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Tag: covid-19

  • Urban India gives lockdown decision a thumbs up: TRA white-paper

    Urban India gives lockdown decision a thumbs up: TRA white-paper

    MUMBAI: TRA Research, a consumer insights and brand analytics company, today released its white-paper on the findings of its research survey conducted across 16 cities from 10 April to 22 April 2020. The white-paper titled "TRA’s Coronavirus Consumer Insights 2020", is based on research conducted across 16 cities with 902 urban citizens and delves into their perceptions, attitudes, worries, fears and expectations who have been under voluntary house-arrest for nearly a month.

    According to the white-paper, the overall effectiveness of the lockdown decision across cities was at 91 per cent, with five of the sixteen cities giving it above 98 per cent or ‘excellent’ score. However, the overall implementation of the same across cities was much lower, at 74 per cent. 

    TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli said, “The lockdown decision and implementation had a significant gap of 24 per cent in terms of effectiveness. There are also big gaps in information and knowledge about the Coranavirus transmission, especially in two age brackets, 21 to 24 years and 46 to 50 years.  The same information gap is seen across cities, barring Mumbai. The misinformation is impacting the attitudes and actions of citizens, for example, the belief that eating meat or eggs would.”

    “Consumers’ trust on India’s Health Ability to combat crisis is considerably high, at 73 per cent, which translates as ‘good’, while their trust on India’s Economic Ability to combat crisis is significantly lower at 63 per cent, showing that the fears of a long term financial and economic impact are prominent on the minds of the citizens,” added Chandramouli.

    On coping with the crisis, children were affected and data showed that this was not getting recognised and addressed by the family as the coping indices were significantly different for both. “Perhaps parents take the tantrums and confusion that children face during the lockdown as they would in normal times, often not addressing it directly. This is clearly indicated in the wide gap between the coping scores of children and the family. It is most important that parents take cognizance of the fact that children are going through extreme trauma during the lockdown, and need to take the time and effort to explain and guide their children through with empathy and love.”

    In the Family Worry Index, the highest concern across cities was that the family may contract the disease (74 per cent), Job/business loss was the second biggest concern (68 per cent), and the delayed salary was third (62 per cent). Lucknow displayed the highest Family Worry Index at 85 per cent, followed by Nagpur at 81 per cent. The survey found that the Economic Impact Worry Index was at 66 per cet, showing that the personal worries overshadowed any other worry of the citizens.

    While most cities are relatively aware of the disease symptoms, they are considerably ill-informed about the disease spread. Misinformation is highest about disease spread in Delhi followed by Chandigarh. Delhi, however, scored the highest in terms of the knowledge on symptoms, followed by Mumbai which was nearly two-third lower in this quotient.

  • Shifting consumer communication strategies by brands during COVID-19

    Shifting consumer communication strategies by brands during COVID-19

    MUMBAI: The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation for everyone around the globe. As far as brands and marketers are concerned, they are unsure of what they should be communicating to consumers. Though there is no fixed strategy, companies are coping in different ways.

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    To seek the answers, indiantelevision.com arranged a virtual panel discussion including Timex Group India Head market Ajay Dhyani, Duroflex Mattresses India VP-marketing Smita Murarka, Mirum India joint CEO Sanjay Mehta and FBB future retail CMO Prachi Mohapatra. The panel was moderated by Indiantelevision.com CEO, founder and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

    According to Mohapatra it is not a time for any brand to implement push or pull strategy but to stay relevant to its brand ideology and think from the point of view of a consumer. A lot of brands and agencies are taking help from influencers and social media to engage with consumers.

    She also mentioned that from a brand perspective this is not a space to be marketing everything. Mohapatra also believes that before becoming marketers they are consumers. “For example, from a fashion perspective, all I am going to do is keep my customers engaged. There is no push or pull going to happen from the brand," she said.

    Understanding the importance of fitness and mental health Timex group has found a perfect way to tell consumers how much the brand cares for them. It even extended the warranty period of its watches through a push notification.

    “We have one segment of watches which is focused on health and fitness. The communication slightly shifted towards communicating with our consumers, talking more about health and fitness tips. There are a large number of applications installed on the handsets of our consumer. We also have an app for registering people with quarantine. Apps were used to give push notifications to our consumers, and inform them about health and hygiene,” said Dhyani.

    Mehta said that they did not have very high exposure to some of the sectors which are more impacted like travel and hospitality. They have faced a huge loss from the revenue front.

    He added that a lot of clients have had to cut down on media spends, which is a large vertical that took a hit. Some of the conversations were around retailers choosing to pause marketing completely.

    Mehta points out that if something is going to resume it is going to be e-commerce and delivery of all products with digital enabling that change. He believes that there won't be many people mingling in the future.

    Murarka notes that before the COVID situation, there was an influx of brands, discounting and sales mechanisms. For Duroflex Mattresses, Covid 19 has been a good time to talk about what the brand stands for: sleep solutions.

    She added, “We started looking at people with an intention of what relevant communication we can make during this time. So, we stayed true to our purpose and without commercial gains. I think that is when the real hallmark of longstanding trustworthy brands happen when there is no commercial gain involved." It has also tied up with a influencers to create awareness about sleep solutions.

  • News continues to be consumption-driver despite a fall in BARC week 15

    News continues to be consumption-driver despite a fall in BARC week 15

    MUMBAI: Being the television consumption driver, the general news category has continued to grow by close to 200 per cent and business news by over 80 per cent in the week 15, says a joint report of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India – Nielsen India. However, the news broadcasters this week have fallen marginally in terms of viewership this week as compared to week 14.

    The general news category in both English and Hindi languages has fallen by 10 per cent. On the contrary, business news in both English and Hindi languages registered a combined growth by over 16 per cent. The COVID period has given news channels an upper hand to gain viewership than other genres but has been failing to sustain its week-on-week performance and tumbled for the straight third week now.

    Retaining its third position, India TV fell most of the top five Hindi news channels by over 11 per cent to 249,898 weekly impressions in week 15. Both Republic Bharat and Zee News declined by 10 per cent each in viewership this week. The former registered 244,655 weekly impressions, whereas the latter secured 242,763. Both the channels continued to retain their last week's fourth and fifth spots respectively.

    Being the second most-watched news channel in week 15, ABP News tumbled over nine per cent to 267,044 weekly impressions. While Aaj Tak became the number one TV channel for a consecutive fourth week, as per BARC. It slumped by over five per cent to 350,766 weekly impressions this week. The channel doubled its viewership than peers during prime minister Narendra Modi’s half an hour nation address on 14 April while announcing the extension of the lockdown till 3 May.

    English news channels reported a mixed performance in the current week as two news channels out of the top five registered substantial growth, while the other three continued with its decline trajectory.

    NDTV24x7 reported a maximum growth by over 75 per cent to 494 weekly impressions in week 15. The channel bagged the fifth spot and its growth is meagre as compared to peers in impressions but the channel certainly has improved its week-on-week performance. Similarly, India Today for the first time, so far this year, has become the second most-watched news channel in the nation. The channel saw a growth of over 20 per cent to 1031 weekly impressions in the current week.

    In week 15, Times Now fell most in all of the top five English news channels by over 11 per cent to 815 weekly impressions. The channel has slipped to the third rank from second for the first time so far this year. Continuing to be at number one spot, Republic TV also tumbled marginally by over seven per cent to 1755 impressions week-on-week. Zee Media’s WION retaining its fourth spot has fallen by over four per cent to 600 weekly impressions in the current week of BARC.

    As India's economy to be impacted most with the extended COVID-19 situation, viewers flock to watch the business news channels. After general news, it's business news category driving the television content consumption most, points out the fifth edition of BARC and Nielsen India report.

    Network18’s both English and Hindi language general news channels failed to get featured in the list of the top five most-watched news channels this week, however, its CNBC cluster has a different story to say altogether. CNBC-TV18, the English business news channel of Network18, reported growth by over 15 per cent to 452 weekly impressions in week 15, whereas the Hindi business news channel – CNBC Awaaz – advanced by over 24 per cent to 2172 weekly impressions in the current week.

    Times Network’s English business news channel ET Now, trailing behind CNBC-TV18, registered a growth by 13 per cent to 235 weekly impressions in week 15. While Zee Business, a Hindi business news channel, reported a growth of around eight per cent to 1771 weekly impressions in the current week.

    BARC India chief executive officer Sunil Lulla while presenting the fifth edition of BARC-Nielsen joint report had said: “Viewers flocked to watch news more than any other genre post the lockdown was announced by prime minister Narendra Modi on 24 March amid COVID-19 pandemic.”

    BARC-Nielsen India has been coming up with television and digital consumption report every week. The report compares the current lockdown period to week two to four (11-31 January) of BARC, which is termed as pre-COVID period.

  • Have 10-12 banked shows to sustain even if lockdown continues: ALTBalaji’s Nachiket Pantvaidya

    Have 10-12 banked shows to sustain even if lockdown continues: ALTBalaji’s Nachiket Pantvaidya

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms’ digital arm ALTBalaji recently completed three years. While the management always spoke of profitability and breaking even faster rather than cash-burn and tons of investment, the platform seems on track in achieving its ambitions despite the COVID-19 climate. Though production may be halted, content-hungry subscribers have flocked to the streaming service for their dose of entertainment. Despite the setback, the OTT platform is confident that it has enough shows in the bank to woo subscribers for the next few months even if lockdown persists.

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    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com, Balaji Telefilms group COO and ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya spoke about the growth during post COVID-19 period and overall outlook FY21.

    Edited excerpts:

    ALTBalaji had a good run in the first three years focusing on the Hindi-speaking market. Will there be any significant change in the content strategy going forward?

    We are currently focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and then move ahead. If you look at the geography and demography of the country, 70 per cent of the content consumed is Hindi. As a platform, it makes sense to focus your efforts in one direction and win over the Hindi-speaking population. Hence, this year we are first going to focus on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi space. 

    We will gradually move towards other regional markets as well in the coming years. A host of our Hindi offerings have also been dubbed in Indian and international languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bahasa, Arabic, etc. amongst others. We shall continue to focus on expanding our language content library in the coming years.

    ALTBalaji had the mantra of breaking even within 2021 which you are nearing as per the last investors call. What will be the big target now?

    ALTBalaji has been working towards its goals and is the first OTT platform already on the road to profitability. With our costs getting controlled in the first half of fiscal 2020 and the loss margin further reducing at the end of the current fiscal, we are aiming to break even in 2020-2021.

    Given the national lockdown, all content production has come to a standstill; we continue to monitor the situation closely. We are very confident that the demand for content will increase once the situation returns to normal and are well prepared to resume business and ramp up content sales once the lockdown is over.

    Do you expect a significantly higher-than-expected jump in FY 21 under the current situation?

    We are looking at a 1.7 million active subscription base which is a high record for us. We are adding roughly 17,000–20,000 subscribers per day, that’s nearly doubling the run rate from where we were in February. In Q3, we had already said that our losses were down to single digits, and we are hopeful that in the next 12 months period, we will break even ALTBalaji's business.

    Could you share the current growth under COVID-19? Which genres see more uptake? Did any particular demography or age group consume more content on the platform?

    Indian originals have picked up pace in the past few days as audiences are on the lookout for local relatable content. We believe in creating shows which appeal across segments however, with narratives that are unique or untold.  

    For instance, shows like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, It Happened in Calcutta, Baarish, Dil Hi To Hai etc., are mostly consumed by women in 25-45 years TG across India. However, thrillers like Apharan, Ragini MMS, Code M are consumed by men in the 22-45 age bracket. In addition to the above, shows such as Mentalhood, The Test Case, MOM: Mission Over Mars, Bose: Dead/ Alive, The Verdict – State vs Nanavati are being consumed extensively by urban Indians across age groups.

    Shows launched in earlier months continue to see good engagement as consumers are now watching more of the library that we have successfully built. The ALTBalaji library as of date has 60-plus shows with engaging content for mass Indian audiences.

    What has been the growth of new subscribers? How will you retain them once the lockdown is lifted?

    Watch times and subscriptions have been seeing strong growth during this period and we are witnessing a high level of growth in all our key markets and demographics. ALTBalaji is witnessing strong uptake of digital subscriptions with an average of 17,000 subscriptions added per day post lockdown vs an average of 10,600 in March 2020 pre-lockdown, a growth of 60 per cent. As of date, the platform has over 1.7 million active direct subscribers.

    With the SVOD OTT space in the country becoming increasingly price-sensitive, we have facilitated growth by keeping our pricing extremely low, at less than a rupee a day (Rs 300/- annually). What works best for us is to concentrate on consumer segmentation behaviour, understanding how to retain the customers better and working on onboarding the new segment who have just been acquainted with the internet. With content being king, there is a growing acceptance amongst consumers to pay for unique narratives and good storytelling which keeps them hooked to their screens. Having said that, we are confident that having sampled our portfolio of exciting, original digital series to a wider audience that has a higher propensity and capacity to subscribe, we will continue as one of the top OTT platforms. 

    Due to the stoppage in production, do you expect any rescheduling of your content slate? Has there been any change in the guidance of expected originals during the calendar year?

    So far, we are on track in terms of the show launches. We have 11-12 shows that have been shot already and only need post-production and editing, which can happen from home as well. So we actually have a stock of 10-12 shows which can be put out in the next six to seven months even if the unfortunate lockdown continues for a few more months. We are in a good position to give out one to two shows per month for the next five to six months. We are now launching, in the next 25 days, Baarish season two and KKHH season three.

    How has the overall ecosystem changed since you started the journey?

    Having set milestones and breaking new grounds for over three years, our journey has been fairly business-positive and will continue to do so. Since its inception, ALTBalaji has been on top of the consumer mind for its unique narratives and clutter-breaking original Hindi content and we have aggressively grown on the back of innovative business strategies. Moving from strength to strength, we’ve today become a major player in the Indian OTT industry and gained further encouragement by the massive increase in subscriber base. With a substantial bouquet of original content across genres that keeps viewers engaged, our app has consistently ranked amongst the top three grossing video streaming apps in the country across the app store (Source: App Annie).

    According to a recent report by PwC, the OTT market is set to grow at a rate of 22 per cent to reach Rs 12,000 crore in the next four years. The soon-to-arrive 5G networks will only work as a shot in the arm for OTT platforms to scale further heights. Digital is an ever-evolving medium and when it comes to OTT players, competition across the industry is soaring high with everyone trying to secure their places in the minds of consumers.

    Last year you struck a deal with ZEE5. How has it helped you? Are you planning any similar deal?

    With our collaboration with ZEE5, we aim towards leveraging each other’s strengths in the OTT domain, to co-create original content. This association is a collaborative process of co-understanding consumer insights and co-marketing to serve the viewer better while reaping in increased dividends for both. ALTBalaji and ZEE5 have established their content strength globally, and the synergy resulted in two of the largest home-grown video streaming platforms coming together to expand their subscription base and grow the binge-watching culture globally.

    ALTBalaji has also successfully completed the first-ever syndication of a digital series to a broadcaster with three hit digital shows now airing on prime time television. Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Baarish, and Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain are now available between 9 pm and 11 pm on Zee TV. This deal helped generate additional revenues via syndication fees and created a larger consumer funnel for us.

  • NDTV to implement 10-40% salary cut

    NDTV to implement 10-40% salary cut

    MUMBAI: New Delhi Television (NDTV) has decided to implement a salary cut for employees from 1 April as a cost-cutting measure on the back of decreasing ad revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Says the BSE filing of NDTV: “The management of NDTV Group has been forced to implement a salary cut, effective 1 April, of between 10-40 per cent based on income slabs for a period of three months across its employee base.”

    The group points out that it won’t implement a salary cut for those employees who earn Rs 50,000 per month or less than that. It also said that the salary deduction step for three months is subject to detailed review at the end of the period.

    NDTV, in its filing, says that this measure is the result of uncertainty surrounding the recovery of the global and Indian economy. And, the falling economic situation has forced the group to undertake certain cost-cutting measures with immediate effect.

    The nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation has put all business plans on backtrack. The news channels, lately, have been facing the burden of high operating costs with no or fewer ad sales.

    The News Broadcasters Association, in this regard, has urged the government to either reduce, remove or bring the goods and services tax on advertisement in line with print media. Currently, the GST on advertisement in the broadcast industry is at 18 per cent, whereas in print media it is at five per cent.

  • Megacities see reach, ATS growth in COVID-19 week 5

    Megacities see reach, ATS growth in COVID-19 week 5

    MUMBAI: Megacities like Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore have grown during week 5 of COVID-19 driven by both reach and ATS, as per latest data from BARC and Nielsen. ATS for Mumbai has grown the most by 1 hour 42 minutes (39 per cent growth). 

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    Megacities also showed growth in GECs except for Kolkata. Consistent growth was witnessed across the Hindi-speaking market over the southern market in week 15 (COVID week 5).

    Prime-time, as well as non-prime time, registered growth.  While news and movies continued to grow, genre-wise, movies saw increased viewership.  

    The news genre saw two-fold growth in the current week with 198 per cent followed by business news and movies. News grew to 16 per cent from seven per cent in the last few weeks as compared to the pre-COVID period

    Growth in movie viewership is coming largely from pay platforms across urban and rural market (82 per cent, 69 per cent), respectively 

  • Jump in ad inventory as lockdown relaxes in some parts: BARC-Nielsen

    Jump in ad inventory as lockdown relaxes in some parts: BARC-Nielsen

    NEW DELHI: The week 5 data of BARC-Nielsen, covering media behaviour during the COVID-19 lockdown, recorded a jump of seven per cent in the overall ad FCT as compared to the past week, giving positive indications towards the crawling back of inventory as some essential services begin in some of the states. 

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    The data also showed the mammoth growth that Ramayan and Mahabharat, which are aired on the DD network, have witnessed in terms of advertisers. The shows started with three and two advertisers, respectively, now have 42 and 24 brands taking their ad spots, respectively. 

     

    The overall advertiser count on TV also climbed up from 1017 to 1021 in week 15, but still stands drastically lower than 1378 of pre-covid period (11 January — 31 January). 

     

     

    The top 10 advertisers — HUL, R&B, Govt. of India, Colgate, GSK, GCMMF, Wipro, govt of MP, ITC, and P&G, increased their inventories by 18 per cent in week 15 over the past week. The next 40 top advertisers grew their inventory by 10 per cent. 

     

     

    Of those continuing to advertise on television, 14 per cent are using COVID-19 as a theme of communication. Brands like Cement Manufacturing Co Ltd, Thyrocare Technologies Ltd, and Paragon Polymer Products Pvt Ltd have 100 per cent of their ads based around the theme of the pandemic. 

     

     

    The contribution of essentials grew from 42 per cent in week 14 to 46 per cent in week 15. Social witnessed a slight drop in share, from 34 per cent to 32 per cent. 

     

     

  • Mythological shows contribute 43% to Hindi GEC viewership in COVID week 5: BARC-Nielsen

    Mythological shows contribute 43% to Hindi GEC viewership in COVID week 5: BARC-Nielsen

    MUMBAI: Mythological shows became the main source of entertainment among Hindi GECs in COVID week 5, according to BARC- Nielsen data, with 43 per cent of viewership contribution to Hindi GEC genre with a total of 466 hours of content.

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    Mythological shows garnered 109 billion viewing minutes and it was watched by 353 million viewers.

    Off late, broadcasters have started showing re-runs of several mythological shows. The DD Network revived two classics – Ramayan and Mahabharat as did other GECs.

    Additionally, Hindi GECs attained an all-time viewership high in HSM in week 15 with 8.5 billion impressions. In HSM, Hindi GECs showed growth across platforms in non-prime-time in week 15 over pre-COVID period.

  • TVU Networks offers cloud, IP solutions to Indian broadcasters during COVID-19 lockdown

    TVU Networks offers cloud, IP solutions to Indian broadcasters during COVID-19 lockdown

    MUMBAI: TVU Networks, a technology and market leader in IP and cloud-based live video solutions, is working with Indian broadcasters through its Business Continuity Initiative to help identify and offer the tools needed by customers to help sustain businesses while supporting the larger local community during this unprecedented time.

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    As a part of this initiative, TVU is providing TV stations with the TVU Anywhere mobile app for reporting and anchoring, TVU Producer for cloud-based production and TVU Grid for video pool feeds and cross-sharing of video content for free through the end of May 2020. Broadcasters that are interested in learning more about the free services or to sign up may do so by visiting www.tvunetworks.com.

    The TVU Anywhere mobile app has seen a large increase in global use recently as TV reporters and anchors have migrated from traditional studios to reporting from living rooms, balconies and shared living spaces within their homes and apartments. The app's ease of use and fast set up – requiring just a download to the user’s mobile phone – allows anyone needing to do safe remote reporting to go live instantly.

    In addition to incorporating patented IS+ technology for transmission of a reliable broadcast-quality picture over cellular and WiFi, TVU Anywhere features dual camera operation for simultaneous use of the front and back cameras of a single Apple iOS mobile device. This allows a solo field reporter to do live reporting in Picture-in-Picture (PiP) or in 50/50 split screen mode, capturing live video, audio and metadata simultaneously for two subjects.

    TVU Anywhere can also be used remotely for non-live interview reporting. It’s PiP feature supports the use of prerecorded video. A reporter can comment live while the recorded video is playing.

    Another feature for field reporting within Anywhere is integrated video return feed which allows for the coordination of a live shot with studio producers or directors at their homes or other remote location. Instead of just using audio, the Anywhere app can show a low latency video return feed right on the phone screen in PiP mode. The parties can also have a two-way conversation using TVU Anywhere’s VoIP feature in real-time, allowing the return video feed to become an enhanced confidence monitor and collaboration tool.

    The Token feature for TVU Anywhere makes the setup of remote high-quality briefings and interviews easy and fast. All you need to do is to send a pre-generated QR Code that can be scanned by a smart device to the recipient. To see how it works, view the Token feature on its YouTube page.

    TVU Producer provides the means for cloud-based remote production for stations with a robust feature set, allowing them to move their traditional studios to a home or other remote location. With TVU Producer, you can ingest multiple video streams including live professional sources up-to full HD resolution. It features unparalleled and patented frame accurate switching between two live sources from multiple devices, events or locations as well as enhanced broadcast outputs using picture in picture, picture-by-picture and quad-view. Producer also offers graphics and dynamic overlays including full integration with Singular.live.

    TVU has been working with news stations and government offices in certain countries, including the USA, to set up video pool feeds using TVU Grid, TVU’s IP switching, routing and distribution solution, to streamline the sharing of critical information on COVID-19. Project Pool Feed allows local TV stations to share live content between each other as well as with local government. Officials or spokespersons have the option to use the free TVU Anywhere app on their mobile phone to go live to the pool feed for press briefings. The local stations are all connected using TVU Grid and can distribute the briefings from the pool to their viewers on TV, social media and websites.

    “TVU is committed to working with all broadcasters across India to support their efforts to deliver crucial updates and information to their viewers during this unprecedented time. We are providing our cloud and IP based solutions free at this time to help broadcasters transition as seamlessly and as quickly as possible to remote production to minimize disruption,” said Sushant Rai, Vice President, Sales – South Asia, Middle East & Africa, TVU Networks. “In addition, TVU will continue to provide its renowned 24/7 global service and all support personnel are fully mobilized to support customers as well as the larger broadcast community.”

    TVU Networks has over 3,000 customers globally. The TVU Networks family of IP and cloud-based transmission and live production solutions gives broadcasters and organizations a powerful and reliable workflow to distribute live video content to broadcast, online and mobile platforms. TVU has become a critical part of the operations of many major media companies.

  • How Star Sports created ‘Cricket Connected’ while staying distant

    How Star Sports created ‘Cricket Connected’ while staying distant

    MUMBAI: In the absence of live sports amid COVID-19, Star Sports, in order to keep cricket enthusiasts engaged, had launched a talk show called Cricket Connected.

    “Cricket Connected is an attempt to create a window every week for fans to connect with each other and with cricket legends," says a source close to Star Sports.

    The show has, so far, featured cricket legends such as Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Gautam Gambhir, VVS Laxman, Kevin Pietersen, among others, along with host Jatin Sapru. It is produced both in Hindi and English. So far, three episodes of the show have already been released.

    The show is an output of video conference of cricket legends along with a moderator (anchor), and it required a complete re-design of production. “We have not done anything like this in the past and don’t believe anyone has ever done the same so far,” says the source. “We create virtual connections with the help of video conference application Zoom, on which we have added a layer of technology that allows us to produce a call in a typical chat show format.”

    The lockdown has forced everyone to stay indoors but the show must go on. Hence, the broadcaster has allowed one of its directors, who used to direct Hindi IPL, to set up a production control in his living room. He, from his house, not only monitors, records the conference call as a show, but also remotely accesses the archives to get relevant footage. The director also gives final touches to show from his makeshift PCR.

    To guide the moderator and panellists and to maintain the pre-decided flow of the show, the director and a producer join the call only through audio. The operation remains very similar to a typical production. However, the production design is very different from the one done via a proper production control room.

    The show is a combination of video conference features, relevant contextual visuals and one-on-one Instagram video chats of current cricketers along with two dedicated segments like Kids Connected and #AskStar. Kids Connected is a segment, wherein the broadcaster urges viewers to send clips of cricket-enthusiastic children either commentating or anchoring about cricket and #AskStar is an interactive segment during which a question asked by a cricket fan is answered by one of the panellists.

    The two major challenges the broadcaster faced while producing the show were good internet bandwidth and the two-second lag during video call. “We record the call in the morning before 1 pm for good bandwidth to ensure the content that we are producing is in line with our broadcasting quality,” source explains.

    Whereas, to overcome the second issue we started giving a cue to the next speaker during a live conference call. Source adds, “We built a customised solution on the Zoom application that allows the anchor to actually know when the expert is finished talking and helps to maintain the flow.”

    Not every cricket veteran is tech-savvy and understands the video call. Hence, the broadcaster ensures that each of the panellists is given a detailed brief about the show flow and a tutorial of the Zoom call prior to recording. The anchor being a bridge between the panellists and viewers, is also briefed a day prior to the recording. Cricket experts join the video conference call either through mobile phones or laptop cameras.

    "Generally, the idea and flow of the show is decided on Monday of every week and the conference calls take place either on Thursday or Friday morning. Moreover, the one-on-one interaction between two cricketers is recorded as per their availability. We also allow the panellists to choose their video call background but suggest them to maintain the look and feel quite natural,” Source reveals.

    The content strategy of the show revolves around four basic pillars: news points, great stories, anecdotes, and interactive segments that talk about the life of current players under lockdown.

    “We wish to discuss cricket topics that are relevant and contextual; topics that are not making news but have the potential to be news,” the source says while talking about the first pillar of content strategy. “We choose the content that is relevant in the week. Something that will get fans to discuss on social media and are likely to be trending.”

    The source further adds, “The second pillar of our content strategy is to pick up interesting moments from cricket history, which are still relevant and can be given new angles. We choose topics that have great stories and anecdotes around them to keep them trending for a week.”

    The third pillar is about interactive sessions, wherein the aim is to create engagement with viewers and cricket fans through social media, a quiz on the life of a sporting star, or an important cricket match in history. The most important pillar out of all four is the last one wherein it attempts to show the life of current cricket stars under lockdown and give glimpses of their lifestyle.

    There hasn’t been a specific marketing strategy to promote this show. The show is an alternative to live cricket but is likely to be continued for a long time. So far, the first episode has gained a cumulative reach of 8.3 million and overall watch-time of 48.6 million.

    Star Sports is also mulling to take this show to regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Though it’s in the primary stage, the broadcaster is likely to come out the same show in Tamil in the next 10 days, which will rope in cricket experts from that region, who would talk about CSK as a team and its players as well as about the Tamil Nadu team’s performance in Ranji Trophy. The broadcaster is also thinking of coming up with the same format in football in order to engage the Indian soccer fans.

    So far, the broadcaster has not onboarded any sponsors or advertisers. With the rising traction, sources close to Star Sports mentioned that the network is planning to go to market with this show

    The upcoming episode of Cricket Connected will feature unknown achievements of Sachin Tendulkar as his birthday (24 April) that falls during this week. The episode will also feature KL Rahul, who turned 28 last weekend. The original telecast of the show is scheduled every Saturday at 7 pm and 9 pm. However, re-runs are shown till Tuesday of the following week.