ITV

Tag: Broadcasters

  • Specialised channels: The growing flavour of entertainment

    Specialised channels: The growing flavour of entertainment

    The Indian television industry is poised for a dramatic transformation. 2012 saw significant changes in almost every aspect–increase in channel offerings, high-decibel launches, variety in content, innovative programming formats, renewed interest in the regional market and a range of speciality channels being launched.

    At the same time, delivery technologies have been upgraded, demanding a review of broadcasters’ growth strategies. The defining event for the industry, undoubtedly, was the roll-out of digitisation process in the four metros. Six years ago there was no DTH. Today, DTH and digital cable are transforming the television viewing experience for thousands of Indian households.

    Digitisation will continue to be the game changer for the Indian television industry in 2013 as well, when it expands into 38 more cities in the second phase and beyond. Viewers will not be restricted for choice of content because of capacity constraints in analogue cable. Digital delivery, while providing superior broadcast quality to viewers, will highlight the real value of media brands and their unique offerings.

    Discovery‘s gains in digitisation

    The growing footprint of digitisation is important for Discovery Networks. It gives us the opportunity to offer viewers a complete spectrum of our channels, a wide variety of quality content and the highest possible viewing experience. It is one of the reasons for us expanding our portfolio to eight channels and adding multiple language feeds across brands.

    Our unmatched and robust bouquet of unique content channels–Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Kids, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery HD World, and Discovery Tamil—enjoys immense brand equity and continues to delight viewers with its sheer range of programming.

    Our programmes probe myriad mysteries, explore countries, people and cultures, celebrate scientific, engineering and medical breakthroughs from around the world and delve into thought-provoking subjects to gain insights into some of the most fascinating subjects. We have been the market leader in introducing unique channels globally and in India such as Factual, Lifestyle, Auto, Wildlife, Science, Animation and High Definition. With the launch of Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery HD World, Discovery Channel Tamil, and most recently Discovery Kids, we’ve even pioneered new genres in television programming.

    Importantly, the immense affinity to our networks has proven that viewers, when offered choice, will prefer well-defined, entertaining and high-quality content. All these channels have created new and distinct viewer groups. Others in the industry have also responded to this consumer trend by launching multiple channels across categories. In an emerging digital environment, this ability to innovate will be a crucial determinant of value for media brands.

    Digitisation to broaden scope of TV viewership

    Going forward, digitisation is bound to broaden the scope of television viewership. The growth in television audience population representing varied interests, languages and disparate content preferences has led to audience segmentation. This, in turn, is encouraging broadcasters to launch new and differentiated channels and innovative packaging.

    Post digitisation, it will be a different game plan for advertisers to reach their consumers. For advertisers who are continuously looking to reach out to their unique target group, digitisation allows them to customise their delivery according to content platforms, viewer demographics and distribution reach of channels.

    The new breed of Indian TV viewers seeks programmes dealing with information and experiences that have a direct bearing on their lives and lifestyle. They want insights into the world that they live, work and travel in just as much as they crave to see themselves through global points of view. Evidently, no single channel can hope to be a one-stop shop for entertainment anymore. Only those channels that have a distinct proposition will thrive in this new order, and emerge as the most-preferred destinations for viewers, advertisers and affiliates alike.

    Once digitisation is complete, we will enter into a pay-per-use scenario where television viewers can choose from among multiple options of specialised content according to their preferences. We foresaw this trend much ahead of others, and launched TLC in 2004, as we believed DTH will be a significant step in empowering viewers to demand content of their choice. The success of TLC fuelled our decision to launch more specialised channels like Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo. Our high-definition offering, Discovery HD World continues to woo viewers and the trade alike with its breathtaking content. Discovery Kids, our latest and 8th network offering, has already ignited the imagination of millions of kids across India.

    We believe that the pay-TV model will be dominant for years to come and will change the television landscape for everyone’s benefit.

  • Dish CEO takes a dig at broadcasters, introduces upgraded DVR service

    Dish CEO takes a dig at broadcasters, introduces upgraded DVR service

    MUMBAI: Despite criticism from broadcasters, satellite television service provider Dish Network has gone ahead and upgraded its ad skipping Hopper DVR system.

    Unveiling the upgraded Hopper DVR System at the Consumer Electronics Show, Dish CEO Joe Clayton claimed that the new system includes a built-in Slingbox that will allow consumers to view content on mobile devices without any extra cost.

    The upgraded version of Hopper includes features such as Sling to compliment AutoHop. Dish subscribers can stream live and recorded shows across other platforms, both in and outside the home.

    Justifying the satcaster‘s ad-skipping DVR system which has come under fire from broadcasters, he said skipping television commercials doesn‘t amount to breaking a law as the broadcasters would like people to believe.

    "Broadcasters would have you all believe that American consumers are breaking the law," Clayton told reporters at a press meet.

    Further taking a jibe at broadcasters, he added, "If bypassing commercials is illegal, I guess we‘re all a nation of outlaws according to the major broadcast networks."

    Broadcasters had last year sued Dish for the AutoHop feature of its DVR. The suit is still pending. Notwithstanding the pressure from broadcasters, Clayton encouraged other service providers to follow Dish‘s lead of introducing ad-free service.

    He also pointed out that it was important for service providers to keep the programming costs under check as the consumers are still not ready to spend more for accessing video content.

    "While unsettling to our customers and employees, this is sometimes necessary to slow the spiraling programming costs," he said. "We, as an industry, are rapidly approaching a tipping point: how many consumers are going to spend $100 per month for video content? I don‘t know, but we‘ll soon see."

  • ‘Max will see 15-20% ad growth this year’ : Executive Vice-President and Business Head of Max and Sony Mix Neeraj Vyas

    ‘Max will see 15-20% ad growth this year’ : Executive Vice-President and Business Head of Max and Sony Mix Neeraj Vyas

     

    Neeraj Vyas, the Executive Vice-President and Business Head of Max and Sony Mix, is excited with the way the year went for Max, the Hindi movie channel from Multi Screen Media (MSM) stable.

     

    As the head of Max and Mix, Vyas has two challenges before him. The first is to take Max to the top position. The channel‘s strategy will be to acquire as many blockbuster movies as possible but at the same time remain judicious with the acquisition prices.

     

    The second challenge for Vyas is to grow Sony Mix, the music channel that was launched last year to widen the bouquet. The key for Mix, which operates in a tough genre, is to differentiate itself from other music channels through its programme offering while at the same time control costs to become viable.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Javed Farooqui and Urvi Malvania, Vyas shares his thoughts about the two channels and the way forward.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    Has the rise of Star Gold and the launch of its sibling channel affected the existing movie channels?
    Strictly from the ratings point of view, barring the first two months and post the IPL, it has been good for us. If you look at the ratings that were available three weeks back for the first 8-9 weeks, there is very little difference between the three of us – Star Gold, Zee Cinema, and Max. We have also had a successful movie acquisition year.

     

    How dependent is Max on big-ticket movie acquisitions as it has a premium positioning?
    Movie channels are completely driven by the library they have. Max has managed to have a premium image. It‘s completely by design and not by default because it‘s the way we want the channel and it‘s the way we present the channel. It‘s everything that you see on-air — the entire movie experience and our packaging. We want to set ourselves apart from others and hence did Extra Shots last year, a property where you get your trivia during the break and also put that into a half-an-hour show. This year we did something called Dirty Khabar.

     

    Does the premium positioning help Max get higher ad rates?
    It has helped us to extract premium from the advertisers. There are a lot of lifestyle brands, a lot of brands that are very conscious of the kind of environment they are seen in from an imagery point of view. If the advertisers have a choice between two or more channels, then Max will always be preferred.

     

    Did the ad slowdown have an impact on Max‘s revenues?
    There was no ad slowdown. In fact, we will see at least 15-20 per cent growth this year. The ad market for Hindi movie genre is a little under Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion).

     

    ‘The music genre accounts for about Rs 4 bn and is growing at 15% annually mainly due to new channel launches. We have set a 3- year period to break even‘

     
    What is driving this growth?
    There is money in the market, brands are being launched, and there are marketing activities. So there is no slowdown in my opinion. It (the slowdown) was a myth that was being created. At least till November or probably mid-December, we are tight on our inventory and are completely sold out.

     

    But there are broadcasters who have felt the pinch of ad slowdown?
    You tell me which broadcaster has slowed down in terms of content. Has anybody pulled back any shows? Despite no ratings, every GEC is going ahead with their biggest shows. There are two-three reality shows running on all the channels which are hugely expensive properties to produce. GECs are doing one-hour specials of their fiction shows and movie channels like us are marketing and putting more blockbusters on-air. Why would people do all these things if there was no money in the market? Give me a reason. I think the same people (who talk about a slowdown) need to answer this question.

     

    After a lull last year, has there been a spate of movie acquisitions this year?
    Yes, there was a lull. The way it (acquisition) works is if I have to acquire a film, I have to do it a good year-and-a-half before the film is released. If a producer doesn‘t get the price he wants, he waits for the box office performance of his film. Depending on the success or failure of the film, the price gets decided. The trend these days is strange as you have to acquire movies upfront. It sometimes works for you and sometimes it doesn‘t, so you have to be judicious.

     

    Has there been a price correction in acquiring movies?
    Unfortunately, what happens is that this industry is driven only by seven to eight stars. Unless we have more stars it will continue to be dominated by these 7-8 stars and it‘s essentially these men who lead the prices — the Khans, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Ranbir Kapoor. If the price is going to be determined by these 7-8 stars, then their films will be sold at a premium.

     

    But a large number of movies go unsold?
    That is because the films of only these 7-8 guys get the ratings. For example, a film like Vicky Donor was liked by many but on television it won‘t get you a rating of even 1.5 TVR. Ratings for most GECs and time spent for channels like us come from the interiors of the country and the audience in the interiors is for films like Singham and Rowdy Rathore. That‘s the reality.

     

    Do you think acquiring movies on the basis of box office success is the criteria to follow?
    Honestly, that can be misleading. For example, Barfi is a brilliant film but put it on TV… probably it will get a rating of 2-3 TVR in the first airing, but it‘s not a movie that will get sustained ratings. Movie channels have a different model. When a film airs on television 10 times a year it has to give a certain yield and it has to give certain GRPs. As I said, the viewership comes from the interior.

     

    Zee walked out of the Barfi deal because at such high price point the monetisation becomes impossible. A correction is needed. It‘s a no-brainer. Zee‘s refusal to acquire Barfi rights was a step in the right direction. It also serves as a wake-up call for the producers or the corporates producing high-budget films. They have to get the pricing right irrespective of the box office collection because that is not connected to the success of the film on TV.

     

    Many networks have also experimented by premiering movies on GECs rather than the movie channel?
    That is a calculated gamble. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn‘t. It‘s a high-risk game because the price points of both the genres are hugely different. A GEC would trade at a certain level. Unfortunately movie channels have been under-priced since the beginning. By the time we start doing corrections, it is going to take time. The kind of money we recover on GECs will be far higher than on a movie channel. The yield is higher on GEC which is why we as an organisation have taken a decision to air certain movies like Paan Singh Tomar on Max but movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Rowdy Rathore will always be on Sony from a monetary point of view and its working for us. Once Sony has its one or two runs, it comes to Max and it really doesn‘t make a difference. What this does is safeguard our revenues and we manage our ratings better.

     

    How long does it take for a broadcaster to recover costs?
    For us it probably takes a little lesser time because we premiere on Sony. Our recovery is higher. It takes anywhere between two to three years to recover the costs. We acquire movies for a minimum of five years. We have a library of 800 movies and all of them are exclusive.

     

    Next year, IPL won‘t be there on Max since it will move to Sony Six. So what is your strategy going to be?
    We are a Hindi movie channel and we are happy that IPL is moving out. IPL moving out is a blessing for Max since we will get an opportunity to do a lot of things in the Bollywood space.

     

    Most Hindi movie channels also have dubbed content. How is it working?
    Almost 25-30 per cent of the content is dubbed and it is working. The prices of dubbed movies have also gone up although I can‘t give a number. The dubbed content adds variety to the channel. People in UP and MP don‘t know the actors but they love the action. Most of the South Indian films are in the realm of vendetta, revenge, high octane action, family values and so on. These are qualities that fit very well with the sensibilities of the heartland. Indian movies are Indian movies. People might look different but the basic ethos will always remain the same. The trend in Bollywood is that every big film that is going to come will be a remake of some or the other Southern language film. Everyone has acquired remake rights whether it is Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar or Aamir Khan.

     

    What implications will digitisation have on the genre?
    We are governed by the reality of libraries that we own. We will be able to run a large number of movies that we have not telecast. Hopefully, we will also get the opportunity to reach out to slightly more premium audiences. Also films like Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi, Rocket Singh and Saawariya which are rotting in our library will be able to see the light of the day.

     

    Coming to Sony Mix, how do you differentiate the channel from the other players in the genre?
    We decided to be a channel that is musical and understands the mood of the people. Our programming corresponds to the time of the day. So we have Surili Subah in the morning, Ishq Vishq in the afternoon, Mix Adda in the evening right up to Raina Beeti Jaaye, which is the slot for the retro songs. The promise of the channel is that we understand viewer‘s mood at different times of the day. We also went ahead and bought more music than anybody else simply because we wanted variety. So when other channels were playing the free plays and the new music launches, we went ahead and did deals with Yash Raj and Sony Music.

     

    What about your original content?
    We have a property called Mix Solos which has singers like Javed Ali, Roop Kumar Rathod and Shafqat Amanat Ali doing acoustic solos for the channel between songs. Then we have something called Mix Tippani where the channel suggests which song to listen to in which situation. We also have a show called Picture Abhi Baki hai. Here we take bytes from the actors, directors, music composers, singers etc — all with focus on the music and nothing else. It is like a sneak peak with focus on the music of the movie.

     

    These are the things that set us apart and we want to continue doing them. We want to do Harmony again which was on Sony 10 years back. We would love to revive that and have a show that has pure unplugged music. We also had a show “Yun Bana Yeh Song” with Swanand Kirkire where he explained how a song was made and took the viewers through the journey of the song. We have also brought back a lot of videos from the 90s that were huge back then. You see, you have to have a Mix of music for a music channel to be called a music channel.

     

    What is your primary TG? And what was your strategy when you launched Mix?
    Our primary TG is 15-24 age group, while our secondary TG is the 25-34 age group. We would never dilute our focus on the secondary TG. We firmly believe that you can‘t just cater to the youth which is why we have a Raina Beeti Jaaye at night. Music transcends age and we are going against the grain and not doing what everyone else is doing in the genre. Our belief is that it will pay off with digitisation and people wanting to make a choice.

     

    How tough is it to sustain a Hindi music channel?
    If you control your costs, then it is viable to have a music channel. But it is a tough game. We make use of our synergies with Sony Music and YRF. The challenge lies in how you programme your day as everyone has the same content in this genre. The brick of three songs before you go into an ad has to be so strong that it appeals to the audience.

     

    How is the revenue split between distribution and advertising?
    Distribution is negligible as a source of revenue right now. It‘s completely dependent on ad revenue. We have a wide range of advertisers come to us due to our programming. We have a broad base of viewers and though we are packaged as young and happy, our appeal is across age groups. You have to build the proposition based on the core values. The music genre accounts for about Rs 4 billion and is growing at 15 per cent annually mainly due to new channel launches. We have set a three-year period to break even.

  • Digitisation: Broadcasters not ready to rework ad deals

    MUMBAI: Broadcasters and the media agencies representing advertisers will soon lock horns over commercial deals as India‘s four metros move to digital cable TV from 1 November.

    An uneasy calm is already prevailing as the top multi-system operators (MSOs) have switched off English movie channels in Mumbai and Delhi on analogue cable from 10 October, the two prime ad markets. Next to follow is Hindi movie channels from 15th, news channels from 18th and Hindi GECs from 22nd of October.

    More real sense of the pain is to come for advertisers and media agencies nearly three weeks after and it can hurt or be a mild irritation depending on the number of consumers who stay without the digital set-top boxes (STBs) in their homes. The problem of television viewer dropouts in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai becomes more sensitive in a high-spending festive season quarter during an ad slowdown year.

    In this interim transition, broadcasters do not want their commercial deals with advertisers to be reworked. Their logic: the gain will be for the whole industry and everybody has to join in making this sacrifice in order to feast later.

    “Our festive ad deals are locked. We are not ready to rework the commercial terms. The IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) is taking up the issue on behalf of the broadcasters,” says Zee Entertainment Enterprise chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal.

    The media agencies, on the other hand, are wanting to cut short term advertising deals reflecting rate revisions

    based on the extent of STB penetration. Says Havas Media India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar, “This has been a year of reduced ad spends and basically a slowdown year. Now there is uncertainty about the reach of the channels in the metros. The deals will have to be re-packaged.”

    A part of that duel will be decided on Monday when the IBF, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertises (ISA) meet TV measurement ratings agency TAM.

    The broadcasters are insisting on a “viewership data dark period” to smoothen the process of transition to sort out temporary disruptions and avoid a panic situation. An indirect implication of this: advertising deals can’t be renegotiated as there will be no benchmark data on ratings of TV shows or channels.

    Media agencies are taking the opposite course to achieve what the broadcasters are out to prevent. They want ratings so that the reality surfaces and every stakeholder knows to what extent digitisation has succeeded. A tussle can, however, be avoided if the government directs TAM to stop reporting about TV viewership data for a short period, allowing the industry to settle down to digitisation.

    Multi Screen Media president network ad sales and telephony Rohit Gupta reflects the aggressive mood that runs through the broadcasting community. “No broadcaster is going to rework the deals. The IBF and the NBA (News Broadcasters Association) are working together on this. The DTH has added over 25 million net subscribers and we haven’t got anything extra for this from the advertisers. There is no reason for us to take a cut,” he avers.

    Media agencies have already started making their demands. Sehgal admits that some requests have come asking for rate revisions but no discussions have followed. “We haven’t done any negotiations on rate cuts. Even in our annual deals we haven’t factored digitisation at all.”

    So will that mean a part of Zee’s ad inventory will go empty? “Our inventory is sold out for the festive season. Even the big-ticket properties like Saregama have no inventory left. For the network, we have locked in most of our deals,” says Sehgal.

    Smaller networks may not be in that lucky state and may have factored in digitisation in their ad deals with media agencies. Says
    9X Media chief revenue officer Pawan Jailkhani, “The date of digitisation has been decided months back. Advertisers have factored all of this while doing festival and non festivals deals. They take utmost care to safeguard their interests and they know it is not going to affect much as the blackout will be miniscule.”

    Most of the sports channels may consider themselves lucky that they do not have any big sporting event coming up during that early digitisation period and, thus, their revenues will not be affected adversely. “It is an interesting period that the industry is entering into. Nobody knows what the short term impact will be. There could be an ad softening in the festive quarter if only there is a major drop in TV viewership. But if the cable empty homes convert to digital cable within a brief period, then there will be a miniscule impact,” says a media analyst.

    Also read:

    Advertisers want deals to reflect digitisation gaps

  • Broadcasters get breathing space as Tdsat stays Trai’s ad cap rule

    Broadcasters get breathing space as Tdsat stays Trai’s ad cap rule

    MUMBAI: Broadcasters have earned a five-week vacation from the upsetting regulation of limiting ad time on their networks, as Tdsat has stayed the Trai notification till the hearing comes up on 17 July.

    For a while, broadcasters will at least not have their ad revenues hanging by a thread, its future determined by a 12-minute ad cap per hour fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Stressed by a slowdown in the ad economy and anxious about the implementation of cable TV digitisation, the least they want to do is cut down on commercial time and take up the troublesome task of upping advertising rates.

    True, none of the broadcasters are willing to obey the Trai order as they feel that the broadcast watchdog is overreaching its powers by regulating TV ad time.

    Still, the Tdsat’s stay order comes as a major source of relief at a time when the least that the media industry wants is more headaches.

    “We got a stay from the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) today. The hearing is due mid-July,” says Star India chief executive officer Uday Shankar.

    News broadcasters have horrible woes. If there is a way for them to wriggle out of the mess that they have themselves created by coughing out high distribution costs, cutting ad rates amidst competition amongst themselves and living under high staff costs, it is by giving more commercial time to advertisers.

    Hindi TV news, the most fragmented of the lot, dedicates on an average 20-24 minutes of ad time per hour. Even with this abundant supply, news broadcasters find their ad revenues crawling at below 10-per cent growth and their profitability under attack.

    Zee News Ltd (ZNL) chose a different path to tread this year, cutting the commercial time of its flagship Hindi news channel, Zee News, by 30 per cent while upping the ad rates by 40 per cent. However, the ‘Maximum News, Minimum Break‘ journey from 2 April has been a bumpy one.

    “The ratings have not seen much impact. And we have ended up producing more content. Perhaps, this experiment needs more time to yield results. We will wait for a couple of quarters more before we take a call on whether we want to go back to our old route,” says Zee News Ltd chief executive Barun Das.

    Let‘s not forget that Zee News’ slash in ad time of eight minutes for every half-hour slot is still above the ceiling of Trai’s prescription of 12 minutes of commercial time per clock hour. So imagine the misery news broadcasters will be in if they have to swallow Trai‘s medicine!

    In the tangled financial problems that the news broadcasters face, it is the timing of Trai’s regulation that comes under question. News channels need more time to weed out the ad inventory flab that they have created due to economic compulsions, much to the irritation of the TV audiences.

    Says TV Today Network CEO Joy Chakraborthy, “Trai’s so-called radical step would jeopardise the business models of news channels. Less ad time would mean more content costs. Besides, scaling back on ad inventory by 40 per cent (from our average of 20 minutes per hour to 12 minutes) would mean demand outstripping supply and, hence, higher costs. This will discourage small and local advertisers, who form a fair bulk of clients for news channels, to come on board. These steps suggested by Trai should come when the digitisation rollout is complete. We can’t fight on all fronts.”

    The ad time on news channels varies from month to month.TV Today Network, for instance, offered 22 minutes of commercial time per hour in March. This came down to 18 minutes in April.

    News and sports broadcasters consider another regulation by Trai as retrograde at this stage of maturity: the ban on part-screen and drop-down advertisements.

    “We use scrolls on a positive sense. For Olympics, we, for instance, will run scrolls. We earn Rs 120-140 million from the part-screen and drop-down ads,” says Chakraborthy.

    Trai’s ad regulation will also pinch hard the sports broadcasters. According to the broadcast regulator’s prescription, the ads during live broadcast of a sporting event should be only during the breaks in the sporting action.

    A clock hour measurement system, however, does not suit this genre of channels as live content is seasonal and limited to a specific period.

    Entertainment TV networks have also objected against the capping of ad duration on their channels.

    “It looks like Trai is linking digitisation to shrinkage of advertisement space. There is no logic in this and it is very untimely,” says the head of a broadcasting company on condition of anonymity.

    Trai’s control in ad diet is something that TV viewers would, indeed, love to have. Broadcasters, however, feel that the best route to maturity is self-regulation in content and ad inventory management.

    “Trai’s order is ridiculous. It is like putting the camel’s nose in the tent. Every independent player should decide on what course of action to take. Market forces know best how to play the balancing role,” says Times Television Network MD and CEO Sunil Lulla.

  • ‘For strong ROI in India’s TV biz, price controls must go’ : Fox International Channels president & CEO Hernan Lopez

    ‘For strong ROI in India’s TV biz, price controls must go’ : Fox International Channels president & CEO Hernan Lopez

    Price controls are limiting the revenue growth for broadcasters in India as they earn net income of $700 million from subscription after paying out carriage fees of $400 million. Investments in programming are muted and, as a result, India is not able to export television formats and finished content while software, music and animation is travelling overseas.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Ashwin Pinto, Fox International channels president, CEO Hernan Lopex says price controls have to go if the industry is to see strong ROI. He also talks about the company‘s growth plans worldwide.

     

    Excerpts:

    Q. Do you see India‘s television broadcasting industry growing at the right pace?
    Broadcasters in India earn net income of $700 million from subscription after paying out carriage fees of $400 million. This is holding back investments in programming. India, as a result, is not able to export television formats and finished content while software, music and animation is travelling overseas. If the industry is to see strong ROI which would encourage greater investments in programming, then price controls must go.

    Q. What you are suggesting is that pay-revenues should scale up. What is the ideal revenue mix between subscription and advertising revenues?
    It should be in equal ratio, which is what it is in the US. But in India it is heavily skewed towards advertising. Broadcasters generate $2.6 billion a year in advertising. Subscription income is dismally low in comparison.

     

    Relative to the size of the Indian economy as measured by GDP, this is only 0.04 per cent, and this ratio keeps declining. By contrast, in Colombia, a country with 1/25th of the population, broadcasters get over $200 million in subscriber fees. That is equivalent to 0.07 per cent of the GDP in Colombia, and that ratio keeps rising – partially due to the efforts that Colombia is doing to fight content theft and subscriber under-declaration.

    Q. So India should learn from Colombia and allow its content industry to flourish?
    Price controls lead to creative shackles. At Fox we buy formats and content from different markets, but India is not there. This is surely not due to lack of talent, ambition and vision.

     

    In Colombia a TV episode costs $150,000 compared to India where an episode costs around $20,000. The turnaround there was the emphasis on creating a dual revenue stream. New channels were launched for underserved audiences. Consumers also wanted content in Spanish and Portugese.

     

    That is because Colombia has a strong system of TV production, has great writers, animators, actors and the country also fights strongly against piracy. In India under declaration, along with controls, means that the broadcasters are getting squeezed.

     

    Q. But ARPUs (average revenue per subscriber) are low in India. How do you make consumers pay more for quality content?
    When consumers see that spending more money results in better content, then they will be happy to pay more. In some markets, initially consumers thought that cable and satellite services were not worth paying for. But as more options were added, they realised that they were getting value. I am looking forward to a time when my children, when searching for content, find choices that come out of India. I am keen on buying Indian formats that can be shown elsewhere.
    ‘We have seen double-digit growth year-on-year. We run a profitable business in India that is based on strong fundamentals with dual revenue streams of affiliate and advertising‘

    Q. So you are not happy with FIC‘s growth in India?
    We have seen double-digit growth year-on-year. We run a profitable business that is based on strong fundamentals with dual revenue streams of affiliate and advertising, which are both showing a steady upward trend. Currently, we have six of our channels in the Documentary and Lifestyle space in India.

    Q. As a market how is India different from the rest of Asia in terms of challenges and opportunities?
    We run our channels in over 100 countries around the globe. While there are big similarities across markets, each has some of its own peculiarities and challenges. I think that the challenge of scarce bandwidth for channels coupled with price control and carriage fees put a limit on the revenue potential. However, India is a land of huge opportunity and with mandatory digitisation in the Metros slated to kick off in 2012, we believe that a very bright future is ahead.

    Q. With digitisation set to take off in India, do you see the carriage fee structure being rationalised based on the experience in other markets or will disputes happen with big operators like what happened in the US with Comcast?
    We believe that digitisation will help all the stakeholders in the business to realise the true value – Last Mile Operators, MSOs and broadcasters.

     

    There will be teething issues like in any new technology, but market forces will aid the stakeholders in arriving at an understanding.

    Q. News Corp restructured the Fox Networks Group last year. What was the aim and how did this impact Fox International Channels?
    The goal was to foster stronger cooperation between various units. As a result, Fox International Channels has strengthened its ties with the US networks in entertainment, factual and sports.

    Q. Aren‘t you looking at doubling operating profit and reaching $1 billion by 2015? 
    The gameplan is very simple: to continue to deliver to platforms, advertisers and viewers a portfolio of must-have brands.

     

    This is what we call “brands with fans” – and get a fair share of wallet for it. In order to do that, we are investing more in content (both global and local), marketing and our teams.

    Q. How much revenue does Fox International Channels contribute to News Corp’s TV business and what growth has been experienced year on year?
    In FY‘11, we made a little over $1.5 billion in revenues and we‘re growing at double-digit rates.

    Q. How do you split up the global market into regions and which are your three biggest markets globally?
    We run Latin America and US Hispanic; Italy and Germany; the rest of Europe and Africa; and the Asia/Pacific/Middle East. We don‘t disclose the ranking at the country level.

    Q. Globally what is the split between subscription and ad sales and which area do you see growing faster?
    About two-third of our revenues come from subscription, with the balance coming from advertising, syndication, and other fees. We strive to make all revenue sources grow at the same rate.

    Q. Pay TV you have said is turning from a “nice to have” to “must have” service. How is this changing the dynamics of your business?
    Whereas in the past we programmed primarily shows produced in the US, we are now broadening the scope of our lineup. The aim is to include more local shows, as well as different genres.

    Q. What challenges is the current economic slowdown posing?
    In a handful of cycles we‘ve seen ad revenues decline, but overall our profits continue to increase.

    Q. Has Fox International Channels done recent research to find out what consumers globally want and how they view your brands?
    We are indeed finalising a brand audit in 10 countries as we speak.

    Q. Digitisation globally is allowing FIC to have more specialised offerings in genres like Crime. How has their offtake been?
    Very positive! Fox Crime, for instance, is the number one channel in Italy, surpassing even Fox.

    Q. Are there any genres that are currently underserved globally? If so, how do you plan to service them?
    Our portfolio globally includes entertainment, sports, factual and lifestyle – we‘re quite content with it.

    Q. What role does sports play in your portfolio as it is a challenge to control costs given the intense competition for rights?
    Sports is the ultimate must-have content. But because of it, there is intense competition for rights.

     

    We simply must be disciplined in our approach, but we have the benefit of a wide portfolio of channels – includingentertainment channels – that can both contribute to and benefit from having sports in the portfolio.

    Q. Globally, how has FIC expanded?
    These are exciting times! We now have 1.1 billion cumulative subscribers, and have a presence in 57 offices. I have been to 40 of them.

     

    We have added Fox Sports to our portfolio in Latin America, and continue to increase ratings at the National Geographic Channels. And yet there is still so much more to be done.

    Q. How difficult is China due to government regulation?
    We have a small but profitable business in China.

    Q. New media is growing globally. Are you launching channels for the mobile and Internet?
    We are launching mobile extensions of our TV brands, like the Fox Movies Premium Player in Asia.

    Q. How is Fox International Channels leveraging high definition?
    My goal is to launch nearly every TV channel from now on simultaneously on HD and SD.
  • “International business is growth area for players with long-term plans”

    “International business is growth area for players with long-term plans”

    The global slowdown in 2011 has made it clear for Indian broadcasters to have a long term strategy, exploit new media, study local content consumption patterns and have a pricing that is reasonable rather than getting engaged in a race to the bottom.

    Indian broadcasters have similar growth opportunities in the international market as they have in India, though the challenges are of different nature.

    Historically, large parts of international business for Indian broadcasters are dependent on subscription revenues and long term contracts. Having secured these long term contracts, Indian broadcasters generally do little to grow their shares.

    Subscription business, unlike advertising business worldwide, is not measured on transparent measurement parameter. Hence B2B deals are conducted on the basis of gut, perception or portfolio leverages. Most of these tend to be highly uncertain and unpredictable. The lack of effective measurement also leads to gut-based theories of local programming or additional programming inputs.

    Another key element in building a sound foundation is to invest in brand building and, hence, create an emotional connect.

    The triggers and hooks for content consumption need not be same for the audience based out of India or in some remote corner of the world. Unless Indian broadcasters draw a long term plan in strategy for international business, they would never get a pulse of overseas South Asian consumers.

    Economic slowdowns in various markets make the scenario more complex for broadcasters in wooing consumers and for consumers in selecting content offerings at right price/value. It will also be important for the Indian broadcasters to use new media avenues optimally.

    Given the fact that Internet and OTT models are getting used more as tools for piracy and cheap distribution, it can pose serious threat to the distribution revenues. If used well especially in markets with higher broadband penetration, new medium can work best to get incremental subscribers and eyeballs including the younger audience and next generation Indians in those markets.

    Distributors are facing bigger challenges in mainstream content or local subscriber growth as well as local content costs. In most markets, essentially in West, there is a proliferation of South Asian content in the past four years, most of which are not growing the pie because of poor content quality and incorrect business models.

    Distributors are left with no choice but to apply their judgments on how to manage international/ethnic category of business. Distributors are desperately looking forward to good partners who can participate in the business growth in a given cluttered and economically challenged environment.

    In order to crack growth, broadcasters need to pay closer attention to the purchasing power of South Asian households being superior to local households in most international markets. However, consumers would expect right content on right platform at right price with least diversions of piracy, cheaper new media platform, FTA or compelling Asians based content on mainstream channels.

    Rationalisation of content offerings on traditional media and consolidation of content offerings are key levers to expand the market.

    Advertising business is suffering before growing, as majority of players, including big ones, do not respect the value of their inventory, and the quality of their audiences. South Asian subscribers are of various generations and have varied interests including mainstream content. However, they are loyal to home grown content for connect and nostalgia apart from entertainment in their desi style.

    There is a component of audience base which is born there and does not have emotional connect with India. The composition of these set of audiences is changing rapidly and a good judgment can help broadcasters define their content strategy appropriately.

    The scenario in local audience market offers unique challenges. There are content hungry markets which find eastern culture and values appealing, but those businesses need to be treated in the same fashion as the mainstream business in India in order to make a definitive dent in those markets rather than looking at them as incremental syndication revenues. These markets require tenacious focus, long drawn plans and tremendous hard work.

    International business is well poised for growth but only for serious and long term players who are willing to invest and reap the benefit over a long period of time than in ATM solutions.

  • Testing time for sports broadcasters

    Testing time for sports broadcasters

    2010 was a year for sports where there was as much action off the field as on it. The two mega events, the Indian Premier League and the Commonwealth Games, were marred with controversies. And yet, like strong teams that recover fast, the genre raked in around Rs 15 billion of advertising income.

    The IPL, battered by allegations of financial irregularities, match-fixing and the infamous exit of Lalit Modi, seems to have survived the storm. Starting on a promising note as Sahara and Rendezvous Group entered the IPL ring with winning bids of over $300 million, the valuations got progressively mauled amidst the controversies. Though the dust has still to settle, the encouraging fact is that the spectator interest is riding high.
     
    Multi Screen Media, the official broadcaster of cricket‘s hottest property, is looking at an ad revenue of Rs 10 billion upwards from the fourth edition of the IPL that kicks off on 12 March 2011.

    The franchises, on the other hand, will have to take the rough road. While revenue growth is under pressure, the break even period is getting stretched. Worse, equity deals will be hard to consummate.

    That leads us to the second controversy of the year. The Commonwealth Games, assaulted by scams, disappointed terribly on the revenue front. Prasar Bharati, which had set itself a target of Rs 1 billion, ended up with a meagre Rs 581 million.

    Apart from the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, the third event that did not do well on the ad revenue front was the Champions Twenty20 League. ESPN Star Sports (ESS) marketed the event and did improve on the past performance but the acquisition price still stays imbalanced with the revenue generation.

    ESS did better for some of the other properties including the soccer World Cup. According to industry estimates, ESS collected Rs 1.2 billion from the World Cup.

    Sports broadcasters are creating a family of channels that would help up their revenues. The most obvious formula is to have a dedicated cricket channel, the most popular sporting content in the country. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) launched Ten Cricket and rebranded Zee Sports as a soccer-focussed channel. Ten Sports is positioned as a multi-sports channel while a golf channel is on the anvil.

    On the sports marketing front, IMG and Reliance Industries floated a joint venture to build alternate sports. The first to grab their attention is basketball as they entered into a 30-year deal with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). It is looking at creating a basketball league three to five years down the line.

    The joint entity is also looking at developing football. The company bagged a 15-year sponsorship deal with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for Rs 7 billion.

    The challenge for sports broadcasters in 2011 is to build profitable business models amid high acquisition costs.
     

  • ‘Our focus in 2009 will be to maintain profitability and not get into adventurous ventures’ : Bharat Ranga – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. COO international operations

    ‘Our focus in 2009 will be to maintain profitability and not get into adventurous ventures’ : Bharat Ranga – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. COO international operations

     

    A sliding global economy has turned up the heat on the international businesses of the Hindi content broadcasters.

     

    In 2008, Zee group stretched its wings in Russia while deepening its presence through the launch of Veria (the natural wellness channel is part of the Essel Group initiative) and Aflam (a Hindi movie channel with subtitles in Arabic) in the US and the Middle East respectively. Riding on a bull market, the group also launched a radio business in the UK.

     

    The 2009 landscape will be far different, more punitive, and starkly grim. Delinquent ventures will be avoided and risky bets put on hold.

     

    Zee Sports, thus, will not travel to other countries as the RoI (return on investments) just does not work out. In the US, it was launched as Zee Sports America because a partnership was hatched with EchoStar.

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) will make efforts to guard turf in its two main markets – UK and the US – which make up 70 per cent of its total international revenues.

     

    With around one-fourth of its revenues coming from its international business, Zeel’s drive will be to maximise revenue opportunities from each market.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Zeel COO international operations Bharat Ranga talks about the need to value content appropriately, keep away from reckless expansion, and be tough on costs.

     

    Excerpts:

    Zee took several initatives to expand its global presence in 2008 like tapping the Russian market and launching channels in the Middle East and the US. Will the global downturn force a more conservative strategy in 2009?
    Our focus in 2009 will be to maintain our profitability and not get into adventurous ventures. In these uncertain times, it is important to maintain stability. It is better to hold on to your growth plans than to expand recklessly in this market. We will have to be tough on our costs without compromising the value of our product.

    Will there be a drive to take Zee Sports to other markets after launching the sports channel in the US?
    We launched Zee Sports in the US in partnership with EchoStar. We work along with EchoStar on that brand. For launching in other markets, we feel that the RoI (return on investments) is not there at this stage.

    Will there be more subscriber churn and slowdown in Zee’s two main international markets, UK and the US?
    The global economic turmoil is bound to have an impact on these two markets, which make up around 70 per cent of Zee’s total international revenues. But growth in the US will be faster than in UK.
    ‘Zee treats its international biz as a SBU. The irony is that the South Asian players have not valued their content appropriately. Hence, the revenue potential remains untapped‘

    Why?
    UK is a tougher market because not all South Asian content is pay. This is not the case in the US. We, however, are pay in the UK and have five channels in that market – Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Alpha ETC Punjabi, Zee Gujarati and Zee Muzic. We have a subscriber base of 200,000, but it is growing slower. The yield, however, is higher and we are priced at 13 pounds a month for two channels. For each additional channel, we charge 5 pounds a month.

    Have you priced yourself lower in the US?
    No. But unlike UK, we are not retailing ourselves. We are part of EchoStar and other cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner. We enjoy a revenue share with them.

     

    One of our group initiatives to expand in that market was the launch of Veria, a natural wellness channel, last year. It is a very premium and growing segment and we are bullish about the channel’s growth. We do not have Zee Muzic in that market. Our subscriber base in Americas is close to a million.

    How far has Zee progressed in cracking the Chinese wall?
    We have applied for landing rights and are waiting for approval for over a year. We hope to get the permission soon. China is a very complicated market to crack and it is important to have a very clear business model in place. Many international media companies have invested billions of dollars in that market, but not gained much. We have taken a cautious approach and, meanwhile, have started a syndication buiness there. Foreign content syndication itself is tough as there are more rules stating why not to buy such content than why there is need for it. For us at Zee, China remains a romantic thought at this stage.

    Even Russia is considered to be a very difficult market, as Disney found out recently when it did not get the nod for taking a 49 per cent stake in a joint venture with local firm Media-One Holdings. What has been your experience so far?
    Russia is a cheap pay TV and advertising market. We launched Zee Russia last year, but the channel hasn’t taken off the way we expected. It is a pay channel with Indian content dubbed in Russian. We are at a nascent stage but, like China, it is an initiative for the future.
    ‘We launched Zee Sports in the US in partnership with EchoStar. For launching in other markets, we feel that the RoI is not there at this stage‘

    Zee had to rework on its strategy in the Middle East and shut down Zee Arabia. Why?
    We saw an opportunity for offering our content to local audiences in the Middle East. We tasted the water with Zee Arabia launch and learnt the nuances of the mainstream market. We replaced it with Zee Aflam, a free-to-air Hindi movie channel with Arabic subtitles, last year. Our Hindi offerings – Zee TV, Zee Cinema, and a hybrid channel of Zee News and Zee Gujarati – are, however, pay in that market.

    Since Zee Gujarati is wrapping up after 30 April, will that offering end in the international market as well?
    We have not decided if we will do away with that offering for our international audiences. We have standalone Gujarati audiences. We may have a repurposed channel by sewing up content from others. That business decision is yet to be taken.

    The rates of the Zee channels have stayed flat in UK at least. Has Zee lost pricing power in the international markets?
    There is room for hiking subscription and advertising rates, but it is not easy in this market condition. Besides, competitors have to work together for growing the size of the market.

    Which means that the revenue potential is still untapped?
    There are 35 million Indians residing outside India. There are also South Asians who consume Indian entertainment content. This throws up a nice business proposition. Zee is the dominant international player, with over 50 per cent market share. We reach out to 167 countries, have 200 people spread across 16 offices, and treat it as a strategic business unit (SBU). The irony of the international business is that the South Asian players have not valued their content appropriately. Hence, the revenue potential remains untapped.

    What is it that Zee has done right in the global arena?
    We learnt from our Indian market experiences and priced ourselves appropriately in the developed markets.
  • ‘The downturn will bring in corrections not just in carriage but in every other aspect’ : Barun Das – Zee News Ltd CEO

    ‘The downturn will bring in corrections not just in carriage but in every other aspect’ : Barun Das – Zee News Ltd CEO

    Churn. The television industry has been going through turbulent times with the economy downsliding and ad growth decelerating. Like its peers Zee News Ltd (ZNL) too has been riding the wave of turbulence with its unique mix of national news and regional language channels.

    While Zee News, Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla have been growing rapidly and notching up profits, Zee Telugu has turned operationally cash positive. The management has managed to keep losses from its ‘new businesses’ (channel launches in the south and Zee Talkies) under control; full fiscal loss forecasts stay unchanged at Rs 700 million, even though it is planning to launch a regional channel targeted at Uttar Pradesh. Simultaneously, it has decided to pull the shutters down on Zee Gujarati from 30 April as it was bleeding.

     

    ZNL is also pursuing growth through the franchisee model, an experiment not tried yet by the other news broadcasters. After partnering with SB Multimedia for a regional news channel in Chattisgarh, the company is keen to tap local entrepreneurs who desire to get into the TV news space in regions which do not occupy Zee’s immediate direct expansion plans.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Zee News Ltd CEO Barun Das talks about the success of the Zee News channel following a repositioning exercise, the turn around of Zee Business, the emergence of new driver channels within the bouquet, the challenges of tiding over the global economic turmoil, and the company’s growth plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    Media companies are reeling under a severe ad slowdown. How has Zee News Ltd bucked this trend so far?
    We are helped by the fact that the regional language markets are growing faster. What is working for us is the composition of the bouquet. Some of the new regional channels have started delivering while the driver channels continue to post strong growth. The positive thing is that more channels like Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Business are positioning themselves to get into the driver category over the next 12-18 months.

    Isn’t the economic downturn affecting regional markets as well?
    There is an overall slowdown. But regional television media markets are still in their nascent stages. The size of these markets is small and there is a lot of potential to grow them. The Marathi news market, for instance, is new. Even in the general entertainment space, the regional channels arrived much later than the invasion of private satellite television in national languages. Outside the southern region, it is the Marathi and Bengali markets that really matter. The other regional markets are small and I don’t see them growing to any significant size in the near future.

    Is this the time to take hard calls like shutting down Zee Gujarati?
    We critically reviewed the channels that are not likely to make profit in the near future and decided to close down Zee Gujarati with effect from 30 April. Our learning in that market shows that the revenue is too small as entertainment consumption happens primarily in Hindi. It didn’t make sense to linger with the channel and burn cash any more. We would rather focus on the bottom line of the company while strategically expanding our presence in other markets, products and services.

    Has the break even success of the Telugu general entertainment channel put you in a comfort zone in the southern region to launch more channels?
    We are backing up the progress of Zee Telugu with the launch in this quarter of Zee 24 Ghantalu, a Telugu news channel. Though Zee Kannada will not break even this fiscal, it would happen in the first or second quarter of FY’10. So yes, we have managed to open up the southern space for ourselves.

    How bullish are you about cracking the Tamil market, particularly when the Marans (Sun TV promoters) and DMK party chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi have smoked the peace pipe?
    We are investing Rs 900 million for the Tamil channel in the first year (capex+one year opex). We expect Zee Tamil to break even over 36-48 months. We have signed up with Sun Group’s cable TV arm SCV and the channel is well distributed. We are also in talks with Sun Direct for a presence of the channel on the DTH platform.

     

     

    What makes us stay bullish is that Tamil Nadu is the biggest regional market. Besides, there is only one player (Sun TV) in that market, giving us space to climb the ladder. We feel we have a good opportunity to be a strong No. 2 or No. 3. Also, we have started understanding the nuances of the southern market from our experience, planning and research in running a Telugu and a Kannada channel.
    ‘What is working for us is the composition of the bouquet. Some of the new regional channels have started delivering while the driver channels continue to post strong growth. The positive thing is that more channels like Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Business are positioning themselves to get into the driver category over the next 12-18 months‘

    How much is ZNL going to lose from its new businesses this fiscal?
    We are sticking to our original guidance of an EBITDA loss of Rs 700 million from our new businesses (Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Tamil, Zee Talkies and Zee 24 Ghantalu) this fiscal. There is no revision upwards despite us planning to launch a regional news channel in Uttar Pradesh.

    With the Indian economy coming under the shadow of a global recession, have you shelved plans to launch an English news channel?
    There is no additional expansion plan at this stage outside the launch of Zee 24 Ghantalu and a regional news channel in Uttar Pradesh. But we are exploring opportunities in the English business news space. There is a lot of potential, but we have not concretised our plan as yet.

    Marathi movie channel Zee Talkies got transferred from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) to ZNL. Will the company launch regional movie channels in each market where it runs a GEC?
    Theoretically, we should have a GEC, a news, a movie and a music channel in each regional market where we have a presence. But we are not getting into that gear at this stage. Our Marathi presence is the most widest, followed by Bengali where we are involved in two GECs. While we have the market leader in Zee Bangla, we have taken a 26 per cent stake in Akaash Bangla along with a channel management agreement.

    Will you be expanding in the near future through the franchisee model?
    After launching Zee 24 Ghante Chattisgarh under this model, we are exploring more such opportunities. There is a huge upside in revenues when the economic climate is more favourable; and the money goes straight into the bottom line.

    Is the flagship Hindi news channel growing at a slower pace?
    Along with the growth in viewership share, there is a significant revenue growth as well. After we relaunched the channel with a game-changing strategy, premium brands from sectors like cosmetics, automobiles, and IT – who were earlier not present as our advertisers – have come on board.

    How are you planning to push Zee Business which is considered as a laggard in comparison to its competitive channels?
    Zee Business has made rapid strides over the last several weeks and has moved up from a 11 per cent share in a four-channel market to a 26 per cent share in a five-channel market scenario. We have changed the look and feel of the channel, beefed up our research team, took it beyond a eight metro approach, targeted specific audiences, and focused on the SME sector. We have also concentrated on events; we would have conducted 47 events in the second half of the year. All this seems to be working for us.

     

     

    In fact, 2008 is also the year when 24 Ghanta went ahead to emerge as a leader in the Bengali news market with its focus on content, events and communications. We nullified Star Ananda’s strength in football coverage by acquiring the rights of the National Football League.

    Do you have plans to launch add-on channels like Tez to guard your flagship Hindi news channel?
    Primarily, our strategy is to have state-based news channels. This will continue to be our going-forward direction in the near future.
    Is subscription revenue looking positive with the entry of more DTH players?
    DTH is a growing segment and we stand to benefit from it. It currently accounts for 32 per cent of our subscription income.
    Will carriage costs continue to climb as more channels launch and continue to jostle for space on cable networks?
    With digitalisation growing, carriage rates will continue to slide. The downturn will bring in corrections not just in carriage, but in every other aspect.
    Including downsizing staff?
    Retrenchment is not required. But going forward, we will see how much we need to rationalise on our costs. We will scrutinise every cost, review every deal, and re-negotiate with our suppliers.
    In such a tough market, will you cut down on rates and play the volume game to consume ad inventory?
    The right strategy would be to provide better value than cut rates. Our plan is to offer tailor-made solution for clients and work on innovations. We are, for instance, getting four co-branded programmes on Zee News channel. The truth is that all of us have to stretch more than what we have ever done so far.
    How do you plan to survive the woes of 2009-10?
    It will probably be the worst year any of us have ever seen. Our endeavour will be to strongly hold on to the ground and use this period to prepare ourselves for being able to take the next big leap when we finally move out of the global recession.