay?”

    Pay channel executive: “Please understand, I have a budget to achieve to get my bonus. My growth target for this town is 20 per cent. However as an exception, only for you, I can work with a special growth rate of 5 per cent. Please agree to settle for Rs 1500. I will separately organise a foreign tour for you.”

    Operator: “Thank you. But I would also like to inform you that there is a huge demand for bandwidth and you have to pay Rs 750 as carriage fees”.

    Fortunes of the players have reversed since the beginning of pay TV services in India 16 years ago. While many channels are limping financially, operators have achieved prosperity beyond their imagination. Should we grudge the good life that operators are enjoying? Definitely not! During the last two decades India has witnessed incredible growth in C&S TV connectivity to the current level of about 95 million homes mainly driven by the entrepreneurism of the operators.

    There are two elements which have remained constant between 1994 and 2010:

    • The retail price of pay TV services have stagnated at around Rs 150 per month ( India has the cheapest pay TV service in the world) and
    • Incrementalism and myopic pay TV revenue targets set by channels.

    There seems to be near unanimity of opinion that the current abysmal state of the cable TV business in India is the result of under-declaration of subscribers by operators. While there is truth in that conclusion; it is not the whole truth. There is one truth which gets lost in the din of consultation papers, conferences, workshops and digital summits – The tyranny of incrementalism and the short-term nature of pay TV revenue targets of channels.

    The community of pay TV executives in India straddles two different worlds- Cable TV networks and corporate meeting rooms. The former world has a law of its own driven by native intelligence and the latter is a world of power- point presentations driven by business school intelligence. These two worlds have a love-hate relationship and a pay channel executive has to acquire skills to navigate between both these worlds. Both these worlds meet periodically either during contract renewal negotiations or during incentive jaunts in the sand dunes of Dubai/ blue waters of Bali/alleys of Amsterdam. They sometimes also have acrimonious meetings in the dreary environs of Sastry Bhavan or Sanchar Bhavan in Delhi.

    From the beginning, due to the lack of addressability, agreements between channels and operators for pay TV services are settled by the hustling power of the negotiators. Annual contract renewal discussions are sting operations full of obfuscations, sophistry, innuendos, threats, rumours and sometimes emotional outbursts which would put some of our TV programmes to shame! Only oblique references are made to the core matter of the negotiation, viz., connectivity numbers and price. Actual subscriber numbers and price is normally a by-product of the main negotiation primarily to satisfy computerised billing software programmes of the channels and regulatory filings.

    Over a period of the last two decades, pay TV executives were relentlessly handed down incremental targets set on an annual basis by the Board rooms of the channels. Based on these incremental targets, pay channel executives begin their contract signing campaign with operators with all the possible wit and wisdom at their command. Sometimes these contractual negotiations become weapons in the pay channel executive‘s hands to demarcate network operating areas between competing operators. In case of disagreements during the negotiations, a competing “rebel” operator is encouraged by the pay channel executive to encroach into the incumbent operator‘s area. This practice has led to chaotic conditions in the last mile with each area being serviced by more than one operator and all players perfecting the art of brinkmanship.

    Introduction of the MSOs into the distribution chain during the last decade was meant to professionalise and consolidate the last mile. However, territory wars amongst MSOs and a period of easy capital availability for new entrants has resulted in the opposite. The industry has fragmented irreversibly.

    We are confronted with dismal scenarios when we crystal gaze into the future of the analog cable TV industry in India. However, I believe all is not lost. Ironic though it may seem, the threat of DTH has thrown open a door of opportunity to the cable TV industry – Digitalisation. An additional shot in the arm for the cable TV industry is the latest initiative by I&B Ministry and Trai to mandate full digitalisation in India by 2015 with intermediate time bound milestones.

    The ambitious digitalisation objectives as stated by the I&B Ministry requires massive deployment of financial and technical resources. Let‘s hope all stakeholders of the cable TV industry step up to the challenge.

    Here is my wish list for 2011 for the cable TV industry:

    ” All MSOs to arrive at an amicable settlement by demarcating territories of operations and cease encouragement of migration of last mile operators between MSOs. ” MSOs/LCOs to gear up financially and technically to meet the challenges of the ambitious digitalisation targets proposed by the I&B Ministry.

    • Pay channels to temper their incremental short term revenue targets during the investment phase of digitalisation to reap the benefits of addressability later.
    • MSOs to reduce their dependence on carriage fees as the main source of revenue and generate subscription revenues from the last mile as their primary revenue source.
    • Government to give “Infra-structure” status to the cable TV industry to enable institutional financing and provide fiscal incentives /concessions to facilitate digitalisation.
    • Government to withdraw from pricing controls over the cable TV market and allow market forces to drive consumer choice and price.
    • Broadcasters to catalyze digitisation by providing channels/programmes which can be accessed only through an addressable digital box.

    We are at a critical juncture where the cable TV industry should take a pro-active role in the implementation of the proposals initiated by the Government to digitalise. The only option for survival is to go Digital, anything else will spell Doom!

  • DTH bringing the second wireless revolution in India – Bharti Airtel Director and CEO digital TV services Ajai Puri

    DTH bringing the second wireless revolution in India – Bharti Airtel Director and CEO digital TV services Ajai Puri

    Launched in 2003, DTH revitalised India’s journey to media digitisation. Being wireless in nature, DTH has truly brought the power of affordable home entertainment to rural households.

    2010 has proved to be a remarkable year for the DTH industry in India. It was an action packed year that saw the market expanding to six private players, acting as the catalyst in speeding up India’s journey to digitalisation.

    The year saw many innovative interventions in the area of both hardware and interactive services by players, with festive occasions and sporting events being the major inflection points for the industry. The industry added 10 million customers in FY 2009-10 taking its tally to over 20 million, thereby adding as many as it did in its first five years, exemplifying the fact that the Indian consumer ‘wants’ to be at par with globally evolving entertainment standards. The industry is expected to add another 13-14 million customers in 2010-11.

    In moving away from the industry norm of treating DTH as a mere replacement to cable, newer entrants like Airtel see a huge potential market of 100 million households that have no access to cable or terrestrial TV. This has helped expand the category and enabled affordable home entertainment on wireless to reach markets hitherto beyond reach of incumbent distribution platforms. 
     
    In growing at the phenomenal pace that it has, DTH has made India the largest buyer of set-top boxes and it’s set to soon become the largest DTH market in the world. Though the increased demand of STBs has brought down the hardware cost that forms a major chunk of operators cost, the industry is still beset with many structural challenges.

    The absence of a level- playing field on content cost versus analogue cable, due rampant non-transparency / under-declaration by cable industry for years and the high incidence of taxes, make it a steep climb to profitability for DTH operators. Tax incidence of over 35 per cent is amongst the highest for any industry which plays such a critical role in fulfilling the Government agenda of reaching ‘infotainment‘ to the remotest parts of India. In particular, entertainment tax levied by states has no logical reasoning and custom duty imposed on STBs needs to be withdrawn. Also the license fee of 10 per cent is only levied on the DTH platform, amongst all other forms of distribution – an anomaly that needs to be corrected soon.

    At present wholesale tariffs from broadcasters, cost of all channels put together, comes to nearly Rs 14 billion for cable operators and 50 per cent of that is levied on DTH operators, while the Indian customer is willing to pay at best between Rs 150-250. It seems that the incumbent cable industry has taken recourse to under-declaration to correct this anomaly of high content cost. DTH though being a completely transparent addressable system has no such recourse.

    DTH today is less then 20 per cent of the total C&S households in India, but contributes over 50 per cent of broadcasters subscription revenue, thereby ending up subsidising the incumbent analogue cable industry.

    We believe that DTH has the potential to repeat the success story of telecom, where all the stakeholders – consumers, broadcasters, operators and government – will gain immensely. As DTH is already enabling many in rural India buy their first TV, every single household of the current 240 million homes across India deserves to have a TV. Just like mobile, DTH has shown that wireless is the way to go if world class home entertainment is to go mass in India.

    Apart from the width of availability of linear, regional content, DTH for many has become the means to catch up with latest movie releases that otherwise would probably have taken months or some quarters to be released beyond the top few towns. This will go a long way in helping fight piracy and protect the interests of the rightful producers of content.

    Advertising too has become a very rewarding, effective option on DTH. It furnishes better return on investment for advertisers by paving the way for authentic measurement of viewership compared to myriad forms of media. Also, it renders a new vehicle for localised advertising, tapping the targeted audience in an effective way.

    Being the largest integrated telco that has a presence across all screens– Mobile, PC and TV – Airtel finds itself uniquely positioned to participate in the next wave of growth for DTH-broadband hybrid models. The advent of new wireless access technologies like 3G & BWA will make it possible for customers to experience the true power of two-way interactivity even on DTH. With movies on pay-per-view (PPV) platforms already gaining growing acceptance and innovative solutions by Airtel such as its mobile recording & mobile self care feature that make convergence of screens a reality, superior viewing experience through better picture quality and Dolby digital sound output will redefine customer’s expectation out of the idiot box in a big way.

    With customers clearly opting for the newer, more advanced platforms like MPEG4 DVBS 2, HD, the industry is looking forward to start the New Year in a positive note. The need to be entertained coupled with diversity of broadcast channels, gaming & interactive services will be big growth drivers for DTH in 2011.

    Clearly, technological superiority and quality of customer service have emerged as the new differentiators for the industry and the DTH platform is leading the way in helping India digitalise faster.
     

  • Government’s humps and bumps in 2010

    Government’s humps and bumps in 2010

    The year 2010 ended on a more positive note – at least as far as the private television channels were concerned.

    The commencement of the year 2011 also marked a new start from the television audience evaluation point of view with the Government accepting a report on TRP which itself gave the much-awaited approval to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) launched by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation.
     
    And for radio – which had drawn a blank in 2009 – the start of 2011 came with the Government approving the e-auction for the long awaited Phase III of private FM Radio.

    The year 2009 had ended on a somewhat damp note with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry refusing to accept any more applications for the burgeoning television industry in the country and asking the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to study the issue with regard to availability of spectrum and related issues.

    But soon after the year began, I&B Minister Ambika Soni decided to accept new applications and not wait for the Trai report, which came later and decided against any cap on the number of channels in the country – which are already over 500.

    In its report in July 2010, Trai said there should not be any cap on total number of satellite based TV channels meant for downlinking and uplinking from India, but the eligibility criteria for registration of a TV channel should be revised to include experience in media sector.

    It also said the period of permission for uplinking/downlinking permission should be made uniform for 10 years. The permission fee should be revised and charged annually.

    The networth requirements should be revised for news and non-news TV channels and teleports and India should be developed as a teleport hub, it further said.

    The Ministry had requested Trai on 8 October 2009 to furnish its recommendations on review of policy on uplinking and downlinking of TV channels in India in view of the growing number of channels and in view of the fact that the Ministry had given permission to around 550 TV channels and a number of applications were pending consideration.

    The Authority recommended that the applications seeking permission for uplinking/downlinking of TV channels should be processed quickly and the decision on the application should be finalised within three months from the date of submission of fully compliant and eligible application. For this purpose, the I&B Ministry should explore the feasibility of setting up a single-window clearance mechanism. The Authority also gave recommendations relating to the fee structure.

    A total of around 260 applications for new television channels were still pending with the Ministry by the end of 2010.

    The Ministry introduced a ‘Satellite TV Channels Application Tracking System’ (STATS) to bring complete transparency in the entire system of approvals for new channels. This first-ever initiative allows applicants to get updates on the status of their applications online. Software developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) will enable companies to log on to an especially designed programme to know the status of their applications.

    Meanwhile, the first major step towards nation-wide audience research was taken with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation getting the BARC registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956, and a high-level TRP Committee in its report approving this body.

    The BARC was set up as a joint venture between the IBF and the Indian Society of Advertisers on a 60:40 ratio and initial investment of Rs 300 million.
    Subsequently, every channel which wants to receive the ratings would have to subscribe to the BARC, the format of which would be decided by an eight-member Technical Committee headed by the ISA and having an equal representation from both the IBF and the ISA.

    BARC will not conduct audience measurement directly and instead will commission independent specialist research vendors.

    Almost two years after the news television channels came up with their own code, the general entertainment channels through the IBF also agreed on a “Self Regulatory Guidelines and Complaints Redressal Mechanism” for all non-news channels.

    With the introduction of these norms, and its adherence by all members of the IBF, the vast majority of all channels licensed by the Government will comply. This will include general entertainment, children and special interest channels.

    The redressal mechanism will be a three tier process: to first complain at the Broadcaster/Channel level; a seven-member Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (“BCCC”) at the industry (IBF) level; and finally a Content Appellate Board (“CAB”) of three distinguished members chaired by a jurist including a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Courts.

    However, it waits to be seen whether the Government will accept this process in full, as indications say the Ministry wants a Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India manned by civil society representatives and experts in various fields, and headed by a retired judge.

    The IBF recommended that the Self-regulatory Content Guidelines be notified immediately for all Non-News channels under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995, replacing the present Programme Code which had been drawn up for Prasar Bharati and then extended to other channels.

    Soni reiterated in September 2010 that the government was committed to self-regulation of broadcasting content, but there was need to find a mechanism to make this functional. She said a task force headed by I&B Secretary Raghu Menon was finalising a report in this connection and action would be taken thereon once the recommendations are available. It had held discussions with all stakeholders before working to finalise its report.

    Towards the end of the year, however, the urgency for bringing a Content Code into effect was highlighted when the government clamped down on two controversial reality shows, Bigg Boss and Rakhi Ka Insaaf, pushing them from peak primetime viewing hours to an ‘adult‘ time zone that could have an adverse impact on their ratings and revenues. The former on Colors managed to go to Court and get an injunction, while the latter followed the directive.

    Pulled up for their raunchy content, the government allowed these shows to run only between 11 pm and 5 am. Big Boss 4 was then airing daily at 9 pm on Colors and Rakhi Ka Insaaf at 10 pm (Friday-Saturday) on Imagine TV, time slots that are popular among TV viewers and advertisers.

    A ban was also put on repeat on any other time band for these two shows, and even news channels were barred from carrying content from these shows before 11 pm.

    The government also banned SS Music, a multi-lingual music channel, for seven days for allegedly showing nudity, following a recommendation by the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) comprising representatives of the ministries of Information and Broadcasting, and various child rights and women’s rights organisations.

    Twenty-four out of the total 118 warnings and show cause notices issued to various private television channels for programmes or advertisemets related to indecent representation of or denigrating women.

    According to official figures, the matter is pending in only three of the 24 cases, in which the final order is being issued shortly in two cases (TV 5 and Jai Hind TV) and the reply is being examined in the third (SS Music). These three are among the five cases of 2010, the other two being those of UTV Bindass and MTV.

    There were eight notices each in 2007 and 2008, and three in 2009 relating to depiction of women. While the matter was closed after receiving replies in some of the cases, the concerned advertisement/programme was modified in others, and warnings issued in some others.

    Interestingly, the news channels got a major relief from the Delhi High Court during 2010 which said sting operations are not unethical and ‘citizens can act as agent provocateurs to bring out and expose and uproot corruption’.

    “I consider that it is built-in fundamental duties that every citizen must strive for a corruption-free society and must expose the corruption whenever it comes to his or her knowledge and try to remove corruption at all levels more so at higher levels of management of the State,” it added.

    However earlier in the year, the Central Bureau of Investigation had told the Supreme Court that journalists can be prosecuted on corruption charges for conducting sting operations to expose corruption in public life. A party to a sting operation, allegedly undertaken to expose corruption by public servants, can be liable for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act, if he/she does not inform the law enforcing agency before or immediately after the sting, it said.
     

  • Politicisation of TV news content in South India – TV9 Karnataka and NEWS9 director Mahendra Mishra

    Politicisation of TV news content in South India – TV9 Karnataka and NEWS9 director Mahendra Mishra

    Though all the channels of these netas have a designated professional ‘editor‘, it is anybody‘s guess as to who calls the shots in selecting and playing the news items. There really are too many such characters to talk about! And they are mushrooming like Congress grass everywhere.

    If the news media is the fourth pillar of democracy, then there is no doubting the fact that in the four southern states, if not nationally across most of the regional television space, this pillar has gone into the hands of politicians or their proxies.

    There are two issues here; One, how are these channels going to sustain themselves financially as they generally have very low viewership and hence command extremely low advertising rates? 
     
    Secondly, even if they manage to last long, are they not going to cause a serious dent to the credibility of all news channels? Doesn‘t this dent the sanctity of news business? Doesn‘t it lead to serious credibility crisis among common viewers? Maybe 2011 will provide some answers.

    When we look at South India‘s television news business in 2010, the most important word that creeps in our minds is ‘politicisation of content and cable‘.

    Cable and content are inseparable in the TV news business. And this is something that netas in South India understand better than the most astute of businessmen today. Politicos‘ control content and cable both. Some of them own the news channels as well as the cable networks.

    While ‘paid news‘ and ‘TRPised news content‘ on TV news channels continue to be the major areas of debate for the entire news industry in general, 2010 in South India will be remembered as a year when netas tightened their grips on news content and cable networks.

    Andhra Pradesh

    Take a look at the numbers – there are currently 14 TV news channels in Andhra Pradesh. Except for two or three channels, all the rest are directly or indirectly controlled by politicians or their proxies. It‘s an open secret that most of them have officially become the tools of political agendas. One wonders why should they be called news channels at all?

    For example, when the TDP supremo went on a ‘fast‘ (hunger strike) demanding better compensation for Andhra farmers, four news channels supported by TDP or its party cadre- ABN Andhra Jyothi, ETV2, Studio N and Maha TV beamed every bit of ‘the action‘ live till the end, while at the same time, the Jagan Mohan Reddy-supported channels like Sakshi TV, NTV and TV5 made sure there was simply no coverage of the TDP Supremo‘s fast. And when Jagan Mohan Reddy went on fast on the same issue in Vijaywada, all the TDP-backed channels conveniently ignored him while Sakshi, NTV and TV5 telecast every moment ‘live‘.

    2010 saw the launch of another news channel, Raj TV in Andhra Pradesh by TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao. The channel has a very simple agenda: propagate the cause of a separate Telangana state and criticise all those who are opposed to it. The channel makes sure there are enough OBs in Rao‘s rallies, but when someone else holds a political rally in Telanaga, Raj TV coverage of the event is conspicuous by its absence.

    These issues raise serious concerns as to how ‘objectivity and fairness,‘ which are so critical to credible news, are becoming the biggest casualties of the politician-sponsored news media.

    Karnataka

    Karnataka is all set to take the ‘Andhra‘ route this year. Welcome to the land of the Reddys, the Kumaraswamys and the Jarkiholis…!

    The year-long political tamasha now finds a 3-D reflection in the news business this year as the Reddy brothers‘ gear up to launch their news channel ‘Janasri‘. Their jaunt in news television will be followed by JD (S)‘ state president H D Kumaraswamy‘s much awaited news channel.
    The Reddys and the Kumaraswamys have another important muscle to flex; while Bellary‘s complete cable business is in the hands of the Reddys, Hassan‘s cable networks are held by the Kumaraswamys‘. This naturally gives the Reddys‘ and the Kumaraswamys‘ the advantage of influencing news content on different channels. Their message is clear: You can‘t show what we don‘t like, at least not in Bellary and Hassan!

    Karnataka already has Congress leader Sathish Jarkiholi‘s ‘Samaya‘ in the state. Looks like these netas‘ own news channels to guarantee them a better audience than the sprawling Vidhan Soudha does!

    TV9 Kannada continued to be South India‘s No1 news channel followed by TV9 Telugu in 2010 in terms of total viewership (Source: TAM). The fact that TV9 Kannada‘s viewership has grown by 15-20 per cent after channels like Samaya launched shows that politician-backed channels have contributed to our growth positively.

    Karnataka remained the highest English news consuming market in the country, ahead of Kerala this year, largely because of NEWS9.The channel extended its services to the rest of Karnataka markets where it became an instant leader. NEWS9 has remained a leader in the Bangalore market where its viewership is more than the combined viewership of NDTV, Times Now, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today and NewsX. We are planning to expand NEWS9 operations in other southern markets gradually.

    Tamil Nadu

    The Tamil Nadu market remains largely untouched by new news channels largely due to the complete control over cable networks by politicians (the Marans). Though the state‘s vibrant retail advertising offers a great opportunity for the independent media organisations, the Marans‘ cable monopoly continues to be a big deterrent. This is the state where politicisation of content and cable has already happened. One can expect no major changes in the year 2011, except for a few fireworks on Jaya and Sun News as in the state assembly!

    Kerala

    The real action in the news television space is going to take place in Kerala this year as the state gears up for the assembly elections in May 2011.

    Kerala is going to witness a flood of new news channels before these elections. While the Indian Union Muslim League plans to launch its own news channel, K. Muraleedharan, former Member of Parliament and son of senior Congress leader K. Karunakaran, also plans to come up with his own news channel.
     
    Mathrubhumi, Kerala Kaumudi, Madhyamam and Mangalam are also expected to venture into 24-hour TV news business this year. There are at least half a dozen news channels already on air in the state, mostly backed by political parties either directly or indirectly.
    The message seems to be quite clear: if you want to grow in politics, own a news channel and be the editor-in-chief!