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Tag: IPL

  • BKT tyres to sponsor six IPL teams

    BKT tyres to sponsor six IPL teams

    NEW DELHI- Indian multinational group Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT Tyres) will sponsor six Indian Premier League teams, including reigning champions Mumbai Indians, in the upcoming edition of the tournament, starting September 19 in the UAE.

    Apart from Mumbai Indians, BKT will sponsor Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Rajasthan Royals.

    The company has already been promoting cricket by supporting Australia's T20 tournament, the Big Bash League.

    “Cricket is a very popular sport in India. Everyone loves the game, and we at BKT are unstoppable when it is about sport. We are pleased and excited to be a part of an event that is much followed in our home country. We are a keen supporter of several national sports all around the globe, but it fills me with immense pleasure that we are now supporting such a significant sporting event of India,” said BKT JMD Rajiv Poddar. 

    The company has been partnering for various sporting events in India including eight out of 12 teams of Pro Kabaddi LIKE Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, U Mumba, Gujarat Fortune Giants U.P Yoddha, Dabang Delhi, and Haryana Steelers Kabaddi in the 2019 season.

  • Uday Shankar speaks up about IPL 2020 in Covid times

    Uday Shankar speaks up about IPL 2020 in Covid times

    MUMBAI: Disney Star India chairman Uday Shankar seems to thrive in crisis moments. The ongoing pandemic seems to have brought out the best in the former journo. The world’s most prestigious and valued cricket tournament the Indian Premier League (IPL) – on which he had betted big three years ago by bidding unheard of acquisition fees – is taking place in the UAE come 19 September after it was aborted in March end.  For only the third time in its 13 years of  existence it is being held in a foreign land.

    And it's taking place in very trying circumstances:  Covid 2019 is on a rampage in India and cases are rapidly rising every day and the CSK team has reported that one of its players and many of its staffers have contracted the SARSCov2 virus – that’s even before a single ball has been bowled.

    Hence, Uday and his team are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it runs smoothly at least from the broadcast end. Speaking to The Times of India, he said that “Star has been working on its own bio-secure bubble. The challenge that has been presented to my team is to deliver an exciting IPL, while keeping every crew member and team member totally safe from the pandemic. That remains our top priority. It’s not an easy one because there are no global role models for something like this.”

    The Disney Star India team has put in place the bio-secure bubble in Mumbai to accomodate 400-plus staffers across six floors of the production facility which has been set up for the IPL.  Staffers will be rigorously tested – pre-screened, tested before taking them in and periodic testing will be resorted during their stay in the production hub. “Stringent sanitization and social distancing protocols at production facilities and multiple zones are being set up to keep teams separated,” explained Uday. 

    He added that the same stringent Covid-related protocols will be followed for 65-70 days at the three stadiums with around 700 plus crew and around 90 commentators working across UAE, India and globally.

    The crew’s output will reach 100 countries, result in seven fully customised broadcast feeds across languages and 18 hours of daily live and special programming around the IPL, Uday further shared.

    “IPL has gone out of India twice, but this exercise is going to be phenomenal… The BCCI is the umbrella under which everybody operates, and they have a right to expect full safety and reassurance from us …The onus is on us to take the responsibility,” he said. “The protocol we’ve designed for this IPL can become a global benchmark for any tournament to be held safely….In the end, we all know, it’s a virus and anything can happen, but we would like to have a very clear conscience that we put our best foot forward.”

    Even though there won’t be spectators in the stadia in Abhu Dhabi, Sharjah and Duba, Uday expects TV viewership to cross 550 million in India across live broadcast and beyond live programming. “There’s been a massive drought of live sport. People have been in a state of mind where they need a break from the last few months and IPL is ideally positioned for that. We are very focused on making sure the fan experience at home is not impacted. Technology has only made the engagement of the fans deeper and wider,” he averred.

    Uday further highlighted that the IPL coming back could be viewed in a more positive light. “At a time when the country has been gripped by concerns, and people have mostly been spending time locked indoors, something as important to their lives as the IPL coming back is highly symbolic of the triumph of things positive over things negative,” he expounded. “IPL is India’s only global brand and one of the top sports properties globally too. This year’s IPL is a professional and personal commitment.”

  • BCCI announces Unacademy as official partner for IPL

    BCCI announces Unacademy as official partner for IPL

    MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League governing council (IPL GC) announced India’s largest learning platform Unacademy as official partner for IPL beginning with the 2020 edition which will be held in the UAE from 19 September onwards. The partnership will cover three seasons of the IPL.

    The Bengaluru-based edutech firm, Unacademy, aims to build an online knowledge repository for multilingual education by bringing expert educators together from across the globe.

    IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said: “We are pleased to have Unacademy on board as the ‘official partner’ of the Indian Premier League 2020 to 2022. IPL Is the most watched cricket league in India and as a homegrown Indian edutech company we believe that Unacademy can create a huge positive impact on the aspirations of the audience watching, especially the millions of Indian youth who are seeking inspiration in their careers.”

    Unacademy vice-president marketing Karan Shroff said: “We are delighted to become the official partner of IPL. Unacademy is a high-intensity brand that has disrupted the education and learning market with innovations and broken geographical barriers for Learners and Educators. The IPL has a similar history of disruption and innovation that have not only brought cricket fans closer to the game but also catapulted it to become one of the top sporting events in the world. With this partnership, we will double-down on our efforts to make Unacademy the biggest brand in the consumer-internet space in India. We thank the BCCI and IPL for the opportunity and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

  • Dream11’s Harsh Jain-speak on the fantasy games leap

    Dream11’s Harsh Jain-speak on the fantasy games leap

    NEW DELHI: Fantasy sports platform Dream11 hit the headlines in early August when its bid of Rs 220 crore for the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 came out tops, beating back the offers from larger firms. And it polevaulted its founders Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth into the limelight once again.

    Set up by the duo in 2008, the Mumbai-based company has more than 80 million users and is the first gaming startup from India to attain unicorn status, an industry term for startups valued above Rs 6,500 crore ($1 billion).

    With an array of top-notch investment firms across the globe, including Kalaari Capital, Multiples Equity, Tencent Holdings and Steadview Capital Management, Dream11 is one of the most stable and thriving start-up ecosystems. Dream11 has expanded its offerings with Fancode, DreamX, Dream Sports Investments, Dream Sports Foundation, DreamSetGo, and DreamPay.  

    According to various media reports, the company spent Rs 785.08 crore on advertising and promotions during FY19, as against Rs 230.30 crore in FY18.

    Speaking at the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s (IAMAI’s) Marketing Conclave on 28 August, Jain explained why he chose to put Dream11’s hat in the IPL title sponsorship ring. "IPL will break all records this year as one billion people stuck at home due to pandemic will definitely watch the sporting event. Our successful associations with IPL in the past gave us courage too,” he said.

    With the Dream11 brand being hammered home all through the tournament, it’s quite likely that an additional few million might chose to download the app and get engaged with the fascinating opportunity to play the skill based matches. Of course, the app would further get embedded into young and old India’s minds.

    During his address, Jain highlighted the need to focus on product development more than on marketing. “I see a lot of products today which use marketing right from the start. I believe it is the wrong thing to do,” he pointed out. “First, you need to develop a product fit for the market and once it is achieved, you should then go for scaling it.”

    Jain explained that in 2008 when IPL was launched in India, it did so without any fantasy games. But today most sports in India cannot be imagined without a fantasy game element. Then there were the naysayers who dissuaded Jain, whose father Anand is a close associate of ace entrepreneur Mukesh Ambani, from foraying into the space when he returned to India after his education in the US.

    "All marketing pundits told us that fantasy games won’t bloom in India and it will be a complete failure, but we succeeded. It was during this time when Sheth (currently serving as a co-founder & COO) joined me in this journey," Harsh elaborated.  

    The initial three years were tough. The company suffered a cash crunch and other obstacles, but what kept them going was their digital agency, Red Digital, which managed social media accounts for  Discovery Networks, Reliance Foundation, and Mumbai Indians to name a few.  By 2012, the company had decided to go ahead with the freemium single match business.

     “Indian consumers don’t like to commit long term to certain products, they like instant gratification and high engagement.Since the time we have focused on organic reach, growth hacking, and targeted digital marketing . We focused on things like virality and getting users to invite their friends,” Jain shared.

    In 2014, the company reported a million registered users, which grew to 45 million in 2018. Last year, the company reported having more than a 80 million user base.

    Jain admitted, "From 2017 we started partnering with leagues and signed Harsha Bhogle as our first brand ambassador. In 2018, we roped in MS Dhoni and started TV advertising for the very first time, and launched the Dimaag Se Dhoni marketing campaign during the IPL 2018 ."  

    Like any other brand, Dream11 faced hurdles in its growth journey, and the biggest challenge was not being available on Google Play store, a hurdle they surmounted.

    “It has been a difficult journey to convince people to download our apps as an APK and answer questions about why we are not on play store. But if people find value, they will find it," Jain said.  

    According to the 2019 report published by the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) and KPMG, the number of fantasy sports operators saw 7x growth during 2016-2018, while the number of users grew by over 25x between June 2016 and February 2019.

    The report also pointed out that the overall revenue of fantasy sports in India saw a three-fold growth from Rs 920 crore in FY19 to Rs 2,470 crore in FY20. As per IFSG-KPMG report, Dream11 commands 90 per cent market share.

  • Rajasthan Royals signs TV9 Network as principal sponsor

    Rajasthan Royals signs TV9 Network as principal sponsor

    NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals has signed TV9 Bharatvarsh as the principal partner for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, scheduled to be held in UAE from 19 September to 10 November 2020. The Royals will proudly wear TV9’s logo on the front of the team’s jersey in the IPL.

    TV9 Bharatvarsh replaces EXPO 2020 Dubai as Rajasthan Royals’ front of jersey brand after the much-awaited mega-event was postponed to 2021 owing to the Covid2019 pandemic. 

    Expressing his pleasure at adding another strong brand to the Royals partner family, Rajasthan Royals’ COO Jake Lush McCrum, said: “ We’re happy to have TV9 on board with us at Rajasthan Royals this season. It’s one of the most well-renowned networks across India and presents a fantastic opportunity for us to express the story and the culture of Rajasthan Royals to a wider audience.”

    “Cricket is not just a sport in India. It’s a religion. That’s why the TV9 Network, India’s largest news network, has partnered with Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL),” said TV9 Network CEO, Barun Das.

    “The association with Rajasthan Royals will enable us to offer our viewers exclusive, behind-the-scenes, 360-degree coverage of all the IPL action both on and off the field. Along with TV9Bharatvarsh, other four regional news channels in the network—all of the market leaders–will also, deliver this unique experience to their viewers," added Das.

  • Dangal seeks to ramp up original TV programing

    Dangal seeks to ramp up original TV programing

    MUMBAI: In March 2019, the big four networks pulled out of DD’s  FreeDish service as TRAI’s new tariff order did not allow FTA (free to air) channels’ inclusion in the pay channel bouquet. However, it was the apt time for FTA channels to make merry.

    One such network was Enterr10 Television. The network’s Hindi FTA GEC Dangal TV gained significant viewers and today, it is one of the most popular Hindi GECs.

    Its top shows, Ramayan and Crime Alert, among others, brought it a one-fifth share of the viewership in the Hindi-speaking market (HSM), Many of the current shows on Dangal TV include those based on Indian mythology and reruns, sprinkled with a few original productions.

    “We have observed that putting original content has been a game changer for the other players in the market. Creating original content is the only way forward,” says Enterr10 Television COO Deep Drona. “ I have observed that the audience in FTA space is no more different then the  paid audience in terms of wanting to watch good entertainment.”

    He also highlights that TV  consumption amongst viewers is back to normal because the original programs are back on track. Drona believes that the many Hindi GEC channels with fresh programming line-up have significant advantage over other channels.

    He is quite optimistic about a new show- Aye Mere Humsafar – which is going to hit the screens in the coming week. Another four new series will debut on Dangal over the next two months, taking costs up by 40 to 50 per cent.

    According to him Dangal continued to be the leader in the rural market for the initial three months of the lockdown in terms of viewership; ad revenues however did not match up to the audience surge. But Drona points out that currently the channel is faring better than the pre-Covid2019 level with inventory fill  levels going back to what they were before the pandemic. He shares that adex had softened in the months of May and June but now things are getting back to normal.

    When most of the channels are worried about IPL, Drona thinks the entire FTA space will be spared from the brunt of the cricket extravaganza. He opines that the impact of IPL will not be very high especially for FTA channels.

    In its thirteenth year, the IPL is coinciding with the festival season, which is expected to lead to a reallocation of ad spends on TV. Drona shares that as IPL is a large property and everybody knows what kind of rating it can deliver; channels have planned a certain strategy to overcome this.

    “IPL is also coming at a time where viewers are dying for live sports content. So, there are many things that are going in its favour,” he explains. “For the past six to seven seasons it has been observed that IPL ratings do not disrupt GECs anymore. But this time it is a unique year no one can predict what will happen because it is coming during festivities. However, it will shake the advertising revenue and viewership.”

    His view is that  post-the- Covid2019 and lockdown period,  rural India  appears to be showing signs of a rebound; urban seems to be lagging behind, because many cities are partially contained still. With DD FreeDish more accessible in rural areas, it’s no wonder that Dangal has become a favourite hunting ground for FMCG advertisers.

    Says MediaDonuts MD Vidhu Sagar: “Advertisers are fundamentally interested in reach. The fact that audiences are flocking to  FTA channels such as Dangal, effectively turning them into potent messaging delivery avenues, is a win-win situation for both advertisers and the channel. The channels have chosen to forgo potential subscription revenues only since they believe greater audience traction would more than make up by way of advertising revenues. And advertisers are basically ROI-oriented. Greater reach is the most preferred option. If it’s courtesy of FTA channels like Dangal, so be it, that is just the way the cookie crumbles.”

    Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are very strong markets for Dangal as majority of its audiences come from this belt.: “There is a lot of work to be done in places like Gujarat, Rajasthan and other urban markets but our strengths lie in the Hindi speaking belt,” reveals Drona. “As of now, we will continue to focus on these markets.”

    The channel is currently working with Swastik Productions, Shashi Sumeet Productions, Rashmi Sharma Telefilms and few others. Dangal is also looking at creating more home-based shows in the near future.

  • Will GECs score big this IPL & festival season?

    Will GECs score big this IPL & festival season?

    MUMBAI: 2020 has been a different year, what with the pandemic totally putting things out of kilter for the economy, for business. And it continues to be different even as the festival season comes up in India.

    Normally, the fiefdom of India’s general entertainment channels which launch new seasons, and shows to indulge their viewers and attract a large chunk of the advertisers’ dollars and their own annual revenues,  August to November, this year features a party pooper, in the shape of India’s biggest sports extravaganza, the  Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Set to take place in the UAE between 19 September and 10 November, the league – which is usually held between April and May every year  – corners close to Rs 2100 odd crore of ad spends and is expected to better those numbers in its 2020 season .

    Hence, the question being asked is: will the IPL’s overlap with the festive season lead to  a drop in viewership for the GECs and to advertising dollars being sucked out from them towards the league?

    OMD MudraMax EVP & principal partner Navin Kathuria believes that viewers who are looking for refreshing content will find that in the IPL.  Says: ”Due to Covid2019, only 17 per cent of the total sports events took place and that too pre-Covod2019. Secondly, there is a fatigue in viewers due to the plethora of mythological programmes, overdose of Covid2019 news, repeat movies etc.”

    He says what will aid its viewership is the fact that majority of the working population will be at home during the IPL as many organisations will not be fully functional or will be working with shortened hours / reduced staff strength / alternate days of the week. “With bars and clubs shut, people will be watching more from home, reading to an  upsurge in home viewing.”

    The Media Ant co- founder Samir Chaudhary echoes Kathuria. Says he: “The lines were clearly demarcated that April-May would be for cricket and festive seasons would be for GEC, but as IPL is coming now the viewership of GECs will be impacted.”

    “The audience is hungry for IPL and cricket so the performance in terms of ratings could be unprecedented or amongst the best in the recent seasons,” shares regional language network Enter10 chief operating officer Deep Drona.

    The belief is that with matches scheduled at 3:30 pm and then at 7:30 pm, single TV homes – of which India has a majority – will opt for the IPL, with GEC shows being watched between the match breaks or viewers tuning into them when the matches end.

    Zee TV business head Aparna Bhosle does not support this viewpoint.

    According to her, Hindi GECs have over many years has managed to sustain viewership and even grow despite the IPL. She says, “Long running fiction or non-fiction shows have, by and large, not seen an adverse impact on viewership due to existing fan bases and the loyalty channels’ command in terms of appointment viewership.”

    She further adds: “The viewership of television has increased by 34 per cent during lockdown. There is a growth of 10 per cent in average daily reach as well as 22 per cent growth in average daily time spent. (Source: BARC| 2+| HSM (U+R)| Wk 12-20’20 vs Wk 1-11’20). With the best of content across our primetime, we want to ensure that our shows act as a great binder that brings families together during this period of social distancing.”

    In fact, so confident is she of it being business as usual, that Zee TV is gearing up to premiere four big-ticket family targeted shows during the festive season.

    Ditto with the Enter10 network. It is planning to have a robust line up starting from the end of August until November end with a slew of original new series planned.

    Estimates are that marketers signed checks to the tune of Rs 24,000 crore during the festival period last year. The pandemic and the lockdowns over the past six months have resulted in Indian advertising expenditure shrinking by as much as 39 per cent over last year. Soothsayers predict that 2019’s festival adex of Rs 24,000 crore will not be breached this year. 

    Not everyone agrees. Havas Media CEO Mohit Joshi says, “There has been a revival of sorts from June, July with spends going up gradually. We expect brands to press the accelerator pedal in September-October-November.”

    Drona believes the fact that the IPL and GEC launches are coinciding, will lead to an overall expansion of the ad pie in the festive season, benefiting both. According to him spending has been subdued for a large part of the year, and this will be the time when it will be all systems go for categories such as FMCGs, ecommerce sites, gaming platforms, the OTT sector and what have you. “Yes, there will be a scramble for marketing and ad budgets but that will lead to a growth in the overall spends,” he added.

    Chaudhary points out that may not come to be true as budgets have been slashed and with smaller budgets, advertisers would prefer to park it with a big bang event. Says he: “Disney Star India has priced its spots at Rs 10-15 lakh per 10 seconds. Only the big companies can afford these price points. So they will mostly park their spots with the IPL, leaving aside smaller spends for the GECs.”

    Will the GECs then be forced to shave their FCT and sponsorship rates? Kathuria would like to wait and watch. “Normally, GECs don’t discount big properties,” he says. “The challenge they face is that consumer sentiment has been subdued due to Covid2019 and it has impacted consumer spends. And hence the propensity by brands to spend big.”

    Clearly, for both the IPL and GECs, the festival season 2020 is bringing with it interesting and testing times.

  • Mobile Premier League (MPL) signed as principal sponsor of both KKR & TKR

    Mobile Premier League (MPL) signed as principal sponsor of both KKR & TKR

    NEW DELHI: The Knight Riders and Mobile Premier League (MPL), India’s largest esports and mobile gaming platform, announced today that MPL will become the principal sponsor for both the Knight Riders Franchises in IPL & CPL – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR).

    Knight Riders CEO & MD Venky Mysore said, “We are very excited to partner with MPL, which is a vibrant Indian start-up company promoted and run by a group of young and innovative people, in Esports and Gaming, that is bound to grow significantly. Our partnership across KKR in IPL and TKR in CPL, will create new opportunities to socialise and activate our partnership.

    MPL VP, growth and marketing Abhishek Madhavan said, “We are excited to be the principal sponsors for Kolkata Knight Riders. The team has been a household name right from the start and have won the prestigious IPL championship twice. They have some stellar players and the team competes to win, which is what MPL is all about as well, so it is the perfect marriage that will help us take our brand to more users. With Trinbago Knight Riders, one of the strongest teams, having won the CPL Championship three times, as its sister franchise, this association will help us take MPL to the international sports arena.”

    CPL is scheduled to start on 18 August 2020 and conclude on 10 September 2020 in Trinidad, which will feature three-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) and five other teams.

    IPL is scheduled to start on 19 September 2020 in UAE and conclude on 10 November 2020, which will feature two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and seven other teams.

  • “We see TV channels as partners rather than vendors”: Havas Media Group’s Mohit Joshi

    “We see TV channels as partners rather than vendors”: Havas Media Group’s Mohit Joshi

    A seasoned professional, Havas Media Group MD India, Mohit Joshi, is known within the industry for his sharp acumen and quick knack to adapt to changing trends. With his role expanding in the agency as Anita Nayyar moved on in May, this year, Joshi led the agency during probably the toughest time in its history and again showed great strength and adaptability in taking care of the business, helping certain clients maintain good visibility and value even during the lockdown and economic slowdown. 

    The gentleman sat down virtually with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari on Thursday evening to discuss the changing trends in the TV buying world, his expectations with the IPL, his newfound love for OTT content and much more in a lucid discussion. Edited excerpts follow:

    You follow the principles of purushartha, daivya and kaal in your life. That sounds interesting. Please tell us more about it.  

    Yes, I very strongly believe in the power of these three; purushartha meaning hard work, daivya meaning luck and kaal meaning time. I feel success comes when all these three work together. For example, for people working hard during this time (Covid2019) might not have the kaal that is time favouring them. 

    It seems like you read a lot of classical text. 

    Not a lot, but yes, once in a while. There are many of them that I like and keep going back to, such as Thomas Hardy. 

    Nice. So, how’s the work going on right now? Have you people started going to the office? How’s the vibe like?

    Yes, the offices are open but we are not forcing anyone to join. Additionally, we have done extensive joining assessments for the people on grounds like who all are living alone v/s who all are living with old parents or young children, who have morbidities associated, etc. So, only those people are being called to the office for whom it is absolutely safe. We are not allowing anyone who travels via public transport to come to the office. There are extensive hygiene and social distancing protocols that we are following across our offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. 

    The vibe is great. I feel that we all have gone through a huge amount of change in the past few months and now people want to get back to the office. It is not just about work but there is also a lot of residual psychological tension that gets eased when people meet and engage in conversations.

    I personally love the days when I have to go to the office and look forward to them. 

    And how is it for your clients? Have they started opening their workplaces?

    A lot of them like Hyundai have started opening up but there are also the likes of Swiggy and Tata Motors who are still working remotely. But all of the client meetings are still happening virtually via platforms like Zoom. 

    Most of our clients are happy and positive right now. A lot of them like Hyundai were much in demand during the lockdown too and now the others too have great expectations from the festive season and also IPL. 

    So how do you see the TV viewership from here?

    I think the lockdown period was quite unique and can’t be compared to any other time. We saw a huge spike in viewership for programs like Ramayana and Mahabharata and also on news channels. 

    We have already started witnessing dips in TV viewership despite new content coming in and it is bound to happen. But I think it will stabilise now at a slightly higher level than pre-Covid2019 times. 

    Also, there is quite a hullabaloo going on TV channels, especially on news channels with Sushant Singh Rajput’s case and the sort of coverage that is happening. How are your clients seeing it; do they want to stay away from it or be present? 

    Honestly speaking, I feel that most clients should be away from this type of investigation largely; once in a while, some presence from an impact perspective is fine. But again, it is difficult to do so [stay away from such content] because most content on news is that way, they have a certain tonality. You can’t be away from this environment because then you might not find any relevant domain to be present. But in the case of very controversial domains, I personally feel that my client should be out. 

    Coming back to the client attributes, how do they view television? With situations like lowdown, when you have already committed something and have planned something for a market and that gets shut down, so does the media channel have to be flexible or the client or the agency?

    I think all three of us have been very flexible and understanding at this point in time because that’s what is required. Right now, each party understands that if one gets impacted, all three will be affected. 

    The solution to this is that we seek media platforms as partners and not just vendors. These are extraordinary times and thus require extraordinary solutions. So, I would like to get into a partnership with any channel and tell them that don’t just tell us FCTs or rates, give us options for product integrations. 

    What are the other challenges that you are facing while doing TV buying and planning?

    Television today is not just a medium of reach and impact but also a medium to drive ROI. Every client today is asking what KPIs will I get. I think it is more of an opportunity than a challenge, in fact. 

    We are using whatever data is available and we are able to do a fair bit of predictive modelling to address that. 

    Also, today, we have evolved in TV planning. We now make audio-visuals plans, which include TV, OTT and online videos. 

    A lot has changed in consumer behaviour today. I, myself, am a big example of it. I was not very much into OTT pre-Covid2019 and now I am hooked. It started with Paatal Lok and now I have watched all series like Narcos and Inside Edge. So, if a brand has to catch me, it has to be present across media and go beyond just television. 

    What part of this audio-visual planning is acquired by traditional television?

    Anywhere between 50-60 per cent to 90 per cent, depending on category and brand. We insist that all brands make even a small investment online to get an incremental reach on TV. 

    Is everything business-driven and KPI-driven then? 

    No. Let me take this opportunity to tell you the native Havas philosophy that we don’t associate with a brand that is not meaningful. It’s not just about business KPIs but also brand love. The money that a client is putting in, that’s actually for us to build meaningful brands. At the same time, I can’t go and tell a brand that I’ll make your brand meaningful, you give me money. The learnings are drawn from the bottom of the funnel and that’s how plans are made. There has to be a balance between quality and quantity. 

    You mentioned that brands are positive about IPL and the festive season. Do we see ad rates hiking?

    Rates will not go up during the festive season but the IPL will bring some stability. Some clients will invest surely, but for some business realities are more important. 

    But as I mentioned, there is a positive sentiment amongst the brands for IPL. It is coming in at the right time when brands are eager to spend. A brand like Patanjali, which otherwise wouldn’t have been a part of IPL sponsorship, is now thinking about that. We ourselves are in touch with 15 of our clients offering different deal sizes and at least 10 will surely get through. 

    Around 50-52 per cent of the overall spend by brands, this year will be during the festive season and IPL will take good 25-30 per cent of it. Categories like ed-tech, white goods, automobile, durables etc., will be active. 

    Are we seeing a slight tilt towards spending on Hotstar this season?

    I think the spend will be regular, much like last year, but new categories will come to advertise. For example, certain categories that used TV as the primary medium and digital on the side will make Hotstar their prime platform. 

    Any parting thoughts?

    As you know, we as an industry are going to see negative growth of 20 per cent this year as predicted. I think we can’t do anything about the impact on overall marketing spend and when we can’t do anything, I personally feel that we should use this time to see how we can create more innovative ways of going back to our clients and creating more value for them. So, I would rather see it as an opportunity to bring further change, transform ourselves and become more digitally savvy. 

    Watch the full discussion here:
     

  • Colors and Balaji Telefilms gear up for ‘Naagin’ S5 with new writers, better VFX

    Colors and Balaji Telefilms gear up for ‘Naagin’ S5 with new writers, better VFX

    MUMBAI: TV viewers have finally been able to see their favourite characters on screen after unlock rules permitted shootings. Among the shows resumed is the popular Naagin on Colors. Viacom18 Hindi mass entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma is certain that viewership will gradually pick up owing to the engaging storyline, highpoints, plot twists and intrigue around the characters.

    Sharma considers Naagin as the Game of Thrones for India. Each season of Naagin has a standalone narrative with the elements of love and revenge at its core. As per Sharma, over the years, the channel has experimented and innovated a lot with the concept. She terms it as a hero franchise and wishes to build it further.

    The show has also stood against the trend of fluctuating ratings and has constantly raked in good numbers ever since its debut on Colors and even fortified the channel’s position on the rating chart, as per Sharma. Colors’ belief in the concept of Naagin has already led the channel to work on season six.

    She further adds, “One and a half years ago, the channel was going through a tricky phase but then we launched Naagin, we were able to stabilise our numbers. For us, Naagin is like a fiction equivalent of Bigg Boss which holds everything together.”

    The channel shares a longstanding association with Ekta Kapoor, who is the mastermind behind the Naagin franchise. Sharma says, “Ekta is the master of creativity and extremely passionate about Naagin. It is owing to her passion and energy that we have been able to conclude Naagin season four and segue into season five immediately with an interesting new twist. It will highlight the secret of Naagmani and how the tussle for it originally started. We are hoping to get the viewers to tune in back into television.”

    Sharma also highlights that owing to the longstanding association with Balaji Telefilms there are no specific budget cuts introduced.


    Naagin falls under the genre of fantasy fiction – something not common on Hindi GECs. Naagin transports you to a powerful world with a novel experience.

    The other challenge in Naagin for Sharma is adequate planning. As a finite series with recurring seasons, the scripts are locked in advance. “To do that, you need to be clear about the story and a lot of thought needs to be put in while developing the characters as well,” she shares.

     

    The show is heavily dependent on VFX and so making last-minute improvisation is not always possible. While in other parts of the world the whole season is shot first and then aired, in India, channels still have some liberty to shoot it weekly. However, with current guidelines and limited number of people working on a show, the editing process also needs to be planned to meet the deadline. Hence, VFX will bear the burden of bringing good quality in the show.

    In a recent interview, Ekta Kapoor had apologised to the cast of Naagin 4 due to the mediocre script. Hence, season five of Naagin will see writers. Sharma adds, “We bring in fresh writers after two seasons as it is more feasible and we get a new perspective. Sometimes we are able to put together a storyline for 10 or 12 episodes and sometimes it even goes up to 100 episodes. While we do have a pool of writers, we stick to a select few with whom our synergies match.”

    Sharma notes that the line between primetime and non-primetime has blurred with people spending most of their time at home. While non-primetime shows are doing well, primetime shows have also picked up after initial teething issues.

    The channel has made slight changes to the way it understands viewership data. Sharma reveals that the channel now analyses the numbers, studies the overall market and maps even news channels’ performance against GEC performance. However, she thinks it is too soon to predict the change in the viewership pattern as the audiences’ daily routine has changed.  For now, the channel is focusing on strengthening timeslots to bring back viewers and give them interesting story hooks to look forward to with the fresh content.