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Tag: Joy Chakraborthy

  • 2009: Television media can certainly say “Aal Izz Well”By Zeel chief revenue officer Joy Chakraborthy

    2009: Television media can certainly say “Aal Izz Well”By Zeel chief revenue officer Joy Chakraborthy

    In view of the global economic meltdown and its imminent impact on the advertising, 2009 was bound to be a challenging and tumultuous year. But, even as we entered into a rather gloomy 2009, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope that India would manage to insulate itself, at least in part, from the global downswing. And guess what?

    Our 1.1 billion-plus population, which until now has always been perceived as the hindering factor to growth, came to our rescue wherein the consumption of basic amenities of “ROTI, KAPADA & MAKAAN” ensured that organic growth across sectors is not stifled. Top this up with our undying quest for “KUSHI” (or constant up-gradation of our standard of living) which during the 2nd half of the year spurred the growth rates back onto the high single-digit figures.

    In the first half of the year, the fear of an impending downturn led to cost-rationalisation initiatives . . . especially in the sphere of marketing budgets. This resulted in marketers intensely re-evaluating their ad-spends. With focus on sustaining consumption of their products (which was coming from every nook & corner of India), marketers re-visited their basics of reach and frequency.

    Also, marketers adopted a stingy spending strategy. With splurging on high-value flashy media initiatives becoming a luxury that no one could indulge in, it was imperative to gain market shares in a declining market. The FMCG sector increased their ad investment by nearly 30 per cent, but on cost-effective options that yielded them better returns on media investments. This helped them grow their sales by six per cent.

    So, one of the most important positives to have emerged from 2009 is that marketers have realized the true potential of television in terms of reach and cost-efficiencies. With FMCG leading the way and viewing TV more optimistically than print, other sectors such as auto and telecom followed suit.

    So, let’s see how Television has evolved during last year:

    The emergence of Colors not only transformed the Hindi GEC space into a “3-player” genre but, more importantly, provided viewers with varied & diverse content and advertisers with multiple options to reach out to their consumers. This facilitated the genre to grow both in terms of viewership and ad revenue.

    Given the multiplicity of options and lower switching costs coupled with the marketers’ imperative of cost rationalization and reach maximization, “purple” GRPs became their key buying parameter. Broadcasters who quickly took advantage and managed to get their content propositions right reaped the highest benefits.

    Towards this end, while most networks busied themselves in attracting higher GRPs (to become No. 1) by initiating extravagant programmes with high-value celebrities and airing movies, Zee, on the other hand, focused on developing relevant and strong properties which helped us become leaders in “prime time”.

    So, the key to TV sales evolved around developing relevant, cost effective but plain vanilla sales propositions with high service quotient. As such, with our sales approach to optimally monetize these “purple” GRPs, we garnered highest revenue.

    Moreover, with marketers demanding “localization”, regional channels gained acceptance and emerged as key drivers of growth. Our host of regional channels capitalized on this through complementary media propositions to our advertisers.

    A key TV sales imperative emerging from the cost-conscious marketer was the need to leverage “network strength” across genres / markets as compared to offering a proposition based on merely one or two channels. The wider the range of the network’s bouquet, the better the ability to provide a comprehensive package to the marketer and thereby garner maximum share of client spends.

    Despite all the above sales approaches, the two factors which, to my mind, truly provided the only competitive advantage in this hyper-competitive environment are “people” and “relationships”. Broadcasters who stayed away from rampant “right-sizing” initiatives have benefited not only because of highly energized sales but also, more importantly, as it gave them more “feet on the street” whose relationships with clients and agencies could now be leveraged.

    In summation, Indian media (in general) and the television media (specifically) can certainly say “Aal Izz Well” and look forward for another enthralling year of high competitiveness.

  • ‘Fragmentation has actually helped the Hindi GEC ad market to grow’ : ZEEL Chief Revenue Officer Joy Chakraborthy

    ‘Fragmentation has actually helped the Hindi GEC ad market to grow’ : ZEEL Chief Revenue Officer Joy Chakraborthy

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has a pool of channels that would drive its topline. The transfer of the six regional entertainment channels from Zee News Ltd (ZNL) would reduce Zeel‘s dependence on Zee TV as Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla and Zee Telugu write good revenues. The gain could be to the tune of Rs 4.4 billion on an annualised basis.

     

    Zeel went through a second wave of consolidation when it decided to bring under it ETC‘s broadcasting business. while ETC Music will complement Zing, ETC Punjabi stays as a strong force in the Punjabi market.

     

    Zeel‘s south story is set to bloom. With market leader Sun TV deciding to up ad rates across its network channels after a gap of two years, Zee Telugu is in a strong position to shore up its revenues on the back of soaps, movies and a dance-based reality property in Aata. Zee Kannada is also on the growth track.

     

    Competition from the two Star regional channels could hurt Zee Bangla and Zee Marathi in the long run. Star Jalsha has become a clear No. 1, but Zee Bangla is currently holding on to its revenues due to unduplicated viewership and a smart utilsation of inventory and ad pricing. The Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC) ad market could, however, expand.

     

    Despite Star Pravah‘s rise, Zee Marathi continues to be in leadership position and is aided by Zee Talkies.

     

    Bruised by a weak property in Indian Cricket League (ICL) that ran out of action last year, Zee has plans to launch a few sports channels.

     

    Maximising the company‘s value share is Zeel chief revenue officer Joy Chakraborthy. His academic armoury includes graduation from National Defence Academy, masters in marketing management from NMIMS and, more recently, the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Sibabrata Das, Chakraborthy talks about the company‘s focus on revenues, profitability and monetisable GRPs.

     

    Excerpts:
     
     

    How much topline growth would come to Zeel due to the transfer of six regional entertainment channels from Zee News Ltd?
    Zeel would be a big beneficiary as the six regional entertainment channels are riding good revenues. They will also help us offer complementary media propositions to our advertisers. We expect Zeel to add about Rs 4.4 billion on a full year basis due to this transfer.

     
    So Zeel‘s dependence on Zee TV will reduce?

    One can‘t undermine the contribution of our flagship brand in our bouquet of channels. With the regional GECs, we will, of course, have more driver channels in the bouquet such as Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla and Zee Telugu. Nonetheless, Zee TV’s contribution to the overall ad pie of Zeel will be in the region of 35-37 per cent.
     

    Doesn’t that spread out Zeel’s risks at the right time when we are seeing the emergence of a new star in Colors and further fragmentation in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space?
    With the industry maturing, fragmentation is obvious. In fact, fragmentation has actually helped the Hindi GEC ad market to grow. The introduction of Colors has transformed the GEC space from a bi-polar into a tri-polar segment with each of the three players creating their own relevance. As such, we expect the Hindi GECs would take away Rs 24 billion in ad revenues during FY’10 (i.e. up from Rs 19 bn in PY). And going forward, this space is bound to grow if all players get their pricing strategy right. 
     

    But hasn’t the 3-horse race for the top slot in the GEC space damaged the pricing power and impacted Zee TV?
    Zee TV is the No. 1 revenue channel. It gets maximum campaigns and advertisers spend due to two key reasons: consistency in ratings and effective leverage of a huge network. Also, we sell more on plain vanilla FCT (free commercial time) with few but quality innovations.

     

    While our rival networks have taken to very expensive programming, we have delivered with soaps and reality content without flashing Bollywood stars. We have developed Dance India Dance and Saregamapa into our strong reality properties. We have also stayed away from buying GRPs through movies. Our focus is profitability – and not just simply becoming a No 1 GRP channel.

     

    Also, advertisers don’t buy GRPs; they want relevant ratings. A lot of channels are running break-free content. What is the use? An afternoon GRP is not the same in value as a primetime GRP. And Zee TV has been leading consistently in primetime. So, the point is to develop “monetisable GRPs”. 
     

    What about the economic downturn?
    There is no doubt that broadcasters have experienced a tightening of their revenues. But the slowdown has resulted in a host of positives (especially for television – as a medium).

     

    Clients and agencies have intensely evaluated their ad-spends and experimented with mediums. They have invested in value-for-money genres where risks were low like GECs and movies. High value flashy investments were curtailed. They have looked at TV a lot more optimistically than print. While ad spends on TV will end at Rs 91 bn for the year, (up from Rs 83 bn in PY), print will grow only marginally from Rs 98.20 bn to Rs 99.30 bn.

     

    In fact, the last four months have been particularly good for us. Being the largest network has helped us in attracting advertisers. Though we saw a slump in ad spends from real estate, banking & finance sectors, it has been compensated by FMCG, telecom and auto, which have been high spenders on GECs. 
     

    ‘A lot of channels are running break-free content. What is the use? An afternoon GRP is not the same in value as a primetime GRP. The point is to develop monetisable GRPs‘ 
     

    Has cricket eaten into the GEC space?
    We had expected that our biggest threat would come from cricket. But it has under-delivered. Cricket has taken a severe beating, resulting in some channels offering guaranteed CPRP deals. As such, advertiser confidence on GECs has been high.

     

    On the whole, with Tam expanding its panel this year and the economy improving, GECs will stand to gain. 
     

    Have the movie channels also been hit by recession?
    Advertisers in this downturn have realised the true potential of television in terms of reach. With consumption expected from every nook and corner, the Hindi Cinema genre, which is high on reach, played a very crucial role in the marketer‘s overall communication scheme. This has led to the Hindi Cinema genre witnessing significant growth in revenues despite a marginal fall in GRPs. This growth has come from rate increase as inventory has always been 100 per cent utilised.. Though GECs have been the first to air big ticket movies, movie channels, being well penetrated, go beyond Tam markets, and are value-for-money proposition for advertisers. Zee Cinema’s consistent performance is due to its strong presence not only in the metros but also in the smaller towns and rural markets. 
     

    Sun TV network has increased its ad rates after two years. Will this augment Zeel‘s revenues from its south-language regional channels?
    Despite being a leader, Sun TV’s pricing has always been highly cost-effective. For any market to expand, the leader has to take a leap in pricing. Hence this initiative by Sun TV will only help the entire Southern market grow further. We are doing particularly well in the Telugu space and are highly optimistic on Zee Kannada as well. South will be the big story for us in the years to come. The transfer of the southern channels to Zeel will help our regional sales team as they can offer a complete regional package.
     

    Will the rise of the two Star regional channels hurt Zee Bangla and Zee Marathi?
    In the Bengali GEC space, Zee Bangla has lost its leadership position to Star Jalsha, but, over the last couple of months, we have undertaken new initiatives and the channel is looking up again. More importantly, our focus has been to ensure profitability and towards that end we are, even today, writing much more revenues than Star Jalsha. This is primarily because of our two-pronged strategy: optimal inventory utilisation and appropriate pricing. One of the noteworthy propositions of Zee Bangla is its high unduplicated viewership. All of this has helped us ensure against loss of any campaign. Having grown, we now hope that Star Jalsha increases its rates to sustain the market expansion.

     

    In Marathi, we are almost three times that of our nearest competitor. Zee Marathi is a clear leader and is well complemented by Zee Talkies, both in terms of revenues and viewership. 
     
     

    Zee‘s sports business falls under your ambit. Are there plans to launch more channels?
    The various sports-led initiatives of Zee that straddle not only on-air (Ten Sports & Zee Sports) but also on-ground properties like Mumbai FC, AIFF (All India Football Federation) and cricket (Zimbabwe & Sri Lanka) are a part of my Sales responsibility. Print properties like All Sport Magazine also come under me.

     

    In our sports business, our focus has always been to look beyond cricket. So, our sales approach will also be one that is inclusive of all sports genres wherein we shall bundle various properties. And, yes, given the potential that we foresee in the near future, we are in the process of evaluating new channels.
     
     

    With the producers going on strike and Bollywood having less releases and hits this year, what has been the impact on music channels ETC and Zing?
    For the film-based trade genre, ETC is a must-have. Moreover, in this genre the buying parameter is not GRP-led; instead, the trade evaluates the channel‘s brand equity. Being the undisputed leader in this space, ETC has performed exceedingly well.

     

    Post relaunch, Zing has aggressively followed an approach of co-creating value propositions that are customised to its business constituents’ communication objective. This approach has helped showcase a much greater value proposition to our advertisers, insulating us from the vagaries of hits and flops. The channel has posted higher revenues.
     

  • ‘Zee’s largest bouquet makes it the best prepared network for digitalisation’ : Joy Chakraborthy – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd President, Head – Revenue

    ‘Zee’s largest bouquet makes it the best prepared network for digitalisation’ : Joy Chakraborthy – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd President, Head – Revenue

     Zee is on an upsurge, driven by its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel. Kicking in ad revenues for the fiscal has not just been Zee TV but also the two regional channels – Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla – who together will make Rs 2 billion. And despite less aggressive movie buying, Zee Cinema will see a 25 per cent jump to rake in Rs 2 billion.

     

    As revenue head for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, Joy Chakraborthy takes credit for it. His role extends to the regional general entertainment channels (except south) which reside in sister company Zee News Ltd. The sports side of ZEEL’s business, however, doesn’t fall under his supervision.

     

    “I handle the power brands where effort to returns are high,” he says.

     

    Joy also takes pride in continuously doing price-correction deals. Even then Zee is under-priced and there is scope for growth, he says.

     

    In an exclusive interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Joy talks of how Star Plus’ loss in GRPs has been pocketed largely by Zee TV and its regional channels. He also elaborates on Zee’s plans to pile up a huge bouquet so that it stays as the best network prepared for the digital era.

     

    Excerpts:

    How much of an ad revenue growth will ZEEL see in the current fiscal and is this still disproportionate to the rise in GRPs of the network?
    There will be a 65 per cent robust ad sales growth for the channels that are handled by me. Advertisers like to invest in channels which are growing. Zee TV, Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla particularly gained, as the leader channels in these segments (Star Plus, ETV Marathi and ETV Bangla) were falling sharply.

     

    The revenue has grown disproportionate to the GRP growth. The pricing, though, needs correction. We feel we are under-priced. With every new deal, we have corrected the price upwards.

    Are the channels that fall under you (ZEEL channels except sports, and the regional GECs barring the south languages) going to post a revenue of Rs 12.5 billion during the fiscal?
    Since we are a listed company, I can’t reveal the figures of the specific channels.

    As Zee TV is the predominant revenue earner, isn’t ZEEL in as risky a position as Star India is with the dominance of Star Plus?
    Zee TV accounts for 65 per cent of ad revenues that the channels under me generate. But that is how the network business will look like in India. Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) make bulk of the ad revenue business.

    Zee Next was launched as a flanking channel in the GEC space, but it doesn’t seem to have worked at all?
    Zee Next has a problem. We are doing introspection on what went right or wrong. We will be ready with a plan within 5-7 weeks. Besides, distribution is an issue. But we feel it is not right to pay this kind of carriage fee and spoil the market.

    What is the purpose of launching a flanking channel without aggressively distributing it when in the marketplace there is a scramble for space on choked cable networks?
    Strategically, it is important to have a second GEC as a de-risk business model. The GECs are sitting on Rs 20 billion of ad revenues. In as large a size as this, we can’t put all our eggs in one basket. If viewers want something outside Zee TV, we are offering a different kind of programming in Zee Next. With fragmentation happening, our plan also is to try and grab whatever audiences we can with the concept of a family channel for all age groups.

     

    But we still have to be realistic on the carriage fees. Otherwise, it will affect the business model of the whole network; we are, after all, not a single channel company. We have to take a business rather than an emotional call.

     

    The channel will take time to build. Any GEC with less than 130 GRPs will continue to bleed – and we have been seeing that. But with a new plan in place, we will sort out the distribution and other issues that need to be corrected.
    ‘The loss of GRPs by Star Plus has been made up by Zee TV and its regional channels. Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla are doubling their previous year’s revenues to touch Rs 1 billion each‘

    Isn’t growth of GEC as a category slowing down?
    The GRPs of GEC channels as a category have grown by 6 per cent. Revenue from GECs, on the other hand, have jumped 22 per cent. What is happening is that the GRPs of GECs are getting reorganised. Star Plus, for instance, has seen a fall in GRPs while we have gained.

    Could you elaborate?
    The loss of GRPs by Star Plus has been made up by Zee TV and the regional channels. Our regional channels are operating in the most important primary markets. Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla have particularly grown.

    One reason for the growth of these two channels, according to you, is because the leader ETV is falling. But what sort of ad growth are both of them going to post this fiscal?
    Zee Marathi and Zee Bangla are doubling their previous year’s ad revenues. They will end up making around Rs 1 billion each. The ad rates of regional channels, though getting corrected, are still very low.

    After rolling out Zee Talkies to addess the Marathi market, are you planning to launch a Bengali movie channel?
    We will be launching a Bengali movie channel as it will help us create a wider bouquet in that local market. We have created a GEC, a news and a movie channel in the Marathi market. We will be repeating this combination in the Bengali market. Regional movie channels work for sales as well as help boost distribution.

    Like Kalanithi Maran’s Sun network, are you looking at packing in regional music channels as well?
    We don’t see music channels being viable in these markets.

    Doesn’t Zee have such plans for Gujarat?
    Zee Gujarati didn’t see much growth. Almost 99 per cent of the Gujarati viewership is covered by Hindi GECs and movies. It is not a viable market for india, but has an international distribution story.

    Though Zee Cinema is the second biggest channel in the network, it has been less aggressive in movie buying this fiscal. Will this hurt the revenues?
    For the movie channel category as a whole, GRPs have fallen. But Zee Cinema’s revenue for the fiscal would be Rs 2 billion, up 25 per cent. We are selling better, using all time bands.
    As revenue head, why haven’t the sports, news and southern language channels come to you?
    I am handling the power brands where effort to returns are high. The sports business is cricket-centric and needs dedicated attention. So Ten Sports is handling the ad sales. I already have too much on my plate as the network revenue head.
    Will subscription revenues be sluggish, driven by slowdown in international business and foreign exchange loss?
    Domestic subscription will grow by 30 per cent – and we see the situation improving in next fiscal. The Star bouquet is strong, but we have been catching up this year. We have more pull channels than anybody else – Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Cafe, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Talkies and Zee Studio. International distribution is outside my ambit and I can’t comment on that.
    There is a buzz in the market that the TV18 group channels including CNBC TV18 will soon move to Star DEN?
    There is still time for some channels to move out, if at all. We will soon be making an announcement of more channels in our bouquet to make it stronger.

    Are you referring to Ten Sports moving out from SET Discovery (now MSM Discovery) to Zee Turner?
    I can’t comment on this.

    Zee has the largest bouquet of channels. With carriage fee on the up, how does it impact the business at the net level?
    Since we have a large bouquet, this at one level affects us in carriage deals. But on subscription ground, it helps make our bouquet stronger. We have presence in all genres except kids. The net effect in the long term is beneficial once digitalisation happens. We are the best prepared network for digitalisation.

    What is being done to beef up Zee’s English genre channels?
    Zee Cafe is airing new American shows and has a very loyal viewership. It will grow in ad revenues by 45 per cent this fiscal. Zee Studio’s perception as a repeat channel is changing. The sub-titling has helped us, we will be seeing 37 per cent growth, and it completes our bouquet.

    What is your revenue forecast for the next fiscal?
    Keeping in mind the fragmentation scenario, our target will be to post 30 per cent growth in both ad sales and domestic subscription. It will be a challenging year and we hope that the newcomers don’t spoil the ad sales and distribution market with price cutting and high carriage deals.

    Do you see BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) taking off any time now?
    It is a good initiative as it represents an association of broadcasters and advertisers. TV as a medium is very research-focused. The sector is also grossly under-priced. BARC is at an initial stage of progress but the intention is there to set it rolling.
  • ”Economically sensible model is a combination of CPT and correction of income growth’ : Paritosh Joshi- Star India President

    ”Economically sensible model is a combination of CPT and correction of income growth’ : Paritosh Joshi- Star India President

    It’s now a known fact that HLL has pulled its advertising off the Star India Network, but whether a non co-existence and exchange between the biggest advertiser on television and the top rated television network in the country is a healthy proposition for either of the two parties, is the moot point?

     

    Even though TRP rates have declined across the network by 1-1.5 per cent after the implementation of Cas, it is also true that the television universe has grown drastically. And the truth is, Star has been singled out, leading one to question if there is a larger issue at stake here between the two mammoth corporations in this face-off that kicked off in March this year.

     

    Star president advertising sales and distribution Paritosh Joshi says that it is more than just an individual client issue but part of a larger debate for which the industry cannot behave like a cartel because that is unethical.

     

    Presented here are comments made to Indiantelevision.com on the matter by Star India president Paritosh Joshi. Additonally, relevant comments made in earlier interactions with Indiantelevision.com by HLL GM – Media Services Rahul Welde and Zee Network executive V-P Joy Chakraborthy have been provided in an attempt to offer a more rounded overview of the issue.

    Excerpts:

    How do you propose to address the issue that HLL has put the forth through its boycott of the network and rejection of Star’s advertising rate card?
    A solution to this will emerge as a fallout of the understanding of two dramatic developments in television. First the growth in television homes in the Hindi speaking markets of the East, West and North but not the South that is already saturated.

    Secondly, the GDP, which is estimated to grow by 8.9 per cent year on year. However, there is a disproportionate income increase in which the top 60 per cent of the population absorbs this growth. Out of the 120 million TV homes, 70 million are C&S, therefore with the kind of growth in disposable incomes that the country is seeing, the number of C&S homes will grow by twice that rate.

    The aggregate value of television ad sales is likely to see 20-22 per cent Y-O-Y growth. If this is not reflected as an industry then we are under monetized.

    Is CPT is the answer?
    I believe an economically sensible model is a combination of CPT and correction of income growth.

    Should broadcasters be united on this front?
    The industry cannot behave like a cartel because that is unethical. We have to, as individual broadcasters, explain this to the client in a sensible manner and get them to recognize and find merit in the argument.

    But how then do you fill up the bulk of your inventory?
    The Cricket World Cup has in some ways contributed to clients looking for a more reliable, robust and stable inventory. With April to June being a buoyant period with new category launches and the new financial year, there are enough interested clients. We are seeing high activity from the skin care sector, bottled beverages, refrigerated foods and air conditioner brands.

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    ‘Money is shifting from the big to the small or from the leaders to the challengers‘

    With HLL always known to be television heavy, what happens in the case of mass channels and niche channels, what strategy would you follow in that case?

    Well, we do spend on niche and mass channels, but with the whole area of fragmentation of audiences with multiple channels emerging, where stickiness is a challenge and competition is high. Now what it really means for us is that segmentation and multiplication of channels provides the opportunity to peg note and talk to the consumer.

    Unfortunately, the costs have increased and given that the overall advertising pie is fixed. The ad pie doesn’t grow because there are more channels, but what is happening is money is shifting from the big to the small or from the leaders to the challengers.

    The growth of channels, we will see an increase in the number seconds, but what is often interpreted is that spends are also increasing in the same proportion. It is of course a big challenge as fragmentation makes the task of planning even more difficult, where agencies will produce software and optimizers making the process more sophisticated. This scenario is good for segmentation, bad for costs. Thus I don’t know whether to call it a ‘happy situation’ because after a point of time your returns become sub-optimal when costs are high. Then that becomes a worry.

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    The big news currently seems to be around how Hindustan Lever is significantly increasing spends on your network. You have even been on record as saying you are looking at a growth of at least 100% on Lever spend in FY08 over FY07? How do you justify that optimism?
    Levers is the biggest client in the television space and we have channels across all genres, Levers is a good client for consumption also because they are perennial clients. There has been rate correction but we have also given them big properties. At the same time, Levers buying process over the last two years has changed, initially they used to buy slots that appeared at a particular time band but now they have started buying quality as well so they would necessarily have to pay for that. Therefore, there has been a jump in ad sales rates this year over the previous year.

    When you say ‘rate correction’ – what do you mean?
    The Zee network itself is very under-priced, so we are continuously correcting our rates. I have over my tenure here (which is two years) revised my rates three times, but no rate correction is very drastic, it’s really a gradual correction.

    After all we are still in a World Cup year and although India is out of the tournament, we will see loads of other cricket action as well?
    As a network, we haven’t suffered at the hands of cricket. However a lot of money is diverted there. But thanks to cricket and sport, I believe that the overall PUT (people utilizing television) will also increase, because of World Cup TV sales will also increase, so the whole space is only going to expand.

    It will eventually benefit us also, but my only concern and what I see as a challenge this year is that the unofficial currency is cost per rating point (CPRP), which has to move cost per thousand (CPT). CPT is more important and with Tam’s expanded panel the absolute number of people watching has increased by 50 per cent and we as an industry should be paid for that. Even more, if you are a listed body you also should subscribe to the CPT model, which will happen sooner or later.

    But how soon do you think the transition from a CPRP model to CPT model will take to materialize?
    The IBF and AAAI have already met on two occasions, the next one is in April. But at the end of the day this shift will benefit all of us. It’s not that it is unfortunate for the client alone, as the television medium continues to grow the cost of programming, distribution, marketing and manpower is increasing every day. With the CPT model the ad rates will go up, infact most agencies buy on CPRP and give it to the client on CPT, but after expansion the minimum rate has increased. The recommendations of these two industry body’s should materialize within a month’s time.

    It has been previously stated that Cas impact only accounts for a 1- 1.5% drop in C&S 4+ level across TV. However, with moves to extend Cas to cover the full metros and then possibly go into other cities and towns this argument cannot be sustained for much longer. How does Zee view this situation and how do you plan to use it to your advantage?
    Cas is here to stay but the thing is that Cas growth was marginal, across the Zee network the drop accounted for 2.5 per cent, which is very less in comparison to the kind of growth that we are experiencing.

    With Cas rolling out further, the pressure from media buyers on rates is only going to go up? Do you see the possibility of many channels, including entertainment channels, going FTA to protect advertising revenues? For instance, Peter Mukerjea’s Hindi entertainment channels will be FTA when it launches…?
    Sometime we really wonder whom the media buyers really work for, the channel or the client. They will always pressurize us. Do you think they deal with rate hikes easily? They will fight for each rupee just as we fight for the same. But that is what makes our relationship so lasting.
  • ”Absolute number watching TV has increased 50%, we should be paid for that’ : Joy Chakraborthy – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. executive vice president, head network

    ”Absolute number watching TV has increased 50%, we should be paid for that’ : Joy Chakraborthy – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. executive vice president, head network

    The biggest bouquet of channels on Indian television and the second largest player in the GEC space, the Zee Network has been in the limelight recently, whether it be on the receiving end of HLL’s ad spends or with big ticket events like the Zee Cine Awards.

    Joy Chakraborthy, the man spearheading ad sales for the broadcaster, agreed to offer his opinions on the current television scenario, highlighting its drawbacks of under pricing, ad revenues that exceed distribution monies and the constant debate over cricket. At the same time he lends a word of caution to new players pacing ahead to enter the broadcast space. All this and more in a free-wheeling conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Renelle Snelleksz.

    Excerpts:

    The big news currently seems to be around how Hindustan Lever is significantly increasing spends on your network. You have even been on record as saying you are looking at a growth of at least 100% on Lever spend in FY08 over FY07? How do you justify that optimism?
    Levers is the biggest client in the television space and we have channels across all genres, Levers is a good client for consumption also because they are perennial clients. There has been rate correction but we have also given them big properties. At the same time, Levers buying process over the last two years has changed, initially they used to buy slots that appeared at a particular time band but now they have started buying quality as well so they would necessarily have to pay for that. Therefore, there has been a jump in ad sales rates this year over the previous year.

    When you say ‘rate correction’ – what do you mean?
    The Zee network itself is very under-priced, so we are continuously correcting our rates. I have over my tenure here (which is two years) revised my rates three times, but no rate correction is very drastic, it’s really a gradual correction.

    After all we are still in a World Cup year and although India is out of the tournament, we will see loads of other cricket action as well?
    As a network, we haven’t suffered at the hands of cricket. However a lot of money is diverted there. But thanks to cricket and sport, I believe that the overall PUT (people utilizing television) will also increase, because of World Cup TV sales will also increase, so the whole space is only going to expand.

    It will eventually benefit us also, but my only concern and what I see as a challenge this year is that the unofficial currency is cost per rating point (CPRP), which has to move cost per thousand (CPT). CPT is more important and with Tam’s expanded panel the absolute number of people watching has increased by 50 per cent and we as an industry should be paid for that. Even more, if you are a listed body you also should subscribe to the CPT model, which will happen sooner or later.

    But how soon do you think the transition from a CPRP model to CPT model will take to materialize?
    The IBF and AAAI have already met on two occasions, the next one is in April. But at the end of the day this shift will benefit all of us. It’s not that it is unfortunate for the client alone, as the television medium continues to grow the cost of programming, distribution, marketing and manpower is increasing every day. With the CPT model the ad rates will go up, infact most agencies buy on CPRP and give it to the client on CPT, but after expansion the minimum rate has increased. The recommendations of these two industry body’s should materialize within a month’s time.

    It has been previously stated that Cas impact only accounts for a 1- 1.5% drop in C&S 4+ level across TV. However, with moves to extend Cas to cover the full metros and then possibly go into other cities and towns this argument cannot be sustained for much longer. How does Zee view this situation and how do you plan to use it to your advantage?
    Cas is here to stay but the thing is that Cas growth was marginal, across the Zee network the drop accounted for 2.5 per cent, which is very less in comparison to the kind of growth that we are experiencing.

    With Cas rolling out further, the pressure from media buyers on rates is only going to go up? Do you see the possibility of many channels, including entertainment channels, going FTA to protect advertising revenues? For instance, Peter Mukerjea’s Hindi entertainment channels will be FTA when it launches…?
    Sometime we really wonder whom the media buyers really work for, the channel or the client. They will always pressurize us. Do you think they deal with rate hikes easily? They will fight for each rupee just as we fight for the same. But that is what makes our relationship so lasting.

    India is the only market where ad revenues are more than distribution revenues, ideally it should be the other way round. It will be better for the industry if distribution revenue picks up. Worldwide the distribution versus ad revenue model is 70:30, but in India it’s about 35:65.

    What’s the viewership growth that Zee network has seen in 2006 over 2005?
    It’s not only about Zee TV, but all our channels across the network have done well. In Marathi and Bangla we are number one, even Zee TV from Monday to Friday is delivering for us, as it is not just about one show alone. We have such a spread across our network and as a sales head I would rather have a couple of shows delivering 4 – 5 per cent ratings rather than one show delivering 10 per cent, as it helps my inventory giving us a properly defined FPC (fix point chart), because all our shows deliver within numbers in this region providing a complete media plan.

    Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has been the mantra for the network, not only did Zee TV come back with the show but also Marathi and Bangla. I believe Zee Café is number one right now and with Zee Studio we are getting back to where we belong, which means we are getting close to HBO and Star Movies. Etc and Zee Music combined gives us better numbers than even MTV and Channel [V]. Therefore, we are trying to find ways of selling together.

    In Zee TV you now have a strong number two position sewn up? Which are the channels that you have achieved a clear leadership position with?
    Percentage wise all the channels have seen growth, but in the cinema genre there has been a significant correction in GRP’s with the number of people watching cinema drastically increasing. Today 155 -160 GRP’s is equivalent to 210 GRP’s in the past, which is an absolute number of people. Movies generally give an average of 0.8 – 1.3 ratings, which points to the number of people sampling the channel.

    What’s the current order of importance of channels on the Zee network in terms of ad sales and how does it stack up percentage wise?
    Zee TV is operating on GEC where the maximum revenue lies, it will always remain the top most from an ad sales point, followed by Cinema, Marathi, Bangla, then Café, Studio, Music and Etc will stack up accordingly. But value-wise and outlay-wise these four are the ones that deliver the maximum.

    For example percentage wise Zee TV would range between 50 – 60 per cent, Cinema would be roughly around 25 per cent, while the others will corner the remaining share of the pie.
    ‘Our differentiator is that we don’t compromise on the big channels just to accommodate weaker ones‘

    How is the selling done across the network? Is it broken up into Hindi entertainment, news, cinema, English entertainment and regional channels? Or is there some other formula you apply?
    We work on a matrix, for which we have all India heads and branch heads. The obvious thing is to present one face of the network to the media buyer without losing the immediate focus. The differentiation in the way we work is that we don’t compromise on the big channels just to accommodate weaker channels. As part of our strategy we also do network deals with clients like HLL, Pepsi, Coke, Nestle, L’Oreal for which we provide a bouquet offer. In fact, we can replace a lot of other networks because we have a range of channel genres to offer from GEC, music, cinema, regional etc. Each of the channels within the bouquet has its own respective teams which go out and meet the market and keep updating media agencies and through SMS we inform the trade of current GRP’s.

    From a programming perspective, Zee TV has gained a strong foothold between the 8 and 10:30 prime time, and even with the arrival of KBC you have managed to hold your ground to an extent. Are there any strategies in place to really get into programming overdrive once KBC completes its run?
    If you see, we did not panic at all when KBC was launching and didn’t resort to doing anything drastically different. We have a very close knit team for programming and marketing that evaluates the market and competition. Infact our primetime is not just 8-10.30 pm, we start at 7 pm and 7 – 11.30 pm is what we like to call primetime. All our properties are Monday – Friday that gives us a weekday skew of scheduling spots, which has been consistent in delivering an average rating between 2.5 – 8 per cent. Besides we also do plug repeats of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Shabash India and Johhny Aala Re.

    But what about the afternoon prime time? That is a band that Sony is actively looking at as well we’re told?
    This is a place we are not currently at, but would like to be in the future depending on the decisions taken by the programming team. With KBC and cricket we noticed that suddenly the afternoon was doing well for us, causing the time band to grow big time across all out channels. We have plans that will be unveiled once budgets are approved by the management for the financial year April – March.

    As for Sony, there seems to be confusion as to whether to go with reality or not. I strongly feel that soaps are the most important thing for a GEC because it gives you consistent viewers. I enter the fiscal in April with 60 per cent of my deals done in advance, on an assumption of X, that only soaps can deliver. As reality picks up only towards the end, you should have an ideal mix of soaps and reality, which as a network we currently have. This ultimately helps me sell well as I have more properties to offer to a client.
    Any significant weaknesses? And how do you propose to get it sorted out?
    As a network the year has been very good but we still have miles to go. For Zee TV alone, its just been a year since we started doing well, besides there is so much to be done within this genre.
    Also, the type of selling methodology is changing and we have to understand the move from CPRP to CPT. Going forward we would also like to focus on training people with skill sets because until now it was just fire fighting to grab the money that was lying in the market.

    What has been the growth like over FY06 and has it been in line with the targets you set? What are the revenues you are expecting to close this fiscal at?
    I can’t reveal growth figures but the growth has exceeded my predictions.

    We have infact exceed our revenue target by 30 per cent. However, we keep revising our targets depending upon demand and supply, channel performance which are fixed standards for us. But usually these floating targets usually go up.

    And what about Zee Next? There was talk that it would launch by mid-year. Is that plan still on track or is the current view that another channel might be a distraction as far as Zee TV’s focus on getting further ahead is concerned?
    It is still in the planning stage as there are various factors to be considered before launching a channel and we want to be fully prepared. But it is on our radar for this year. To say we are ‘on track’ largely depends on the market conditions and with KBC and so many channels actually coming in, it depends on how and when to launch.

    Yes, currently the focus is on Zee TV because our FPC has changed slightly. We also have programme launches, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa will return at the end of April and a few more strategies that will help sales.

    The Zee Cine Awards in Malaysia are obviously a headline event for you. Could you offer a picture as to the big properties Zee will have in the coming months?
    We are probably the only broadcasters that can say we own an award. In fact, the client gets lots of exposure by tying up with it across the network, that’s why there is a demand for it. It was within four days from the day we started selling, that we were sold out.

    How do you view the coming onslaught of channel launches? Wouldn’t the increased clutter only lead to further pressure on price points?
    It will affect the TV space causing further fragmentation but with so many channels coming in the number of people watching TV will increase. The only bad side to this is that new entrants will spoil the market, causing marketing and distribution costs to go up. Additionally, discounting rates will also get affected. But please note, it’s not easy to launch a channel as after launch it is difficult to maintain, because how long can you bleed? You’re basically into business and not into charity, so lets see how many will last?

    Yes, there will be pressure on price points. A situation will arise where there will be a lot of buying out of people as well as offering different credit periods to suppliers and this will ultimately spoil the market.

    If you were asked to offer a view on how the broadcast landscape will look over the coming year, what would that be?
    My only request would be that people should be very careful and do their homework before launching a channel. We have a big bouquet of channels and we know what it’s like.

    Just because somebody says GEC has got so much money and if I launch I will eat some of that pie, but at the end of the day it must make business sense.

    Competition will always keep you on your toes, you can’t be complacent and you can’t take people for granted. Even if the channel is performing, you have to be there out in the market.
  • Tam’s Elite Panel data goes live

    Tam’s Elite Panel data goes live

    MUMBAI: It has taken quite a while but media research agency Tam has finally got its Elite Panel up and running.

    This latest value addition for the Indian TV industry will measure the TV viewership behaviour of the crème de la crème of the Mumbai and Delhi population.

    An Elite Household in the panel is defined as one which is SEC A1 owning AC & PC & Car.

    Tam’s Elite Panel is a mix of cable, DTH and Cas homes. The Indian Elite Panel captures the nuances of TV Viewing among the top three per cent of the Socio-Economic strata in Mumbai and Delhi. Tam Media Research CEO LV Krishnan says, “Across the globe, all Elite consumer media studies are recall based survey measurements. Very few attempts have been made to measure this exclusive set of consumers through a continuous panel based method. Tam’s Elite Panel is the world’s first such study to understand Elite consumers’ TV viewing habits.”

    “At this moment of time, I would like to thank every senior member of our industry who gave us a patient hearing, offered us valuable suggestions and stood the test of time to finally see the industry project through. What I am even more pleased about is that, throughout the two years it took us to implement the industry proposal, Tam received support from all constituents of the industry.

    The key question is how is this development viewed by the industry. Star India president, ad sales and distribution, Paritosh Joshi says that while he has not yet seen the numbers, in principle the Elite Panel together with Cas represents a strong plus for channels like Star Movies and Star World that target the affluent segment. “They will be able to offer more demonstrable numbers to clients. More and more brands that target the upmarket audience from sectors like hospitality, finance, automobiles, apparel and lifestyle are looking for the right media vehicles. This development will allow them to do that.”

    Zee Network’s ad sales head Joy Chakraborthy feels that the introduction of the Elite Panel is better late than never. “It is not fair that unique channels are measured in the same way as the general entertainment channels. That situation will change. So far unique channels have been bought on the basis of perception rather than on reality. It was a case of ‘if I am watching it then others must also be watching it’ scenario. This issue will now get addressed. We are still examining the data though, as we only just got it.”

    On the media side Starcom’s Manish Porwal was happy that the long awaited development had finally happened. “While we will wait and see how it fares in terms of consistency, the fact that it has happened is good news for the niche channels who will now get better exposure. Their representation earlier was small. It certainly allows us to look at the niche English genre with finer lenses and also allows us to better qualify the upmarket audience segment.”

    Spatial Access’ Meenakshi Madhvani says that so far the television ratings system has basically catered to the lowest common denominator i.e. the masses. Now though, one will hopefully get a better idea of what the small in number but important affluent consumers are watching. “It will allow us to get a better fix on the affluent viewers. Also the disadvantage that the niche channels had in terms of not having the numbers to show will not be there.”

    One of the additional USPs of the panel is that it has deployed the state-of-the-art Digital TVM5 peoplemeters. Commenting on this, Tam Media Research VP Pradeep Hejmadi says, “The Elite Panel comprises of homes receiving channels through a mix of Analogue cable, Digital set top box (Cas) and Direct –to-Home (DTH) platforms, making this the first technology-hybrid, platform neutral TV study.”

    Tam adds that across the globe, all Elite consumer media studies are recall based survey measurements. Very few attempts have been made to measure this exclusive set of consumers through a continuous panel based method. Tam says that its Elite Panel is world’s first such study to understand Elite consumers’ TV viewing habits.

  • Indian television advertising is very much underpriced’ : Joy Chakraborthy – Zee Network executive VP Network Sales

    Indian television advertising is very much underpriced’ : Joy Chakraborthy – Zee Network executive VP Network Sales

    Joy Chakraborthy took charge of Zee Network as ad sales head in early 2005, at a time when Zee TV was going through a crucial phase. Chairman Subhash Chandra was strategising a turnaround for the flagship channel and a number of big ticket shows were being readied, with the expectations of re-writing Zee TV's fortunes in the Hindi GEC arena.

    As Network sales head, Chakraborthy's first challenge was to project Zee in a new light. "Zee had a perception problem in the market and a section of the trade had written it off. We wanted to create a new impression and build on that," Chakraborthy says."There couldn't have been a better time for me to head the network's sales team," he gushes.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com's Bijoy A K, Chakraborthy elaborates on the strategies that worked for Zee, future plans and on the industry scenario.
    Excerpts:

    You have completed a year as the sales head of Zee network. Please elaborate on the key industry learnings you could gather during this period?
    A crucial lesson we have learnt is on the significance of soaps in the GEC prime time game. We have learnt that GEC is all about soaps, but different from Saas-Bahu sagas. People buy a channel for consistency and not for spikes only. In the industry, on an average, 70 per cent revenue is tied up on a long-term basis and only soaps can fulfill that promise. Innovative programming is fine, but they should be scheduled and timed very effectively. When you innovate, it should not be just a programming decision but a collective decision including sales, marketing and programming.

    Everybody had written Zee off. But we could pull off a turnaround — what seemed impossible until some time back – through team work, discipline, passion, accurate timing and by keeping the faith intact. As expected, the trade has responded to this change very positively, and now we enjoy the backing of the entire market. This is because of the strong relationships we had built during this period. What I am driving at is the fact that, relationships play a key role in this industry. This period also showed us who are our real friends and who are opportunists. Also, it has been a learning for me that both, people and organizations are important, and one cannot exist without the other.

    How is the industry evolving? Give us a low down in the recent developments and the trends?
    Indian television advertising is very much underpriced and we have decided to bring this issue into focus, under the banner of the Indian Broadcast Foundation (IBF). In a couple of months, we are planning to come out with certain guidelines on pricing, which would hold a lot of significance for the industry. Our main concern is the underpricing of television. It is a powerful medium and it should get its due, especially at a time when the costs of programming and marketing have skyrocketed. All network sales heads are now represented in IBF and we are united on this cause.

    The present scenario is very confusing. Television is booming, but clients are very tentative to take a call on TV as compared to the print as television research is more confusing and dynamic and changes everyday. I think an increase of 15 per cent to 20 per cent in rate is due immediately. It should also be noted that cricket of late has not affected GEC/Hindi movies viewership, which are the primary revenue drivers in C&S. The Hindi movie genre is still very much underpriced and same is the case with regional channels.

    I keep hearing that the English entertainment space is shrinking, but I don't agree with this as this is the genre with least wastage and where even an advertiser is a viewer.

    Does GEC still hold an edge over other genres when it comes to delivery and demand? Or has there been a change in the pattern?
    GEC will always hold the edge as maximum revenue comes to this genre. For any client, the reach build up and in some cases, frequency by smart scheduling comes from GEC. According to me, the genre pecking order would remain as: GEC, Hindi Movies, Regional, News, Sports – in that order.

    In the last two years, unique content channels have seen so much of a price cut that the FCT has increased drastically and revenue in the genre has hardly moved. I sometimes wonder how they are still surviving in business.

    Regional television space holds a lot of potential though it faces tough competition from print. The key segments driving growth in regional are: Retail, education and real estate, in addition to general categories like FMCG, telecom services, consumer durables etc.

    Zee has already started working on all these segments. We have started roping in retail clients and our next focus is on the real estate and education. Though there is a slow transition of main print category advertisers to television, the good news is that these clients have realised the power of television.

    Did the recent stock exchange fluctuations impact sales?
    The fluctuations haven't affected us at all. Actually, Zee recorded better sales during this period of May-June. June-July usually has a lean period tag attached to it, but this year, it was different. This is one change in the normal pattern. These days, there is nothing called lean or peak period. This is due to the boom in categories such as telecom, services, finance and the perennial FMCG.

    Today, advertisers are not limiting themselves to a particular genre due to media fragmentation. Most clients are there in almost all the channels/genres. Earlier, there used to be a particular set of advertisers for particular genres, such as premium products for English entertainment channels. These days, even FMCG brands are keen on English channels. It is a trend of aspirational marketing.
    'With the good performance, our viewer base has also expanded and this, in turn, helps us to better our performance on a consistent basis'

    The last one year saw Zee TV pulling off a turnaround in Hindi GEC, by reaching the second position. Could you briefly outline what happened during this eventful phase?
    During this period, the sales team was able to initiate a lot of changes successfully. To start with, we decided to remove the paid bonus system and agreed to reduction of ad sales inventory. This helped to change the general perception that, Zee has unlimited inventory. Then, we made it a point to keep away from attempting any innovation in terms of sales. This is because, the delivery of innovations take too much of time for the value we generate. Also, I have observed that in spite of doing innovations, the clients/agencies are always unhappy with the implementations, however good you might do. So why do innovations?

    We also focused on doing more client/agency meetings and met people at all levels. The Zee Network had a perception problem in the market, and the sales team has positively addressed this. I felt a lot of our positives were not known to the market. We had been very firm in our decisions and we always made it a point to abide by our well-defined sales policy. I have ensured all commitments/deliverables are in writing and not verbal, as this avoids conflict when people change at channel/agency side. When it comes to deals, the attempt has been to create win-win situations. We reduced our FCT to an effective level to create demand and initiated a very transparent sales policy.

    We also introduced the Matrix system, which played a key role in bettering the network performance. We appointed individual sales heads, responsible for strategy, revenues and targets of their channels. We have senior people as branch heads in the business deployed in key markets such as Delhi, Kolkata and the South whose roles are more tactical and they ensure revenue spread across all channels and have their branch targets. Both sales heads and branch heads work very closely with themselves and with me.

    For me, Zee has turned out to be a great place to work. It is a place with total freedom and great empowerment. I would say internal stability in Zee is very high. All decisions are discussed and not pushed down your throat. We have the best bunch of professionals, both at senior and junior level.

    Please comment on your face-off with Star. Star recently initiated its counter strategy to block your surge in the 9-10 pm time band. What impact has it made on your game plan?
    You feel happy when the leader reacts. Zee has pioneered the strategy of launching soaps with innovative media breaks. Seeing Star also doing the same for their show has been an ego booster for us. Coming to the second part of your question, it felt even better when the leader's tactics didn't affect our numbers and the market demand.

    With the good performance, our viewer base has also expanded and this, in turn, now helps us to better our performance on a consistent basis. Earlier, when we launched a show, rating in the range of 1 TVR to 2 TVR was considered as satisfactory or good. Now, our new launches pick up very fast and the shows even record an opening rating of 2+ TVR on an average basis. This has inspired us to fight Star in its own bastion – the 10 – 11 pm band – with non-soaps such as Johny Aala Re and Sabash India.

    So what is the next big idea? What will be Zee's next focus?
    We have now settled ourself comfortably in the 6 pm – 8 pm and the 9 – 10 time bands. You will be seeing some more launches in the months to come which will strengthen our FPC even further. The programming, marketing and sales wings are now working on the strategies to strengthen the 8-9 pm band.

    What is the strategy you follow to sell Day Parts?
    We have made lot of efforts to increase the demand for the Non Prime Time (NPT) band. Each sales package has got a mix of PT and NPT. We ideally would love to sell at 30:70 for PT/NPT. We have also been selling early NPT and late night slots for religious/tele shopping properties. As a result of focusing on NPT, our inventory FCT consumption has doubled in NPT.

    Which are the client segments that top your delivery list these days?
    Still FMCG is number one, though there has been a major upswing in Telecom/Services/Auto/ to name a few. The concern has been the consumer durable category with a few big players not clear about their plans. Additionally, SMS has emerged as a key revenue driver for us for our interactive shows.

    Speaking about the network performance, what is the scorecard?
    Zee TV is on top followed by Zee Cinema. Zee TV was underpriced when I took over, and now we are steadily moving in the right direction of rate. We activated rate corrections twice for the network during the six months and now, as the festival season is coming, you can expect another correction soon. For some channels, it will be across all day parts and for some it will be programme based.

    Revenue wise, maximum share comes from Zee TV followed by Zee Cinema, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee English cluster, Zee Music and Zee Smile. The beginning of the year has been very good and I am sure we will touch a new high this fiscal.

    Now let us take it one at a time. To start with, please comment on the performance of Zee Cinema. What is the plan for this year?
    As a sales person, I can't ask for a better channel than Zee cinema which has been consistently delivering for years in the face of stiff competition. My colleagues in programming and marketing have given us a product which is a must have in all media plans, specially if it is targeting the "cow" belt (Hindi heartland). Since the last two years, the Amitabh movie band Shaniwaar ki Raat Amitabh Ke Saath has been our key driver. This year, we have introduced a youth block – Klub. We have our own share of blockbusters for the year also.

    Zee Smile has been keeping a low profile these days. Is the channel in an orphaned state, or is there a plan on the anvil?
    You will soon know our plan for Smile. But for sales, Smile has been a great help to get incremental revenues. The channel is very well distributed in non traditional markets and hence, you will find lots of brands advertising on Smile.
    Speaking about regional channels, you are in charge of sales of two key players Zee Bangla and Zee Marathi. How did these two channels fare in the last one year period?
    This year, we have practically re-launched Zee Bangla with a slew of new programmes and this will boost its sales potential. We are again going to do sales initiated programmes like Durga Pooja and Jatra.

    Zee Marathi has now become the clear number one. We are there in almost all plans. We have also set up a separate sales team to develop retail and non traditional advertisers like educational institutes, real estate, local jewelers, classified etc and the results are showing.

    Comment on the delivery of your event properties.
    During the last one year, there has been an extra thrust on good events, and the efforts have paid off very well, I would say. We have converted the Saregama finals as an on-ground event and the attempt has met with great success. This had inspired us to take the Saregama Ek Mein Aur Ek Tum finals to Dubai. Apart from winning a global appeal, going to international venues helps sales also. Zee Cine Awards, Mauritius and even the Zee F- Awards, have done very well for us.

    We have Zee Astitva Award, Zee Marathi Awards, Zee Gaurav Puraskaar, Zee Amader Gaurav, Zee Songeet Puroshkaar to name a few, lined up in the next few months across various channels.
    Have you retained Amap's service as an alternative rating agency to Tam?
    Yes. We need to have two meters because the industry needs competition in this realm also. It is always good for the trade. It brings out the best of everyone. According to me, each of them can coexist, triggering healthy competition. I am not making a judgment here, but for the betterment of industry, we need two parallel rating systems. The earlier we acknowledge this, the better it would be for all of us.