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Tag: Olympics

  • Olympics viewership growing among younger viewers in the US

    Olympics viewership growing among younger viewers in the US

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC has announced that through seven days of its coverage of the on-going 2012 London Olympic Games, overall viewership is up double digits among teens and teenage girls.

    Overall viewership for teen girls, 12-17, is up 54 per cent versus 2008 (8.3 rating vs. 5.4 rating) and overall viewership for teens 12-17 is up 29 per cent versus 2008 (7.2 rating vs. 5.6 rating).

    Teen viewership of the London Games is more than six times higher than traditional broadcast viewing habits, and teen girl ratings for NBC‘s coverage of the London Olympics is 89 per cent higher than the No. 1 rated prime-time show on broadcast television in the same demographic (Glee/Fox), according to an official statement from NBC.

    Teen girl ratings for the London Olympics are also more than double the rating of the number one prime-time shows on remaining competing broadcast networks.

    The NBC data provides more viewership details. More than three times as many female teens watched the London Olympics in prime-time than purchased a movie ticket to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

    Around 171 per cent more teens watched NBC‘s coverage of the London Olympics than shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch in the last three months, NBC stated.

    In addition to an increase in broadcast viewing habits, young people are also engaging with NBC Olympics digital content.

    Through the first seven days of the London Olympics, NBC is averaging 1.7 million teen viewers, the most for any non-US Summer Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Through the same time period, 174.9 million Americans have watched the Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal, ahead of Beijing‘s 174.1 at the same point through the Games.

  • No one to take on The Dark Knight

    No one to take on The Dark Knight

    MUMBAI: There is no beating The Dark Knight… Though Sony‘s sci-fi action epic Total Recall opened up collecting $26 million in the weekend, it was well behind the $36.4 million earned by The Dark Knight Rises in its third weekend.
    Also a new release, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days also opened below expectations as it collected $14.7 million. The film, that cost $22 million to make, is already on solid ground financially.
    The Aurora theater shooting and the 2012 Summer Olympics continue to mute movie going. Domestic ticket sales plummeted 25 per cent from the same weekend last year while research firm NRG continues to warn studios that 20 per cent of the movie-going audience is skittish after the shooting. Around 16 per cent viewers have reported that they would be watching the Olympics this weekend.
    Heading into the weekend, Sony projected a domestic opening between the $25 to $30 million range for its film, although many believed that it would gross a little higher and would possibly jump the $30 million mark. The remake cost at least $125 million.
    Total Recall, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Colin Farrell in the role made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is counting on a strong international run to boost its bottom line. Incidentally, it opened in 10 Asian markets this weekend earning $6.2 million.

  • Olympics and shootout effect dwindle audience in theatres

    Olympics and shootout effect dwindle audience in theatres

    MUMBAI: The combination of the Olympics and the Colorado theatre massacre has had a sizeable impact on weekend box office sales that could end 30 per ccent down from last year.
    Twentieth Century Fox‘s high-profile summer comedy The Watch starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade opened to a sluggish star with $4.5 million on Friday, well behind the $19 million earned by The Dark Knight Rises on its second Friday. The R-rated film earned a dismal C+ CinemaScore.
    The weekend‘s other new entry is Summit Entertainment‘s 3D dance film Step Up Revolution that grossed $4.9 million to beat The Watch. Step Up 4 earned a B+ CinemaScore.
    Most box office observers predict that The Watch will pull ahead of Step Up 4 and gross in the vicinity between $13 to $15 million range for the weekend, in comparison to $11 to $12 million for the Summit film.
    Heading into the weekend, research firm NRG warned Hollywood studios that 20 to 25 per cent of the movie-going audience were hesitant to see a film this weekend because of the Colorado shooting and the Olympics.
    Though by any measure, Dark Knight Rises continues to do good business, but there is no doubt that the film is leaving business on the table because of the shooting during a midnight screening of the film.
    Comparing Friday over Friday collection, Dark Knight Rises fell 76 per cent, in line with other films that had sizeable midnight earnings on opening day.

  • NBCU sells $1 bn worth ad inventory for Olympics

    NBCU sells $1 bn worth ad inventory for Olympics

    MUMBAI: NBCUniversal has said it has sold $1 billion worth of national television and digital advertising for the London Olympics $150 million more than what it made in the previous edition.

    The ad total includes sales from across NBCU portfolio, including NBC itself, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, the NBC Sports Network, NBCOlympics.com, mobile apps and a new 3D channel.

    NBCU said its decision to live stream every athletic competition on NBCOlympics.com and, for the first time, on the NBC Olympics Live Extra app for both mobile devices and tablets, significantly contributed to NBCU’s ability to reach $1 billion.

    It will stream more than 3,500 hours of content including all 32 sports and 302 medals.

    Digital ad sales for London have exceeded $60 million, roughly three times more than the total for Beijing when NBCOlympics.com alone live streamed 2,200 hours and 25 sports. National television ad sales for London games account for more than $950 million, up approximately $100 million from Beijing.

    NBCUniversal is presenting 5,535 total hours of coverage of the 2012 London Olympics across NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Olympics Live Extra mobile and tablet app, two specialty channels, and the first-ever 3D platform, an unprecedented level that surpasses the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by nearly 2,000 hours.

    “This feat is a testimony to the quality of Olympic programming and the unparalleled way NBCU presents, produces and covers the Games,” NBC Sports Group EVP, Sales & Sales Marketing Seth Winter said in a statement. “It also demonstrates the power of the Olympics. No other property has such as diverse group of sponsors, who can target the broadest range of demographic and psychographic audiences. We are not done yet and will continue to sell during the Games.”

  • UK ad spend holds steady in Q1, to gain steam in 2012 on back of Olympics

    MUMBAI: The advertising spends of UK have remained steady despite turmoil in the global economy.

    In the first quarter of 2012, UK‘s ad spend increased by 1.1 per cent, according to Advertising Association /Warc study.

    UK ad expenditure is expected to improve over the year, reaching overall growth of 2.5 per cent in 2012 with forecasts of a further rise of 4.4 per cent in 2013.

    The ad expenditure is predicted to reach a value of ?16.8 billion in 2012 and ?17.4billion in 2013.

    The report provides the comprehensive measure of UK advertising activity. It includes an overview of advertising spend by individual media, encompassing print, TV, internet, radio, cinema and out of home.

    Internet spend is estimated to have grown by 11.1 per cent in Q1 2012 compared with Q1 2011 and is expected to remain strong throughout the year, with a forecast of 10.1 per cent growth and an overall value of ?5.3 billion in 2012.

    Out of home saw a 3.1 per cent increase in Q1 2012, in a year when Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to drive overall growth by 4.1 per cent to ?0.9 billion.

    Radio grew by 6.9 per cent in Q1 with forecasts of 3.8 per cent (?0.4bn) in the year overall.

    As per the report, the government ad spend is set to increase faster than any other category in 2012 which is traditionally a strong source of radio revenues. Cinema expenditure increased by 9.5 per cent in Q1 with a positive forecast of 3.1 per cent for 2012 (?0.2bn) as a whole.

    Meanwhile, the television ad spends fell 0.7 per cent in the quarter but is expected to remain broadly steady with 0.3 per cent growth (?4.2bn) for the year.

    The study revealed that the spend was weakest in press, with a decline of 10 per cent. Overall, press is forecast to fall by 5.1 per cent in 2012 (?3.7bn), though spend is predicted to stabilise in 2013.

    Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy said, “In the face of global economic uncertainty, UK advertising holds a steady course. Evidence shows that advertising invigorates GDP growth, so a healthy ad market is good news for the whole economy, not just advertisers.”

    Warc data editor Suzy Young added, “It remains a very short term market. There is some evidence that TV advertisers, for example, have brought budgets forward to Q2 from Q3 to get the benefit of marketing spend now as prospects for the rest of the year remain unclear.”

  • Universal delays release of Bourne Legacy

    Universal delays release of Bourne Legacy

    MUMBAI: Universal Pictures has postponed the release date ofThe Bourne Legacy from 3 to 10 August citing fears of the invasion of The Dark Knight Rises at the box-office. Another reason could also be the simultaneous release of Sony‘s Total Recall also scheduled to open on 3 August.
    Dark Knight, the third instalment of the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman franchise, is set to hit US theaters on 20 July, two weeks prior to that of Bourne Legacy. Now the film has been delayed three weeks hence.
    The studio‘s statement regarding the move focused on Dark Knight, as well as the opportunity to use the Summer Olympics to promote Bourne.
    “Just as The Avengers demonstrated marketplace sustainability that well outpaced traditional patterns earlier this summer, the industry expects a similar trajectory for The Dark Knight Rises. Moving one week further from its release will give The Bourne Legacy an even greater opportunity to maximize its opening box-office potential,” the statement said.
    The move also allows Universal to avoid a direct clash with Sony‘s Total Recall reboot. Both films are targeting males and many exhibitors had questioned why they were going out on the same date.
    “Moving to Aug. 10 will also allow us to extend valuable promotion for the film across all NBC-Universal platforms during the Olympics, which will dominate television and digital audiences beginning July 27. We are excited about this new chapter in our Bourne franchise and confident that Aug. 10 is the right date for our film and for our industry as a whole,” the statement added.

  • CBS claims ratings victory among US networks

    MUMBAI: CBS has announced that it has come out on top among US networks for the season. According to the most current Nielsen ratings data, Fox will finish as number one in the 18-49 demographic thanks mainly to ‘American Idol‘.

    CBS, which has a JV with Reliance Broadcast Network in India, has come out on top for nine in the past 10 years. This year the network averaged 11.78 million viewers each week, up by one per cent over last year. This is around three million more viewers than Fox.

    In the 18-49 demographic Fox finished the season with a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating and 9 share, according to Nielsen, down nine per cent from a 3.5/10 last season, when it carried the Super Bowl. NBC aired the game this year.

    In this demographic Fox placed seven per cent ahead of CBS, which averaged a 3.0/8, up three per cent from a 2.9/8 last year. 132 million votes were cast for Fox‘s music based competition show ‘American Idol‘.

    CBS is first in adults 25-54. In a statement CBS has said that it will deliver year-to-year increases among viewers on five nights (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) while finishing even on Tuesday and on four nights in adults 18-49 (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday) and even on Friday.

    CBS also said that it has the season‘s number one new series in viewers ‘Person Of Interest‘ for the third time in four years and the number one new programme in adults 18-49 ‘2 Broke Girls‘ for the second consecutive year.

    CBS says that it had the nine of the 10 dramas including ‘NCIS‘, ‘The Mentalist‘ and ‘Blue Bloods‘. It had eight of the top 10 comedies including ‘The Big Bang Theory‘ and ‘Two And A Half Men‘.

    NBC says that it managed to get a 2.5 rating and a 9 per cent gain in adult 18-49 rating versus last season‘s 2.3. This it says is the biggest increase compared to ABC, CBS and Fox.

    NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said, “Not since the 2003-2004 season has NBC been out of fourth place in 18-49 viewers, so we‘re thrilled to rank in third place for this season. We‘ve taken some key first steps towards rebuilding primetime, including a great second cycle for ‘The Voice‘ and promising first seasons for shows like ‘Smash‘ and ‘Grimm‘.

    “With a largely new staff in place and a strong development season under our belts – not to mention some big promotional opportunities presented by this summer‘s London Olympics and two nights of ‘The Voice‘ in the fall – we‘re in a very good position to build on the progress of this past season. We‘re genuinely excited about the future.”

  • Indo Nissin Foods to sponsor Indian contingent for Olympics

    MUMBAI: The performance of Indian athletes on the field is finally beginning to show results off the field as well with the Indian Olympic Association closing its third sponsorship deal for the upcoming London Olympics.

    Indo Nissin Foods Ltd, the makers of Top Ramen noodles, is the latest to join the Olympics bandwagon by signing on as principal sponsor of the Indian contingent for the Games.

    IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra, while welcoming the sponsorship deal, expressed confidence that more industrial houses and entrepreneurs will come forward to be part of the Olympic Movement in the country.

    “This is part of our commitment we had made to the sports persons qualified for the Olympics that they will get their due share. I hope they will bring laurels to the nation. We in IOA have kept our promise and we hope the athletes will keep give their best at the Games,” Malhotra added.

    Also on board as sponsors are South Korean electronics major Samsung and Indian dairy products company Amul.

  • P&G brings ‘Thank you, Mom’ campaign to India

    P&G brings ‘Thank you, Mom’ campaign to India

    MUMBAI: In 2010 when global FMCG leader Procter & Gamble (P&G) sponsored the US team for the Winter Olympics that year, little did the company know that it was the beginning of a long standing marketing strategy which will spread the world over. That year, P&G helped 250 women across America to make it to Vancouver to see their children compete at the Winter Olympics and adopt the tagline ‘proud sponsor of moms‘.

    By end 2010, the FMCG giant experienced incremental sales amounting to $100 million and a 39 per cent increase in brand recall. The initiative was met with an overwhelming response and the FMCG giant decided to convert the agreement into a 10-year association with the Olympic Games.

    Taking forward this initiative, the company introduced the ‘Thank you mom‘ campaign where there were videos of athletes being taken care of and encouraged by their mothers, all culminating in their ‘thankful‘ gaze on winning in their respective sport. The campaign has been taken across the globe and was recently launched in India as well.

    So how does the company expect to reap rewards from a campaign associated with the Olympics where public interest is low and awareness probably even lower? To start with, here too P&G will be sponsoring athletes like boxer Mary Kom and runner Kavita Raut and will give their mothers a chance to see them perform at London later this year.

    In India though, the ‘Thank You, Mom‘ campaign has taken a more literal form and the FMCG major is playing the wishing well of sorts. P&G has initiated the ‘Fulfil Her Wish‘ drive in India and is inviting consumers to confide in it their mother‘s wish. The company has pledged to fulfil the wish by Mother‘s Day (13 May).

    P&G has been using avenues ranging from mainstream advertising to social media, on-ground activations and exclusive toll free numbers to record people‘s pledges and messages.

    Recently, P&G organised an event at Bandra‘s Amphitheatre at Carter Road in Mumbai as part of its India initiative. The company provided a platform for kids to thank their mothers on the eve of Mother‘s Day with Bollywood actors Dia Mirza and Prachi Desai present with their respective mothers.

    Mirza and Desai sparked off the event by penning their mothers‘ wish on the wish lanterns and set it afloat in the sky. They were joined by many other kids repeating the gesture and pledging to fulfil their mother‘s wish by penning them on their own wish lanterns.

    According to a global survey commissioned by P&G across 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region, 55 per cent of the respondents in India expressed appreciation to their mothers infrequently whereas 23 per cent of respondents in India could not even remember the last time they thanked their moms. The findings from the survey provided guidance to the “Thank You Mom” campaign and in creating a platform for children to thank the unsung heroes of their lives – their mothers.

    An official statement from the FMCG major stated: “P&G recognises the silent sacrifices that each mom makes in raising her child and provides a rare opportunity to everyone to thank their moms; with a deed, an action a gesture that we seldom express through this unique platform.”

  • WPP bullish on Olympics, fiscal rev up 7.4% to ?10.02 bn

    WPP bullish on Olympics, fiscal rev up 7.4% to ?10.02 bn

    MUMBAI: WPP, the world‘s biggest advertising group, has posted a net profit of ?916.5 million for the fiscal ended 31 December, up 38.7 per cent over the earlier year, and expects the Olympics to give it a further boost this year.

    WPP‘s strong performance in a slowdown year has been led by companies spending towards brand building in emerging markets. It has also managed to protect its market share in the matured markets.

    Revenue grew by 7.4 per cent to ?10.02 billion, from ?99.33 billion in the previous fiscal.

    Geographically, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa and Middle Eastern region posted maximum year-on-year growth in revenue at 12.5 per cent. The total revenue from the region was ?2.95 billion in 2011 as compared to ?2.62 billion in 2010.

    Meanwhile, UK registered a growth of 8.8 per cent recording an revenue of ? 1.18 billion as opposed to ?1.10 billion in 2010.

    The Western Europe region grew at 7.7 per cent with the revenue increasing from ?2.23 billion in 2010 to ?2.51 in 2011.

    The region to show least growth was North America with 2.7 per cent increase in revenue. The region’s revenue for 2010 was ?3.3 billion while in 2011 it registered revenues of ?3.39 billion.

    Sector wise, the group’s advertising and media investment management wing brought in revenue to the tune of ?4.12 billion in 2011, up 11.4 per cent compared to ?3.73 billion in the year ago period.

    The consumer insight business grew marginally (at 1.1 per cent) to ?2.5 billion.

    The PR and public affairs business recorded growth of 4.8 per cent earning the group ?886 million in 2011, compared to ?845 million in 2010.

    The branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications sector brought in a revenue of ? 2.5 billion, marking a growth of 8.5 per cent from last year’s ?2.3 billion.

    In the fiscal under review, the WPP group made 24 acquisitions and investments in new markets, 32 in new media and eight in consumer insight. The remaining seven acquisitions were driven by individual client or agency needs.

    WPP said the group’s budget for the year 2012 would be made on conservative basis and will reflect on the faster growing geographical markets like the APAC, Latin America, Africa and Central and East European markets. The focus will be on increasing the revenues and gross margins faster than the industry average.

    The London Olympics, the Uefa Football Championships and November’s US Presidential Elections alone will grow advertising revenues by 1 per cent this year, helping WPP to meet its budgeted forecast of 4 per cent revenue growth, the group stated.