ITV

Tag: GEC

  • TAM spots changes in digital landscape

    MUMBAI: The television broadcasting landscape is set to change in India as consumers tend to pay for the channels they like to watch. Kids, sports and general entertainment channels will provide television networks the entry points into television homes as India shifts to digital delivery across the country.

    “Kids, sports and GECs will be the staple entry points into homes,” said L V Krishnan, CEO of TAM Media Research, while releasing the findings and learnings from the implementation of the first phase of digitisation in the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.

    Niche and smaller channels will be beneficiaries and long tail channels will come into play. “There is an opportunity for small and niche channels. Marketing and sticky content will be key,” said Krishnan.

    Network channels will have a distinct advantage in the digital play as they can “cross-pollinate” their individual channels through their other channels. Standalone channels would be at a disadvantage as they do not have a platform to cross promote through network usage.

    “The independent channels will want to join a network. The trend will be for channels to bunch up,” said Krishnan.

    Dwelling on some trends around the digitisation deadline, Krishnan said television viewing remained stable during the period the data was not published but digitisation led to a spike in the time spent on television. Niche and smaller channels gained from digitisation.

    How does the digital universe pan out?

    According to the TAM survey conducted in the four metros, 93 per cent of television homes in Mumbai have been digitised (up from 35% when TAM and industries suspended reporting on ratings for nine weeks), 97 per cent in Delhi (from 26%) and 70 per cent in Kolkata (18%). The digitisation in Chennai has remained at 26 per cent (16%) as the Madras High Court had initially stayed digitisation in Chennai and will be hearing further arguments on petitions against digitisation in the last week of this month.

    “Chennai is a peculiar case as digitisation has not moved up. We don‘t know what the situation look like. But overall, there has been a massive stride into digitisation. Mumbai and Delhi have a small portion left but this is because of non availability of set-top boxes,” explained Krishnan.

    Krishnan said the universe of television homes shrinking on account of some TV homes not being digitised is estimated to be 5 per cent in Mumbai, 3 per cent in Delhi and 10 per cent in Kolkata. The total cable and satellite TV homes in Mumbai are 4.5 million, in Delhi 3.8 million, in Kolkata 3.2 million and in Chennai 1.9 million.

    TAM has installed its peoplemeters in 525 television homes in Mumbai, 470 in Delhi, 370 in Kolkata and 280 in Chennai. Starting Q1 2013, the panels in Mumbai and Delhi will see an additional fresh recruitment of 400 homes in SEC AB segment. Other centre’s – Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai – together will add another 250 homes in SEC AB segment.

    Krishnan said,, “The concentration on Sec AB is probably because that is the segment the advertisers are interested in. Since the advertisers are looking at the topline, the broadcasters are doing that too, and thus, that is where research is headed.”

    The second phase of digitisation is already showing an upward swing. Markets like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala are seeing increasing penetration. “We will capture this when we release our update on digitisation across the country in the first week of January,” Krishan said.

    TAM‘s reporting to resume

    TAM, India‘s sole television measurement ratings agency, had suspended reporting of viewership data for a period of nine weeks starting from 7 October (week 41) and ending on 8 December (week 49), as the government implemented the digitisation deadline of 1 November in the four metros. The data for this period would be released on 19 December along with the data for 9-15 December (week 50).

    TAM will not be reporting viewership data on analogue homes in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata from now on (areas where digitisation falls in first phase. Non-metropolitan areas in Mumbai and Kolkata do not fall in this phase and will continue to get ratings data on analogue systems), but continue to provide the data from Chennai where analogue television signals continue to be delivered to television homes.

    Channel Viewing Changes:

    • Small or niche channels were net gainers of share following digitisation at the cost of bigger channels.
    • Nearly 60 per cent of channels with a pre-DAS share between 0 and 0.5 per cent had about 4 per cent net share gain, while bigger channels lost more than 2 per cent share in Mumbai.
    • Delhi channel share movement is very similar to that of Mumbai but ‘net share‘ distribution sharper at the ends.
    • 255 channels in Mumbai have some non-zero viewership in at least one of the two periods (pre and post DAS).
    • Around half the channels both in Mumbai and Delhi have gained share.

    MUMBAI

     

    DELHI

  • ‘Segmentation in kids TV genre makes biz sense in digital era’ : Viacom18 EVP & business head – Kids Cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria

    ‘Segmentation in kids TV genre makes biz sense in digital era’ : Viacom18 EVP & business head – Kids Cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria

    Kids channels, bogged down in an analogue cable TV environment, suddenly find space to grow. Segmented channels is the new mantra. After launching an action and adventure channel Sonic in 2011, Viacom18 has launched another dedicated offering in the form of Nick Junior, a preschool channel targeted at 2-6 years.

     

    Nickelodeon‘s move follows Disney‘s foray into the preschool space and Zee‘s entry into the kids broadcasting space with the launch of its edutainment channel ZeeQ. The common thread between the three channels is that they are pay-driven, unlike the earlier ad supported models.

     

    Nick Jr. makes its arrival at a time when India is moving towards mandatory digitisation of cable networks.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Javed Farooqui, Viacom18 EVP & business head – Kids Cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria shares her enthusiasm about why she is bullish about the preschool segment and the impact that digitisation will have on the kids TV genre.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    Preschool blocks had existed on kids channels. Now we are seeing full-fledged channels being launched targeting preschoolers. How has the business climate changed?
    The biggest change is digitisation. We are seeing that happen now. The segmentation in the kids TV genre makes more business sense now because we will have transparency. Subscription revenues will also increase.

     

    Does digitisation make more sense for segmentation in the kids TV genre primarily because of carriage being corrected or you see a substantial gain in subscription revenue as well?
    It‘s both. It will allow us to try very focussed segmentation which we could have not done in analogue cable TV environment. Today in digital, we can segment as much as we can. Carriage payouts will no longer be a deterrent and pay revenues can only grow. So we are all riding the wave of digital right now and hoping that while we cater to need gaps, we also make business sense.

     

    That is not to say the launch of Nick Junior is a sudden development. Since I started working with Nickelodeon, I always wanted to bring Nick Jr. to India. But then it had to make business sense for everyone.

     

    Are we in a situation where full-run preschool programming on a channel is not yet commercially viable?
    I don‘t think so.

     

    Why then did BBC shut CBeebies in India despite knowing that digitisation of cable TV networks is happening?
    Actually, I am very suprised that it happened so abruptly. I am sure they have their reasons for moving out of the country.

     

    Why do you then have this dual slot (Nick Jr. and Teen Nick) on Nick Jr.?
    We could have gone either way — done a 24-hour channel or have the model of preschool content till 7 pm and teenage programming after that. We have the product and the content that is our own, so it‘s just a matter of dishing it out to them.

     

    But we seriously believe that towards the evening this channel will get switched off as most toddlers and their mothers are winding down for the day. So it‘s a good idea to use a frequency that is going to be switched off and wanting to keep them switched on. We are also assuming that in a one television household you always have younger siblings and older siblings and when the younger siblings go away, the older siblings take care of the remote.

     

     ‘We will see a lot of localised content as digitisation picks up. In all this, what will continue is animation. No matter how hard you try, live action can never help children to transport to their imaginary world. We will stick to animation‘

    How do you differentiate Teen Nick from Nickelodeon?
    Nick is hardcore animation and will run from 6 am to 7 pm. Teen Nick, on the other hand, is only live action and has all the sitcoms and dramas that are rocking internationally. Most of the kids in India are watching them on YouTube. So you will have Victorious and Unfabulous and those kind of shows which have made it really big in the West but haven‘t really got the chance to come to India. They are very teenager shows because they are based on college, music, internet, digital and a lot of comedy. So there are sitcoms and drama that are very different from Nick.

     

    Since Nick Jr. is targeting 2-6-year-olds, wouldn‘t the upper end of this age group want to watch television even after seven in the evening?
    We have seen that post 7 pm, kids are winding down; most of the remotes are also not in toddlers hands. Even at dinner time, it‘s not the toddler that has the remote. I don‘t think even the kids category has the remote post 7 because it‘s the GECs and News channels that take over. You have this trend in a single television household. That way the battle for remote will continue across every segment.

     

    What kind of research went into launching this channel?
    There was no rocket science really about the research. To me every parent would like to do what is best for their child and in today‘s competitive world you want your child to learn and develop fast. Therefore, parents are doing everything they possibly can to ensure that their kids are learning and developing and this (Nick Jr.) is filling that need gap to my mind. There certainly was a gap there and there was no offering. The research to that extent is that there is a need gap and parents are looking for this kind of learning and development. What happens in school is hardcore education. We are only complementing that with edutainment.

     

    What is researched is the content and we do this internationally. It‘s content that is made worldwide, so the curriculum is set in place. Every show, therefore, teaches a particular skill . So if you look at Team Umizoomi, it‘s really maths.

     

    And you must remember that we are getting our international content here. There is even research going on there before they produce any preschool content. We are very careful in keeping Nick Jr. a destination for safe viewing with no violent content.

     

    How important is the preschool segment within the kids genre?
    It‘s very important from perspectives. One is it allows you to cater to the entire range of kids right from zero to teenage which is what we are now looking at. This was the missing gap that we had in Viacom18. But it‘s also important from the consumer products business point of view. We all are trying to create ancillary revenue streams for ourselves outside of ad sales and outside of subscription. Nick Jr. will play a very large role in driving this part of the business.

     

    Will it be an ad-free channel?
    Currently it is an ad-free channel, but I don‘t think we can continue to be ad-free. Despite everything being said about digitisation, the ratio of subscription-to-ad sales is still skewed. In the Western world, subscription contributes about 65 per cent of the revenues and in India we are not even half of that. However being a responsible broadcaster, we will be very selective of how much and what ads we put.

     

    How much is the subscription revenue for kids channels?
    It is under-indexed, I don‘t think it will even hit Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion).

     

    What kind of an upside do you see with digitisation?
    Nobody has any answer to this question.

     

    Why is Nick Jr. only in English?
    It is inherent in India for every parent to learn English. This is an aspirational channel which teaches your child English. If we do this in regional languages, it will defeat the very purpose of being aspirational. The shows are very easy to understand. So when Dora teaches to say A for Apple, that is what causes the child to learn.

     

    So is Dora the link between Nick and Nick Jr.?
    Dora has been on Nick and we will keep her there as well because that is the driver show. It also help us from the consumer products perspective.

     

    Will you have local productions for Nick Jr.?
    No, because we believe that for this kind of a product there is no boundary. In fact, even as kids grow older it doesn‘t matter to them whether it‘s a Japanese show or an American show. Therefore you will see a lot of animation featuring on normal kids category. There is no need to create so much desi content and the pipeline we are creating for Nick where we have Keymon Ache and Motu Patlu for this audience is done after a lot of research. It takes a lot of time to make a show.

     

    Disney also launched its preschool channel. What impact will competition have on the genre?
    It will only grow the category as there will be more choice. It‘s the best thing that can happen to the category. It will only grow the preschool category that was almost non-existent until all of us launched.

     

    How do you see segmentation within Nick?
    Nick is the mother brand and it delivers a very core need of a child, which is humour. Nick will continue in that space. While we talk about Nickelodeon audience being very universal, I think it‘s 4-14 years, so I never like to box it at any level. I think the core really lies at 6-12 if you really ask me and we will continue to cater to them in humour and comedy.

     

    Within comedy, you have action comedy, family comedy, silent comedy and slapstick comedy. The character either becomes a role model or a superhero and it‘s the character that takes over after a point. As you move along, you will see newer episodes of Ninja coming in and that‘s how we drive our viewership. You will see the mother brand engaging on the television platform and outside the platform. The Keymon game had 3 million downloads on Nokia Ovi, so we are dealing with what I call the ‘screenagers‘. It‘s all about staying ahead of the curve and engaging with kids across various screens.

     

    Will Nick have more localised content?
    I see more localisation happening on that front. But that is also a chicken and egg situation and we have to look at the investment-to-revenue ratio. We don‘t know when the subscription revenues will start getting corrected. After that happens, you will see more focus on local content. But having said that, we have two shows and we have a third in the pipeline; you will see a lot more progress on that front. In all this, what will continue is animation. No matter how hard you try, live action can never help children to transport to their imaginary world. We will stick to animation.

     

    Will we see more movies coming out?
    We had Keymon Ache & Nani in Space Adventure movie
    and you will see movies from Motu Patlu because Bollywood and Hollywood have become not just kids but also family entertainment. As we move from kids to family, you will see more extensions happening.

     

    But till now Nick has not been airing movies?
    Series is the bread and butter for us. Kids like to watch, as Farah (Khan) was saying, repetitive content. They want to watch more of the same, so that‘s what we give in the weekend as well. We don‘t miss not having movies on the channel.

     

    Has ad growth stayed flat for the kids genre this year?
    Ad revenue will grow anywhere between 10 to 14 per cent. If you look at the last five years, the CAGR is 14 per cent.

     

    Isn‘t the space tough as we have 12 channels fighting for Rs 2.5-3 billion ad revenue market?
    It is a hugely under-indexed market. From viewership perspective, we have eight per cent genre share while ad revenue share is just two per cent. Correction is bound to happen. A few years back, this revenue share was just one per cent. So we are growing, although we don‘t get what we deserve.

     

    Do you see room for local players entering this space?
    We saw UTV launch Hungama years ago. Zee has already made an entry. Let digitisation complete, then only there will be space. In the current scenario, it will be a tough proposition for local players.

  • Star Jalsha associates with Pashchim Banga Bigyan to promote show

    MUMBAI: Star India’s Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC) has tied up with Pashchim Banga Bigyan Mancha (West Bengal Science Forum) for the promotion of its anti-superstition show Bidhir Badhan. The tie up began as a launch initiative, has now turned into a mass movement.

    Bidhir Bidhan speaks against the evils of blind faith and superstition. Taking forward the “Cholo Paltai” initiative Star Jalsa reaches out to the masses spreading the message of anti-superstition. This reflects the changing times and brings home a very strong social message against superstition. The core content Bidhir Bidhan endeavours to portray the futility of believing in unscientific prejudices and superstitions. The show tries to unveil the acts of unscrupulous people who befool commoners in the name of religion taking advantage of their dire mental condition through acts of deceit.

    Hence Bidhir Bidhan associated itself with Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha (West Bengal Science Forum), an autonomous body propagating the involvement of science in our day to day life, to educate the commoners against superstition and unscientific ideas. The platform of Vigyan Mancha’s Anti Superstition Programme has been used to promote ‘Bidhir Bidhan’ across localities and marketplaces. 70 locations in Kolkata and nine districts of Bengal have been identified to conduct the roadshows and directly reach out to the TG with the show message. Daily shows of 2-3 hours duration are being performed in multiple localities to spread the message of awareness.

    For the launch event of the show, Star Jalsha in collaboration with the Pashchim Banga Bigyan Mancha had showcased some instances of quack practices that often mislead people into believing the supernatural powers of some men thus turning them into demi-gods. Scientists along with the cast and crew of Bidhir Bidhan spoke about the importance of such a project. It is crucial that the perils of such superstitions be reflected in the popular television entertainment so it reaches out to the homes of millions of TV viewers.

    Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha was formed in the year 1986 and is one of the largest People Science Movement organisations of India. For over 25 years the organisation has been working on programmes like ‘Anti-superstition Movement’ to educate the commoners against superstition and unscientific ideas.

    Bidhir Bidhan, a production of Grassroots Productions, owned by renowned Bengali actor Jeet, debuted in Star Jalsha from November 2012 and is aired Mon-Sat at 5:30pm.

  • Zee TV strengthens weekends, Fear Files clocks 4 TVR

    MUMBAI: Zee TV has held on to the second position in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) hierarchy, adding 15 GRPs after strengthening its weekend programming.

    As per TAM data (C&S, 4+, HSM) provided by the Hindi GECs, Zee TV recorded 253 GRPs. The new paranormal show of the channel, Fear Files, has garnered 4 TVR while DID lil Masters has improved in ratings. The Saturday (14 July) episode of DID registered 5.2 TVR while the Sunday (8 July) episode got 4 TVR. Interestingly, Zee TV is at No.1 in the weekend primetime programming and is at par with Star Plus in weekday primetime programming.

    Star Plus, even after a loss of 22 GRPs, continued to lead the genre with 276 GRPs. In the previous week, Star Plus had aired IIFA Awards that had helped the channel add 33 GRPs. However, leading fiction properties of the channel have seen a rise in viewership.

    Colors, meanwhile, maintained its status quo on the GEC ladder. The Viacom18 channel added five GRPs to its last week’s tally to register 235 GRPs. The channel’s three fiction properties – Uttaran (3.2 TVR), Balika Vadhu (4.3 TVR) and Sasural Simar Ka (2.9 TVR) – continue to rule their respective slots.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) also added 15 GRPs to end the week with 222 GRPs. Its fiction show Bade Achhe Lagte Hain has become the slot leader with 3.7 TVR (last week 2.6). The addition of eyeballs can be attributed to the five-year leap the show has undergone.

    Sab with 123 GRPs (last week 125) is at No. 5 while Life OK continues to occupy the sixth position with 114 GRPs (last week 103).

    Sahara One with 39 GRPs (last week 31) remains at the bottom of the ladder.

  • ‘We have been growing at 9-10 per cent every year’ : Viacom18 EVP and GM Sonic and Nickelodeon India Nina Elavia Jaipuria

    ‘We have been growing at 9-10 per cent every year’ : Viacom18 EVP and GM Sonic and Nickelodeon India Nina Elavia Jaipuria

    Nina Jaipuria, the EVP and GM for Sonic and Nickelodeon India, is bullish about the kids genre despite the challenges that exist. Jaipuria, who has been at the helm of Nick for more than five years, is hopeful that the channel will bounce back to its 2009 position when it topped the genre.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Javed Farooqui, Jaipuria says that Sonic, the action and adventure channel that launched in December last year, will also witness growth. She sees the viewership of kids channels going up in the Southern market, where the local GECs still hold a stranglehold on family viewing.

     

    Excerpts:

    You have been at a GEC (Sony) and since last six years, you are handling kids channel. Which genre do you find more challenging?
    Both the genres are equally challenging. But to my mind, capturing the kids is more challenging as they get bored faster. Kids have shorter attention span. Saas-bahu serials can run for 10 years and you don’t get bored but try doing that with children. It’s impossible… which really means that you have to innovate that much more quickly and stay ahead of the curve.

     

    Unlike GEC where you need non-fiction to get the eyeballs and then the fiction takes care of your bread and butter, I think there is no such concept in kids genre. I think it’s a tougher category also because we have huge pipeline issues and the timelines. A GEC channel can produce a show in two months but for us it will take two years because it is animation. So the pipeline is so much tougher and therefore we have to plan that much in advance. Having said that, the GEC category is also difficult because we are talking about a scale that is very large and thanks to competition, the risk there only gets higher.

     

    However, if you build kids loyalty, then it is about how you keep them going. Your challenge is how you can bring them to the channel day after day.

    Despite being third in the pecking order, why does the kids genre not command the kind of ad revenues it should?
    It is hugely under-indexed and that has been going on for a long time. We were given for free and there is a CPRP benchmark that no advertiser is willing to pay that much.

     

    However, advertisers have started believing that kids have a lot of peer pressure, purchasing power and influence on family purchases. And, therefore, you see advertisers coming to the kids category. But it is growing slowly and steadily. Five years back, the market was Rs 1.4 billion and today it has grown to Rs 2.5 billion.

    Will slowdown have an impact on ad spends?
    In 2009, when there was a slowdown, we did not really witness it as much because a large portion of advertisers who advertise on kids channels are FMCGs, food & beverages and toys, which did not cut back that much compared to radio or print because they have more local advertisers and more of retail and finance.

    Coming to Nick, position wise the channel has slipped to No. 2 or 3. How do you plan to get back on top?
    We are the number two or number three player in the category. Summer has been good and thanks to all the new content that has gone on the channel, we will continue to retain our number there position.

     

    We retained the top position for two years and I think that is a long enough time. We hope to come back (to the top position). Everything that goes up has to come down, these are all cyclical vagaries of the business.
    ‘Sonic and Nick are two different brands. While Nick is humour and little of action, Sonic is a hardcore action and adventure brand‘

    Oggy and the Cockroaches was one of your tentpole properties. This has now shifted to Cartoon network. What do you think about your other properties?
    My tentpole property is Ninja Hattori and I would have also said Oggy and the Cockroaches but it has now moved to Turner (Cartoon Network). But Oggy gave us a good result for the three years that it was with us. So with all due respect, these are vagaries of the business and we are planning to build our own properties. We have Keymon Ache, of which we have already done 26 episodes and have greenlighted the second season of the show.

     

    We launched Power Rangers and now we have new Power Rangers coming back. Then after Samurai, we have Super Samurai. We have the third one as well in 2013. Thus, we will have a lot of Power Rangers as a property to build. Then there is Kung Fu Panda that we will build. So we will have a lot of solid shows post the Oggy also.

    What are the genres you are looking to build content for Nick?
    When we started, it was a mix of humour, comedy and various strands of it – slapstick comedy, silent comedy, family comedy shows and Keymon kind of shows.

     

    Kung Fu is a mix of comedy and action which according to me is the only show of its kind which had comedy and action put together. But slowly we realised that our kids are moving towards action even from a category point of view. Look at what’s happening with video games. So we believe that there is a little bit of action required on Nickelodeon. The only action show we are showing on Nick is Power Rangers Samurai so that those kids who want action don’t go anywhere.

    What about Sonic?
    Sonic and Nick are two different brands. While Nick is humour and little of action, Sonic is a hardcore action and adventure brand. So we have shows like Ultraman, Jackie Chan, Super Strikers, and Ghost at Schools.

     

    Sonic has done very well to get 8 per cent share in a difficult category as children are slow to changing habits. I think there was a gap in the market as no channel was offering 24X7 action and adventure as a proposition. So kids had to go to MTV Roadies, Fear Factor or once on a while they would go to play video games or watch movies like Dabangg. This gap we fixed with Sonic.

     

    When kids are growing up, they are shying away from watching kids’ channels. But they were not big enough to go to MTV or Vh1. So we found out a nice gap as well as target audience. In fact, Sonic is doing very well in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. We have got an eight per cent market share within six months and 22 per cent reach in 85 minutes of time spent, as of last week.

    What are your revenue expectations from the two channels?
    We have been growing at 9-10 per cent every year and I hope that we continue to grow at that range. From revenue perspective, ad sales is the big brother. Subscription is not significant at this stage but should grow post digitisation. After that comes licensing and merchandising, but they are taking only baby steps.

    How are you growing the L&M biz?
    We are increasing our character base and with that we are increasing our product range. We have 55 licensees on board this year across categories. We can grow this with depth and width. What I mean by width is that we increase characters. Every single character grows into every single product category. When I talk about depth, we look at every single category in the life of a kid.

     

    We have launched footwear with Metro shoes, we also have toys of popular characters like Dora, Ninja and Spongebob. TI Cycles is going to offer co-branded Dora The Explorer and Ninja bicycles. We also have DVDs and VCDs coming for Keymon and Dora.

    Talking about content, still most of the content on your channel remains animation. Why is it so?
    Except Power Rangers and Ultraman, almost all of our content is animation. The reason we do so much animation is because kids come to the category for two reasons: one is to get rid of boredom and second is get rid of all pressures. And animation is the only alternate universe, which allows them to enter the fictionary and imaginary world which allows them to get rid of boredom. Try to do that with live action and you can never achieve it as it is as real as it can be. Because we are a tailor-made category for children, animation will always be the fulcrum.

    But kids’ channels are experimenting with Hindi movies also.
    Even I don’t understand that. I put movies on Sonic because I think adventure as a genre is served with movies. But we put on kids’ movies like Jurassic Park that are catering to that genre.

    But is it to prevent them from shifting to other genres?
    I think they are passive viewers. They are captive audiences to what they watch and, therefore despite fragmentation, the category continues to grow. The fact is that kids continue to come back to the category because the content is tailor-made for them. The only reason why the viewership hasn’t grown to the extent it should have is because India is largely a single television household.

    To what extent did the IPL impact the genre?
    Fortunately for us, we don’t have a fixed prime time slot. And it never had much of an impact because for us we have viewership throughout the day and IPL matches were at 4 pm and 8 pm. It’s not like a GEC where 8 pm is prime time.

     

    We do have 12-3 pm and 6-8 pm as primetime slots. And the best thing about the country is that in some cities, kids go to school in the morning and in some cities in the afternoon. So somebody is watching us at all hours of the day.

    While the kids genre is seeing growth in the HSM, the same cannot be said about the South market. Why?
    That is because all of us are late entrants to the South market. We launched our Tamil and Telugu feed for Nick one year back. Also, kids in those markets have been watching the local content for very long in their own language. But it’s picking up.

    How much do you focus on digital medium for connecting with your target audience?
    To me, digital is important because our TG is more digital savvy than you and me put together. Interactivity has become a large part in the kids’ space today because they have access to mobile and internet. They communicate with us on nickindia.com or sonicgang.com. We also have Power Rangers games on both these websites, besides downloads and wallpapers. There is a lot of interactivity that is happening there. Then we have contests happening on Facebook. The Keymon game on Nokia has got two million downloads. We have over 200,000 fans for Nick on Facebook and over 100,000 fans for Sonic.

    What are your plans for the year?
    We have two big shows coming up on Nick – Cedric and Tony and Alberto. Cedric is about a boy who is mischievous and wants his grandfather to help but normally they are more in trouble than out of it. Tony and Alberto is about the story of a boy and a dog. Both are very mischievous and funny shows talking about the 9-10-year-old boys. The shows will be coming on air in July. We have two new shows coming on Sonic as well – Ghost at Schools and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
  • ‘GEC programmers need to understand IPL viewing behaviour’ : Ormax Media co-founder and CEO Shailesh Kapoor

    ‘GEC programmers need to understand IPL viewing behaviour’ : Ormax Media co-founder and CEO Shailesh Kapoor

    Ormax Media, the consumer knowledge and consulting firm for the media and entertainment industry, has entered into its fourth year of operations with plans to expand its product offerings and business. 

    Launched jointly by research specialist Vispy Doctor and former Filmy business head Shailesh Kapoor in July 2008, the company boasts of growth across sectors, including television, radio and media agencies.
     

    In an interview with Indiatelevision.com‘s Gaurav Laghate, Kapoor talks about the trends in entertainment television across genres – GEC, Sports, English entertainment and infotainment.

    Excerpts:

    What are the significant changes you are witnessing in the Hindi GEC space, both in terms of programming and marketing?
    There has been a definite movement towards light-hearted treatment of content. Stories may still be based around families and social change, but the treatment is less heavy and emotional than what it was before. Meanwhile, reality shows are going through a tricky phase, with no new ideas coming up, except Satyamev Jayate. We seem to have saturated the formats available to us.

    How do you see GECs getting affected from IPL this year?
    There is definitely diversion of viewer attention, but like Bollywood, GECs too have realised that at some point, they will have to take the IPL on. The key is to identify which programmes to focus on during IPL and which to duck. Understanding of IPL viewing behaviour becomes critical for that.

    What do you think of all the sports entertainment properties that are coming up…like Super Fight League? Will they gain traction?
    Mixed Martial Arts, being presented through UFC and SFL, is a very popular International sport. It should surely find its audience.

    What are the trends in sports viewership? Are non-cricket sporting events growing?
    Yes, the growth is there, but slow. Marketing is the key. I‘m glad that a new channel (Sony Six) has launched, as any channel launch always gives impetus to sports in general.
    ‘Language feed is the way forward as C&S penetration will continue to increase in smaller towns. Subtitling has helped English language channels a lot, and so have language feeds for English infotainment‘

    Your view on declining viewership of IPL?
    All trends and data we have suggest IPL viewership is actually 20 per cent higher than last year. I will not like to comment on the ratings.

    Is too much cricket causing viewers’ fatigue?
    A lot of it depends on India‘s performance. Having said that, we have a fairly lean period over the next few months, so cricket should be back in its full glory later this year.

    What are the trends in English infotainment and niche programming? Do you see language feeds getting more eyeballs?
    Language feed is the way forward as C&S penetration will continue to increase in smaller towns. Subtitling has helped English language channels a lot, and so have language feeds for English infotainment.

    And what about programming trends in the English general entertainment space?
    The genre needs some Indian programming desperately. The issue is – are the costs affordable. But a good Indian show, especially comedy or non-fiction, can definitely prove to be a game changer.

    What do you think about English music channels – now three… Will they manage to get viewers share without appointment viewing?
    The genre is very niche and its business model is based largely on imagery, perception, innovations and client servicing. So viewership doesn‘t matter that much.

    How has been the year for Ormax Media in terms of revenue and business growth?
    2011-12 has been an excellent year. We showed 62 per cent growth in our revenue, and added 24 new clients. Our proprietary product line now stands at 19 in number. Film research has been a big growth area for us last year, and should continue to grow this year too. But overall, growth has been across sectors, including television, radio and media agencies.

    What all new clients and new tools and products the company has launched or is launching in the near future?
    We recently launched the third edition of our IPL ad tracking study, Day After Cricket. Our music countdown product ‘Heartbeats‘ is now available in a Kolkata edition also, where we track Hindi and Bangla music in the Kolkata market. Our flagship products Cinematix and Showbuzz recently went through major market expansions. Cinematix expanded from 6 cities to 16 cities, while Showbuzz expanded from 6 to 14 cities. In the coming months, we have a huge product launch lined up. Without revealing much, we can say that it will be a product every advertiser and media agency will find extremely useful and relevant.
  • ‘If you are up in the hierarchy, you will get pricing power’ : Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz

    ‘If you are up in the hierarchy, you will get pricing power’ : Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz

    Leading broadcasters will continue to post strong ad revenue growth while the long tail will be severely hurt as advertisers tend to consolidate their spends in a cautionary environment.

     

    Genre leaders will benefit as advertising monies get rejigged. It is the weaker performers that will not find support from advertisers; they will degrow.

     

    The television sector will see a 13-15 per cent growth in ad revenue this fiscal while print will be pushed back in a slowing economy.

     

    Star India, which has leader channels in most genres, has done more annual and network deals this year. Its top 10 clients, for instance, have done deals stretching from a minimum of 12 months to three years.

     

    The Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre is on an upswing even as ad monies are moving away from cricket.

     

    The Hindi movie channel genre is set to grow at 15-20 per cent. The news genre will, however, continue to struggle this year.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Sibabrata Das, Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz talks about the changing equations in the television advertising space.

     

    Excerpts:

    Is India‘s leading broadcasting network ready to announce that the advertising economy is slowing down?
    The ad market is not as buoyant as it was in January. The television sector will not see a 20-25 per cent growth in ad revenue this fiscal as was forecasted earlier. But it will still post a 13-15 per cent growth while print will be pushed back in a slowing economy. With print crawling at a 0-3 per cent growth rate, ad monies will move to television.

    Even then it is a slower growth for the TV broadcast segment. Is Star beginning to feel the heat?
    Leading broadcasters will continue to post healthy growth while the long tail will be severely hurt as advertisers tend to consolidate their spends in a cautionary environment.

     

    Genre leaders will benefit as advertising monies get rejigged. It is the weaker performers that will not find support from advertisers; they will degrow.

    Aren‘t Star‘s top advertisers noticing a slowdown?
    We have actually done more annual and network deals this year. Our top 10 clients, who account for 30 per cent of our revenues, have done deals stretching from a minimum of 12 months to 36 months. We will buck the trend and grow much faster than the industry. Having leader channels in most genres has helped us stitch long term deals.

    The fiscal first-quarter is indicating a slowdown for certain listed media companies. So isn‘t there a negative sentiment already prevailing in the market?
    The April-June quarter has been good for us. And the July-September quarter is even better. Of course, the channel performance has also improved. If you are up in the hierarchy, you will get pricing power.
    ‘The hard core press categories are shifting more to TV. The automobiles category is now spending 60 per cent of its ad budgets on
    TV, up from 30 per cent. The consumer durables segment is also
    following this trend‘

    But aren‘t we seeing a small dip in FMCG spending in the first quarter?
    The FMCG category is going to be aggressive this year. Some of them may have issues, but as a whole they will continue to spend more. P&G, Marico and ITC, for instance, will not shrink their promotional budgets. There are variants being launched and competition in the category is fierce. TV is the last thing they will cut down on as it is the most efficient medium for the category. And within TV, they will consolidate their spends.

     

    In a toughening economy, advertisers tend to flirt less; they commit their spends to the bigger players and keep aside a lesser amount for shopping with the rest.

    Are Hindi general entertainment channels going to benefit because cricket is not delivering due to India‘s poor performance?
    Cricket is hit in a big way. GECs are on an upswing even as ad monies are moving away from cricket. The Hindi GEC genre, pegged at Rs 37-40 billion, will grow at 12-15 per cent this year.

     

    It is important to note that cricket is losing out because of India‘s dismal performance; this has nothing to do with a slowdown. In fact, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be tested next year; as ratings slip, there will be a churn.

     

    So what is working well for us? Cricket and print are on the losing side this fiscal.

    Are tentpole properties bringing in revenue spikes in GECs?
    Advertisers are supporting tentpole properties as they look at buying impact. Brands like Maruti and Cadbury, who are on cricket, are sponsors of Just Dance. Kaun Banega Crorepati has got Idea. If cricket was doing well, we could have come under some pressure. Even in regional language channels, we are seeing tentpole properties being created.

    What about the Hindi movie channel space?
    The ad revenue market for this genre is around Rs 8 billion. It is set to grow this year at 15-20 per cent.

     

    Star Gold will capitalise heavily as the channel is performing very well. We have cut the ad inventory time by 33 per cent with effect from 15 August to give it a Hindi GEC environment (Channel V saw a similar ad cut time from 1 January) and ramped up our investment on movie acquisitions.

    How will the launch of a Hindi movie channel by Viacom18 impact the market?
    We will see a huge erosion in viewership for some channels who have not invested in movies. But from a revenue perspective, we must remember that it is a very efficient genre.

    In the Bengali and Marathi regional markets, it is becoming a three-horse race with Star performing well. So how will this fragmentation impact?
    The successful launch of Star Jalsha has actually grown the market. The Bangla GEC advertising market has grown from Rs 3 billion two years ago to a size of Rs 6 billion. Even in Marathi, there will be a revenue expansion as we start monetising the growth of Star Pravah. In these stand-by-itself markets, advertisers had only limited GRPs to buy. Now that the supply has increased, we expect a 30-40 per cent expansion. National brands are going deeper and deeper and local brands are getting more aggressive.

    Now that Star is also handling ad sales of NDTV, how do you see the growth in the news genre?
    The news genre will continue to struggle this year. Banking, finance and automobile categories are seeing a huge hit; so news television will feel the impact. With the resurgence of GECs, the news genre has actually stagnated for the last few years.

     

    Regarding NDTV, we are selling it along with the network. So we are bringing in a wider range of advertisers.

    Do you see consortium selling growing as a concept?
    Yes, leading broadcasters will become the rallying point. It has happened in the case of distribution (Star and Zee merger) because they sensed value; we will see it in the advertising arena as well.

    Is the English entertainment segment under pressure?
    English general entertainment channels will benefit as the premium segment grows. High-end cars, for instance, will increase their exposure to TV. The English GEC genre will see a 30 per cent growth this fiscal.

    So is TV gaining at the cost of print?
    The hard core press categories are shifting more to TV. The
    automobiles category is now spending 60 per cent of its ad budgets on TV, up from 30 per cent. The consumer durables segment is also following this trend.
  • NBA puts bar on live coverage of footage from GECs

    NBA puts bar on live coverage of footage from GECs

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has put a bar on live telecast of any fresh footage from general entertainment channels, even as it says that a Designated News Broadcaster may broadcast a maximum of eight minutes of ‘Fresh GE Footage per News Day’, though it may be repeated as specified.

    For fresh footage from general entertainment channels, the NBA has said there must be a minimum of at least seven minutes delay following the live broadcast of any ‘Fresh GE Footage’ by the host broadcaster.

    According to the ‘NBA News Access Guidelines for General Entertainment Footage’ issued by the Association which is the apex body of news television channels, no more than three minutes of ‘Fresh GE Footage’ shall be used from any single programme of a general entertainment broadcaster.

    At the outset, the guidelines state that the Designated News Broadcaster must bear in mind that general entertainment material is not central to the news genre and accordingly, general entertainment footage must be used sparingly (subject to the guidelines) and only when such footage has some intrinsic news value or which is connected to any news or current affairs being reported

    It is stated that these News Access Guidelines shall govern the use of general entertainment footage by Designated News Broadcasters and shall be followed by all Members/Associate Members of the NBA.

    A Designated News Broadcaster may use a maximum of two minutes of archival footage per news day which shall also be subject to the same restrictions as to repeat use as Fresh GE Footage.

    However, the guidelines state that “use of any Footage (whether Fresh GE Footage or Archival Footage) in excess of the stipulations contained above shall be permissible only under separate contractual arrangements between the Designated News Broadcaster and a general entertainment broadcaster and not otherwise”.

    The Guidelines stress that the use of Fresh GE Footage and the use of Archival Footage is strictly limited in each case to use within news and/or current affairs programmes. “No use of Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footages is permitted in any circumstances for any commercial purposes,” it is emphasised.

    It has been further stated that ‘for the avoidance of doubt, a Designated News Broadcaster may commercially exploit a news and/or current affairs program within which Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage is broadcast as a whole, in the regular course, through normal advertising/sponsorship breaks usual in programming of news channels, provided always that, no advertising, sting, logo, graphic and/or any other commercial (morphing) activity occurs immediately before, immediately after or during the Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage and no association is created between the use of Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage and any third party brand or product’.

    The Guidelines stress that ‘Courtesy bug acknowledging the concerned Host Broadcaster must be pasted by the Designated News Broadcaster throughout the broadcast of any Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage’.

    The Guidelines say it will be permissible to repeat the Fresh GE Footage referred to above up to 2 times in a News Day – that is, Fresh GE Footage may be used on one premier and two repeats basis of the same footage.

    But such restriction on repeats shall not apply to Fresh GE Footage of an Exceptional Occurrence of news value: any newsworthy occurrence of an extraordinary nature that happens in relation to a GE Program but outside the GE Programme or the event being broadcast by way of the GE Programme.

    Footage made available to a Designated News Broadcaster as part of a Electronic Press Kit (EPK) shall be counted as part of the eight minutes stipulated above.

    No footage or part thereof may be provided or made available by a Designated News Broadcaster to any third party, the Guidelines say.

    Designated News Broadcasters must use the correct name of the GE programme and the ‘GE Programme Logo’ in any and all broadcasts in which the GE programme is mentioned or referred to, whether or not including the broadcast of any clips of Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage.

    If the ‘GE Program Logo’ gets covered by the logo of the Designated News Broadcaster, the Designated News Broadcaster must include a courtesy line extended at the bottom of, or elsewhere, on the screen.

    In order to improve the quality of footage for use, Designated News Broadcaster may use footage received through Integrated Receiver-Decoders (IRDs) obtained from concerned general entertainment broadcasters under simple bilateral arrangements with such general entertainment broadcasters.

    Except for footage received from a general entertainment broadcaster as part of EPK, Designated News Broadcaster alone shall be liable for any consequences arising from broadcast of any footage that may contain adult or otherwise inappropriate content during hours when such footage is not broadcast by the concerned general entertainment broadcaster. Regarding EPK footage, however, such liability (if any) shall be upon the general entertainment broadcaster.

  • NBA favours limiting GEC content to 8 minutes a day

    NBA favours limiting GEC content to 8 minutes a day

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has opined that news channels should not show more than eight minutes of entertainment clips from general entertainment channel in a whole day.

    This follows general complaints that news channels show more of entertainment than hard news. Some general entertainment channels have also raised objections in this regard
    It is understood that the NBA has sought the opinion of members on this issue.

    Several news channels not only beam clips from music, comedy and other reality shows from different general entertainment channels, but also show clips from popular series.

  • ‘Peak fragmentation affecting rev growth’ : Zeel executive director revenue and niche channels Joy Chakraborthy

    ‘Peak fragmentation affecting rev growth’ : Zeel executive director revenue and niche channels Joy Chakraborthy

    There are early indications that the advertising economy is slowing down. With many parts of the world awash in economic gloom, there are forecasts that guide India‘s television advertising revenue market to a below double-digit growth this fiscal.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) executive director revenue and niche channels Joy Chakraborthy believes the sports segment will see a degrowth while the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), caught in a four-horse race, will lose their pricing power.

    Though advertisers are exercising caution in spending, rate hikes are taking place in certain genres like movie and regional channels. Even in case of Hindi GECs, certain programmes can get rate hikes.

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Sibabrata Das, Chakraborthy talks about peak fragmentation affecting revenues and what the industry needs to do to beat growth blues.

    Excerpts:

    Zeel posted a measly 0.5 per cent rise in first-quarter ad revenue over the year-ago period. So are we heading for an ad slowdown due to stresses in the global economy or is it is due to a fall in ratings of the flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Zee TV?

    Advertisers are exercising caution in spending. They are entering into quarterly and shorter term deals; not too many annual deals are happening. We will be hit both by a possible slowdown and a fall in viewership of Zee TV. But at the same time, we have the highest GRP-to-revenue conversion.

    Major spenders like FMCGs have said that they will be slashing their ad budgets as their profit margins are getting squeezed. How deep will the television advertising economy be hit?

    There is a concern, but at the same time many of the FMCG companies are launching variants. If HUL states that it is slashing its ad budget, frankly speaking it is no more a scare. But what could be disturbing is that we are seeing a drop in high-yielding inventories filled by telecom, banking and finance and real estate companies. We are hoping that like telecom which came in a big way a few years back, we will see a new category emerge. India being an emotional country, a single strong wave can lead to a turnaround.

    But don‘t FMCGs account for 55 per cent of the total TV ad pie?
    It is not that FMCGs are going to retreat. They are redeploying their ad monies. While their spends on cricket and Doordarshan are getting reduced, they are increasing their allocations to GECs, regional markets and other genres. And if HUL and Marico cut their spends, ITC and others will up them. There is too much competition in the category.

    Will broadcasters be able to implement effective ad rate hikes?
    Broadcasters have almost filled up their ad inventories. Perhaps, what has increased is ‘float deals‘ (whenever inventory ia available, channels give them to clients at a marginal discount rsate) given to FMCGs. Rate hikes, however, are taking place in certain genres like movie and regional channels. Zee, for instance, will see ad revenue growth in Marathi, Bangla, Kannada and Andhra Pradesh markets. Even in case of Hindi GECs, certain programmes can get rate hikes. Celebrities, for instance, attract a premium.
    ‘Advertisers are exercising caution in spending. But if HUL states that it is slashing its ad budget, frankly speaking it is no more a scare. What could be disturbing is that we are seeing a drop in high-yielding inventories filled by telecom, banking and finance and real estate companies‘

    In case of Hindi GECs, we are moving from a three-horse race last year to a fight among the four at the top with the resurgence of Sony Entertainment Television. How is this going to affect the genre?

    As we move to a four-horse race, Hindi GECs will lose their pricing power. The genre will see growth but there will be revenue fragmentation. Media agencies will be in a better bargaining position.

    How hard will Zeel be hit considering that its flagship channel Zee TV will most likely continue to be placed No. 4 during the festive season?

    It does worry us. But in case of a slowdown, advertisers like to hedge their bets. The comfort zone for them could be that Zee TV wouldn‘t fall further; it can only go up. And the difference between the top-rung GECs is mainly one show. After Jhansi Ki Rani fared well during its run at the 8 pm slot, its replacement Shobha Somnath Ki has not been doing well. We are relaunching that show.

    Let‘s also not forget that advertisers and agencies are not opportunists; they do not dump the ship but value long term relationships and the network strength.

    Will Zee TV, which contributes about 40 per cent of the network‘s ad earnings, see a degrowth?

    We are seeing strong growth in many of our channels. In fact, eight of our channels have posted peak monthly revenues in August. But, yes, there will be some impact if Zee TV loses GRPs.

    Considering that there is a slowdown and the GECs are caught in a fight among four at the top, what is the growth forecast for the television sector?

    Television will grow at 10-12 per cent this year, faster than print which will crawl at 2-3 per cent. But there is still a lot of ground to cover. We believe the television ad revenue size is Rs 107.50 billion compared to print‘s Rs 119 billion.

    Another abnormal thing this year is that the Dussehra and Diwali festive season falls in the same month (October). Television has limited inventory. If this would have stretched over two months, the sector would have gained.

    A proper picture of the growth pace will, however, emerge after we get the trends in November and December.

    Sports was a big revenue driver in FY‘11. Will it sustain that momentum this fiscal?

    Sports will see degrowth. Sports broadcasters earned a combined ad revenue of Rs 15 billion in FY‘11, buoyed by the World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL). But this fiscal their ad revenue will be under attack because of India‘s debacle against England. The India-West Indies series was affected as some of India‘s stars were not playing. Seeing the performance of the Indian team, the Champions League Twenty20 is obviously facing the music.

    Sports broadcasters only focus on property-based selling. They should also strategise on RODP (run of day part) and ROS (run on schedule) selling. We are doing that in a big way.

    How difficult is it to push hard for revenue growth in such a cluttered television market even for niche genres?

    The biggest problem in the television industry is that fragmentation is peaking. There are 18 music and 15 English entertainment channels. Where is the money going to come from? Revenue gets affected because of fragmentation.

    Zee is in a fortunate position as it has the largest bouquet of channels. The niche channels have also built a brand equity over the years. We are seeing 10-15 per cent growth in this segment. But for new channels that are to come up, there is no bandwidth on both analogue cable networks and DTH platforms.

    You are not happy with the way distribution is evolving?

    The underreporting of subscriber numbers is hurting the industry. Broadcasters are feeling the pinch with content costs climbing, as ad sales is still funding the television business. Whatever a broadcaster earns as pay revenue goes out as carriage fees. The cable TV sector needs transparency.

    Is slowdown good in that sense as it will act as an entry barrier for more launches?

    Slowdown is good in a way as it will ensure that networks with sustaining power will gain. The No. 1 and No. 2 players will take away most of the monies. Costs will also get corrected as companies try to protect their bottom lines.

    But at the same time there is one player every year who spoils the market. In the movie channel space, for instance, Viacom18 drove the acquisition price insane last year. This year Star is doing it.

    Do you see an opportunity for leading broadcasters like Zee to get smaller networks outsource their ad sales?

    Personally, I feel there will be media-selling consortiums, led by big networks. We are evaluating partnerships in markets where we do not compete.

    The time has also arrived for us to dig deep into the regional markets. We have formed a retail team and they are tapping such clients.

    How beneficial has it been from a growth perspective as you have been handling the ad sales of television as well as print with DNA under your belt?

    Print is very scheme-led, there are too many hidden deals, and no timely research is available. The circulation gains can‘t be monetised immediately. But in print you can do a lot more innovations. Print and television buyers are totally different in mindset but the basic business principle remains the same.

    DNA has benefited from Zee‘s deep relationship with media agencies. Zee, on the other hand, has been able to gain access to a wider breadth of clients. We would have benefited more from the synergies if we had not lost GRPs (gross rating points) and our channel positions were healthier.