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  • Anita Nayyar to return to Havas Media as CEO, quits BCCL

    Anita Nayyar to return to Havas Media as CEO, quits BCCL

    MUMBAI: Former Havas Media CEO for India and South Asia Anita Nayyar is returning to her old agency, after a short stint of four
    months at Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) as director customer strategy.

    Nayyar will take up her old position at Havas Media from 14 August. Her last day at BCCL is 9 August.

    Confirming her movement to Indiantelevision.com, Nayyar said, “I was missing the base of media agency where I have worked for 28 years. My journey with BCCL was very exciting and I learnt a lot here.”

    “I think when you are on the media side you don’t understand the concerns of the other side well. After being on this side of the table, I have understood how a publishing house or a media house, a conglomerate operates. In terms of expectations from an agency’s side, now it is well-grounded,” she added.

    Havas Media Asia Pacific CEO Vishnu Mohan said, “We are delighted that Anita has decided to return to the agency. While I met many potential candidates over the last months, when the choice did open up I had no doubt in my mind that she would be the right person to helm the India and South Asia operations. Her network knowledge, prior track record, industry experience and seniority – made it all relatively easy for me to decide who to place my trust in.”

    Nayyar had joined Havas Media in 2007 as the CEO of MPG India. Later on, she was promoted to CEO of Havas Media for India and South Asia. Prior to joining Havas Media, she had also worked with Starcom and Mudra Communications.

  • Anita Nayyar quits Havas Media to join BCCL

    Anita Nayyar quits Havas Media to join BCCL

    MUMBAI: Havas Media CEO Anita Nayyar has put in her papers after a stint of five years with the company.

    She will be serving her notice period till the end of the month.

    Nayyar is expected to join Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) as director customer strategy.

    Havas Media Asia Pacific CEO Vishnu Mohan said, “Yes, Anita has quit. The agency is in process of identifying the right person for the role.”

    “After five years, Anita leaves behind an organization seven times stronger with several specialist brands that today are over 40 per cent of group‘s portfolio and a strong talent force that are leaders in their own right. We thank her for her stewardship and wish her every success in this new stint on the other side after 28 years in the agency business. We are at present in the process of identifying a suitable leader for this role and should make an announcement to that effect shortly,” Mohan added.

    Meanwhile, MPG India has promoted managing partner Mohit Joshi to the post of managing director.

    Based in Mumbai, he will be reporting to Mohan.

    Nayyar had joined Havas Media in 2007 as the CEO of MPG India. Later on, she was promoted to CEO of Havas Media-South Asia. Prior to joining Havas Media, she had also worked with Starcom and Mudra Communications.

  • Ad war between Times of India and Hindu gets uglier

    Ad war between Times of India and Hindu gets uglier

    MUMBAI: The war between the two print titans has got even uglier with The Times of India hitting hard at The Hindu in a new ad campaign. The splash created by The Hindu’s ‘Stay Ahead of the Times’ campaign seems to have finally elicited a response from The Times of India, heating up the ad war further.

    The Chennai edition of the TOI carried a copy on 3 February that stated: “We congratulate the competition for finally waking up to the Times of India.”

    The copy went on to say that the flagship news daily from Bennett, Coleman and Co Ltd (BCCL) enjoyed reacting to the competitor’s recent campaign and looks forward to them following its footsteps in connecting with the readers.

    It concluded by saying, “We now look forward by emulating our approach to connecting with readers, led by a new editor and CEO who’ve cut their teeth at the TOI. We wish them good morning and good luck.”

    Taproot India handles the creative duties for TOI and is behind this particular ad as well.

    Considering that The Hindu campaign focused on the trivialisation of content in print journalism, BCCL CMO Rahul Kansal said, “We at TOI believe in searching and operating on the middle ground and establishing a reader connect. We carry news that is relevant to different sections of the reading masses and not only for those interested in serious information.”

    Reacting to the new ad, The Hindu Group VP advertising Suresh Srinivasan told Indiantelevision, “We do not know what to make of this ad. It has appeared in a publication that is anyway going to reach the TOI readers only. The most I can say is that we are amused. Also, by the ad’s logic, every school and college in the country should stand up and take credit for training professionals in the field out there.”

    The Chennai edition of the TOI was launched on 14 April 2008 and has been trying to catch up with the forerunner The Hindu since then. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation (January-June 2011), The Hindu’s circulation in Chennai is 356,826 copies, followed by the Deccan Chronicle at 243,581 and the New Indian Express at 89,546.

    Since the TOI Chennai edition is not registered with the ABC, accurate data regarding the daily’s circulation figures could not be attained.

    The ad war started about four months back with TOI taking potshots at the mundane content of The Hindu and asking readers to ‘Wake up to the Times of India’.

    In response, The Hindu created a campaign that elucidated that it’s content is much more relevant in this globalising age and is not “Bollywoodised” or “trivialised” in any way.

    Also Read :

    Hindu wants to stay ahead of ‘The Times‘

  • Taproot India launches new campaign for Mumbai Mirror

    Taproot India launches new campaign for Mumbai Mirror

    MUMBAI: Mumbai Mirror, daily tabloid from Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL), has launched a new campaign that has been conceptualised by Taproot India.

    The objective of the campaign is to underline the fact that every citizen — rich or poor, oppressed or cheated — has a voice that reaches the city every morning.

    Based on four real stories broken by Mumbai Mirror, the idea was to create a fictionalised account of how affected citizens from all walks of life found a strong and powerful voice in the paper.

    Santosh Padhi and Agnello Dias are the creative directors of the campaign.

    Taproot India chairman and co-founder Agnello Dias said, “Mumbai has many faces. Some that evoke, others provoke. But if we were to look every one of them in the eye, we will find that all of them are the face of Mumbai. It takes many stories to make this city and some need to be told.”

    BCCL CMO Kansal said, “The Mumbai Mirror is a strong newspaper that looks out for its readers. In a city where the ordinary guy can feel rather helpless at the receiving end of an insensitive system, the paper empowers the reader, gives him a voice.”

    The media agency for the account is Lodestar UM.

  • ‘Challenge is to harness the future focused SMG culture to build a differentiated product’ : SMG India chairman and LiquidThread MD CVL Srinivas

    ‘Challenge is to harness the future focused SMG culture to build a differentiated product’ : SMG India chairman and LiquidThread MD CVL Srinivas

    Engineering and management degrees are quite common for professionals working in automobiles. But it is a surprise to find folks who have chosen to get educated in these two disciplines before plunging into advertising. Take CVL Srinivas for instance who has an engineering degree from BITs Pilani and a management degree from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

     

    Today, Srini, as he is called, serves as the chairman of the Publicis-owned Starcom MediaVest Group India and also as the managing director of LiquidThread, one of its divisions.

     

    He has 14 years of exposure to the media business, having scored numerous successes for leading media agencies such as Madison, Fulcrum and Maxus over the period as a senior manager or head. 

    Srini is wont to do what he wants to do, like taking a four year break from media and advertising, and at a time when his career was roaring. In 2007, he gave up a plush job as CEO, Maxus Asia Pacific to become a consultant with Surewaves, a company that specialises in media convergence solutions. He then went to consult a private equity (PE) fund in the media sector and also worked with BCCL‘s Private Treaties as director for two years.

     

    SMG was his media comeback vehicle earlier this year. And it has been on fire under his and his colleague Mallikarjundas CR‘s stewardship. It has focused on three pillars of insights and research, digital and branded content. In the process, it has not only managed to retain old businesses but also gained some new accounts. Among the 15 brands it pocketed include: Yahoo, Biba, Sab, Pix and Aircel.

     

    Indiantelevision.com‘s Prachi Srivastava spoke to Srinivas about his charge, its performance and the way forward.

     

     

    Excerpts:

    How has the performance of the company been in this year, as it comes to an end?
    We are fairly satisfied with what we have achieved this year. We have managed to grow both topline and bottom-line at a healthier pace than the past few years. In terms of new business, we had a surge of wins in the past few months. We have so far bagged 15 businesses this year including one of the biggest media pitches of the year Aircel (TV and Digital).

    What was your focus this year?
    We wanted to build on the strong foundation of SMG and accelerate growth. The focus was on (1) People – where we infused talent across levels and realigned a few units, (2) Product – investing in Insights, Digital and Content and (3) Process -streamlining the operation thru‘ a newly created Business Impact function.

    You have been with multiple agencies. What difference do you see in the work culture? 
    Each agency has its own work culture, but broadly speaking the end output in this market is hardly differentiated. You hear it from clients all the time, that they hardly see any difference between one agency and another. Our challenge is to harness the future focused SMG culture to build a differentiated product.

    There were different specialist units earlier. Why were they merged in Vivaki?
    SMG had a host of specialist units in Outdoor, Retail Branding, Rural activation etc. While they helped make the product more holistic, their ability to scale up was limited. By migrating them to VivaKi, we helped these units get access to clients of our group and brought about a lot of operational efficiency. This in turn has helped SMG focus on the core product. We now have the best of both worlds.
    “Ours is a Human Experience Company that is a storehouse of insights & research that can help integrate communication plans across media and non-media channels”

    Are clients showing an inclination towards the new media (digital, internet, mobile, retail) or they continue to be comfortable with traditional form?
    There is definitely a lot more interest in digital now, than before. Not just the usual suspects, but even FMCG clients are today talking digital and investing in the medium.

    How is LiquidThread doing since its launch in India?
    We had an existing content practice in India. This made it easier to launch LiquidThread (LT) in this market. We have had a good year and have done some interesting work for our clients. There have been a few cases this year where LT created the campaign idea. We see it as integral to the communication strategy.

    How do you see the economic slowdown affecting Starcom or the advertisers‘ spend?
    Earlier forecasts were predicting an industry growth of around 15 per cent, but these days the consensus seems to be closer to 8-10 per cent. We expect to grow at a far higher pace than this given our client profile and diverse revenue streams.

    Is it as bad as the slowdown in 2008? What have been the learnings from 2008 slowdown that you apply now?
    It is too early to say if it will be as bad or worse. Right now most clients are in a wait and watch mode.

    Television today has the efficacy for advertisers. How does it affect the other mediums?
    We are largely still driven by television as the key medium. It not only has a high base but is growing faster than print and other mass media forms. While fragmentation has split the viewership across more channels, the evolution of Content on TV has kept the interest levels high for both viewers and advertisers. Digitization of the medium is going to give a further boost. For a growing economy like ours, where most categories are still under-penetrated, TV will be the lead medium for a long time to come.

    Is reallocation of resources happening from client‘s side across different media?
    Clients are willing to experiment lot more today than they used to 5 years ago. There is definitely money flowing into digital, experiential marketing and events.

    Has the concept of return of investments (RoI) changed with the clients? What is the measurement metrics followed now?
    Very few clients are able to get the true measure of RoI and lot more needs to be done here by the industry. There is an over-emphasis on the “efficiency” of a media plan in our market. So in most cases, RoI measurement is limited to measuring how “efficient” the media plan is. This leads to a frenzy of CPRP and CPT calculations and debates. Marketers need to realise that the cheapest media plan is not necessarily the best option for building their brand. The agencies need to raise the bar on this one and encourage clients to invest in capturing more data. This is the starting point if one has to build robust RoI metrics.

     

    SMG is pioneering lot of work in this area which I hope will benefit our clients in the coming years.

    Have the dynamics for communication to rural market changed? How are you helping your clients communicate to their rural consumers?
    Three significant developments have helped improve communication to rural markets. Firstly, the increased penetration of mass media allows conventional advertising to reach large pockets of rural India. Next, there are better technological aids to manage and monitor rural communication and contact programs. And finally there is a much better understanding of rural consumer behavior today than 5-10 years ago.

    How will Starcom MediaVest‘s business be split in Print/ TV/ FM/ outdoor/ Internet etc?
    We have more than 10 per cent of our revenue coming from digital and hope to make it 20 per cent within the next 1-2 years. We have a fairly equal split between TV and Print.

    As a media planner, how do you view the emerging radio and digital scenario?
    For radio, a lot more needs to be done at the policy level to make the medium advertiser friendly. Currently radio stations are not differentiated enough for advertisers and listenership is extremely fragmented. The stations follow a herd mentality. Radio needs to deliver niche audiences. They should also be more relevant in this day and age and compete with the immediacy of digital media. As far as digital is concerned, it is the fastest growing medium and today there is absolutely no escape from it for any advertiser. Print is the medium that will get most affected by the growth of digital.

     

    But we still see a dominant readership in print…

    For a majority of the population, Print is still the first choice for daily news. For advertisers, Print is still the first choice for announcement value and immediacy. According to TAM, Print has grown at 7 per cent in Nov 2011 v/s Nov 2010, led by Services and Banking. The reason why print is still a dominant media in India is that every few years, new categories come into the market and most new categories start with print and only then they come onto TV and then other mediums, whether its education, insurance or healthcare. As and when digital penetration increases, Print could start feeling the pinch. Print needs to learn how to co-exist with digital if it has to remain relevant.

     

    What is your strategy to integrate media plan across different verticals? How do you make that more effective?
    Our dream is to grow our client‘s business by transforming behavior through uplifting, meaningful human experiences. By investing in the right kind of talent and techniques we are trying to bring a more refreshing and relevant approach to communication planning for our clients. We do not see our job to be that of a media agency that releases advertising, but that of a Human Experience Company that is a storehouse of insights and research that can help integrate communication plans across media and non-media channels.

    What do you have to say about the cut throat competition in the media industry?
    I think it‘s a good thing to have competition in the media industry as it keeps us all on our toes helps us get better in what we do.

    Over the past five years what changes have you seen in media business, planning and buying?

    Three things that are worth mentioning – a lot more focus on digital media, advertisers willing to invest in impact and a change in the profile of a media agency, especially with the influx of insights, digital and content talent.

    Is youth still the hardest segment to capture?
    Youth was a difficult to reach segment. With the emergence of digital media and several niche channels on TV, there are several options available. What is more important is the possibility to stay constantly engaged with the youth thru‘ social media platforms. Targeting the youth is not just a one-way effort, but an opportunity to build communities, conversations and advocates for brands. There is no better time than now to have Youth as a target audience.

    When it comes to television, how do you stack up the genres as per the deliveries?
    The IPL and one day cricket is at the top of the league followed by reality shows, general entertainment channels (GEC), blockbuster movies, and then some of the other genres. It‘s more a question of what kind of audience one is trying to reach out to and the content you are looking to advertise, which determine the genre.

    What kind of research you conduct before deploying digital media for any purpose?
    At SMG we have an online panel that captures the latest trends across several markets including India. We have also done some interesting studies to understand the consumption of digital media among various target audiences in the region, including India. Apart from the available sources, our multi-disciplinary Insights & research team works closely with our communication planners for key campaigns.

    What are your plans for 2012?
    We have a few exciting plans for 2012. Apart from further strengthening our Product and developing our Talent pool, we are looking to partner with a few exciting players in core areas of our business. The momentum we have generated in 2011 with 15 new business wins is helping us aim for higher growth. We see a steep growth in our Digital and Content businesses.
  • Shashi Sinha made prez of Bombay Ad Club

    Shashi Sinha made prez of Bombay Ad Club

    MUMBAI: Lodestar UM CEO Shashi Sinha has taken guard as the new Bombay Ad Club president for 2011-12, replacing Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd (BCCL) director Dr. Bhaskar Das who occupied the position for two consecutive terms.


    Times Television Network‘s CEO Sunil Lulla has been elected vice president.


    The other significant positions include Aditya Birla Group – Financial Services CMO Ajay Kakar as the new secretary, while BCCL director Sujoy Ghosh has been made the joint secretary. Mudra Max CEO Pratap Bose is the new treasurer.


    Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Sinha said that the priority would be to engage advertisers from across the country.


    “We are planning to hold some of our awards functions outside Mumbai. At least, take half the judging process to Delhi and then take it to Bangalore. Goafest was quite controversial, while Emvies doesn‘t really get the clients to participate. On the other hand, Effies gets active participation from clients. So, we will try to use this opportunity to engage more people from outside Mumbai,” an elated Sinha added. 
     
    Ad Club‘s new managing committee includes Percept‘s Ajay Chandwani, Brandscapes Worldwide‘s Pranesh Misra, BBH India‘s Subhash Kamath, Concept Advertising‘s Vivek Sushanti, Ogilvy India‘s Madhukar Sabnavis, Star India‘s Gayatri Yadav and JWT India‘s Tarun Chauhan.


    Non-award properties such as creative workshops suffered in the face of economic crisis and a shift can be expected in the new tenure.


    On the team appointment, Sinha said: “It‘s a good mix of old and new members. That will reflect in our work as well. We will continue with the old policies and implement some new ones as we go along.”


    Moreover, Effies Apac will be a priority as it is going to be held in India this year.
     

  • ‘The Merrill Lynch deal has given us a Rs 5 billion valuation’ : MK Anand – Zoom business head

    ‘The Merrill Lynch deal has given us a Rs 5 billion valuation’ : MK Anand – Zoom business head

    After selling 25 per cent stake to Merrril Lynch for Rs 1.25 billion, Zoom is gearing up for more programme launches to race ahead of competition that has arrived in the form Showbiz and E24.

     

    Targeting upscale audiences, the channel from the Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL) Group has increased its dosage of Bollywood-centric prime time content with a slate of new shows. Aided by a rise in ratings, Zoom is eyeing a revenue of Rs 1 billion this fiscal.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Richa Dubey, Zoom business head MK Anand discusses the growth track of the channel and the need to push the Bollywood genre of content across different markets through the syndication route.

     

    Excerpts:

    Has Zoom Entertainment Network (ZEN) diluted 25 per cent stake to Merrill Lynch for Rs 1.25 billion?
    We got a valuation of Rs 5 billion when Merrill Lynch bought this stake in around May-June. We are utilising this amount to develop stronger content for the channel. Some of the new shows are already launched and we will gradually unveil a few more.

    Will you also not spend more on distribution as channels are finding it difficult to find space on choked analogue cable networks?
    We are content with our present distribution. We will be utilising the money only for new programmes.

    Why has Zoom shifted gear to Bollywood-centric shows?
    Getting viewers closer to celebrity life was the whole idea on which Zoom was launched. The metamorphosis happened when we realised that ‘celebrity’ as a word in India is congruent with Bollywood.

     

    Originally when we started, we were showing programmes based on popular influential people from all walks of life (corporate, sports, page 3). As we went along, we had to change and make it a Bollywood-centric channel because that is what people whom we target want to see. We tried to make the channel more holistic from the Bollywood point of view by showing many related things.

     

    Even our lifestyle shows are centred arround Bollywood. We will, for instance, not have a cookery show. But if a Bollywood actor likes some particular food, then we will show him cooking something. So we will always look for a Bollywood element in whatever we show.

    Was this metamorphosis dictated by the generic revenue limitations of a lifestyle channel?
    The lifestyle content on Zoom was always negligible compared to the glamour factor.

     

    Our programming budgets have definitely doubled over last year as our offerings have increased. Other than short form of content, we are now getting into longer formats which cost more.

     

    But it is also important to note that we operationally broken even last year. This has happened in just three years of our existence!

    Have advertisers been more supportive after Zoom shifted to a Bollywood-centric channel?
    When we launched, an advertiser could not classify us in any category because we were the first ones in the space. But now we have been substantially increasing our rates even while other channels were dropping theirs. This has been possible because we have an ad sales team which is bigger than what a channel of this size would normally have. As a group we are very ad-focussed.

     

    Our inventory is sold out. Some 300 clients must be active every year. We would be having 15-20 exclusive deals.
    ‘When we started, we were showing programmes based on popular people from all walks of life. As we went along, we made it a Bollywood-centric channel because that is what people whom we target want to see‘

    What is your revenue target this year?
    We are targeting Rs 1 billion this fiscal (August-July period). This is after taking into account revenues through ads, video ads and content syndication that we do with other broadcasters.

    Whom does Zoom compare with when you pitch to clients?
    We normally compare ourselves with Star Movies, MTV, HBO and 9XM.

     

    These are the players focussed on this TG (target group) – SEC AB 1 million+ in the age group 15-34.

    What are the positioning changes Zoom has undergone ever since its launch?
    The Times of India Group as a whole has affinity with the urban upscale English speaking audiences. That has always been the Group’s focus. Similarly when it came to TV, we decided not to go for a mass channel and invest heavily in it. Instead, we thought of launching something for the particular audience we have affinity with.

     

    So we launched a channel catering to 1 million+ cities of India. Our weekly reach has gone up from 15-20 per cent in mid-2006 to 36 per cent this year.

     

    As a brand we promised to deliver glamour and we have done that successfully. In terms of brand proposition, we have evolved in terms of our offerings.

    How do you see Bollywoood evolving as a genre?
    Bollywood shows are still evolving as a genre. It is the most popular content, after fiction shows and movies. Even news channels have special shows centred arround Bollywood.

     

    We position ourselves as a generic channel for Bollywood.

    How does Zoom source content?
    We have a reporting team of about 40 people. They continuously shoot and get stories on Bollywood related stuff which is archived. That is the main store for us and we take footage from there and develop shows.

     

    Our in house team uses them to produce shows like Zabar 10, Planet Bollywood. Besides, we also have external production houses which make shows for us. Bollywood Club is done by Optimystix, Bollywood Case Files is done by Moving Pictures Company. We give our archived stuff to them as well.

    What is the movie acquisition strategy?
    For the movies that we telecast, we acquire them from other channels or producers for limited airings.

    What is the prime time on Zoom?
    Advertisers identify prime time from 5 pm in the evening till 1 am. But from the viewers point of view, it lasts from 7 pm – 9:30 pm, the time band where we have launched our new shows. Our core prime time would be 8-9 pm where we will launch stronger shows.

    Zoom also provides shows to other channels. How strong is this business?
    Yes, we do shows for other channels. We have realised that the bank that we have is more than what we can use. So why not commercially exploit our content further?

     

    We have not approached any Hindi channel, but we have some channels in the regional space who use our content. We have given our shows to ETV and Sun Network.

     

    We also have two deals in Pakistan. We are doing a one-hour show for Safron TV in South Africa.
    Will this not kill the exclusivity element on your channel?
    Zoom enjoys more channel loyality as far as Bollywood content is concerned. We have a first mover advantage in the genre. We also have exclusive coverage. Besides, we can leverage exclusive tie ups which Bombay Times has with others.

    What are the digital initiatives Zoom has undertaken?
    We are looking at opportunities in the digital space. Our channel is made up of short form of content. Say three stories of four minutes each are clubbed in a half-hour episode. If we unstring these episodes and put these videos on internet, they become easy to download.

     

    These small videos are more popular than the longer format due to lower streaming capacity in India. We unbundle the entire episode and put these videos on our site.

     

    For further promoting them, we have started putting these videos on other websites. We realised that there was an opportunity in syndicating Bollywood content. This has, in fact, increased traffic on our video online content.

     

    Realising the importance of this, we are looking at synergies now. We have an ad sales deal with these websites. We also promote our other shows through these videos. This makes the marketing of our shows easier and consumption increases.

    Which are these websites?
    Rediff iShare, Yahoo, Youtube and Nautanki TV. They have good traffic and for us they become a platform to share our shows.

     

    We have an ad sales contract with all of them.
    How big a challenge is distribution?
    Distribution is key to the business. But since we also have the consumer pull factor, cable operators will find it difficult to dislodge us from their networks. The Bollywood genre is also expanding with other channel launches. In another 18 months, we can expect the genre to develop and be widely accepted.
  • ‘Cable companies should start thinking like DTH operators’ : Seemanto Roy – Sahara One Media and Entertainment CEO

    ‘Cable companies should start thinking like DTH operators’ : Seemanto Roy – Sahara One Media and Entertainment CEO

    After taking charge, Subroto Roy’s younger son Seemanto Roy has drawn up an aggressive plan to grow Sahara’s media and entertainment business. His target: launch of five channels over 6-8 months, revival of the motion pictures business and setting up of a film institute.

     

    In this his first interview to the media after becoming Sahara One Media & Entertainment CEO, Roy spells out his plans to Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das.

     

    Excerpts:

    Media companies have seen opportunities and been on aggressive mode in the recent past. Why haven’t we seen that sort of game being played out by Sahara?
    We have just launched Firangi, a world TV channel dubbed in Hindi. We are also going to launch five more channels over the next 6-8 months. This will include a Bengali language channel, details of which I can’t specify now.

    Won’t this be in the entertainment space as the channel will be under the Sahara One Media & Entertainment umbrella?
    In that sense, yes. It will be in the non-news space. But we can’t spell out the positioning of the channel at this stage. We are finalising the details.

    There were plans of launching a music channel and Sahara had also initiated talks to buy out Music India. What is the status?
    Launching a music channel is on our agenda. Though people say it is a cluttered and thin-revenue market, we believe the space is growing. There is an opportunity, if the positioning is done well. We are figuring out the positioning of the channel.

    Sahara had announced in late 2004 an investment plan of Rs 15 billion for its media and entertainment business and Percept was put in an operational role. Are you happy with the speed of the progress since then?
    We relaunched our flagship Hindi general entertainment channel and ramped up our movie production business. We also launched a Hindi movie channel called Filmy. Our focus now is to widen our channel offerings.

    How much money Sahara is going to pump in for this?
    We can’t give you the financial details. We’ll announce them early next fiscal.
    ‘In the news channel business, alliances are taking place. But in any case, we are not interested in diluting majority‘

    Is there a move to transfer the broadcast operations of the entertainment channels into Sahara One Media & Entertainment?
    The process is on. We want the entertainment business to be in a single entity.

    Obviously this will enhance the turnover of Sahara One Media & Entertainment. Now the listed entity does not capture the advertising revenues which is with the broadcasting entity. But is it that the past liabilities of Sahara India TV Network, the broadcasting arm, will not be transferred to Sahara One?
    No, we are not transferring the liabilities.

    How do you separate the broadcasting arm of the news channel business?
    The news channel operations, because of the regulations on holdings and other issues, will need to be separate.

    Sahara One was planning to raise up to $50 million through foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs). Are you going ahead with it?
    We have no plans of raising money at this stage.

    Sahara One had diluted 14.98 per cent to Sivasankaran’s Aircel Televentures (later renamed Siva Ventures) for Rs 1.2 billion. BCCL (Times Group holding company Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd) also acquired close to 6 per cent stake in the company. Are there plans to further dilute equity?
    No.

    Sahara had mandated Ernst & Young (E&Y) for offering suggestions to restructure the news channel business. What were the recommendations?
    They were appointed to look into the growth prospects. We appoint consulting firms to get their perspectives.

    Are you looking at diluting equity in the news business?
    There is nothing.

    Are you in talks with investors?
    It is difficult to comment on this. In today’s market, alliances are taking place. But in any case, we are not interested in diluting majority.

    Why did you drop the Sahara name from Samay, your national news network?
    We gave the channel a new look. Besides, we are developing the sub-brands. Having lots of brands with the Sahara tag can be confusing. We did it in Filmy as well. We are maintaining Sahara as a network brand.

     

    Isn’t the Hindi news space getting too cluttered and hurting channels like yours?
    There is a lot of sampling happening at the moment. Our region-centric channels continue to perform well.

    One area where Sahara had a big opportunity but let it slip was the motion pictures business which had several hits at one point of time. What went wrong?
    The movie business doesn’t always give you hits.

    But the movie production business stayed dormant for a long time as there was an exodus in the team?
    There was a gap in between. Film production is futuristic – actors are not always available, nor even directors. But it is not that we lost momentum. We went back to get our plans in place. We will be getting back into it big time in the next fiscal. We will be producing 10 movies in 2008-09, out of which 4-5 will be big budgets and the remaining in the medium range.

    Don’t you think Percept hijacked the motion pictures platform?
    Not really, we are still working with them. We are acquiring movies – so we could be buying from them as well.

    Earlier you did a long-term deal with K Sera Sera where you even took an equity in the company. Are you looking at such deals again?
    We will follow all kinds of business models – producing films ourselves, acquiring, locking directors, co-producing (including international). We will have the studio model. We have a strong team and will also be in film distribution. Besides our own movies, we will also be acquiring for distribution. We are, however, not looking at overseas distribution now. We feel the home turf is an important market.

    What about home video?
    We are not getting into it. Nor will we be launching our music label.

    Sahara has not been going slow on movie acquisitions for satellite TV rights. Why is it so when the other movie channels have been more aggressive?
    Acquisition prices have gone up, but we have brought some big titles like Guru. We have also been buying syndicated content.

    Is it that you believe in syndication of titles rather than acquisition?
    We do both. Though we have introduced programming as well, we realise that movie channels will have to revolve around films.

    Is Filmy in course for its revenue target of Rs 500 million in the year?
    I don’t want to comment on the financials. But we are doing well and reaching our targets.

    What are the plans of beefing up content on Sahara One which seems to be hovering around 60-70 GRPs?
    The market is evolving and we have plans for the channel. In future, the fight in the Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) space will be for slots. We are targeting slots.

    Do you have a strategy for regional channels in the entertainment space?
    We may launch two channels in the regional space. We want to test the regional market. But we don’t plan to grow in every direction.

    What made you launch Firangi and how do you see its growth potential?
    We are looking at the birth of a new genre. In the general offering, it is like a GEC. And it also can be looked at like Star World. Firangi is somewhere in the middle. We can attract audiences from both sides. The content is picked up from across the world, is fresh, contemporary and bold. And its strength is that the stories end in 6-8 months.

    Have you shelved plans to start a film institute?
    We will be in it. We are talking to strategic partners. For location, we are weighing various options including Mumbai.
  • Sahara to transfer broadcasting operations to listed firm

    Sahara to transfer broadcasting operations to listed firm

    MUMBAI: Sahara Group will be transferring the broadcast operations of its entertainment channels to the listed company, Sahara One Media & Entertainment.

    This is part of the commitment made to C Sivasankaran and BCCL (Times Group holding company Bennet Coleman & Co Ltd) when they acquired stakes in Sahara One Media & Entertainment last year, a source familiar with the deal says. While Sivasankaran’s Aircel Televentures (later renamed Siva Ventures) picked up 14.98 per cent for Rs 1.2 billion, BCCL acquired close to 6 per cent stake in the company.
    The broadcast operations are currently under Sahara India TV Network, a division of Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd. “The plan is for the listed company to also have the broadcast operations under it,” says the source.

    The transfer will mean that Sahara One Media & Entertainment will be able to capture the advertising revenues from the two existing channels, Sahara One and Filmy. The company currently earns from the programming it licenses to Sahara India TV Network and from its motion pictures business.

    “Sahara One will be able to capture the full part of the value chain. The entire infrastructure will be under one company,” says the source.

    The cost of running the channels including transponders and carriage fee will, thus, come under Sahara One Media & Entertainment. But there would be no transfer of the assets and liabilities of Sahara India TV Network. “The idea is to start with a clean slate and then build the broadcasting value,” says the source. “Under the current system, Sahara One does not run any commercial risk in the TV business as it produces content and passes it on to the channel on a cost-plus-commission basis,” he adds.

    Sahara’s news channel business also has a separate broadcasting arm and is under Sahara India TV Network (2). Sahara runs six news channels – in the national, regional and city-centric space.

    Meanwhile, the Sahara One Media & Entertainment board has approved raising of resources up to $ 20 million through foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs).

    “This will be used to meet the company’s working capital and content acquisition requirements,” says the source. Earlier, Sahara One had planned to come up with a provision to raise up to $50 million as it was at that stage in talks to acquire an equity in Ten Sports. Later Zee Group bought a 50 per cent stake in the sports channel for $57 million.

  • Zoom surges ahead of the competition

    MUMBAI: Zoom, India’s premier glamour and entertainment news channel from the BCCL stable, has overtaken the competition across 6 Metros among C&S AB 15-44 Yrs audience, and broken into the top 10 viewed channels in the 2nd week of January 2007 as per TAM media research.

    Zoom started the year on a high note with an increase of 63% GRP’s in the 6 metros over the last quarter of 2006. In the Hindi speaking markets (HSM), it has shown a notable increase of 32%. The growth of over 55% among C&S Males SEC AB 25+ (purchase decision makers), is a significant development, which makes it a serious contender across many media plans.

    The growth can be attributed to the improvement in the channel’s placement, across distribution networks nationally supported by intensive marketing efforts and improved content.

    The channel’s move towards the entertainment news format and decidedly Bollywood slant has made it appealing to more and more people. The recently launched movie slot in the evening is garnering better prime time ratings for the channel.