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Tag: 9XM

  • Week 21: Music channels sees a rise

    Week 21: Music channels sees a rise

    MUMBAI: As per Chrome Data Analytics & Media’s opportunity to see (OTS) data, music channels were the highest gainers for the week 21. The genre witnessed a growth of 1.2 per cent in the HSM markets.

     

    In this category, Sony Mix stood at number one position with 88.8 per cent OTS followed by MTV 87.7 per cent OTS, 9XM 82.8 per cent OTS, B4U Music 71.2 per cent OTS and 9X Jalwa 70.8 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi GECs, this week saw a growth of 0.6 per cent with Star Plus at 96.8 per cent OTS followed by DD National 96.6 per cent OTS, Zee TV 96.4 per cent OTS, Life OK 96.0 per cent OTS and Sony Entertainment also 96.0 per cent OTS at the HSM markets.

     

    With a minor difference, Business News channels in the eight metros saw a gain of 0.4 per cent. Zee Business topped the genre with 80.2 per cent OTS followed by CNBC Awaaz 76.2 per cent OTS, ET Now 69.1 per cent OTS, CNBC TV18 64.3 per cent OTS and NDTV Profit 62.5 per cent OTS.

     

    Lastly, English movies channels gained 0.2 per cent with Movies Now scoring 76.2 per cent OTS followed by PIX 76.0 per cent OTS, Star Movies 68.6 per cent OTS, Zee Studio 64.9 per cent OTS and HBO 63.8 per cent OTS.

     

    As for the genres which saw a drop are Sports channels (All India), Hindi News channels (HSM), Kids (All India) and Hindi Movies (HSM).

  • Voila 9XM looks better

    Voila 9XM looks better

    MUMBAI: The logo change that 9XM underwent in March last year seems to have worked for the channel which saw yet another change recently. At 6am on 20 May, the “new look” 9XM went live, complete with a super large video area, enhanced audio quality, and brighter, bolder colours to boot.

    Ask him why and 9X Media executive vice president and business head Punit Pandey likens it to the experience of buying new clothes to look and feel better. “9XM has been on-air since late 2007. It has a serious set of strong, loyal viewers. It has continued to be one of the most favourite destinations for music consumption on television. We just wanted our viewers to continue getting a better viewing, consuming and sound experience. It’s our treat to our viewers who continuously watch 9XM,” he says.

    Indeed, the new avatar 9XM has been designed in-house and is all about providing that much-needed punch even as loyal fans lap up the latest music punctuated by the shenanigans of the channel’s animated heroes i.e. Bade-Chhote, Bheegi Billi, Badshah Bhai and The Betul Nuts.

    Speaking of the philosophy behind the new design, 9X Media SVP and content head Amar Tidke says, “We at 9X Media always believe in providing a complete music viewing experience to our viewers. Our on-air presentation and content curation techniques have always placed us several notches higher than the rest in the genre.”

    The thought took seed about six to eight weeks ago while it took the channel around four to five weeks to put it out there for public consumption. Surprisingly, there was no research involved. “It was very simple; we wanted viewers to experience a better 9XM,” says Pandey.

    While ideating on the new look, 9XM’s strategy was to, “Keep it simple, keep it seamless, keep it smart,” according to Tidke. “The new look of 9XM ensures that one quickly moves from one element to another in a truly seamless fashion with captivating vibrant colours and design elements. It’s a very fresh approach to the way the latest super-hot Bollywood songs are presented,” he adds.

    According to 9XM programming head Sunder Venketraman, “The youth with their short attention span are always on the look-out for new things. At 9XM, it has been our constant endeavour to provide best-in-class entertainment through innovative and appealing content and on-air presentation. With this new viewing experience, 9XM has yet again gone ahead and set a new benchmark for the rest to follow.”

     The teaser, “Get ready for a bigger canvas” set digital platforms abuzz. The new look has got a great response on digital platforms with nearly six million likes on Facebook and 143,000 followers on Twitter. Pandey exults, “They are just loving it and liking it. They are getting more to see and better sound to hear. We are delighted to get a positive response from the digital community. People have given us a thumbs-up.”

    The change is restricted to the look of the channel only while the characters have not really changed, except that they look more vibrant and are seen interacting with viewers.

     Has the channel expanded its music library? “9XM continues to be a current hit channel. Whatever hits in current time you will get to see on the channel. But there is nothing like expanding our music library. There is certain expectation a viewer has when they tune into 9XM,” says Pandey.

  • 9XM asks ‘Who is the Idiot’?

    9XM asks ‘Who is the Idiot’?

    MUMBAI: The on-going elections have caught the nation’s imagination like none other; be it the political parties themselves or the media which includes print, radio, television and digital.

     

     The latest to join the brigade is Bollywood music channel, 9XM, which has taken upon itself the onerous task of encouraging people to step out and vote. The channel has created a music video titled ‘Who is the Idiot’ in collaboration with Artist Aloud, Rapper BlaaZe, and Paul J, which urges viewers to wake up and cast their vote.

     

     ‘Who is the Idiot’ was launched on 9XM on 3 April and will be played across 9X music channels including 9X Tashan, 9X Jalwa, 9X Jhakaas and 9XO. “This is the way to talk to today’s youth- through music and dance. And that’s how we are educating them. We are playing the video every hour currently,” says 9XM content head Sunder Venketraman.

     

     The video shows a school annual day function, where kids are dressed up like politicians and elders are shown blind-folded. “We are not portraying any politician or political party in a negative way. The video is about being happy and enjoying the right to vote,” says Venketraman. “The idea was to show how, at times, we are so engrossed in our day-to-day work that we tend to take things that are of national importance, lightly. Our effort is to convey to our target group that there is a need to wake up and vote. We are urging the youth to take the elections seriously and take out time and vote.”

     

     To its credit, the video, choreographed by 9XM’s in-house creative team, features the channel’s lovable toon duo – Chhote and Bade. “9XM is a house of Chhote and Bade. At times, a message sent out by them is impactful and so, we had to use them in the video,” says Venketraman.

     

     The shooting was completed in one day. “But the pre-production took us almost 20 days and the post-production took five days. Since we were shooting with kids, we had to manage them well. Also, kids require a lot of attention. We were conscious about casting them,” informs Venketraman.

     

     ‘Who is the Idiot’ is also being promoted on YouTube, which has already got nearly 23,666 views. Apart from the main video currently being aired, eight 30-40 second videos have also been created. “The agenda is to wake up the youth. We are circulating the videos through Twitter, Google+, Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, BBM, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine.” Says 9XM SVP- Digital Vibha Gosher.

     

    Interestingly, the videos draw attention to unique characteristics of the now well-known names in politics in a humorous manner. “Through these videos, we are portraying the ordinary life of these politicians. So, like in one of the videos, we show a Sardar and how while he is trying to talk to everyone in the class, the teacher calls him and reprimands him, and so, he decides to stop talking. In another video, we show a kid who refuses to eat lunch, because he is fasting,” explains Gosher.

     

    How many youngsters will actually go out and vote is difficult to predict but 9XM deserves a thumbs up for the effort.

     

    Click on the link to watch the video

  • Channel V gets bigger, better, post refresh

    Channel V gets bigger, better, post refresh

    MUMBAI: “As politically incorrect as it sounds, may we just say we’re kicked,” says Channel V EVP and general manager Prem Kamath

     

    In an interview with indiantelevision.com, Kamath expresses happiness at the way things have shaped up for the channel after its two big refreshes.

     

    The first happened in July 2012, when Channel V repositioned itself as a youth general entertainment channel with a focus on reality.

     

    The second, on 25 November, 2013, when it came up with a cool new logo, a tagline ‘Correct Hai’ and four new shows i.e. Paanch: Don’t Get Mad Get Even, It’s Complicated, Confessions of an Indian Teenager (finite) and Sadaa Haq (daily).

     

    “The response has been huge, both in terms of viewership and what we have managed to achieve in the market. Specifically in terms of numbers, after the last refresh, we have seen 52 per cent growth, that too within three weeks of it, which is unprecedented within the category in my mind,” he says.

     

    Channel V is now a good 40-50 per cent bigger than its nearest competitor, courtesy breakout hits like Sadaa Haq and Paanch. Within a week of launching these shows, the channel witnessed 14.3 TVM vis-a-vis Bindaas’s 11.1 TVM and MTV’s 8.5 TVM, going by TAM week 48 ratings. It recorded a 42 per cent growth in just one week.

     

    With increased ratings came advertisers. “Yes, more than the sheer number of advertisers, I think, for channels like us, where revenues are directly linked to ratings as we have a lot of clients on CPRP deals, a jump in ratings almost immediately results in an upswing in monetization as well,” says Kamath.

     

    This included advertisers targeting a slightly older age group. “So, even advertisers targeting a slightly older age group started coming on board in a significant departure from earlier times,” he says.

     

    Unlike other TV channels which divide content into weekdays and weekends with weekdays focussing on dailies and weekends on one or two episodes, Channel V took a very different approach and started doing bi-weeklies.

     

    “We understood clearly that given the nature of the audience and their viewing habits, this group of viewers tends to be fickle and gets bored rather quickly. It is not interested in watching the same story drawn out over a period of one year or two and a half years which is what dailies typically do,” Kamath goes on to explain.

     

    So, three of the four new shows were bi-weeklies, running for two episodes a week and for a finite period. From the beginning, they were conceptualized as shows with 52 episodes that would run for 26 weeks, period. The entire script too was fleshed out before taking the first shot.

     

    “This innovation and scheduling has worked tremendously for us. Paanch has been a breakout hit. Sadaa Haq has been a daily format, but again within the daily format, we were clear that it is a one-year story line and it begins and concludes within a year and within a year, you will see Sadaa Haq being replaced as well,” he says.

     

    In week 2-5, Channel V reported an average 12,640 TVTs compared to Bindaas’s 8,946 TVTs and MTV’s 6,367 TVTs. In week 6 of TAM ratings, Channel V scored 2,691 TVTs, whereas Bindaas got 1,321 TVTs and MTV stood at 1,216 TVTs. “It’s been Channel V vs. Channel V, what with MTV and Bindaas less than half the break TVT ratings,” says Kamath.

     

    What’s more, Channel V was in the lead with audiences in the age group of 15 to 34 years in week 8 of TAM ratings (Channel V 17,738 TVTs; Bindaas 13,535 TVTs; MTV 10,194 TVTs and 9XM 8,657 TVTs).

     

    According to Kamath, bi-weeklies have multiple advantages. “They let us tap into producers who would have otherwise not come on television. Because it is finite project, people are willing to come on-board because it does not take up their entire lives, which a daily tends to do,” he says, adding the ability to experiment with more concepts and genres as another advantage.

     

    “Paanch is a taut revenge thriller which we won’t be able to pull off on a daily basis and continuously. It has multiple advantages and lets us tap into newer concepts and newer genres as well as newer talent, which is why it is working well for us.”

     

    Bi-weeklies have worked so well for the channel that ironically, the feedback has been to make them dailies. “Unfortunately, we can’t,” asserts Kamath. “The nature of the show is such that it is not possible for us to produce this quality of content, with this quality of writing and this pace of narration if it becomes a daily. And then, there will always be a compromise we will have to make.”

     

    Road ahead

    Once Confessions of the Indian Teenager ends, it will be replaced with another bi-weekly drama. In April, the channel plans to launch two more shows, but Kamath refused to divulge details.

     

    “It is a little early to talk about these shows, but within a couple of weeks’ time, we will be in a position to talk about them. But around the first or second week of April, you will see two new shows being launched,” he says.

     

    Going forward, the channel is planning on creating something called E-IndiaFest, reason being IndiaFest zonals usually start around November and conclude by Jan or Feb leaving nothing on the plate between February and November.

     

    “There is a set of things we are planning which people can compete in but can do online. Because we have so far been operating on formats which are essentially dailies, the season break never tends to happen. These are continuous shows that are run aground once ratings stop. But it is something that we now have the option of doing. So with Paanch for example, we are already beginning to script the second season,” he explains.

     

    There are plans to air the second season of the show, a year later or maybe earlier, depending on how it is scheduled.

     

    “For us, it is the process of continuously adding programming. At present, the channel produces four slots a day and plans to add more in the coming months. Towards the end of May, you might see us opening a fifth slot. Getting it into the next fiscal, the plan is to add more slots to it,” he reveals.

     

    “We are clear that the direction we are going in is fairly stronger and the kind of traction we have got is huge. But we also know that probably in order for us to really break out in the larger leagues and for us to become a full-fledged GEC in our own right, we will need much higher levels of the show programming. That is the process we have consciously undertaken, one step at a time. So, even when we re-launched three years back, we started with one show a week and the channel has slowly built up from there to the point that it is today,” Kamath signs off.

  • 9XM reaches 5 million Facebook likes

    9XM reaches 5 million Facebook likes

    MUMBAI: It has been seven years since 9XM launched in India. Owned by 9X Media, the flagship channel is dedicated to the latest in Bollywood music and has proved its place in its audiences’ hearts. This is clearly evident in the 5 million likes it has managed to garner on Facebook.

     

    According to Vibha Gosher, Sr. Vice President – Digital, 9X Media, the company started using social media with its Hindi Music Channel 9XM when it joined Facebook in January 2009 but had little activity or traction till December 2010. From December 2010, 9XM shifted focus to build this community.

     

    “We attribute the growth of numbers solely to the content created for the platform. We have constantly strived to keep innovating on the properties and changed strategy from time to time to keep the audience engaged and interested. We get an average of 800 shares per post, per day”, says Gosher when asked about the traction received by the Facebook fans.

     

    Approximately 8-9% of 9XM’s total fan base is talking about brand 9XM on a daily basis. 9X Media, India’s largest music television network, interacts with around 15 million plus audience on the digital platform. Our digital eco system focuses on conversations and not the numbers alone.

     

    Some of the best marketing campaigns 9XM made used of was, on Valentine’s day, the channel released the “Sanskaari Valentine’s Day” video with Alok Nath, created memes, imagery and textual jokes which were distributed across digital platforms. Immediately after Sanskaari Valentine’s Day, the channel released Bade Chote’s rap with Yo Yo Honey Singh, “Bakwaaspan”. This was amplified with 100s of memes and imagery on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. 9XM had started the year with “Tung Tucking Ting”, on World Music Day has generated a lot of buzz due to its catchy tune and digital amplification. Their weekly countdown, “9XMTop9”, is derived from votes from Facebook and Twitter. The activity has trended multiple times on Twitter. Our On-air property 9XM likes features songs and comments from 9XM fans on Facebook.

     

    Over the past few years, 9XM’s strength on Digital platform has grown many folds. On Facebook, 9XM had 5 lakh Likes and now they have over 5 Million. On Youtube, the channel’s video views per day used to be around 4K but now they see 1 lakh of views every day.

     

    “All the channel’s animated characters were popular only with the TV audience but now they have an extended life and longer shelf life in form of games n applications and VOD on various platforms. All of 9XM’s characters are ageless, irreverent and cut across cultures and geographies. The list is long but it depends on you what you call it – Growth or just a beginning”, continues Gosher.

     

    To keep the fans continuously engaged, 9XM uses various interactive methods like: Pictorial News, Fashion Ki Class, What The Farak, X or Y – Faceoff between stars, Pehchaan Kaun, Best Of, Birthday Wishes, New Content promotions.

  • South Indian films dubbed in Hindi more popular than English

    South Indian films dubbed in Hindi more popular than English

    MUMBAI: Sony MAX and Sony MIX executive vice president and business head Neeraj Vyas was the Guest Editor of the day at Indiantelevision.com today.

    During his interaction with journalists at Indiantelevision.com, Vyas talked about what he thinks about broadcast journalism. His complaint was that journalists do less of research-based writing and are more interested in the financial details of the broadcasting business.

    While dwelling on the businesses he heads, Vyas talks about how Sony MIX has tried to make the music channel musical from being a trade channel, on the preparations for Indian Premier League (IPL) season 7 and the preferences of Indian audiences for the film genre.

    Following are the comments made by Vyas on films, music and IPL:

    There is a channel dedicated to English movies dubbed in Hindi — UTV Action. If you look at the other channels — Sony MAX, Zee Cinema, Star Gold, & Pictures and Movies OK, almost 25-30 per cent of everybody’s FPC in a week comprises south Indian films dubbed in Hindi. South Indian dubs are a very integral reality of composition of every Hindi movie channel. There was reluctance from advertisers initially. Indians completely enjoy south Indian cinema.  They might not know who is Nagarjuna or who Ravi Teja is but they love the action. They love the way the action is choreographed. They love the fact that there are no songs. They like the feel of the characters because they are larger than life.

    They like the plots in south Indian films because they feel some of the plots are better than Hindi movie plots. Its vendetta, its revenge, it’s about the common man rising. These are the plots that work across.

    The language of Indian cinema does not change just because the film is made in the south or made in Mumbai or Hyderabad. Most of the films dubbed are Telugu films which are over the top. Tamil films are by and large understated. Telugu films have blood and gore and all that. Indian viewer does not mind.

    The characters are bound differently because of language reasons, geographical reasons. Otherwise Indian films are Indian films. Viewership tilts towards the male.

    Hindi movie channels are skewed towards male. Unless you have Chennai Express which is very universal. If I have to give you some south Indian parallel is Telugu film Magadheera. We promoted it as a proper Hindi film blockbuster. It gave me a rating of 2 in the first screening. That cuts through all TGs and massive special effects.

    International dubbed movies are not staple diet, but can be served as a surprise and can be a good break from the regular.

    MUSIC:

    We went and bought more music and put more variety than anybody else.  The other call we took was that whatever we do we should be musical. We will not have movies like some channels do. We will not have animated characters. Whatever we do will be music. We have got something like Solos. Singer comes and sings two lines.  These are things that we did and after digitisation we got shelf space. We saw 13 weeks in a row we were the number one channel. But for that we did a lot of sacrifice. We reduced advertising time. Against 30 minutes I was doing 15-20 minutes.

    We started with 12 million viewers and today we have 55 million viewers.

    Indian Premier League

    The second edition was done in South Africa, but at that time the scale at which IPL was hosted wasn’t as big as it is today. Everything today has changed. So the campaign has to be bigger.

    This season, if done outside India, will be very critical in terms of revenue as well. IPL for us is like a huge ‘Mela’. The ‘Mela’ gets prominence and written about because it happens in our city. If it happens outside India, it also impacts advertising, since the advertiser loses the buzz. It also has an impact on the rating. If IPL happens in South Africa, they will ensure that the match is aired in India at 8 pm. This time there will be only 60 games, because there is one team less.

    IPL Campaigns

    We need to up the entertainment quotient. There has to be a call of action. These two states always have to go hand in hand. It needs to be engaging, entertaining and fun-filled. It needs to be riveting; it needs to cut through different kinds of loops. Can’t be very male dominated, can’t be very male–centric, can’t be very female centric, can’t be very children centric. So, it’s a tough brief, not a very easy brief; because these guys are used to very focused briefs. I say, “this is my TG, these are the values of my brand, this is what it needs to be and these are the values that need to come through my communication. So, the consumer knows that I’m buying this for this.

    On Farah Khan

    Farah brought her own style and because of the fact that she’s a director and actor, made it easier for her to get into the zone of her character. She knew the tone and tenor of what we needed. She has changed the entire paradigm of the campaign. Then we roped in Vishal – Shekhar, who she is very close with. So it became a huge family gathering. We also got Rajeev Sethi, the director of Keroscene Films is also a childhood friend of ours.

    The 2014 campaign has no real people, they’re all models. Especially because our campaign is emotion based. One wrong reaction about what the character is feeling and the whole 30 second ad can go for a toss. That is why we spend a lot of time in casting. I personally am a stickler for casting!

    This year, we are doing five 30-40 seconders and one 60 seconder and again there will be an anthem that’s been composed again by Vishal Shekhar. We’ll also have an Extra Innings music video shot on that with the actors and the commentators. So, it all comes together as a package.

    So, this year we have the same girls and boys back for IPL.

  • Music genre to lose 15-20% inventory due to ad cap

    Music genre to lose 15-20% inventory due to ad cap

    MUMBAI: Sony MAX and Sony MIX executive vice president and business head Neeraj Vyas was the Guest Editor of the Day at Indiantelevision.com today. In his role as a journalist, Vyas interviewed Sony MIX’s senior VP sales Mayar Penkar on music broadcasting as a genre and its potential.

     

    Penkar feels the 12-minute per hour cap on advertisements would force music channels like 9XM and Masti to change their programming for the better.

     

    He says the music genre does not get what it deserves in terms of ad rates because of the way these channels have been positioned so far.

     

    Following are the excerpts from the interview:

     

    From the sales point of view, what do you think is the perception of the genre in the trade and what is the perception of MIX in the same subset?

     

    I completely believe that, music as a genre, and when I am saying music, I am talking about pure play music channels that are actually today looked upon as supplementaries or value addition to a media plan which is looking at Hindi speaking markets largely driven by the GEC (general entertainment channel) and Hindi movie channels. Today, it is being bought as a frequency buy. The reason for that are the broadcasters themselves for the way they have positioned the channel and the genre as more of a frequency buy channel and not as something which can actually deliver far more better results in audience targeting.

     

    How can music be the vehicle for better audience targeting?

     

    One of the biggest consumers of the music today is the youth. Be it on television, on mobile or any other digital platform and these are very important subset for most of the brands to actually be a part of the media plan or be a part of their marketing objectives. The broadcasters will actually have to make music channels far more relevant and important in the minds of clients than just the media sellers or media buyers. Till such time the client does not perceive music channels as a core genre for their media requirements or for their marketing requirements, they will continue to look the channel from a little downward point of view and not really from the mainland point of view. It will never be seen as the critical part of the media plan till such time the broadcasters take upon themselves to make it a relevant point with clients that this channel has lot of potential reaching out to the TG of 15-24 which is 60-70 per cent of today’s India youth.

     

    So what are you trying to say is that education has not happened. It is being treated like a commodity and sold like a commodity and hence the core values of the channel will never be exposed to the end buyer?

     

    Never! So coming back to MIX, the channel has made an effort to stand out in terms of its positioning, compared to what the other pure play music channels are. There is not so much differentiation that can be brought on to the content part. The role MIX has played by setting up the mood for the viewer with the segmentation of the music being played across the day has actually become far more acceptable to the viewer.

     

    Why is MIX perceived to be a favourite among the music fraternity?

     

    The kind of support MIX has got from the industry itself in terms of talent coming on to MIX and showcasing as to what their viewpoints on music are, has actually brought in a large amount of differentiation as far as MIX is concerned. Be it in terms of MIX voices, MIX Solos, MIX Gigs that we have done and TV’s first radio show. We brought radio live on television and I think that deserves a big applaud as far as MIX programming is concerned for having done something which is breakthrough in the space of music. Going forward things like this will only create that positive perception in the minds of clients that music can actually be looked upon as a proposition which is far more targeting and not anymore random and not just a commodity. So I guess MIX is playing that role, but is a fairly new channel in the space.

     

    Coming back to the critical reality of getting a fair share of revenues, do you think the genre per say gets its fair share of revenues?

     

    No product which is sold as a commodity will ever get its fair price. Today, my sense is that the entire genre is at least down by 50 per cent from the revenue point of view. The reason being, I think the way most of the broadcasters in the music space were operating was not very clear as to the setting up of the right benchmarks. Most importantly, in the pure play music channel, there were no strong networks involved in the business of pure play music.

     

    The first strongest network that was involved in pure play music was Sony and that was one of the last ones to enter. So when you look at channels like 9XM, 9X Jalwa, Masti or Mtunes, the whole survivor model for them is to actually somehow get the money. The survival model for them is to actually not look at creating brand assets or creating a proposition which can for a long term be monetised.

     

    What’s wrong in the music genre?

     

    When you have quarterly profitability into play, you have gone ahead and aired 30 minutes of the advertising time in an hour. In a scenario where you should have actually consolidated as a category and as a genre to help raise the benchmark of the music space, the sheer fear that you may lose out that little bit of revenue has prevented creation of a fair pricing model. It would have helped the category on the long-term basis and would have made the category even more stronger as far as revenue potentials are concerned.

     

    How will the 12-minute per hour ad cap impact?

     

    As far as MIX is concerned, we are clearly awaiting the ad-cap regulation to happen. Once that ad-cap regulation happens, there will be a level playing field. Also there would be approximately six and half to seven and half lakh seconds which will clearly get vanished from the current music genre space. Once the level playing field is set, the market will suddenly realise the importance of music space with close to 15-20 per cent of the inventory getting vanished overnight.

     

    People will start looking at this genre with a little more respect and I think that respect will come with a little bit of regulation and with a little bit of effort that each broadcaster will actually bring in to put on to the table when they are making their pricing models or pricing strategies.

     

    I guess this channel will move. The music category according to me is in the same phase as the Hindi movie channels were in 2002 — bought for frequency and not really for the content and the value that they want to bring on to the table. Hindi movie channels have actually moved a distance in the past 10 years. Music will move in a similar fashion.

     

    But provided every broadcaster chips in…?

     

    I don’t think there is a choice. Once they are down by 20-25 per cent of their inventory, nobody will have a choice but to actually re-look at their rates and by then if you have to go back to an advertiser asking for a rate hike, the first thing the advertiser will start looking at is the differentiation on the programming, content and quality of the channel if he has to start paying you a rate hike. Gone will be the days when broadcasters could accept commercials after commercials just because they could expand the time. So when the time restriction comes in, people will start looking at the product. I guess MIX in that point of time will be a clear winner as far as being looked upon as a much more valued product than just a commodity product.

     

    So giving these realities and given the fact that ad-cap is a likely reality for the entire genre, what do you think is the growth prospect?

     

    To look at it in a two-year horizon, the growth would be anywhere between 25-30 per cent. But if you look at it coming from the next fiscal which is going to be March- April next year, most of the people according to me are actually not ready for creating a strategy on how will they tackle the  rate growth. Reason being, most of these channels like 9XM or Masti used to enjoy clear dominance in terms of leadership 13 weeks prior to today. Even in a commodity model, they had established price points for themselves.

     

    For them after April, life will become a more real scenario where they are number two and three players by a distance, in the sense of 25-30 per cent distance, with number one being MIX. And then to work at price points which will be much higher than currently what they were operating with or what they were enjoying as leaders is going to be a difficult task.

     

    For them or for clients to start giving them higher rate hikes immediately, I don’t see that happening. We may see price point corrections happening but the category may just remain flat only because of lesser inventory and more or less securing the same level of revenue growth. But next year, this genre will actually become a very important channel. The genre will get its share price or share due in the next two years to come.

  • TRAI presents its ad cap arguments

    TRAI presents its ad cap arguments

    MUMBAI: After nearly a week long argument from the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and music channels – B4U, 9XM, Mastiii and M Tunes — it was time for regional players and the big daddy – the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to present their side of the story on the ad cap.

    Among those who presented their case today were Polimer Media and south India biggie Sun TV. The channels brought to the fore a point from February 2011 when TRAI had confirmed that “there should not be any regulation at present on advertisement on both FTA and Pay channels.”

    It had taken this position in Petition No. 34(C) of 2011 in the TDSAT filed by a society called Utsarg against TRAI and several other broadcasters and content aggregators seeking a cap on television advertising time on the ground that these advertisements interfered with viewership of television programmes. The channels questioned the reversal in TRAI’s  stance today.

    Now, it was the turn of the TRAI to send its lawyer to make its deposition.  TRAI argued that it was right in taking recourse to  both the Acts – the Cable Networks Regulation Act 1995 as well as The Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and the TRAI Act – and it was empowered under both as broadcasters are licensees under the latter. To this, the bench comprising of Justice Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh said that if it already has the authority under the Cable TV Act then it should not have acted on the TRAI Act.

    However, TRAI argued that the Cable TV Act is applicable only to cable operators and the bench in turn responded that a broadcaster does not come under it then. TRAI claimed that they were merely interpreting section 7 (11) of the Cable TV Act of 1995 which says that the authority has the power to ‘seize equipment used for operating the cable television network’ if it is found to be breaching its other sections.

    On the laying of the ad cap regulation in Parliament, TRAI’s counsel said that it had submitted it to the relevant ministry. To this, the bench responded that the law decrees that it would become applicable only after it is accepted or rejected or modified in the house. All the actions TRAI takes won’t apply with retrospective effect. Hence if TRAI  prosecutes a broadcaster before laying in parliament would not that be a violation of fundamental rights was the question?  The argument was then that in such a situation it is beyond the jurisdiction of the TDSAT and comes under the ambit of the Supreme Court.

    One of the points raised by the petitioner channels was the possible misuse of the 12 minute ad cap regulation. It said that a broadcaster could have uneven advertising slots such as one minute of advertisement in the first 30 minutes while the next half an hour could have 11 minutes. Similarly the concept of clock hour too had its flaws. Hypothetically, a broadcaster could air 11 minutes of ads from7:49 pm to 8 pm and then another 11 minutes of commercials between 8:00 pm to 8:11 pm. That would mean TV viewers would be subjected to 22 minutes of commercials in an hour of television time, thus putting paid to TRAI’s mandate to maintain quality of service. To this, the TRAI claimed that all laws can be misused but then it doesn’t stop them from being made.

    TRAI will continue its arguments tomorrow.

  • What the music channels said on the ad cap issue

    What the music channels said on the ad cap issue

    MUMBAI: After the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) presented its side of the story, it was the turn of the music channels to present their case in the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) regarding the troublesome 12 minute ad cap regulation that is being enforced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    The hearing that went on for two days (Monday and Tuesday) had the music channels counsel speaking on behalf of the four music channels – 9XM, B4U, M Tunes and Mastiii. The main point raised was violation of Article 14 of the constitution of India by the TRAI. The Article states: “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth”.
     
    According to counsel, the TRAI is violating Article 14 by putting all the channels in the same basket. There are different types of broadcasters delivering both free to air and pay channels in the genres of news, sports, music etc. It is inappropriate to be treating ‘unequals as equals’ by classifying all channels in the same category, counsel emphasized. To support his argument, he said that FTA channels don’t get subscription revenue and work on purely advertising while pay channels have the benefit of both.
     
    Apart from this, other issues raised during the hearing were similar to the ones the NBA counsel had raised such as the jurisdiction of the TRAI to come out with such a regulation, unregulated and high carriage fees and high cost of content production.
     
    There is a long list of channels that will now present their cases in front of the TDSAT bench of Justice Aftab Ahmed and member Kuldip Singh including Reliance Big Broadcasting, Sun TV Network, Raj TV, E24 Glamour, Eenadu Television and Polimer Media.
     
    After this, TRAI will defend itself. The hearing is set to continue today.
     
    This is surely one case that will take much time to resolve.

    To read about previous reports on the case scroll down.

  • 9X Diaries

    9X Diaries

    WThere was a time when music channels meant only MTV and Channel [V]. Today however, many more names are jostling for space in this category, with the genre itself having changed significantly between then and now.

    9X as a group is now a profitable business says a confident Pradeep Guha

    It was precisely during this period of transition that 9X entered the fray. Launched in 2007 as INX Media, the company started operations with 9XM, later adding a Hindi GEC 9X, followed by an English news channel NewsX.

    In 2009, the English news channel was bought by Indi Media while the Hindi GEC was sold to Zee Entertainment Enterprises a year later. In August 2010, INX Media was renamed 9X Media with the focus completely on its music business.

    Looking back at what he calls a strategic decision, 9X Media managing director Pradeep Guha says: “Given the age demographic of India, music to my mind has immense potential both to connect with relevant audiences as content as well as engage with them as a medium. 9X as a group is now a profitable business.”

    Cut to the present: 9X Media is the country’s largest music network with five music channels including 9XM (latest Bollywood hits), 9XO (international music), 9X Jalwa (all time Bollywood hits), 9X Tashan (Punjabi) and 9X Jhakaas (Marathi).

    What ingredients make this successful recipe?

    9X Media executive vice president and new business head Punit Pandey analyses: “Three important things were taken into consideration. One the format, the fact that we deliver a unique format of music and humour with animation was and continues to be a key differentiator, something that the viewers took an immediate liking to. Secondly, Music curation, one of the most important factors towards viewers bookmarking their favourite music channel and lastly adoption of the second screen. We have been able to successfully adopt the second screen as core TG is the youth who consumes music not just on the television but also on their computers and mobile phones.”

    The network wanted to be unique and hence, chose to go vertical by building a robust music network rather than going horizontal. The network knew it had to fulfill the needs of hardcore music enthusiasts and hence, the objective was to build a robust music vertical. Presently, over 15 people are working hard to deliver the best results in the digital space.
    9X Portfolio

    Among other achievements, 9X Media won Gold at the Communicator Awards, Silver at the W3 Awards and Bronze at the IDMA 2013 for its gaming app called ‘Stop that Silly’.

    9XM

    The network launched its first offering, 9XM, in 2007. 9XM targets youngsters’ needs and attitudes and has created a niche for itself in music and entertainment. It airs the latest Hindi film songs interspersed with jokes and anecdotes belted out by its animated characters, including Bade and Chote, Bheegi Billi, Badshah Bhai and The Betul Nuts.

    About the thought process behind these characters that have created a special place in viewers’ hearts, Pandey explains: “Back in 2007, when we thought of constructing a music channel, we clearly saw a huge gap in terms of a pure music channels. The so-called music channels then, were airing reality shows and all other content but music.  We said lets construct a music channels which delivers best curated music and to build stickiness, we introduced humour with animation.At the end in a music channel, you don’t appoint yourself to watch a half an hour show. You tune into a video, you like or you don’t like it, and walk out.”

    Presently, 9XM has nearly 3.5 million fans on facebook, thanks to it being a one-stop shop for Bollywood news, humour and gossip presented in a different manner. On twitter though, 9XM has just over 15,000 followers and on YouTube too, it has a bit more than 14,000 subscribers.

    9XM was the country’s first music channel to stream content live on its website, www.9xm.in and across mobile TV platforms. The channel launched games and applications for iPad and iPhone users, with fans of its animated characters able to download their favourite games including the Angry 9XM Heroes, Silly Chicken and Talking Silly Chicken from the IOS App store.

    9X Jalwa

    9X Media launched its other Hindi music channel last year. Touted as a ‘timeless Bollywood music channel’, 9X Jalwa plays back to back Bollywood music from the mid-sixties till 2000s, coupled with humour-led interstitials by characters and trivia-based slate shows.

    What is important in today_s world is to adopt all the screens that your consumers have adopted, says Punit Pandey

    9X Jalwa’s official facebook page boasts more than 73,000 likes while there were only 580 followers on twitter at the time of penning this article. Apart from the usual animated characters, there are two specially designed for Jalwa called Halkat Sawaal that feature on the channel’s YouTube page.

    So why does 9X Media focus on the digital platform? “What is important in today’s world is to adopt all the screens that your consumers have adopted. Having a website is a plus point, but that is not how you build your community. You have to build your community in the digital world, through creating facebook pages and keeping your YouTube pages eye-catching,” reveals Pandey, adding that they are pretty well-established in the space.

    Speaking of a 9X Media staple – animated characters, apparently, all the ideation, scripting, jokes and PJs are done by the channel whereas animation and lighting is handled by Prime Focus. Says Prime Focus senior vice president – films and commercials India Niraj Sanghai: “We have a team of 60-65 members dedicated to work for 9XM. The creative team at 9XM is doing a good job, ideating the whole script, characters and jokes that they are working on and the PJs that they crack. We are basically transforming their ideas into reality. We deliver 75 hours of animation content every month. We are tremendously happy with the response we are getting from people. The fact that people love these characters and adore them is a sign of our efforts being appreciated.”

    9XM is spending an estimated Rs 10-12 crore per year on these characters and plans are afoot to introduce yet another character by the name Billi Don.

    9X Tashan

    9X Media’s first offering in the regional music space, 9X Tashan, targets free-spirited Punjabi viewers, playing hit contemporary Punjabi music 24×7.

    What was the thought behind going regional? “Content growing out of a region is extremely liked. A consumer wanting to consume content originating from their region has become very popular. Taking this into consideration, we thought of expanding our footprint in the regional space also,” reasons Pandey informing about the regional animated characters called Bhabhi and Jhat and Jhaat.

    9X Tashan’s official facebook page boast around 273,480 likes with over thousands of people talking about it. By contrast, it has only 848 followers on twitter.

    9X Jhakaas

    The network launched Maharashtra’s first Marathi music channel on 31 October, 2011. 9X Jhakaas airs the best Marathi film and non-film songs including lavanis and other traditional forms, apart from rib-tickling short-format animated shows that are extremely popular among viewers. Targeted at confident and go-getter Maharashtrians across India, 9X Jhakaas promises its audience a Jhakaas experience. One of the talking points is the channel’s animated character Chochya.

    9X Jhakaas is available across cable and satellite homes and also streamed live on the website www.9xjhakaas.in. While it doesn’t have much of a presence on twitter, its official facebook page has 118,299 likes.


    9XO

    The sixth and only international music channel from 9X Media, 9XO airs contemporary music from across the globe and is targeted at up-scale urban youth. The channel’s website www.9xo.in engages users by helping them create their own playlists with selected songs and share them with others.

    Significantly, 9XO has more than 23,000 followers on twitter while its official facebook page boasts an outstanding 253,780 likes.

    Brands piggyback on animated characters

    9X Media’s animated characters are a big draw for advertisers, who want to cash in on them to promote various brands.

    We are basically transforming their ideas into reality, says Niraj Sanghai

    “Animation provides an out-of-the-box feel to the brand, increasing the brand’s recall value. Animated characters break the monotony created by the innumerable human faces and their equally high number of associations with a variety of brands. Besides, animated characters come out as neutral, unbiased entities,” says Pandey.

    A majority of big brands including Cadburys (Gems), Coca Cola India (Coke), Idea Cellular, ITC (Vivel Deo Soap), Gelusil, Dabur (Hajmola), Lux Cozy Innerwear, Veedol, HUL (Cornetto and Ponds), etc have effectively used 9XM’s popular character episodes for product integrations.

    For instance, Bheegi Billi is often seen strumming his guitar and talking about his experience with brands like Cadbury’s Gems, Sprite, Minutemaid, Kwality Walls Cornetto and Lux Cozi. 
    Similarly, the Betul Nuts are also seen doing sher-o-shayari about Gelusil Antacids, Coke etc.

    Coming to the moot question, how has the journey been for the network so far? “9X Media is doing decently well since 2007. We are on track as far as our plans are concerned,” says Pandey.


    On the other hand, a highly-placed music professional feels that the network is capable of producing content a lot more. “I feel the network has not reached that stage where we can say yes it is the best from the rest. They need to focus more on their regional outlets, where the network is currently not doing so well. If that happens, then I am sure it will work wonders for them.”