ITV

Tag: DTH

  • Dish TV re-evaluating Videocon d2h merger

    Dish TV re-evaluating Videocon d2h merger

    MUMBAI: The Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger had reached the final stage with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) giving it the green signal. Then, suddenly on 22 December, Dish TV announced that the union would be delayed beyond 27 December 2017 citing technical reasons. Now those reasons–it basically is revaluating the deal–are likely to hold up the fusing of the two DTH operators even further.

    Dish TV yesterday informed the BSE that it had told its advisors–which include financial advisor Morgan Stanley, E&Y, SR Batliboi & Co and Luthra & Luthra Law Offices-to re-examine the deal terms within 60 days.

    It said that it was taking this step as “it has come to our knowledge that certain entities belonging to the Videocon group, including the promoters of Videocon D2h Ltd, have become subject to insolvency and/or enforcement proceedings by lenders. The company is evaluating as to whether there is any impact of the same on its rights and obligations under the definitive agreements, and consequential effects on the transactions contemplated.”

    The companies had announced a merger in November 2016 tom-tomming the benefits that would accrue to the two if they went ahead. And both companies went about the process getting the various regulatory approvals required. In early March 2017, the merger got the NOC from the BSE and the NSE, Competition Commission of India clearance on 4 May 2017, shareholder approval through a meeting convened by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on 12 May 2017, and the NCLT green flag on 27 July 2017, and the MIB go ahead on 15 December 2017.

    As per the terms of the merger Dish TV Videocon d2h was to issue 857.79 million fresh shares. Shareholders of Videocon d2h were to get 2.02 shares of Dish TV Videocon for every share of Videocon d2h. D Dish TV shareholders would own 55.4 per cent shares of the merged entity while Videocon d2h would own the remaining 44.6 per cent.

    Dish TV is pressing the pause and review button at a time when at least two transactions in the direct-to-home segment have been completed.  Late last year, private equity firm Warburg Pincus picked up a 20 per cent piece of Airtel DTH for a handsome price of $350 million valuing the entire operation at $1.7 billion. Then Delhi-based Pantel Technologies and Veecon Media bought out all the losses, debt, and liabilities of Reliance Big DTH from the Anil Ambani group, bringing to a close a long struggle by the latter to exit the DTH business.

    Also Read :

    Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger date postponed

    DTH’s year of consolidation

    DTH subscriber growth down in second quarter

     

     

     

     

  • Parliamentary panel raps MIB on knuckles for DAS implementation

    Parliamentary panel raps MIB on knuckles for DAS implementation

    MUMBAI: The Parliament’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Communications (SCIT) has sent out a stern message to the stakeholders of India’s broadcast and cable industry, including the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB): get your acts together.

    BJP MP Anurag Thakur-chaired all-party parliamentary panel has been especially critical of MIB’s handling of country’s digitisation of TV services or digital addressable system (DAS). It pointed out that MIB could not “absolve” itself of “responsibility” of DAS implementation as it was the administrative ministry for media matters.

    It has exhorted the ministry to put in place a monitoring mechanism at the federal level at the earliest to coordinate with the authorised officers for tracking violations by operators and to also hold periodic meetings with the stakeholders concerned to ensure that the mandated cable TV digitisation process is enforced.

    Putting the onus on the ministry to persuade MSOs to complete seeding of consumer data in the cable TV operators’ management information systems at the earliest, the parliamentary panel has directed the government to ensure proper agreements are signed between stakeholders (broadcasters, MSOs and LCOs). MIB has also been directed to update the panel on the progress made by MIB and to take extreme step of even cancellation of MSO licence in case of non-compliance.

     Interestingly, the committee told the nodal ministry to take a final decision within a definite time period in the case of Tamil Nadu government-controlled MSO Arasu Cable in keeping with TRAI norms for MSOs seeking to provide digital service.

     Arasu has been seeking temporary extension of its licence saying it has been unable to fully seed its subscribers with STBs that were taking long to import. In separate recommendations made earlier — not yet accepted by the government — TRAI had suggested barring federal or state governments or its organisations from segments of broadcast and TV services’ distribution.

     The committee said that it expects MIB to address effectively issues raised in the complaints filed by some MSOs and LCOs in Tamil Nadu (mostly against Arasu) and that the ministry should revert within three months reporting the progress made.

    The committee, while suggesting infrastructure sharing for distribution platforms, urged the government to provide necessary resources or financial incentives to distribution platforms like MSOs who were aiming to provide services in rural areas. Its rationale: developing infrastructure individually may be a costly proposition for cable TV operators.

     Alive to number of litigations in the broadcast and cable sectors, the committee exhorted MIB and the government to explore having a dialogue with courts on the need to close early cases relating to TRAI’s new guidelines on tariff, QoS and inter-connect, which were issued in 2016 but challenged in Chennai and Delhi high courts by Star TV-Vijay TV combine and Tata Sky and Airtel Digital. Both the cases are still pending final verdicts from the courts.

    The committee has recommended that an option of pay-per-use, as made available by DTH operators to subscribers, be explored for cable TV too as it could give the consumer more flexible options.

    Finally, the committee has directed the MIB to do a formal cable TV digitisation impact assessment study including all its aspects to get a clear picture on how far DAS has actually been able to achieve its intended objectives.

    Also read:

    Arasu can’t operate outside Tamil Nadu despite DAS compliance

    MIB report: 50% digital STBs seeded during DAS’ first three phases

    Arasu digital STB costs Rs 200, govt alerts subs

     

     

  • Punjab govt to levy entertainment tax on cable, DTH

    Punjab govt to levy entertainment tax on cable, DTH

    MUMBAI: The Punjab government is cracking down on errant cable ops by getting them to be accountable. It has added entertainment tax to cable and DTH connections. All local gram panchayats and state bodies will collect Rs 5 per month on a DTH connection and Rs 2 a month on cable TV from operators.

    The cabinet has approved the move. Once the governor gives the nod, the charges will begin from the date of notification.

    The state government aims to make Rs 9.6 crore via the DTH tax from 16 lakh connections and Rs 36.96 crore through 44 lah cable connections.

    Interestingly, no entertainment tax will be levied on other sources of entertainment such as cinemas, multiplexes, and amusement parks.

    The government is cracking down on cable mafias by getting them to clearly account their subscriber base. In the limelight is Fastway Transmission which is the mega player in the state and had the support of the previous Punjab government.

    When GST was introduced on 1 July, the power to collect entertainment tax was withdrawn from the state governments. This has now been given to the panchayats and municipalities by amending the seventh schedule of the constitution. Instead of requiring the centre to approve, The Punjab Entertainment and Amusements Taxes (Levy and collection by local bodies) Act 2017 was amended to get approval at the state level itself.

    Also read: 

    Supreme Court stays order on entertainment tax by LCOs

    M&E items get GST relief from 15 November 2017

    Entertainment tax: MSOs & LCOs must collect & pay, HC halts Delhi ‘action’

  • Recalibrating India’s DTH sector after Airtel DTH-Warburg Pincus deal

    Recalibrating India’s DTH sector after Airtel DTH-Warburg Pincus deal

    MUMBAI: For long, investors have given India’s DTH sector a pass-by saying the TV distribution sector (read cable TV) is rickety and has been digitised in a hurry to meet government mandates without too much thought and planning of the back end. Often times, DTH players have been bundled with the cable TV lot and considered a not-a-very-attractive investment.

    That was until last week.  The announcement that Warburg Pincus was picking up 20 per cent stake in Airtel Digital TV (DTH) -with around 14 million subscribers – for a staggering $350 million at a valuation of $1.75 billion or Rs 11,204-odd crore should surely come as a shot in the arm for those distributing TV and running DTH platforms.

    Right now, there are six of them: Tata Sky, Dish-Videocond2h, Airtel Digital TV, Sun Direct, DD Free Dish, and the floundering-now-waiting-to-be-resuscitated Reliance Big TV.

    Most of them have been burning cash. Folks have been saying there are too many DTH operators in India. They have pointed towards the UK that has one, the US that has just two.  And questions have been asked if India has too many vanity plays in both television and distribution.

    A senior investment analyst unwilling to be identified says last week’s Warbug Pincus vote of confidence in DTH highlights how upbeat the sector looks as an investment destination and how different it is from India’s cable TV scattered majors.

    It also raises questions around whether the Videocon management could have got a better deal when it decided to merge Videocon d2h with DishTV.  Was Videocon d2h a tad undervalued? After all, the difference in EBITDA between Airtel and Videocon d2h alone runs into Rs 170-odd  crore only. For FY 2016-17, Videocon d2h had an EBITDA of Rs 1018.1 crore as against Airtel DTH’s Rs 1222 crore. For fiscal 2017-18, Videocon d2h’s half yearly EBITDA stood at Rs 529.5 crore as against Airtel’s Rs 681.7 crore. Dish TV’s EBITDA for FY 2016-17 was Rs 972.8 crore, while it’s half yearly EBITDA for fiscal 2017-18 was  Rs 417.3 million.

    At the time of the merger, the combined entity’s valuation was placed at $2.7 billion for around 27 million subscribers of Dish TV and Videocon d2h. Combined the two would account for 16 per cent of the total 175 million hoseholds in India with around 2.80 million HD household and a combined proforma  EBITDA of  Rs 1826.2 crore. Going by the Airtel-Warburg numbers, the value of Dish TV-Videocon d2h should have been closer to $4 billion.

    Another senior industry observer opines that the Airtel-Warburg Pincus deal has opened up investors’ eyes all over the world about the growth potential in India’s DTH vertical.  The deal is probably one of the first-ever major large-ticket private equity placement deals in Indian DTH.

    What has changed in the past one year? And what is exciting investors to look at the sector differently?

    FreeDish to go away

    Indications are that the DD Free Dish threat is dissipating with the implementation of the new policy that the government has put in place with no renewals of slots taking place for private players. Industry professionals point out that the government is seeking to enhance the reach of its own channels on Free Dish.

    “It had deviated from its mandate–which was to reach out to all the rural areas where there are no transmitters and make the government’s voice reach those people. DD National was hurt because they gave slots to private GEC channels. The national channel’s viewership and revenue have since plummeted,” says one of them. “From Rs 1,400 crore in ad revenue, the figures came down to Rs 500-600 crore, out of which Rs 400 crore is from government enforced spending on the pubcaster. Its ad revenue is a measley Rs 200 crore and no private producer wants to produce for DD as it does not have the reach. With DD FreeDish likely to stop trading in bandwidth and not airing GECs, a window of opportunity for private DTH players to offer another option to rural and smaller town audiences will open.”

    Cord cutting – a hyped-up phenomenon

    Another senior industry researcher says that the phenomenon of cord-cutting has been hyped up by new entrants in the OTT space such as Netflix and their backers from the analyst community and investors in both the US and India.

    “Comparing the US and India is absolutely fraught with disaster. Even in cord cutting,” she says. “India has a very deep urban population and a very deep rural populace. The TV in the living room is still the centre piece of Indian homes; it is also moving into the bedroom. There will be no cord cutting; we will have both in India, the Netflixes as well as TV subscriptions.  Jio, too, has expanded the consumption of mobile bandwidth and nowhere is it posing a threat of cord cutting.”

    The impact of TRAI’s tariff order, GST and introduction of transparency

    The DTH industry has an estimated 90 million subscribers; the net figure is 65 million and the active is 52-55 million. The net sub number includes those subs who have been suspended for up to 120 days for non-payment; whereas actives are those who have subscribed and paid to for between zero and 30 days.

    Industry veterans point out that DTH operators are better placed to implement the TRAI’s new tariff regime which has been held up in courts.  One of them points out that the higher content costs that they have been paying to broadcasters will simply go away. “Our infrastructure allows us to permit millions of subscribers to unsubscribe online very easily and watch the channels and the shows they want to,,” says he. “Because of transparency our costs will go down with the execution of the tariff order.”

    Cable TV content costs, however, he points out are set to go up as under declarations of sub numbers to the tune of 50-60 per cent by LCOs to MSOs have been rampant. “After digitisation and GST, every connection is being reported to the MSO as everybody in the chain has to pay taxes. With this, the broadcaster will understand how many subscribers are actually there and he will charge transparently per sub basis. Based on that the fixed deals will happen,” he says.

    That should be good news for industry observers and naysayers who have been waiting like Godot for India’s TV content and distribution to unlock its true potential and value.

    Also Read:

    Warburg Pincus to buy 20% in Airtel’s DTH arm

    Reliance Big DTH to take FTA route under new management?

    STB import duty doubled to 20%

  • STB import duty doubled to 20%

    STB import duty doubled to 20%

    NEW DELHI: In a fresh bid to boost domestic production under the Make in India project, the Indian government has increased the import duty on set-top boxes (STBs) to 20 per cent, including a host of other electronic items such as TVs sets and smartphones.

    The duty hike from 10 per cent could impact the ongoing digitisation of TV services in India. Experts and stakeholders in the country’s broadcast and cable industry are still assessing the directive, including the fact whether the move is aimed at arresting imports from China.

    A ministry of finance notification dated 14 December 2017 stated the federal government was “satisfied” that the import duty on certain goods, including electronics, should be increased as “circumstances exist” that render it “necessary to take immediate action”.

    Though officially over, India’s digitisation of TV services is still a work in progress with many big MSOs admitting in private that the last and fourth phase is still far from over.

    A cable industry source highlighted that India’s DTH operators annually import about 10 million STBs, while an additional 20 million boxes approximately would still be needed to fully cover areas falling under phase IV of digitisation.

    While many India companies, including big companies like the Hero group, are manufacturing and/or assembling STBs in India, the supply, according to industry sources, isn’t enough to meet the demand. It is also expected that whenever the next round of survey is undertaken, the total number of TV homes in India would increase much beyond the figure of 183 million (as indicated by BARC India).

    Will this increase in import duty also up the cost of STBs for consumers via a mixed business model of rentals and outright purchase of the product? It’s still not clear.

    An industry source, however, said whether this government move would give a fillip to domestic manufacturing is not yet known. Most Indian DTH operators have already started importing STBs from countries like Thailand and Vietnam to take advantage of an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) trade pact, which is aimed at lowering trade barriers and help economic growth in general.

    STBs can be now imported by Indian companies from ASEAN countries at very low tax rate that is in the range of 2-3 per cent, the source elaborated.

    ALSO READ:

    Budget 2016: STBs exempt from basic customs duty

    DAS: Even official figures show digitization is incomplete

    DAS phase IV pace slack; MIB to make Indian STB makers

     

  • CASBAA lauds India; calls for more broadcast, satellite reforms

    CASBAA lauds India; calls for more broadcast, satellite reforms

    NEW DELHI: Asian pay TV industry organisation CASBAA, while applauding the Indian government for ease of doing business, exhorted policy makers to further streamline norms relating to the broadcast and satellite industries as it led to procedural delays impacting business.

    Speaking at the India Satcom 2017 forum here on Wednesday, Hong Kong-based CASBAA chairman Joe Welch said a great deal of attention has been paid to the power and infrastructure sectors, but “the key to … realisation of the prime minister’s vision of taking India up to a top-50 ranking (in ease of doing business) lies in improving business conditions in other sectors of the economy”, specifically satellite communications and broadcasting.

    Welch, who was chairing a session relating to ease of doing business in the broadcast and satellite sectors, observed that broadcasting business is heavily dependent on satellite links, and that “the single most crucial measure the government could take … would be to create conducive conditions for both the satellite operators and the broadcasters to be able to enter into long-term service agreements”.

    Currently, contracts for satellite capacity for DTH broadcasters are limited to a three-year term by Indian government regulation.

    “Striking long-term commercial deals in a marketplace that is less government-constrained would help increase business certainty for all the stakeholders”, he said.

    Satellite services are also important to achieving the Digital India dream – championed by prime minister Modi – as satellite services can help bring broadband and other related services to the hinterland of India, digitally connecting thousands of villages where cable or other modes of broadband delivery may pose logistic and financial challenges.

    Also Read:

    Govt assures ease in licensing norms to TV channels, satellite operators

    CASBAA forms ‘Coalition Against Piracy,’ hires content protection veteran Neil Gane

    Louis Boswell appointed CASBAA CEO 

    Fox’s Asia SVP Joe Welch named CASBAA board chairman

  • Dish TV reports improved operating profits for second quarter

    Dish TV reports improved operating profits for second quarter

    BENGALURU: Hit by a double whammy–that of demonetisation and the implementation of the new goods and services tax (GST)–Indian media and entertainment (M&E) companies have been struggling to attain and/or maintain black in their financials. Direct to home or DTH was one of the components of the M&E industry that had slowly started reporting profits – operating or plain profits after tax. The Essel group’s DTH services company Dish TV India Ltd (DishTV) was one of the first companies from the Indian carriage industry that had started churning out profits until the aforementioned double whammy. Subscription collections were suddenly hit because people just didn’t have enough legal currency. Average revenue per user (ARPU) fell – last year in the quarter before demonetization, the company had reported ARPU of Rs 162. For the quarter ended 30 September 2017 (Q2-18, quarter under review), ARPU was Rs 149. In the immediate trailing quarter (Q1-18), ARPU was slightly lower at Rs 148.

    Over the last few quarters post demonetisation, Dish TV’s net profits were in the red. However, during these quarters, operating profits (EBIDTA) were positive and that seems to have improved for the quarter under review as compared to the immediate trailing quarter (q-o-q, Q1-18). Year-over-year however, Dish TV has reported a net loss and lower operating profit for Q2-18 as compared to net profit and EBIDTA numbers of the corresponding year ago.

    Dish TV reported 7.4 percent higher q-o-q EBIDTA for Q2-18 at Rs 2,160.8 million (28.9 percent margin – on operating revenue) as compared to Rs 2012.0 million (27.2 percent margin) for Q1-18. EBIDTA for Q2-17 was Rs 2,656.8 million (34.1 percent margin). The company’s net loss however widened q-o-q to Rs 178.7 million during the quarter under review as compared to a net loss of Rs 135.1 million in Q1-18 and a net profit after tax of Rs 689.6 million (8.8 percent margin) for Q2-17.

    The silver lining for the company has been its growing subscriber base, and this despite lower ARPU has resulted in 1.3 percent q-o-q increase of operating revenue to Rs 7,585.80 million for Q2-18 as compared to Rs 7,388.8 in Q1-18. However, y-o-y operating revenue during the quarter under review was 3.9 percent lower as compared the Rs 7,792.8 million for Q2-17.

    The company’s subscriber base has increased by 0.188 million subscribers during the quarter under review and it has reported a subscriber base of 15.9 million. The company had closed the corresponding year ago quarter with a subscriber base of 15.1 million – it had added 0.259 million subscribers in Q2-17. Consequently, Dish TV’s subscription revenue grew 1.9 percent q-o-q during the quarter under review to Rs 7,049 million. Year-on-year, subscription revenues were 3.3 percent lower than the Rs 7,288 million reported for Q2-17. Churn for Q2-18 was 0.8 percent

    A look at the other numbers

    Total expense in Q2-18 increased 6 percent y-o-y to Rs 7,834.7 million from Rs 7,393.1 million. Employee benefits expense was almost flat (declined 0.2 percent) y-o-y to Rs 366.3 million from Rs 367 million. Operating expenses in Q2-18 increased 6.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 3,893.4 million from Rs 3,651.9 million. Other expenses during the quarter under review declined 4.8 percent to Rs 1,038.0 million from Rs 1,090.8 million in Q2-17. Finance costs in Q2-18 increased 6.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 610.9 million from Rs 574.2 million.

    Amalgamation of Videocon D2h into Dish TV

    The proposed combination of Dish TV and Videocon d2h would create one of the world’s leading DTH platform.

    Dish TV CMD Jawahar Goel said, “We have been eager to get back to our stakeholders with the news of the successful closure of the merger. With all other approvals in place, the only approval pending is from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. We are optimistic about hearing back from the MIB any moment now and hope to close the merger at the earliest thereafter.”

     “We remain excited about the next phase of growth that the combined entity, Dish TV Videocon Limited, will go through and are committed to make the combination a mega success. On the synergy front, we stick to our guidance of Rs. 1,800 million for FY18 and Rs. 5,100 million for FY19,” he added.

     

  • Reliance Big TV acquisition: Pantel Tech joins the fray

    Reliance Big TV acquisition: Pantel Tech joins the fray

    MUMBAI: Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) has entered into a binding share purchase agreement with Pantel Technologies Pvt Ltd and Veecon Media & Television Ltd for the sale of Reliance Big TV Ltd (RBTV).

    According to the terms of the agreement, the buyers will acquire the entire shareholding of RBTV, engaged in the business of direct-to-home (DTH) services across India, on an “as-is, where-is” basis along with existing trade and contingent liabilities.

    The existing DTH license of Big TV is being renewed and the required bank guarantees have already been submitted to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

    The transaction ensures that all 1.2 million customers of BIG TV will continue to enjoy uninterrupted services. It also ensures continuity of employment for approximately 500 employees of RBTV.

    The transaction will help to reduce the liability of unsecured creditors, benefitting all stakeholders, including lenders and shareholders of RCom. The successful culmination of the transaction is subject to requisite approvals from licensors, regulatory authorities, and lenders of RCom.

    Pantel Technologies is an information technology and communication devices company, selling tablet PCs under the Penta T-Pad brand in the Indian, Southeast Asian, GCC, and African markets.

  • Geo-targeting eliminates ad wastage says Amagi’s Subramanian

    Geo-targeting eliminates ad wastage says Amagi’s Subramanian

    MUMBAI: The biggest chink in the armour of Indian advertising, which is also celebrated as India’s unique trait, is its heterogeneity. Its diverseness creates differences in dialect and lifestyle ever 110 kilometres. If taken in the right stride, it also opens up a range of opportunities for businesses.

    If a product is meant for a particular state, only the big companies can afford to conduct pan-India advertising. Smaller businesses that don’t have such deep pockets have an alternative in an upcoming technology of hyperlocal advertising. It lets you target people sharing a neighbourhood or ethnicity.

    During an interaction with indiantelevision.com, Amagi Media Labs co-founder Baskar Subramanian broadly discussed the advantages of regional and hyperlocal advertising. Soon turning 10, Amagi has grown from its modest base in Bengaluru to hold offices in New York, London and Hong Kong boasting of clients in 40 countries with 80 feeds.

    How do pan-India ads lack when it comes to regional areas?

    While pan India ads do convey what they should regionally do, but they never connect with the audience, as regionalisation today is the way forwards for the brand and consumer bonhomie i.e. If there is a Lalitaji endorsing Surf Excel in Haryana, there needs to be a Lalitaamma selling the same Surf Excel regionally across Udupi.

    Dhirubhai Ambani once said, “Money is lying in every street of India. One must know how to collect them!”, and so what really matters here, is going “To the bottom of the pyramid” by ensuring to go regional, and creating prosperity by pricing not the product but the customer, his aspiration and affordability (i.e.FMCG sachet’s or JIO’s offers).

    Would you like to share some successful regional ad campaigns?

    When you look at few of the award-winning regional campaigns from various national brands such as the “NaakaMukka’ of the Times of India, the ‘Ella okay, cool drink Yaake?’ campaign of the United Breweries, the Allu Arjun redBus campaign or the ‘my first train ride’ by Paper Boat, it takes us beyond the thought of just dubbing or adding regional subtitles to make things seem regional.

    The example of Dhirubhai Ambani strongly applies to brands advertising product categories and regions across, i.e. Tata Tea deciding to run the “Alarm Bajne Se Pehle Jaago Re” nationally, while it goes on a price war with Wagh Bakri in Gujarat or Frito Lay holds a national campaign during IPL while decides to target Balaji Bhujia in Maharashtra and Gujarat. On the other end, we also have regional brands like Medimix and Cavinkare expand towards the northern market with value propositions suiting a region across Punjab or Haryana. Also, look at Horlicks, which promotes itself as a supplement to milk in Kolkata (perceived as a milk-deficient market), while in Chennai, it promised nutrition from wheat based drink, as the intake of wheat in the southern state is lower compared to the North. At the bottom, the real nationalisation of brands is now happening hyper locally across India.

    What are your thoughts on bringing cohesiveness in regional marketing spends by giving importance to local television?

    The regional channels’ advertising revenues are ascending with an increase in viewership year on year as compared to national channels. With the regional spread across DTH and cable, the plethora of regional platforms is on the rise. As per data from BARC India TV measurement system – regional GECs comprising of regional movies and regional music accounted for 38.99 per cent viewership share over a particular period(TG: All 4+, Market: All India, Period: Wk 41 to Wk47, 2016).

    Similarly, in Hindi speaking markets (HSM), GECs are the leading genre in regional markets as well with 29.6 per cent viewership share followed by regional movies with 6.6 per cent in 2016. Among the regional markets, Tamil channels occupy the biggest share with 25.7 per cent share in viewership and Telugu market is the second largest with 24.4 per cent viewership share.

    What are the factors to consider while customising budgets for regional targeted ad spends?

    The ad spends for regional advertising should focus more on tactical executions rather than intensive brand building activities. Though the increase in brand awareness cannot be neglected, the focus has to be on festival promotions, regional discounts, dealership level sales push and test marketing avenues to name a few, need to adequately have their share of targeted television expenses. In fact, brands like Patanjali and Reliance Jio have stabilised their ground through regional advertising across tier II and III cities. They are expected to increase their ad spends considering new product launches and price wars in the current and future.

    Has geo-targeted advertisement become the disruptor in television advertising ecosystem?

    Geo-targeted television advertising, is a new phenomenon in India which is disrupting the current television advertising eco system. Television, a medium with one of the highest penetration across India, suffers from limitations as being expensive and lacking measurability. With associations such as BARC, the share of reach and voice can be determined for brands advertising across categories, but the actual conversion of campaign effectiveness are miles away. Also with India’s diverse heterogeneous market coupled with varied regional preferences, TV was unable to singularly address this diversity. There were limited options for brands to target a specific market using TV, until today where platforms like Amagi Mix ensures a collection of channels, which helps advertisers decide their targeted television advertising, measure the effective reach and modify campaigns accordingly based on national or regional business requirements. By eliminating the spillage and wastage, geo-targeting justifies television spends.

    What opportunities exist for the collaboration between digital advertising spends with regional television advertising?

    The average young Indian spends around 2 hours 20 minutes on digital platforms every day. This is vastly expected to go up, considering the exponential rise in OTT viewership. Today over 300 million Indians commuting to work and back use OTT platforms on mobile phones, and while this audience is set to increase across rural and urban India, it has currently already crossed the population of United States of America.

    Hence, television advertising (comprises over 40 per cent of advertising viewership) coupled with personalised OTT and digital communications (12 per cent) together as a combination gives formidable marketing opportunities to brand managers of various sectors. These ensure targeted, high impact reach, bring in measurable results, and cost effectiveness for hyperlocal brand marketing.

  • TRAI pushes DTH cos for BHIM & Bharat QR payments

    TRAI pushes DTH cos for BHIM & Bharat QR payments

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked direct to home operators (DTH) to enable digital payments via BHIM/UPI and Bharat QR code by onboarding billers on the Bharat Bill Payment System and print the QR code on DTH bills.

    The TRAI also said that DTH operators should enable at least two ofthe following options in all physical payment receipt counters:

    • Pull request through mobile number virtual payment address (VPA) wherein a request of bill amount is received on BHIM/ UPI enabled app of the customer.

    • Prominent display of printed static Bharat QR code on the billing counter to enable customer to scan and pay.

    • Dynamic Bharat QR code on a display facing the customer.

    They have also been asked to provide a visible discount to encourage digital payment over cash and hold campaigns to promote it. “The government is making efforts for promoting a less cash economy and digital payments in various utilities. To achieve this, the government is working with multiple stakeholders for promotion of digital payments,” it said.