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  • 9X Diaries

    9X Diaries

    WThere was a time when music channels meant only MTV and Channel [V]. Today however, many more names are jostling for space in this category, with the genre itself having changed significantly between then and now.

    9X as a group is now a profitable business says a confident Pradeep Guha

    It was precisely during this period of transition that 9X entered the fray. Launched in 2007 as INX Media, the company started operations with 9XM, later adding a Hindi GEC 9X, followed by an English news channel NewsX.

    In 2009, the English news channel was bought by Indi Media while the Hindi GEC was sold to Zee Entertainment Enterprises a year later. In August 2010, INX Media was renamed 9X Media with the focus completely on its music business.

    Looking back at what he calls a strategic decision, 9X Media managing director Pradeep Guha says: “Given the age demographic of India, music to my mind has immense potential both to connect with relevant audiences as content as well as engage with them as a medium. 9X as a group is now a profitable business.”

    Cut to the present: 9X Media is the country’s largest music network with five music channels including 9XM (latest Bollywood hits), 9XO (international music), 9X Jalwa (all time Bollywood hits), 9X Tashan (Punjabi) and 9X Jhakaas (Marathi).

    What ingredients make this successful recipe?

    9X Media executive vice president and new business head Punit Pandey analyses: “Three important things were taken into consideration. One the format, the fact that we deliver a unique format of music and humour with animation was and continues to be a key differentiator, something that the viewers took an immediate liking to. Secondly, Music curation, one of the most important factors towards viewers bookmarking their favourite music channel and lastly adoption of the second screen. We have been able to successfully adopt the second screen as core TG is the youth who consumes music not just on the television but also on their computers and mobile phones.”

    The network wanted to be unique and hence, chose to go vertical by building a robust music network rather than going horizontal. The network knew it had to fulfill the needs of hardcore music enthusiasts and hence, the objective was to build a robust music vertical. Presently, over 15 people are working hard to deliver the best results in the digital space.
    9X Portfolio

    Among other achievements, 9X Media won Gold at the Communicator Awards, Silver at the W3 Awards and Bronze at the IDMA 2013 for its gaming app called ‘Stop that Silly’.

    9XM

    The network launched its first offering, 9XM, in 2007. 9XM targets youngsters’ needs and attitudes and has created a niche for itself in music and entertainment. It airs the latest Hindi film songs interspersed with jokes and anecdotes belted out by its animated characters, including Bade and Chote, Bheegi Billi, Badshah Bhai and The Betul Nuts.

    About the thought process behind these characters that have created a special place in viewers’ hearts, Pandey explains: “Back in 2007, when we thought of constructing a music channel, we clearly saw a huge gap in terms of a pure music channels. The so-called music channels then, were airing reality shows and all other content but music.  We said lets construct a music channels which delivers best curated music and to build stickiness, we introduced humour with animation.At the end in a music channel, you don’t appoint yourself to watch a half an hour show. You tune into a video, you like or you don’t like it, and walk out.”

    Presently, 9XM has nearly 3.5 million fans on facebook, thanks to it being a one-stop shop for Bollywood news, humour and gossip presented in a different manner. On twitter though, 9XM has just over 15,000 followers and on YouTube too, it has a bit more than 14,000 subscribers.

    9XM was the country’s first music channel to stream content live on its website, www.9xm.in and across mobile TV platforms. The channel launched games and applications for iPad and iPhone users, with fans of its animated characters able to download their favourite games including the Angry 9XM Heroes, Silly Chicken and Talking Silly Chicken from the IOS App store.

    9X Jalwa

    9X Media launched its other Hindi music channel last year. Touted as a ‘timeless Bollywood music channel’, 9X Jalwa plays back to back Bollywood music from the mid-sixties till 2000s, coupled with humour-led interstitials by characters and trivia-based slate shows.

    What is important in today_s world is to adopt all the screens that your consumers have adopted, says Punit Pandey

    9X Jalwa’s official facebook page boasts more than 73,000 likes while there were only 580 followers on twitter at the time of penning this article. Apart from the usual animated characters, there are two specially designed for Jalwa called Halkat Sawaal that feature on the channel’s YouTube page.

    So why does 9X Media focus on the digital platform? “What is important in today’s world is to adopt all the screens that your consumers have adopted. Having a website is a plus point, but that is not how you build your community. You have to build your community in the digital world, through creating facebook pages and keeping your YouTube pages eye-catching,” reveals Pandey, adding that they are pretty well-established in the space.

    Speaking of a 9X Media staple – animated characters, apparently, all the ideation, scripting, jokes and PJs are done by the channel whereas animation and lighting is handled by Prime Focus. Says Prime Focus senior vice president – films and commercials India Niraj Sanghai: “We have a team of 60-65 members dedicated to work for 9XM. The creative team at 9XM is doing a good job, ideating the whole script, characters and jokes that they are working on and the PJs that they crack. We are basically transforming their ideas into reality. We deliver 75 hours of animation content every month. We are tremendously happy with the response we are getting from people. The fact that people love these characters and adore them is a sign of our efforts being appreciated.”

    9XM is spending an estimated Rs 10-12 crore per year on these characters and plans are afoot to introduce yet another character by the name Billi Don.

    9X Tashan

    9X Media’s first offering in the regional music space, 9X Tashan, targets free-spirited Punjabi viewers, playing hit contemporary Punjabi music 24×7.

    What was the thought behind going regional? “Content growing out of a region is extremely liked. A consumer wanting to consume content originating from their region has become very popular. Taking this into consideration, we thought of expanding our footprint in the regional space also,” reasons Pandey informing about the regional animated characters called Bhabhi and Jhat and Jhaat.

    9X Tashan’s official facebook page boast around 273,480 likes with over thousands of people talking about it. By contrast, it has only 848 followers on twitter.

    9X Jhakaas

    The network launched Maharashtra’s first Marathi music channel on 31 October, 2011. 9X Jhakaas airs the best Marathi film and non-film songs including lavanis and other traditional forms, apart from rib-tickling short-format animated shows that are extremely popular among viewers. Targeted at confident and go-getter Maharashtrians across India, 9X Jhakaas promises its audience a Jhakaas experience. One of the talking points is the channel’s animated character Chochya.

    9X Jhakaas is available across cable and satellite homes and also streamed live on the website www.9xjhakaas.in. While it doesn’t have much of a presence on twitter, its official facebook page has 118,299 likes.


    9XO

    The sixth and only international music channel from 9X Media, 9XO airs contemporary music from across the globe and is targeted at up-scale urban youth. The channel’s website www.9xo.in engages users by helping them create their own playlists with selected songs and share them with others.

    Significantly, 9XO has more than 23,000 followers on twitter while its official facebook page boasts an outstanding 253,780 likes.

    Brands piggyback on animated characters

    9X Media’s animated characters are a big draw for advertisers, who want to cash in on them to promote various brands.

    We are basically transforming their ideas into reality, says Niraj Sanghai

    “Animation provides an out-of-the-box feel to the brand, increasing the brand’s recall value. Animated characters break the monotony created by the innumerable human faces and their equally high number of associations with a variety of brands. Besides, animated characters come out as neutral, unbiased entities,” says Pandey.

    A majority of big brands including Cadburys (Gems), Coca Cola India (Coke), Idea Cellular, ITC (Vivel Deo Soap), Gelusil, Dabur (Hajmola), Lux Cozy Innerwear, Veedol, HUL (Cornetto and Ponds), etc have effectively used 9XM’s popular character episodes for product integrations.

    For instance, Bheegi Billi is often seen strumming his guitar and talking about his experience with brands like Cadbury’s Gems, Sprite, Minutemaid, Kwality Walls Cornetto and Lux Cozi. 
    Similarly, the Betul Nuts are also seen doing sher-o-shayari about Gelusil Antacids, Coke etc.

    Coming to the moot question, how has the journey been for the network so far? “9X Media is doing decently well since 2007. We are on track as far as our plans are concerned,” says Pandey.


    On the other hand, a highly-placed music professional feels that the network is capable of producing content a lot more. “I feel the network has not reached that stage where we can say yes it is the best from the rest. They need to focus more on their regional outlets, where the network is currently not doing so well. If that happens, then I am sure it will work wonders for them.”

  • Unlocking Indias potential to build a more sustainable tomorrow

    Unlocking Indias potential to build a more sustainable tomorrow

    The CII-ITC’s 8th Sustainability Summit held in New Delhi saw the release of a new report on ‘How India Innovates: The promise of sustainable and inclusive innovation.’ As economic growth rates go down and global climate temperatures go up, innovation has become nothing short of a necessity. India, too, has declared 2010-2020 as the Decade of Innovation.

    Under the framework of Indo-German bilateral cooperation the Umbrella Programme for the Promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) funded by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ India has partnered with CII-ITC-CESD to strengthen sustainable and inclusive innovations and to support the dissemination of knowledge and the scaling up of successful SI2.

    As part of this partnership GIZ and CII-ITC-CESD have conducted this study with the objective to provide the innovation eco-system with information on how business in India innovates and the promise it sees in Sustainable & Inclusive Innovation.

    According to the report, 79% companies in India innovate with radical solutions while 71% innovate with incremental or radical solutions. Companies have also identified exploiting green growth opportunities and reducing environmental impacts as other important factors to innovate. However, the bottom-of-pyramid market is still not an important driver for companies to innovate.

    According to Ms. Seema Arora, Executive Director, CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, awareness on sustainability issues has come a long way in the 30 years since the Brundtland Commission, with leading companies taking proactive steps towards building a more secure, sustainable and equitable future. She adds, “Regardless of whether it is called climate change, responsible business or CSR; the message today is clear – sustainable business is here to stay and industry must change the way it operates.”

    Sharing her thoughts on the event, Ms Arora, states, “The Centre is pivotal in spearheading the sustainability agenda in the country in that it was created by the industry itself. And the Summit is the realisation of the fact that by bringing civil society, government and industry together on one platform, we can truly succeed in co-creating a more sustainable India.”

    The Prime Minister’s Office set up the National Innovation Council with a mandate to substantially enhance the innovation ecosystem in India. The Council has developed a roadmap that would, among other things, create State Innovation Councils and innovation clusters. CII is a member of the National Innovation Council and is helping set up innovation clusters in a couple of sectors.

  • R V Rajan’s Handbook: A guide to rural marketing

    R V Rajan’s Handbook: A guide to rural marketing

    MUMBAI: From being a Bombay boy to rural marketer specialist, RV Rajan has many stories to tell. The 72-year-old founder and former chairman of Anugrah Madison Advertising has written a new book – Don’t Flirt with Rural Marketing – or like he says “it’s my experience”.

    With around 40 years in the industry, the veteran says the research which went into writing the handbook is nothing but his experiences in the field. According to him, the income and aspirations of lower middle class and middle class is increasing, so no one can afford to ignore rural marketing. “It is from here that a lot of aspirations come from. And with brands offering almost 50 per cent of their products to this category, it is very important to focus on rural marketing,” he states.

    The TG for the book is marketers, MBA students as well as anyone who wants to know about the subject stresses R V Ranjan

    The chapters outlining the fourteen step approach include topics like Commitment from the top management, Choosing the right product, Understanding the mindset of the rural consumers, getting a dedicated task force, Developing focused communication strategy, Performance evaluation etc. The highlight of the book is the elaborate chapter on Below the Line Activities (BTL) which account for 80 per cent of the rural marketing efforts. In this chapter the author provides a detailed practical guide for any kind of road shows. “I have written the book in a very chatty and informal way so that it doesn’t read like a lecture. I want people to feel the experiences I went through,” he says while stating that the correct TG for the book is marketers, MBA students as well as anyone who wants to know about the subject.

    Another added feature is that many of the chapters are supported with appendices giving very useful contact details of individuals and institutions that provide support services to anyone interested in making a foray into rural marketing.

    When asked which are the companies which have paid attention to the field, he replies “HUL and ITC have been doing it for years now. But in the current scenario, the company which has created dominance in the rural market through its campaigns and initiatives is LG.”

    The book has a foreword by ITC executive director Kurush Grant who describes the book as the first usable manual for marketers. “Most serious marketing companies should make the book compulsory reading for all their marketing and rural sales teams”.

    According to the president of Rural Marketing Association of India and father of rural marketing Pradeep Kashyap, “The book is a must have for anyone involved in Rural Marketing because it has practical insights on Rural marketing which are invaluable for companies and agencies.”

    Rajan goes on to say that although rural marketing share has increased over the years and states like Punjab, Haryana among many others have gown fantastically one still needs to focus on it.

    The Rs 395 book which took around two years to write is published by Productivity & Quality Publishing (Chennai). The 130 page book is accompanied by a DVD containing video clips of some successful case studies of Anugrah Madison.

  • Grey India appoints Samir Datar as branch head

    Grey India appoints Samir Datar as branch head

    MUMBAI: Grey India has appointed Samir Datar as branch head for its Delhi office. In his new role, Datar will report to Grey India CEO and president Jishnu Sen.
    Grey India branch head (Delhi) Samir Datar is confident of tackling the tough Delhi market

    Confirming the development, Sen said, “Samir is an excellent advertising professional and a great leader too. I am thrilled that he has agreed to come on board. I am sure that he will lead our Delhi operation to great heights.”

    Datar added, “Delhi is a very challenging market when it comes to advertising. I am absolutely excited about joining Grey Worldwide and take on the challenge to grow the operations in Delhi.”

    In his earlier stint, Datar has worked with JWT, Cheil, GIIR and Law & Kenneth. He has worked across diverse categories and has an experience in automobiles, durables, mobile phones, FMCG and infrastructure. He has handled brands such as Maggi, Sunrise, Nature Fresh, ESPN Star Sports, Samsung, LG and ITC.

    Datar who has spent more than 20 years in the industry has also worked in planning and account management.

  • What now for broadcasters and advertisers?

    What now for broadcasters and advertisers?

    The clock is ticking down for the seven broadcast networks, (actually eight, if you include Discovery too that joined the fray over the weekend) which coerced TAM to report on them on a monthly basis unilaterally without consulting either the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) or the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

     

    Late Friday evening, advertisers such as Levers, P&G, Loreal, ITC, Britannia, Marico and Godrej put these broadcast networks on notice that if they did not revert to weekly ratings within 72 hours, all advertising on their channels would be pulled off and release orders would stand cancelled, 48 of those hours have already gone past. These broadcasters have only 24 hours left to take a decision.

     

    More advertisers have been sending in their notices over the weekend and this is likely to continue over today. And their 72 hour time bomb notice will also continue to tick.

     

    Advertisers sent the emails over the weekend to probably show they too mean business. Senior managements and sales heads in broadcast networks normally head of for their weekend holidays or timeoffs and hence are normally loathe to convene for any major decisions. With two days out of the three day notice period gone, now broadcasters will be hard-pressed to congregate and do some brainstorming and decide on their way forward today itself.

     

    Above their heads is the guillotine of losing revenues. An estimate is that these broadcaster will lose Rs 22 crore a day collectively should there be a pullout.

     

    There’s more to worry about for the broadcasters. If there are no TVCs, what will they do with the time that has been left vacant by the absence of ads? Fill it with promos of their own shows? Film trailers? But for how long?

     

    They may have to incur further costs should they rely on extra content from 22-24 minutes being churned out currently to 26-27 minutes. That is going to mean writing out larger cheque amounts to TV producers as they will have to work their crew and casts for longer hours.

     

    Continuing being rigid is an option broadcasters have. But it could lead to advertisers being equally rigid, leading to a standoff. Somebody will have to blink.

     

    Even though some of the broadcast CEOs have been haw-hawing, saying that it is the advertisers who will do so, because they need the TV channels and history shows that they are prone to buckling under earlier when they are threatened with no ads, it need not hold true on this occasion.

     

    Advertisers have options today: there are close to 300 channels which are continuing with weekly ratings, while around 105 channels are on a monthly engine. They could put their ads on the weekly-rating- channels. Unless of course the eight “rogue” (in the eyes of the advertisers) networks convince the remainder to join the monthly ratings gang.

     

    At this stage, media observers feel, both sides are doing some grandstanding, watching each others’ moves closely. The squeeze will come when ads stop on TV, and if there is a stalemate. And it will be felt by both.

     

    The year has already seen a slowdown on the economic front, thanks to a weak rupee and a general slowdown. Financial results for most companies are not expected to be something that shareholders will take too kindly by end this year.

     

    Hence, it is in the interest of both to come to the negotiating table, and hammer out a face-saving solution, sooner than later, and keep the advertising cash flows going between each other. A week’s loss of advertising equates an estimated Rs 150 crore in revenue. And a possible further slow down in consumer off take of products from shop shelves for the advertisers. That’s something both cannot afford.

  • Sanjay Panday to head Gutenberg Networks India

    MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Mumbai SVP Sanjay Panday has been entrusted the additional responsibility of Gutenberg Networks India Head.

    Panday has been with the DDB Mudra Group for over five years and spearheads some of the largest clients of the group out of Mumbai. With over two decades of experience, he has worked across major agency networks and handled brands such as Cadbury, ITC, Emirates, Videocon, Emami and Asian Paints.

    Panday said, “The global trend of consolidation of artwork, digital studio and pre-production services is now in India. I’m looking forward to help make Gutenberg Networks India one of the best pre-media production services companies in the region.”

    DDB Mudra Group group CEO and managing director Madhukar Kamath said, “I am confident that Sanjay, with his vast experience across a spectrum of clients and agencies will lead Gutenberg Networks India to its goal of becoming a strategic business hub for digital studio and pre-media production services.”

    Gutenberg Networks is a global integrated marketing production organisation with core expertise in developing and executing cost effective communication campaigns in broadcast, web, press and print. With an expert workforce of over 1200 employees globally, Gutenberg Networks works closely with some of the biggest brands leveraging and creating value through tightly executed global campaigns. It has worked with over 75 clients for an average tenure of over a decade. Some of its partners include Philips, Star Alliance, PepsiCo Tropicana, Volkswagen and Canadian Tourism Commission.

  • Madison to handle CCD’s media account

    Mumbai: Café Coffee Day (CCD) has awarded its media mandate to Madison Media for its chain of coffee Cafés.

    The account size is estimated to be around Rs 400 million and will be handled by Madison Media Omega in Bangalore.

    Madison Media Group CEO Gautam Kiyawat said, “We are delighted to have India’s premier and leading café chain, Café Coffee Day, to our roster of clients and are confident of helping it grow and gain further market share in the country.”

    CCD president marketing K. Ramakrishnan said, “Café Coffee Day being a brand for the young and the young at heart, we needed a partner who would be passionate about the brand, to be able to understand the category in depth and the varying dynamics to enable us to move along at a fast pace. We are confident of Madison Media’s thought leadership and competence in executing the campaigns. We are delighted to have them on board”.

    Café Coffee Day as a brand has never advertised in mass media in the last 16 years of its existence. It has been built on different marketing initiatives, coffee category building activities, public relations and social media.

    The brand has just launched its first ever television commercial titled ‘Sit Down’ that has been created by Creativeland Asia.

    For the record, Madison Media Group handles media mandate for clients including Airtel, Godrej, Cadbury/Kraft, ITC, General Motors, Marico and McDonald’s.

  • McCann makes senior level appointments at Bengaluru and Mumbai

    MUMBAI: IPG owned advertising agency McCann Erickson has made appointments at leadership positions in it Bengaluru and Mumbai offices.

    Vijay Jacob Parakkal has been roped in as McCann Bangalore general manager. Namrata Nandan who has spent three years heading the Bengaluru office which has key businesses like Britannia, ITC and TVS motors has been re-located to Mumbai and will now oversee the McCann Mumbai branch.

    Parakkal comes with an experience of close to two decades across India and Srilanka and in companies like Eveready, Bazee.com and Grey. He has worked on brands such as ITC, Bharti AXA, Sify, Ashok Leyland and UB Group.

    Anil Thomas is to continue as creative chief for McCann‘s entire South Operations.

    McCann Erickson executive chairman and CEO Prasoon Joshi said, “McCann has always embraced change and have welcomed new blood in the system. At the same time we take pride in providing exposure and opportunities for growth to our long time colleagues. Vijay and Namrata‘s new roles bear testimony to this philosophy and practice. I am positive that both our offices will further shine bright.”

  • L&T consolidates digital mandate with DDB MudraMax

    MUMBAI: After getting the Rs 1 billion media account of Larsen & Toubro last year, DDB MudraMax has pocketed the company‘s full service digital mandate.

    DDB MudraMax will handle SEM (search engine marketing), SEO (search engine optimisation), web design, online planning, buying and creative for the brand.

    The agency already handled the digital media planning and buying duties for L&T and now has been entrusted with the entire range of digital duties.

    The experience and engagement network arm of DDB Mudra Group runs 36 offices in India. It enables clients to interact at a single point to reach consumers through a complete spectrum of specialist touch points such as TV, print, radio, digital, out-of-home, retail, activation, events, bottom of the pyramid, sports, music, youth and entertainment.

    DDB MudraMax‘s clients include Pepsi, Gillette, Volkswagen, Reebok, Aircel, ITC, Birla Sun Life, Titan, Castrol, Uninor, Star, Colgate, Standard Chartered Bank, Tata, Hindustan Times, Asian Paints, Yamaha, Kotak, Hewlett Packard, Fosters, Ashok Leyland, Western Union, Jyothy Laboratories – Henkel, LIC, World Gold Council, BPCL, TTK Prestige, Wipro Consumer Care, Amway and ACC.

  • ‘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.