ITV

Category: Viewership

  • BFSI ad volumes on TV increased by 13 per cent in 2022 compared to 2020

    Mumbai : Tam AdEx has released a report on advertising in BANKING FINANCE INVESTMENTS (BFSI) on TV, Print, Radio and Digital mediums.

    TV 

    The BFSI sector’s ad volumes on television increased by 13 per cent  in 2022 as compared to  2020. 

    Life Insurance had the highest ad volume share among any of the BFSI sector with 24 per cent . The top five categories accounted for more than 60 per cent  of the total ad volume of the sector.  During  2022, the top ten advertisers accounted for 53 per cent  of total ad volume, with LIC of India leading the pack with a 16 per cent  share.

    Among the top ten BFSI brands, four of them were of LIC of India.  Top ten brands accounted 39 per cent  share of ad volumes in  2022 with Muthoot Fin Loan Against Gold securing 1st position.

    Top two TV channel genres accounted for 80 per cent  of ad volumes share for BFSI sector during  2022.  News channel genre most preferred by BFSI players in 2022.

    News Bulletin, the most preferred program genre to promote brands under BFSI sector on Television.  Top two program genres i.e. News Bulletin and Feature Films together added more than 55 per cent  of the sector’s ad volumes

    Prime Time garnered highest advertising on TV followed by Afternoon and Morning time-bands.  In terms of ad volumes, the prime time, afternoon, and morning time bands collectively accounted for 73 per cent 

    Preference of ad size by advertisers of BFSI sector on TV

    Advertisers of BFSI sector preferred 20 – 40 secs ad size on TV.  20-40 seconds and  less than 20 seconds ads together covered 89 per cent  shares in 2022.

    Print

    Ad space of BFSI sector grew by 74 per cent  in  2022 over 2020 and by 16 per cent  in  2022 as compared to 2021. 

    Public Issues dominated the top ten categories with 20 per cent  of Ad space share.  LIC of India was the top advertiser in the sector with 14 per cent  share of ad space during  2022.  Top ten categories and advertisers accounted for 58 per cent  and 28 per cent  share of ad space respectively.

    Brands of LIC of India dominates the top brands list in  2022.  The top 10 brands accounted for 17 per cent  share of the total ad space in Print.

    English language has the highest share of Ad Space, i.e., 48 per cent . The Top 5 Publication languages together added 87 per cent  share of sector’s ad space.  General Interest commands ad space in General Newspaper with 62 per cent 

    South Zone transcends with 34 per cent  share of BFSI advertising in Print in  2022.

    Mumbai & New Delhi were top cities in West Zone and North Zone respectively

    Radio 

    Index ad volume growth of BFSI sector increased by 27 per cent  during  2022 as compared to  2020. When compared to  2021, BFSI Sector witnessed marginal ad volume drop in  2022.

    Life Insurance dominates the Category list with 30 per cent  of the total BFSI ad volumes. Top ten categories added 89 per cent  ad volume share of a sector on Radio.  Top ten advertisers added 76 per cent  share of ad volumes during  2022, among which LIC of India was the leading Advertiser.

    Top ten brands accounted for 49 per cent  share of ad volumes in  2022, in which LIC Housing Finance is the leading Brand.  6 out of Top ten brands were of LIC of India during  2022.

    The Top 3 states occupied 45 per cent  share of Ad Volumes for the BFSI sector.  Maharashtra tops the state-list with 20 per cent  share of the sector’s ad volumes in  2022

    Advertising for BFSI was preferred in evening closely followed by morning time-band on Radio. 85 per cent  share of the BFSI ad volumes were in Evening and morning time-bands in  2022. 

    Digital 

    On digital medium, ad insertions grew by 10 per cent  during  2022 as compared to 2020.

    Life insurance was the leading category with 22 per cent  share of digital sector’s advertising. Top ten categories added 88 per cent  share of sector ad insertions.  Top ten advertisers had 39 per cent  share of ad insertions during  2022 with LIC of India on top of the list adding 10 per cent  share. 

    Top ten brands accounted 31 per cent  share of ad insertions in  2022 with AMFI (Asso of Mutual Funds in India) leading the list.

    Ad network was the top transaction method for digital advertising of BFSI sector in  2022 with 53 per cent  of share.  Programmatic/Ad Network and programmatic transaction methods together captured 35 per cent  share of BFSI ad insertions on Digital.

  • Connected TV is going to be a key medium for advertisers and brands

    Connected TV is going to be a key medium for advertisers and brands

    Mumbai: Anil Wanvari in conversation with Sonam Pradhan on Connected TV and its reach. Why marketers are gung-ho about connected TV? 

    On having a Connected TV at home

    Not a conscious decision it was probably an evolution that happened during the corona days and I just never realized it but we switched over to the connected TVs and since then we’ve never turned back

    Connected TV in small towns

    When it comes to towns that have deep penetration of smart TVs of the internet, it will be something that will be visible now in Mahindra; we do a lot of visits to different dealerships in different towns. We get to meet a lot of customers over there and what we get to see is that people are aware, people have Smart TVs but I think the question there is not about having Smart TVs or having the apps that are there, they use those apps on their mobile phones. Over there the bigger question is the internet penetration and what is the rate of internet connectivity that they use for the data cost becomes a major factor.

     Excited as a marketer about CTV

    Today I can watch whatever content whenever I want to. I think that gives me a lot of empowerment in terms of being a viewer, in terms of knowing exactly what I want and the decision instead of how regularly we used to watching TV and had to wait for an appointment viewing for a certain channel for a certain program but with connected TVs and the way it has been growing I think the growth has just been phenomenal. 

    Infrastructure, if it is supported can penetrate the remotest places as well so very quickly we will see that all TVs are technically converted into Smart TVs anyways as mobile penetration is so high that it’s only a matter of fact to move the viewer from the mobile handset onto a bigger screen

    How do you see CTV from a marketer’s point of view? 

    When it comes to Connected TV I’m not reaching one individual I’m reaching a household and in that household, I’m assuming there are at least four people tuned in and co-viewing whatever content has been presented. 

    So for me, it is very critical to be present in that household and reach out to four people at the same time and when I talk about households I’m talking about households that have a certain propensity to buy products and those are exactly the kind of houses where I want to be seen and therefore connected TVs going forward is going to be a major medium for me.

    On market studies and lessons learnt

    We had recently partnered with the leading football tournament that

    happened and when we saw to it that there were certain places where connected TV reach had helped us in terms of brand recall, all of this tells us that this is the medium that’s going to be pivotal for the growth of the EV category and therefore definitely, connected TVs are going to be something that’s going to be a part of our plans going forward

    On ROI 

    I will leave that question for the agencies to answer but we have received much

    more than the buck that we are invested in, if I may put it whatever is

    going to be our ratio and skew for going forward on our plans connected TVs is going to be a conscious decision where we would increase our spending.

    On investing in the sports category 

    I’ll take a step back when I mentioned being partners with the leading football property the reason we partnered with it is that we needed to create an impact with the kind of products that we were launching during that time. It’s not that we have only taken the sports property we have consciously taken other entertainment as well.

    There have been other OTT players also with whom we have partnered where we’ve taken a combination of different packages whether it’s an impact property such as a reality show or some fiction properties as well with sports being the leading investment that we make for us in terms of our product category. 

    Sports play a major role because they become our launch platform whether it is a new product whether it is a refresh of a product. Sports have the highest reach when it comes to this kind of platform but efficiencies also come into play and that’s where we end up with a package when it is fictional shows and reality shows so therefore not restricting us in terms of context.

     On IPL 2023

    I think when I have to say about IPL any kid who’s a three-year-old to an 80-year-old I think everybody gets excited about it, whether you’re a male or a female whether you are interested in cricket or not interested in cricket you are still excited about IPL.

     IPL for us Indians has become more of a festival of celebration of sorts. It brings people together, it creates some kind of a discussion point whether it’s in school, whether it’s an office, whether it’s even the local market where you meet up with your neighbour probably everybody has an opinion and India as a country loves cricket and loves having a discussion. So I think for us when it comes to a consumer IPL is going to be the next big thing for the next two months and as a marketer IPL is one of the biggest platforms that I have in the year where I will be able to showcase some of the best products that I have so as a marketer.

    I will say that IPL is one of the most exciting times that I am looking forward to currently with the given situation where we have a different digital partner and a different TV broadcast partner. Both of them seem to be making absolute waves when it comes to spreading the news about how IPL is going to reach maximum audiences. As a marketer I have to look at it with an unbiased opinion IPL is going to be the next big thing and consciously we’ll look forward to investing money.

    On automobile as a category

    I think for us to stand out I don’t have to make a conscious effort our products have been speaking for themselves and if I may say the kind of demand that we have been having post-Corona and the time the kind of bookings that we’ve got in our pipeline that speaks for itself it’s been every month and month we’ve been breaking our records and we have surpassed whatever were the expectations of the previous year as well so I don’t have to make a conscious effort to stand out in terms of media. The product itself is something that sells in terms of media I need to be present where my audience is and I think that is the kind of decision and that is the kind of platform that I need to be wary of when I make my media planning decisions. 

    On media innovations

    My need is not innovation my need is more to be consistent and also to be

    available, to be seen when it comes to new launches so for me those are the

    more critical parts. I don’t need to have anything that is screaming on top of the rooftop because that currently is not my stance I’m already a market leader when it comes to SUVs.

    How are you going to maximise your spending this year?

    Those are points that we are currently and it is all how I and when the marketing plan tells me that whenever the products are ready for certain kinds of big announcements and all are there and that is what will determine which media strategy I use. So currently as I said we are still evaluating it and we will get back to you with a few announcements very quickly.

    On investing in high-decibel property

    I will play both ways if I may see it’s not critical for me as a brand to be seen

    at places where maximum noise is made as I said I’m already a leader for me it’s more to be seen in the right places. Maximum noise is more critical for the ones who are not leaders and for them it becomes critical. 

    For me, the more important point is to have my brand seen at places in the right zone of my customers last year when we were present on IPL we launched it with Scorpio and we had Amitabh Bachchan as the leading voice of the brand so when there are certain things which have a certain stature they have to be seen in places where it is probably equal to them in such and therefore IPL was the best choice of platform. 

    We had to launch the commercial so if there is a certain opportunity that matches the kind of communication and the product that I have then that is the choice that we make. Otherwise, I don’t need to be screaming out of rooftops so therefore answering the question is not critical for me to be seen in places to please the audience it is critical for me to place my brand in such places where the audience is ready to accept the product.

    On where do you Connect TV v/s Linear TV v/s Free TV

    As a closing note, I would want to stress at this point that it does not matter which platform I see, for me content is more important and therefore when it comes to Connected TVs I think probably next year if we are having a conversation during the same time we would not even consider this question because by then connected TVs would have far bypassed linear TV.

    Currently, we know for a fact that SD households on itself is at a declining growth rate and therefore connected TV is going to be one of the next biggest mediums and connected TV is going to scale up in terms of IPL.

    I think every year we have seen a great number of new consumers coming in the reach going much higher and I think I must consciously make a call of mentioning the women’s IPL that is happening this year. I think for the first time let’s give due credit to the Women’s IPL also we’ve got some great players over there as well and it’s going to be a great fun filling March as well because we are going to have a Women’s IPL followed by the Men’s IPL. I think therefore we’re going to see

    some great Cricket happening on television and digitally. 

  • The mindset needs to change in the governance of sports: Ashwini Nachappa

    Mumbai: Sports in our country is considered as a good hobby or habit for girls until you win a medal, and then suddenly you become ‘Bharat ki Beti’,” said Arjuna awardee Commonwealth gold winner badminton player Jwala Gutta. Speaking at ABP’S second edition of ‘Ideas of India’ summit on ‘Fight like a Woman – Guts, Grit and Glory’, she said “the people who are supposed to take care of the welfare also have the same attitude”, highlighting the inequality and the controlled environment women have to compete in to prove themselves.

    Indian wrestler, Arjuna awardee and Commonwealth gold winner, Vineesh Phogat opened up about her own struggles of sexual misconduct that goes unnoticed in the field of sports. “Every day was an internal battle to not let powerful people break you with their antics and torture,” she said. After playing at a senior position for several years, she added “I felt in a secure position to be able to speak about the issues so girls at the start of their career don’t face what I had to go through.” She believed that “A clean-up of society is essential for women to flourish in sports and speak about sexual misconduct.” Gutta, who also had spoken about her struggles in the #MeToo movement said, “I was threatened when ultimately I had to knock on the doors of the high court.”

    The panel was further enlightened by the presence of former international athlete and Arjuna awardee Ashwini Nachappa, who spoke about the evolution in sports over the past few decades. “I think the process of a complete overhaul of the sports federation has begun as we see a lot more women across the sports board,” she said. In 2010, she started a ‘Clean Sports India Movement’ with other 8-9 athletes to speak about the issues in the federation. The Indian field hockey player, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and the Pro Squash player and Arjuna awardee and Commonwealth gold winner, Joshna Chinappa also highlighted the positive change they witnessed. “We have come a long way from when we started out,” they said.

    Further commenting on the changes required in the sports administration in India, Nachappa said, “It’s important that more professionals come into the management of sports, under an umbrella that is autonomous, which actually manages and holds federations accountable.” Adding to this, Phogat said, “If a sportsperson or professional leads the federation, it can create a positive impact on the industry as they understand the needs of an athlete and can even support them emotionally.” A need for better coaches and support staff in the industry was also highlighted by the panel. “We need a good programme for coaches to overcome the lack of the same, only then we will be able to make good athletes.

    The summit promises an invigorating line-up of speakers with prominent figures from the world of business, politics, artists from the Hindi Film Industry, authors and other eminent sectors. The two-day event primarily addresses India’s stand as a burgeoning economy and global leader in shaping the future.

  • “OTT is a massive wave but it is not demise of bollywood” says Actor Ayushmann Khurrana

    “Mumbai : The arrival of OTT is not a demise of bollywood, if we see the content on OTT platforms, it is similar to bollywood. So, the content should be on the right platform and address the target audience. The consumer is on OTT platforms as it can be adjusted as per their comfort”Indian film actor, Ayushmann Khurrana said  at ABP Network’s Ideas of India Summit 2023,

    He added, “When you are unconventional, you don’t have an option and you need to do something different with your character and the movie you choose.  My father always supported me and pushed me to take these tough decisions. I can’t leave my staple genre, I am living until I am taking risks and that has always been my USP.”

    Speaking at the second edition of the “Ideas of India” Summit, actress Sara Ali Khan said, “Truth is important for me while taking up any stories but I want to take up a variety of films. I don’t care what people say about my personal beliefs and trolling me on social media but yes if my fans don’t like my work that affects me. ”

    The ABP Network’s “Ideas of India” Summit 2023 was discussing the topic of “Mr. Original Changing Bollywood, One Film at a Time” & Representing the New Gen, Movies and Stardom in the age of Social Media. The summit has brought together policymakers, cultural ambassadors, industry experts, celebrities, and business leaders to discuss the critical role of India during the global churn and changing dynamics. ABP Network is a leading multi-language channel reaching 535 million individuals in India therefore this summit provides one of the biggest platforms for the brightest minds across various sectors to express their views.

  • “With PM Modi’s vision, India will become a major rail technology exporter in the world in three years” says Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    “With PM Modi’s vision, India will become a major rail technology exporter in the world in three years” says Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    Mumbai : At at the second edition of ABP Network’s “Ideas of India” Summit Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw commented,  “India will become a major technology exporter within the next 2-3 years across various sectors. Today, 99% of mobiles in India are made-in-India whereas earlier 99% were imported”

    The minister was speaking on the topic “Last Mile Mobility Connecting the Dot.” The summit has brought together policymakers, cultural ambassadors, industry experts, celebrities, and business leaders to discuss the critical role of India during the global churn and changing dynamics.

    Giving a snapshot of key railway stations being redeveloped with modern technology and planning, Vaishnaw, said, “50 acres of new space is being created inside the station in Delhi. For which 38 new permissions have been taken for the overhaul”.

    Commenting on handling three key ministries, He said, “More gets done in the IT sector with less effort, railway requires hardwork as it’s a large organisation. Telecom has more complexities”.

    He further added, “For a country of our size, there’s no other way of transforming the economy than transforming railways”.

    The theme of the second edition of ABP Network’s “Ideas of India” Summit is “Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out.” This time, 60 eminent national and international speakers will share the stage with global leaders. The two-day event focuses on India’s position as a growing economy and global leader in shaping the future.

  • “Zee Cine Awards recognises the Indian Film Industry,” says ZEEL’s Ruchir Tiwari

    Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), is all set to present the Maruti Suzuki Arena Zee Cine Awards 2023. The prestigious awards show has honoured the inspiring journeys of countless luminaries, filmmakers, and technicians over the years.

    In a conversation with Indiantelevision.com, ZEEL Hindi movie channels, film licensing & syndication chief cluster officer Ruchir Tiwari talked about awards, expectations, and watching movies among other things.

    Zee has adopted a ground-breaking, big data-driven, consumer-forward strategy for choosing the nominees and winners for the Viewer’s Choice Awards.

    The latest edition of this highly anticipated awards show will be attended by the Indian film fraternity, global dignitaries, and world media on 26 February. Zee Cinema, Zee TV, and ZEE5 will also showcase the award show.

    Edited excerpts

    On the Zee Cine awards journey

    The award’s journey is filled with nostalgia. This is a very special year as Zee enters its 30th year. The show comes back this year after a gap of  2 years. As the name of the award show implies, it is a democratic show of the country because it is decided by the audience.

    That is the inherent DNA of most of the categories, people will spread joy by selecting their favourite talent, movies, and actors. Zee Cine Awards is the first in the Zee calendar. I’m looking forward to 2023.

    On associations with stars

    Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt have both worked with us for the past ten years, and it’s been ten years for them in the industry. They’ve won so many awards that they’ve only performed a few times. As a result, they are always unique. So it’s good for both of them to be back on stage after a long break. Alia had a fantastic year and is the undisputed queen of Bollywood.

    On the movie-watching habit

    It is not just because of the pandemic and OTT, it’s a little multipronged. Many things have changed, including people’s behaviour and content preferences. Also, there are so many options that it is really challenging for audiences to choose the right thing. But all of this presents a chance to improve our content and storytelling. If you look closely, you will see that the audience has viewed every movie that had a compelling purpose to be seen.

    I don’t believe that OTT, pandemics, or other factors have had a significant impact as our films have been a hit. At the end of the day, there will always be viewers for good content. What the disruption is doing is creating a group of OTT consumers who enjoy X type of material.

    Audiences have an expectation from their theatrical experience about what they really look for when they go to see a movie. Similarly, there is a mass TV reach and an X type of content that works on TV. So, despite being OTT, films like Sooryavanshi, Gangubai, and Rakshabandhan have all done exceptionally well on television.

    On films during 2022

    It’s been an interesting year. I wouldn’t say it would have been a great year, but we would have liked to see a few more films. There were no releases in January or February. Gangubai was the first to be released on 25 February. Then there were good film releases like ‘Drishyam 2’, ‘Brahmastra’, ‘The Kashmir Files,’ ‘Gangubai’, many of these films were competing and it’s going to be very, very interesting and the audiences will decide what they really like to watch.

    On the legacy

    ZEE Cine Awards recognises the Indian Film Industry. Films that win here will travel and reach global platforms, and that is the collective victory of our cinema, which is doing so well this year with RRR. It has broken down the barriers.

    On the competition

    I’m not sure how we differ from our competitors, but we’re just focusing on our thought process and how well we understand the consumer. I believe due to the pandemic their habits and content expectations have changed. Also, the audience has shrunk in recent years.

    The primary reason for this was that there was a large amount of content that was not released during the pandemic and, followed by the habit and the quality of content. But I believe things are gradually improving. There has also been a significant FTA disruption in terms of some channels being free. As a result, we have reassessed and recalibrated everything.

    We need to understand and comprehend the modern consumer. The customer of today is unquestionably and completely different as compared to three years ago. They have their own routines and expectations. We must be aware of this, carefully select our content, persevere, and maintain constant communication with them. Despite the enormous reach that TV has in the movie category, it still accounts for only about a quarter of daily consumption, there’s no fall in that

    On TV premiere

    It will return; don’t be fooled into thinking that just because the film is being released on OTT that it will have a big impact. Let’s look at OTT and how it relates to the SVoD paid platform. It is available on multiple platforms, each with its own fan base and audience.

    Every platform has its own unique appeal. Many people will want to see the film as soon as it is released. However, if the film is good and the promotion is effective, they will watch it again on television. Many of them keep forgetting where or when it went OTT, and when our campaigns begin with TV promotions, they suddenly realise they need to watch the movie again.

    On rebranding

    In recent years that pandemic was a disruption, and we needed to calibrate how we reached and covered ourselves on the ground before and after that. Following the pandemic, Seene Mein Cinema’s positioning and the larger promise of consistent blockbusters, for the last three, to four years. We had a big year in 2019 with movies like ‘2.0’, ‘Kesri’ and ‘Uri’.

    We haven’t looked back since, and Seene mein cinema for the entire family is nonstop. Even during a pandemic, I believe the content we curated ensured that the consumer does not experience fatigue or a lack of content because theatres are closed. So we handled it very well. The amount of content ZEE Cinema will see over the next two years is also very intriguing.

    On Zee5

    As an OTT ZEE5 has a viewer base which is watching movies and then going to Zee Cinema. Please keep in mind that this is a paid ecosystem. Sometimes I get the impression that OTT promotions aren’t as sharp as they should be.

    On the future of movie-watching on TV culture

    Today with a surge of content across platforms the viewer is spoilt for choice and change in habits is evolving.

    There’s no denying that movies are playing a role on mobile, OTT, and other platforms, and as a result, consumers are recalibrating their expectations for movies on TV. And, from the looks of it, TV is still being watched.

    Movies continue to account for 25 per cent of TV viewing. As a result, the total content of movie consumption on TV is not decreasing. As a result, we must ensure that the content is correct. We must figure out how to play the game of pay channels as well as free channels in order to form a play-plus-free ecosystem that will be very robust and grow from strength to strength over the next five years, even on TV in terms of movie viewing.

  • In no time you would see connected TV crossing over the HD numbers or outgrowing it.

    In no time you would see connected TV crossing over the HD numbers or outgrowing it.

    Mumbai: Anil Wanvari in conversation with Vishal Chinchankar on Connected TV and its reach. Why advertisers and marketers are gung-ho about connected TV?

    Connected TV is the latest buzzword, why and what is so exciting about connected TVs?

    The whole ecosystem is changing with the invention of smart TVs and broadband connections are moving faster, the hardware itself is a piece of an asset as you get 4K content or HD content by itself and the beauty of it is, it is linked to broadband and you can watch it at your convenience, whether it is Netflix or Amazon in the walled garden as compared to YouTube or the other apps and other Apps. 

    In my sense this is the new kid on the block, I wouldn’t call it a kid any more, it’s a growing kid, the Complan boy and growing much faster. The adoption of this is also faster. To put things in perspective smart TV quarter-on-quarter is showing an 11% import growth and that is the kind of consumption that is happening at the end of the day. You are talking about a consumer who can afford a smart TV, afford some great content which is subscribed content and has a high broadband connection. Net, net there is a significantly large size audience which is A++ which is available for brands.

    On the reach 

    Various numbers are floating around but to my knowledge, it is 22mn households and if we go by the BARC data with a multiplier of 3.2 or 3.6, we are talking about a significantly large size of household penetration right now. A comparable may not be linear TV but HD TV which claims to be at 45 mn households, but that has stagnated and this is growing. In no time you would see connected TV crossing over the HD numbers or outgrowing it. 

    On TVs with connected devices or built-in Apps

    There are about 10 mn sticks in the market, and the usage of the stick is just 10%, it is a snack in snack out kind of phenomenon. This number is growing. The combination of these two things is helping this particular medium Connected TV to grow faster.

    Last year in the Pitch–Madison report I presented a paper on why connected TV is bigger, there is one data point, last year the whole ADEX of 80,000 Crores was equal to the amount of money invested in connected TV Universe so that is how huge connected TV is in the US and there is no reason as why India will not move in that direction.

    On hot spotting 

    Casting is picking up very fast. Jio is now launching these cables where you can cast your mobile on screen, whether it is a smart TV or that old TV with the red, yellow and white three-pin wires. It is helping the ecosystem to move faster.

    On has the penetration down the NCCA strata  

    We have done a lot of campaigns on connected TV, and a lot of inventory from Tier 2 markets, not purely a metro-centric phenomenon right now but it is surely moving into these tier 2 markets. It is not getting into tier 3 & 4 markets right now but at the pace, it is growing it should reach these markets with the help of sticks or with the help of new TV at affordable prices.

    On recommending Connected TV to your brands 

    They are because the beauty of this medium is that it addresses the top of the funnel i.e., the A++ audience I had defined earlier. Niche brands which want to target or reach out to those audiences, it is a perfect match. We have done a lot of campaigns and I think we have seen great performances in terms of measuring the VTRs or the soft measures like the pre- and post-studies we have done on that particular campaign and it showed significant growth. I am bullish about connected TV as a platform. 

    On getting the bang for the buck and how difficult it is to convince brand marketers’

    Connected TV today is neither TV, it is largely tilting towards the side of digital. It is the more digital side of inventory now because it is all about my consoles and wherever there are digital. Maybe it is tilted more towards digital and not towards Linear TV. I don’t think it is the right comparison to compare connected TV with Linear TV, because CTV is still small and Linear TV is still a reach builder. I would probably compare it with HDTV rather than just SD or linear TV.

    Are the brand managers, Marketers aware of this, in some cases, we need to educate them and tell them what the numbers look like, even when it comes to RMF for that matter for a particular audience, but more or less I think in today’s day and age most of the mature advertisers are quite aware and they have started building on the brands, though it is a long way and a pilot and then an up approach always works for most of the brand managers. 

    On the IPL and the spending on CTV and digital

    It is going to be fun to watch this IPL because both the publisher and the broadcaster are going to be very aggressive. Both have their own merits and advantages. But let us talk about the digital, earlier if I had to a comparison, Hotstar had about 50 -60 mn subscribers and there was this 5 minutes of snack in snack out consumers. But this year  Jio is streaming it free for all customers whether they are on Airtel or Vodafone. That is a big advantage for Viacom sports as a broadcaster. Having said that building on a lot of reach and efficiency for most of the brands, whoever wants to build on it respectively of the market. Viacom comes with less wastage because there is an accuracy of targeting that they are bringing to the table which is not possible on television. In certain categories, there may be a spill but works for certain categories. But here there is no spill, so you are reaching out to the right audience you want to target.

    The other point is the way it is getting marketed, with those tables, language commentary, whether it is Bhojpuri or Punjabi is an added advantage and it is going to attract a lot of audience. The best part is they are going to have shows in 100 cities, colleges, and housing complexes. There is a lot of promotion and the surrounding effect going around it, is making it much larger. 

    ​​​CTV

    I am just talking about digital as an IPL property. If I have to give you a sense of CTV I look at it this way, as per TRAI there are close to about 26.8 mn broadband subscribers in the country who are using broadband, not everybody has a Smart TV but my guesstimate is it should be around 22 – 25 mn because Jio fibre is about 7 -8 mn.  

    customer

    Airtel is also very aggressive and the packages they are coming out with are very lucrative for a customer compared to a cable connection. As a consumer, if I add up all my costs of cable plus Disney Hotstar plus the other channels it becomes very expensive. At this point, there is a shift happening and the telcos are getting aggressive in that space.

    As I said CTV is a need as an HNI I would love to watch my cricket on CTV when I am at home and when I am travelling on my smartphone. There are a lot of merits that IPL on digital is going to add this year. I think we live in this nature of advertisers who believe in reaching the frequency so they build their brand on the back of reaching one plus, and other advertisers build on high-impact properties.

    There are a lot of brands that are purely built on the back of cricket and they swear by it. Cricket gives an unparalleled reach and IPL much more. Now with 2 publishers coming in we don’t know if Star would want to add it to their FTA or how Viacom is going to promote it extensively. I don’t think there is going to be a compromise on reach or impact. The question is who gets better efficiencies and that is the game brand managers are going to look at.

    On interactivity on Connected TV, is JIO offering any for CTV 

    I don’t think there is interactivity on CTV now apart from the fact that you get to see from a different lens. The interactive engagement is going to be on mobile which hopefully most of the brands would want.

    On any other salient points 

    I think the good part is that competition is always healthier and everyone is going to work harder to make sure that they attract a lot more dollars. It is good for most advertisers and good for most consumers because the interest level in the games is going to go up. It’s a wait-and-watch now, but to the best of my knowledge, I would love to call it that this will be value for money and cricket is value for money. 

  • Vh1 Supersonic is a multi-genre music and lifestyle festival which also has mini-festivals within the festival itself: Gaurav Mashruwala

    Mumbai: Vh1 Supersonic is back with a bang after three years. Vh1 Supersonic is one of India’s biggest multi-genre music and lifestyle festivals, with a range of pop culture-defining experiences! Vh1 Supersonic 2023 has unveiled its stellar line-up of international musical sensations, Anne-Marie and CKay to India for the very first time! Marking their debut performances in India, the global artists and headliners will be joined at this eighth edition by India’s favourite musicians including rapper DIVINE, singer-songwriter Anuv Jain and indie sensation Prateek Kuhad. Performing LIVE for the first time will be OAFF & Savera, music producers of the critically acclaimed film music of the 2022 Bollywood movie Gehraiyaan. Adding to the indie scene at Vh1 Supersonic 2023, Farhan will also be seen performing his indie-English set.

    Vh1 is India’s only 24-hour International entertainment channel that provides viewers with their daily dose of International music, Hollywood, Pop culture and Lifestyle. Vh1 is a part of Viacom 18. Since its inception in January 2005, Vh1 has grown tremendously reaching over 75 million people in India and the English music audience by 180 per cent in the last five years alone. The channel has pioneered the heady combination of programming content and lives on-ground activities.

    IndianTelevision.com in conversation with Viacom18 LIVE (Integrated Network Solutions)  business head Gaurav Mashruwala, on the shows come back and the excellent line-up of artists, making the show very interesting and exciting for the audiences.

    Mashruwala is responsible for developing and executing various live experiences and entertainment projects.

    Edited excerpts:

    On the growth of VH1 Supersonic

    Vh1 Supersonic predominantly started as an EDM and techno festival. Over the years, we realised the consumption of music and the genres of music was changing. We started evolving from EDM techno to a multi-genre music festival. In addition to EDM and techno, the festival currently has Rock, hip-hop, Reggae, and Indie music. Hence, there are a tonne of things that we’ve added through our different stages. That is one aspect of the growth. The second thing we’ve noticed is that when people come out for a two-day or three-day festival, they are coming with a group of friends, family, etc. to enjoy. Everyone likes music, but they also enjoy having great experiences, so we decided to make this a music festival as well as a lifestyle festival. 

    On modifying the offerings to grow

    We have collaborated with NRYTA to do an NFT immersive art showcase in trend with what’s happening in the NFT space.

    Also, we have a partnership with Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality for food and beverages. They will create pop-ups for our entire Super Flea curated from their top line of restaurants and bring in professional bartenders for cocktails. This year, Supersonic will include a mini cocktail festival, which will also feature food and beverage pairing.

    In the realm of arts, we have Super Street, which is our fashion and art zone. Under that, we have tied up with Sunday Soul Sante who is doing the entire fashion curation with us. Furthermore, we have collaborated with NRYTA for the art piece. Together they will bring more than 100 young and upcoming designers both in the art and fashion space to showcase their wear. 

    So, from just a music festival, we’ve grown to a multi-genre music and lifestyle festival with fashion, art, and F&B, all a part of it.

    On the challenges of curating the show after three years 

    I believe that a festival of such magnitude needs at least a year to arrange, so we started preparing in early February 2022. India experienced its highs and lows throughout the pandemic, and so did other nations. Every nation developed its laws and rules. The toughest issue, from a pandemic perspective, was bringing together cultures from many nations a year in advance when you don’t know what is going to happen in the following 30-45 days.

    On the artist lineup this year

    After a three-year hiatus, Vh1 Supersonic is back, and it’s crucial to preserve its original spirit. The way people are consuming content has changed dramatically during the past 2.5 years. People today are discovering music through a lot of social media platforms, so we have brought in our headliners who are excellent with their music and are also very popular on social media. We’re keeping in mind the evolving music consumption patterns to keep it on-point and on-trend.

    We have well-known Indian hip-hop/rap artists like DIVINE, ‘Seedhe Maut,’ and Tyga is also an international hip-hop phenomenon. Also, there has been a shift in how individuals listen to electronic dance music (EDM), and the change is moving towards house and techno. We are launching the BUDX Spectrum Stage, which we created in partnership with Budweiser. This will be our house of techno music where people can enjoy techno, house and dance music. Therein we have brought in our headliners like CamelPhat and Bob Moses which go to the tune of our spectrum phenomena.

    We have also seen that people are interested in immersive experiences. Innellea, one of the artists, will be doing a 3D stage show. This will be a really good experience for most people who come to the festival.

    On ticket pricing

    Supersonic as a festival has always tried to make music and lifestyle accessible to everyone. We have kept our ticket pricing extremely cost-effective. We started with a price of Rs 2499 for a three-day festival which we thought in today’s day and age is extremely reasonable and even today after announcing all our artists and experiences, we are still at Rs 4299 plus taxes. We have been attempting to make the festival accessible to everyone by working on the ticket pricing in this manner.

    On safety measures at the event 

    We have strategically positioned a lot of surveillance cameras all across the festival. To assist anyone with security and health concerns, we also have female security guards and an internal crew team. We have also built a mini clinic inside the festival, staffed with over 100 doctors and nurses ready to help out our festival goers, artists and crew.

    On the live events industry

    Instead of a change, the live events category has expanded as a result of the numerous events taking place in the fields of art, design, F&B, music, kids and family, etc. In the Live events space, we operate in both the kids and family space and the Youth music space. At Viacom18 Live, we have grown Vh1 Supersonic into a multi-genre music and lifestyle festival which also has mini-festivals within the festival itself. It comes under the youth music space. For kids and families, we are doing a musical show called Peppa Pig Live. Four rounds of the show have already taken place in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Bangalore. Last weekend it happened in Hyderabad.

  • Zee Cafe announces third season of its culinary show Chef Vs Fridge..noww

    Mumbai: Zee Café has announced the third season of its culinary show Chef Vs Fridge. This show will feature a mix of contestants right from home chefs to food influencers competing for the never seen before prize- their own cooking show on TV. This season also brings back the duo from season two – chef Ajay Chopra and chef Shipra Khanna as the anchors and judges.

    With social media strengthening its roots, the fame game is at an all-time high in the country. While everyone is looking for their chance at 15-sec of fame, Zee Café brings an opportunity for the chefs to earn the deserved popularity. Food content largely saw a rise in popularity during the pandemic and since then, there has been no looking back for the genre.

    The show has received an ample amount of love from the viewers which has translated into onboarding eight passionate brands as sponsors. The show will be co-powered by Parle Platina Hide & Seek, Pril, Catch Masala, Kitchen Partner TTK Prestige, Special Partner Sankalp Foods, Vijay Sales as the Gratification partner and BL Agro as the Associate sponsor.

    Sharing her views on Chef vs Fridge, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd national sales head niche cluster Sonal Shah said, “Zee Café is committed to bringing formats that provide entertainment to the consumers through its unique value proposition. The last season of Chef vs Fridge received immense engagement from the viewers and delivered value to our partners. At ZEE, we remain committed to offering concepts that delight our partners and enable them to reach audiences in a unique manner. The fact that we have renewed our association with all our partners from the previous season, in addition to drawing in a new set of sponsors for the third season of the show, speaks volumes about our unique content formats helping brands build a better connection with audiences. We are confident that this season is going to excite and entertain the viewers and deliver maximum value to our partners.”

    Sharing his excitement for the new show, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. chief channel officer English channels Rishi Parekh shared, “Zee Café has always focused on providing valuable and engaging content to the viewers and we are immensely grateful that the audiences are enjoying the originals we have released in the last few years. After the success of both seasons 1 and 2 of Chef vs Fridge, we knew we had to bring a season three with more twists and turns for our audiences! We ensure you a gastronomic ride throughout the season with our chefs and judges.”

    Talking about the partnership, Parle Products Private Ltd senior category head Mayank Shah shared, “From the inception, we at Parle Products have been prioritizing taste, quality and innovation while catering to various taste buds in the country. This has led to the consumers enjoying our premium Parle Platina Hide & Seek Range and making it a part of their everyday lives. Zee Café’s show Chef vs Fridge is perfectly aligned with our vision of bringing premium quality to the Indian audiences by enabling amazing cooks from across the country to come under one roof and share their skills, tips, and art with the larger audience. We are enthralled to be a partner with Chef vs Fridge for the third time and we are sure the show is going to be a hit amongst the audiences.”

    Sharing their views on the collaboration, TTK Prestige executive vice president  sales & marketing Dinesh Garg said, “We have garnered a lot of value through our partnership with Chef vs Fridge in the last season and we are excited for the launch of the new season. We are sure the strategic partnership will lead ahead in the right direction and the show will garner immense love and support from the viewers.”

    Speaking about Pril’s association with Chef Vs Fridge, Jyothy Labs Ltd Jyothy Ramachandran said, “Chef vs Fridge is a show that has been loved by audiences. After fruitful association in the last season, we are keen to associate with it again. We are eagerly looking forward to an exciting and engaging new season of Chef Vs Fridge.”

    The show will start airing on Sunday, 26 February 2023 at 8pm on Zee Café and will also be aired across other ZEE channels Zee Zest SD + HD, Zee TV SD + HD, Zee Marathi SD + HD, Zee Punjabi, Big Ganga and Zee5. 

  • Colors Bangla acquires the rights to air movie Kaberi Antardhan

    Mumbai: Post the success of its theatrical release, the critically acclaimed thriller Kaberi Antardhan will soon be aired exclusively on Colors Bangla and Colors Bangla Cinema. The film is directed by Kaushik Ganguly and stars Prosenjit Chatterjee and Srabanti Chatterjee in lead roles.

    The film, released in January, also features Churni Ganguly, Kaushik Sen, Ambarish Bhattacharya, Indraneil Sengupta and Kaushik Ganguly in pivotal roles. The movie produced by Surinder Films has received appreciation from the audience and film fraternity alike as it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

    Colors Bangla business head Sagnik Ghosh said, “We at Colors Bangla are committed to offering quality and entertaining content to the viewers in Bengal. It is in this endeavor that we have partnered with Surinder Films to bring to our audiences yet another fresh and distinctive movie premiere Kaberi Antardhan, the most exciting thriller of 2023.”