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Tag: RAM

  • Trai proposes radio audience measurement on lines of Barc

    Trai proposes radio audience measurement on lines of Barc

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has come out with a set of recommendations on radio audience measurement (Ram) in India setting limits on ownership of stakeholders in the ratings agency, but there is no limit on the number of such agencies.

    In a preface, the regulator said there is a need to prescribe “a soft touch, conducive, forward looking, growth oriented framework” for Ram, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.

    The guidelines for rating agencies will be notified by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) based on the recommendations of Trai and there will be no ceiling on the number of rating agencies.

    Trai has a recommendatory role on such issues as final decisions rest with nodal ministries like MIB, Department of Telecoms (DoT) and Department of Space (DoS). In the past, many recommendations of the regulator had not been implemented at all or done so partially by the Ministry concerned.

    The Ram proposed guidelines mandatorily cover registration, eligibility norms, cross-holdings, methodology for conducting radio rating, complaint redressal, sale and use of ratings, audit, disclosure, reporting requirements and penal provisions for rating agencies.

    This will be very similar to the existing policy guidelines for television rating agencies issued by MIB under which Barc operates.

    Trai suggested the ratings agency should have adequate and equal representation from the three associations concerned — Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

    The salient features of the TRAI recommendations are as follows:

    (i)Guidelines for rating system to be notified by MIB.

    (ii)Any agency meeting eligibility conditions can apply and get registered with MIB for doing the rating work. No cap on number of rating agencies has been prescribed.

    (iii)All rating agencies, including industry led body are required to comply with the guidelines.

    (iv)Guidelines to cover registration, eligibility norms, cross-holding, methodology for conducting rating, complaint redressal, sale and use of ratings, audit, disclosure, reporting requirements and penal provisions.

    (v)Voluntary code of conduct by the industry for maintaining secrecy and privacy of the listeners included in the rating process.

    (vi)Restrictions on ‘substantial equity holding of 10% or more’ between rating agencies and broadcasters/advertisers/advertising agencies have been prescribed.

    (vii)The rating agency to set up an effective complaint redressal system.

    (viii)Data/reports generated by the rating agency to be made available to all interested stakeholders in a transparent and equitable manner.

    (ix)The rating agency to get its entire methodology/processes audited internally on quarterly basis and through an independent auditor annually. All audit reports to be put on the website of the rating agency.

    (x)Penal provisions for non-compliance of guidelines.

    Since All India Radio (AIR) has a large geographical and population coverage and is not a member of AROI, representation of AIR should be ensured in the technical committee formed within the industry led body for guiding and supervising various radio rating processes.

    Trai said in its report that once guidelines are issued and implemented by MIB, these will be made applicable to all the rating agencies including the industry-led body.

    An independent rating agency, carrying out the rating process, can also outsource the field work, data collection and processing to third parties. The guidelines will not be applicable to the entities which have been contracted to carry out the field work, data collection and processing.

    At present, radio audience measurement in India is conducted by AIR and TAM Media Research.

    The full TRAI recommendation can be obtained at http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/WhatsNew/Documents/Recommendations_15_September_2016.pdf

  • Trai proposes radio audience measurement on lines of Barc

    Trai proposes radio audience measurement on lines of Barc

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has come out with a set of recommendations on radio audience measurement (Ram) in India setting limits on ownership of stakeholders in the ratings agency, but there is no limit on the number of such agencies.

    In a preface, the regulator said there is a need to prescribe “a soft touch, conducive, forward looking, growth oriented framework” for Ram, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.

    The guidelines for rating agencies will be notified by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) based on the recommendations of Trai and there will be no ceiling on the number of rating agencies.

    Trai has a recommendatory role on such issues as final decisions rest with nodal ministries like MIB, Department of Telecoms (DoT) and Department of Space (DoS). In the past, many recommendations of the regulator had not been implemented at all or done so partially by the Ministry concerned.

    The Ram proposed guidelines mandatorily cover registration, eligibility norms, cross-holdings, methodology for conducting radio rating, complaint redressal, sale and use of ratings, audit, disclosure, reporting requirements and penal provisions for rating agencies.

    This will be very similar to the existing policy guidelines for television rating agencies issued by MIB under which Barc operates.

    Trai suggested the ratings agency should have adequate and equal representation from the three associations concerned — Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).

    The salient features of the TRAI recommendations are as follows:

    (i)Guidelines for rating system to be notified by MIB.

    (ii)Any agency meeting eligibility conditions can apply and get registered with MIB for doing the rating work. No cap on number of rating agencies has been prescribed.

    (iii)All rating agencies, including industry led body are required to comply with the guidelines.

    (iv)Guidelines to cover registration, eligibility norms, cross-holding, methodology for conducting rating, complaint redressal, sale and use of ratings, audit, disclosure, reporting requirements and penal provisions.

    (v)Voluntary code of conduct by the industry for maintaining secrecy and privacy of the listeners included in the rating process.

    (vi)Restrictions on ‘substantial equity holding of 10% or more’ between rating agencies and broadcasters/advertisers/advertising agencies have been prescribed.

    (vii)The rating agency to set up an effective complaint redressal system.

    (viii)Data/reports generated by the rating agency to be made available to all interested stakeholders in a transparent and equitable manner.

    (ix)The rating agency to get its entire methodology/processes audited internally on quarterly basis and through an independent auditor annually. All audit reports to be put on the website of the rating agency.

    (x)Penal provisions for non-compliance of guidelines.

    Since All India Radio (AIR) has a large geographical and population coverage and is not a member of AROI, representation of AIR should be ensured in the technical committee formed within the industry led body for guiding and supervising various radio rating processes.

    Trai said in its report that once guidelines are issued and implemented by MIB, these will be made applicable to all the rating agencies including the industry-led body.

    An independent rating agency, carrying out the rating process, can also outsource the field work, data collection and processing to third parties. The guidelines will not be applicable to the entities which have been contracted to carry out the field work, data collection and processing.

    At present, radio audience measurement in India is conducted by AIR and TAM Media Research.

    The full TRAI recommendation can be obtained at http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/WhatsNew/Documents/Recommendations_15_September_2016.pdf

  • TRAI starts exercise on separate regulatory body for rating radio listenership; comments deadline 11 April

    TRAI starts exercise on separate regulatory body for rating radio listenership; comments deadline 11 April

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants to know if there is a need to regulate the radio audience measurement and rating services and whether this should be done by the regulator/government or self-regulatory bodies.

    In a consultation paper issued today on ‘Issues related to Radio Audience Measurement and Ratings in India’, TRAI has also suggested some broad contours for an industry led body proposed to be formed for regulating the radio rating system and sought views of stakeholders on these.

    It has said that written comments on the consultation paper should be sent by 11 April and counter-comments, if any, may be submitted by 25 April.

    The paper also suggests some eligibility conditions for rating agencies and guidelines for methodology for audience measurement and wants views on these.

    At the outset, TRAI notes that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued guidelines for television rating agencies and an industry body Broadcasting Audience Research Council (BARC) has been entrusted with the task of conducting TV audience measurement.

    Similarly for the radio broadcasting sector, Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), which is an indicator of the number of listeners to a radio channels, has become essential.

    At present, radio audience measurement in India is conducted by AIR and TAM Media Research. AIR carries out periodical large scale radio audience surveys on various AIR channels. TAM Media Research conducts radio audience measurement on private FM radio channels through an independent division, which is a joint service between IMRB International and Nielsen Media Research. It uses the paper diary method to measure radio listenership with a panel size of 480 individuals each in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and listenership data is provided on a weekly basis.

    TRAI says the total advertising revenues of the radio broadcasting sector depend on the advertisement duration and the rates per unit time. The duration as well as the advertisements rates depends upon numbers and demographics of the radio listeners. Accordingly, there is a need for radio audience measurement which can measure the popularity of a channel or a programme for the advertisers and advertising agencies. This will assist them in selecting the right channel or programme at the right time to reach the target listeners. Further, it will also aid the radio channels in improving their programmes (both quality of the programme and content variety) for attracting more listeners.

    The task of allocating resources for advertisements by advertisers and advertising agencies has become increasingly challenging with the growth in the number of FM radio channels and vastly increased variety of programs available. Advertising expenditures are typically guided by audience measurement in addition to other factors such as cost of reaching various audience segments, advertisement placements and programme schedules.

    Advertisement revenues of the radio broadcasting sector are directly linked to listenership of radio channels. In case of newspapers and other print media, audience measurement is based on the number of copies sold. This physical count is however not possible in the case of radio and television sectors, wherein a different form of audience measurement is necessitated. 

    The Regulator has said that a few stakeholders, especially the FM radio operators have voiced concerns about the inadequate coverage and panel size of the radio audience measurement conducted by TAM Media Research. They have expressed reservations about the paper diary methodology used for such measurement. In fact transparency, trust, credibility and acceptability of the radio audience measurement are the key elements for its success.  Better radio audience measurement and ratings would end up promoting a radio channel while poor radio ratings will make it relatively less popular amongst advertisers. Incorrect radio ratings may lead to encouraging production of content which may not be really popular while good content and programs may be adversely impacted on account of misplaced ratings. False and misplaced radio ratings, therefore, can not only end up affecting broadcasters and advertisers, but also adversely impact the quality of the programs being produced and aired to the public. Therefore, there is a need to create a regulatory framework which enables accurate measurements that correctly represent the appropriate ratings for radio channels.  

    TRAI said the consultation paper had been issued to prescribe a framework for radio rating system in India that is conducive to growth, forward looking, and addresses the concerns of the stakeholders while protecting the interests of the consumers. The main objectives of the consultation paper are to ensure growth of the radio broadcasting sector; ensure transparency in radio audience measurement and ratings; ensure greater diversity and better quality content.

    TRAI  also wants to know the views of stakeholders on the rating agency panel size (in terms of numbers of individuals) for different categories of cities that may be mandated in order to ensure statistical accuracy and adequate coverage representing various genres, regions, demographics etc. for a robust radio rating system.

    It has asked if the desired panel size can be achieved immediately, and also if it has to be done in a phased manner, what the minimum initial panel size, quantum of increase and periodicity of such an increase in the panel size should be for different categories of cities.

    It has sought views on what should the rollout framework for introducing radio rating system across all the cities for FM services be and should all cities be covered in a phased manner.

    Stakeholders have been asked to give suggestions/ views as to how the confidentiality of individuals/households included in the panel can be ensured.

    Comments have also been sought on the complaint redressal mechanism for which a suggestion has been made in the paper.

    It wants to know if the rate card for sale and use of ratings data should be published in the public domain by the rating agencies.

    Comments have also been sought on the cross holding restrictions for rating agencies as discussed in the paper.  

    TRAI wants to know views on the parameters/procedures suggested in the paper pertaining to mandatory disclosures for ensuring transparency and compliance of the prescribed accreditation guidelines by rating agencies. Similarly it has sought views on the parameters/procedures suggested pertaining to reporting requirements for ensuring effective monitoring and compliance of the prescribed accreditation guidelines by rating agencies.

    Comments have been sought on the audit requirements for rating agencies and who should be eligible to audit the rating process/system.  What regulatory initiatives are required to promote competition in radio rating services, TRAI wants to know.

    In case guidelines/ rules for rating agency are laid down in the country, the regulator wants to know how much time should be given for complying with the prescribed rules to existing entities in the radio rating services which may not be in compliance with the guidelines.

  • TRAI starts exercise on separate regulatory body for rating radio listenership; comments deadline 11 April

    TRAI starts exercise on separate regulatory body for rating radio listenership; comments deadline 11 April

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants to know if there is a need to regulate the radio audience measurement and rating services and whether this should be done by the regulator/government or self-regulatory bodies.

    In a consultation paper issued today on ‘Issues related to Radio Audience Measurement and Ratings in India’, TRAI has also suggested some broad contours for an industry led body proposed to be formed for regulating the radio rating system and sought views of stakeholders on these.

    It has said that written comments on the consultation paper should be sent by 11 April and counter-comments, if any, may be submitted by 25 April.

    The paper also suggests some eligibility conditions for rating agencies and guidelines for methodology for audience measurement and wants views on these.

    At the outset, TRAI notes that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued guidelines for television rating agencies and an industry body Broadcasting Audience Research Council (BARC) has been entrusted with the task of conducting TV audience measurement.

    Similarly for the radio broadcasting sector, Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), which is an indicator of the number of listeners to a radio channels, has become essential.

    At present, radio audience measurement in India is conducted by AIR and TAM Media Research. AIR carries out periodical large scale radio audience surveys on various AIR channels. TAM Media Research conducts radio audience measurement on private FM radio channels through an independent division, which is a joint service between IMRB International and Nielsen Media Research. It uses the paper diary method to measure radio listenership with a panel size of 480 individuals each in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and listenership data is provided on a weekly basis.

    TRAI says the total advertising revenues of the radio broadcasting sector depend on the advertisement duration and the rates per unit time. The duration as well as the advertisements rates depends upon numbers and demographics of the radio listeners. Accordingly, there is a need for radio audience measurement which can measure the popularity of a channel or a programme for the advertisers and advertising agencies. This will assist them in selecting the right channel or programme at the right time to reach the target listeners. Further, it will also aid the radio channels in improving their programmes (both quality of the programme and content variety) for attracting more listeners.

    The task of allocating resources for advertisements by advertisers and advertising agencies has become increasingly challenging with the growth in the number of FM radio channels and vastly increased variety of programs available. Advertising expenditures are typically guided by audience measurement in addition to other factors such as cost of reaching various audience segments, advertisement placements and programme schedules.

    Advertisement revenues of the radio broadcasting sector are directly linked to listenership of radio channels. In case of newspapers and other print media, audience measurement is based on the number of copies sold. This physical count is however not possible in the case of radio and television sectors, wherein a different form of audience measurement is necessitated. 

    The Regulator has said that a few stakeholders, especially the FM radio operators have voiced concerns about the inadequate coverage and panel size of the radio audience measurement conducted by TAM Media Research. They have expressed reservations about the paper diary methodology used for such measurement. In fact transparency, trust, credibility and acceptability of the radio audience measurement are the key elements for its success.  Better radio audience measurement and ratings would end up promoting a radio channel while poor radio ratings will make it relatively less popular amongst advertisers. Incorrect radio ratings may lead to encouraging production of content which may not be really popular while good content and programs may be adversely impacted on account of misplaced ratings. False and misplaced radio ratings, therefore, can not only end up affecting broadcasters and advertisers, but also adversely impact the quality of the programs being produced and aired to the public. Therefore, there is a need to create a regulatory framework which enables accurate measurements that correctly represent the appropriate ratings for radio channels.  

    TRAI said the consultation paper had been issued to prescribe a framework for radio rating system in India that is conducive to growth, forward looking, and addresses the concerns of the stakeholders while protecting the interests of the consumers. The main objectives of the consultation paper are to ensure growth of the radio broadcasting sector; ensure transparency in radio audience measurement and ratings; ensure greater diversity and better quality content.

    TRAI  also wants to know the views of stakeholders on the rating agency panel size (in terms of numbers of individuals) for different categories of cities that may be mandated in order to ensure statistical accuracy and adequate coverage representing various genres, regions, demographics etc. for a robust radio rating system.

    It has asked if the desired panel size can be achieved immediately, and also if it has to be done in a phased manner, what the minimum initial panel size, quantum of increase and periodicity of such an increase in the panel size should be for different categories of cities.

    It has sought views on what should the rollout framework for introducing radio rating system across all the cities for FM services be and should all cities be covered in a phased manner.

    Stakeholders have been asked to give suggestions/ views as to how the confidentiality of individuals/households included in the panel can be ensured.

    Comments have also been sought on the complaint redressal mechanism for which a suggestion has been made in the paper.

    It wants to know if the rate card for sale and use of ratings data should be published in the public domain by the rating agencies.

    Comments have also been sought on the cross holding restrictions for rating agencies as discussed in the paper.  

    TRAI wants to know views on the parameters/procedures suggested in the paper pertaining to mandatory disclosures for ensuring transparency and compliance of the prescribed accreditation guidelines by rating agencies. Similarly it has sought views on the parameters/procedures suggested pertaining to reporting requirements for ensuring effective monitoring and compliance of the prescribed accreditation guidelines by rating agencies.

    Comments have been sought on the audit requirements for rating agencies and who should be eligible to audit the rating process/system.  What regulatory initiatives are required to promote competition in radio rating services, TRAI wants to know.

    In case guidelines/ rules for rating agency are laid down in the country, the regulator wants to know how much time should be given for complying with the prescribed rules to existing entities in the radio rating services which may not be in compliance with the guidelines.

  • Nielsen names Johnson as head of reach solutions in SE Asia, N Asia & Pacific

    Nielsen names Johnson as head of reach solutions in SE Asia, N Asia & Pacific

    MUMBAI: Global performance management company Nielsen, has appointed Craig Johnson to head up its Reach portfolio in Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific, including television audience measurement (TAM), radio audience measurement (RAM), Consumer & Media View and advertising measurement (AIS) with immediate effect.

     

    Prior to joining Nielsen in 2006, Johnson spent a number of years working for one of Australia’s national broadcast media owners. During his time with Nielsen he has worked with a broad cross-section of clients around the world including television and radio broadcasters, media agencies, brands and industry bodies. Most recently he has been leading Nielsen’s Watch business in South Africa.

     

    Johnson will relocate to Sydney, Australia.

     

    In his new role, Johnson will focus on driving Nielsen’s leadership in the areas of TAM, RAM, Consumer & Media View and AIS. With a number of major media industry tenders currently under consideration in key markets such as Singapore, Johnson’s extensive TAM experience and expertise will be invaluable in ensuring Nielsen’s ongoing success.

     

    Johnson said, “I am truly excited to be taking on this new opportunity with Nielsen. Rapidly evolving media habits are bringing about significant shifts in how we measure media consumption, and I look forward to leveraging Nielsen’s world-class audience measurement solutions to help our clients in this part of the world to understand and harness these shifts.”

  • The year of the great tossing

    The year of the great tossing

    The year Indian news television channels got a sneak peek at what Pi Patel must have experienced while battling the raging storm in mid-seas in Ang Lee’s Life award winning Life Of Pi. Like Pi, news channels were tossed around, heaved up and down, had spear sharp rain and high waves buffeting them, got scalded by the hot sun, went through bouts of starvation and dying thirst – and they lived – at least most of them did – to tell the tale. It was a tough, tough year for them no doubt.

    Rising inflation, a tough economic environment which saw advertising spends being slashed, rising costs for carriage on cable TV and DTH, further fragmentation and evaporation of viewership – all led to their top lines and even bottomlines being beaten black and blue. Net result: layoffs, restructuring, reorganisation, was the name of the game. To top it all, the regulators – the Information & Broadcast (I&B) ministry and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) – too got into the act. The I&B pushed ahead with its digitisation drive even as it cracked down on them for paid content, and the TRAI ordered a reduction in advertising time permitted on air on channels.

    The news television industry has always had problems of plenty. More than 100 TV channels battle for a piffling Rs 2000 crore in ad spends. And more jumped onto the bandwagon during 2013 -an estimate is that around 25 new news channels made their debut. As though there wasn’t enough competition for the small morsels of advertising available in the various states and languages all over the country. But what kept the whole industry gloomy was the heartbeat aka advertising revenue which stayed flat for the whole year; and for some it even dipped. The big players were the ones who got to taste a little blood while the others struggled to make money out of inventory.

    The alarm bells started ringing out earlier in the year when TAM Media the viewership ratings agency did a rejig with its panels and started reporting on LC1 towns and also a new set of data reflecting the digitisation that was spreading across phase 1 towns. As an outcome, some of the channels ended up showing near zero viewership. TAM said this was because real viewership patterns were cropping up with deeper penetration of people meters.

    NDTV India, one of the older news broadcast networks, tried in vain to prosecute TAM’s parent AC Nielsen in the US on charges of fraud, but the NY court shooed it away, saying it should fight the legal battle on Indian turf. Allegations of TAM being rigged started rising to a cacophony and unanimously several channels decided to unsubscribe from TAM including NDTV, Times, CNN and Zee. A fierce battle issued between channels, advertisers and TAM that also saw support grow for the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).Angry advertisers threatened to pull out advertisements from channels that had unsubscribed from TAM- including the seven big networks. After weeks of an impasse, resolution finally came about with rolling ratings of four weeks and silver, gold and platinum packs for clients. The major change coming about was the conversion of TRPs to TVTs. Satisfied channels finally went back to TAM but are still clinging on to the new lifeline-BARC.

    It was in the second quarter of the year that a bunch of channels in Kolkata under the Saradha group went belly up with the financial and real estate group going bust. Questions were raised about the MIB’s laxity in issuing broadcasting licences. In a bid to tighten its procedures, it wrote to all channels, asking them to provide them with details about their operations and to see if they were still complying with the licence terms. Some 67 channels did not; and had their licences revoked. The MIB also became stricter about norms relating to directorial appointments on news channels’ boards.

    But the big big fight of the year was the one that blew up when the TRAI introduced a quality of service regulation that restricted advertising air time to just 12 minutes per hour. Broadcasters who were accustomed to showing 20 to 25 minutes of ads experienced a jolt when this came out. They all collectively revolted, specially the news channels claiming that their revenue would be affected in an industry that is already suffering much losses. The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) also met the I&B ministry to ask TRAI to go easy on this regulation.The industry seems to have pacified the ministry on the content front at least, with the NBA, the Broadcast Editors Association, and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF)’s Broadcast Complaints Content Council (BCCC) in place. This despite, 2013 saw paid news being discussed very aggressively. Suggestions to set up a body to monitor broadcast – just like how the Press Council of India (PCI) does for the print media – were made. But the NBA opposed this strongly, saying that the self-regulatory mechanisms that are in place are enough to ensure that the news channels stay in line.

    The news channels yelped that they feared a shut down if the ad cap were to be implemented right away. They suggested that the ad cap, if necessary to be implemented, should be concurrent with the completion of digitisation in the country as then there would be more revenue flowing in. I&B minister Manish Tewari seemed to concur and even came out in their support on this approach.

    The interim order got smiles on some of their phases. The year 2013 was choppy to say the least for most of the news industry. High carriage fees, a slowdown in advertising growth, and extremely thin subscription revenues had forced even the older and long established news networks to look for solutions to keep their businesses viable. Almost all of them reorganized, consolidated their news operations which led to lopping off of bloated employee payrolls. The big buzzword during the year was the integrated newsroom – wherein a centralized bureau of journos and news crew helps service web, TV, and other online properties for a news network having several news channels.Finally the regulator decided to give the news channels some more time. A new advertising limit per hour was set. 20 minutes of ad time for news channels and 16 minutes for GECs till 30 September and after that everyone would have to together switch to 12 minutes and would have to submit compliance reports. But this formula did not go down well with the NBA even as the TRAI announced that it would rap violators on their knuckles. Some NBA members– along with some other niche channels – decided to take steps to protect themselves. They challenged TRAI’s mandate in the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) which heard arguments from all the affected parties for nearly 20 days. The NBA’s appeal to the tribunal got them an interim order preventing the regulator from taking any action against erring channels, allowing them to heave a collective sigh of relief. Even as the TDSAT was about to deliver its judgment, a coincidental verdict was given by the Supreme Court which stated that the tribunal had no power to hear or adjudicate on challenges to TRAI regulations. Swiftly, the TDSAT dismissed the case and the NBA immediately moved the Delhi Court to hear its plea. The Delhi High Court after listening to the initial appeal decided to get into its details later, giving the next hearing date as 13 March 2014. It however gave an interim order disallowing the TRAI from taking any coercive actions against channels not following the 12 minute ad cap.

    At the time of writing, Zee Media Corp was slated to take the same route following the announcement of the merger of DMCL – the company that produces the Times of India-challenger newspaper DNA – with it. It had prepared for the merger by donning a new moniker, dropping Zee News and naming itself as Zee Media Corp. The year saw it running a skeleton Telugu news channel, even as it launched Zee Rajasthan Plus.Network18, NDTV, UTV Bloomberg, BAG Network, among many others shed staff. Network 18 bid adieu to nearly 350 people, NDTV shut down its Mumbai bureau itself and Bloomberg handed over the much dreaded pink slip to 30 staffers. Roles of those retained were redefined and they were given additional responsibilities.

    Several other new offerings are lined up for 2014 including an English news channel, English business channel and two regional channels for Odisha and Bihar-Jharkhand . The company also repackaged itself and came up with a new positioning which seeks to attract India’s youth to watch its news channels.

    The year 2014 looks set to be an exciting one with national elections on the anvil. Even international channels have taken note of this with Al Jazeera, France 24 and BBC World News sprucing up their presence in the country. But there are challenges that the broadcast news sector will have to face: the ad cap situation needs resolution, carriage fees need further reduction, and the struggle to make money continues. But what’s keeping the sector hopeful is the scheduled completion of digitisation by end 2014. The hope is that the dark clouds will part to reveal a silver lining. And then clear skies.With controversy surrounding the Sahara group and its consistent clashes with the Securities Exchange Board of India, it decided to drop the Sahara name from all the channels, retaining the Samay as a brand. India TV too changed its complete look while it has also brought on board several news professionals including veteran Q W Naqvi. Bag Films hired former Star group president Ravina Raj Kohli on its advisory board while IBN7 CEO Dilip Venkatraman left the organisation after giving it a new look. The ABP group announced that it would launch new services but was stalled on account of the MIB’s tough stance on licensing norms and procedures. Even then a rumour that persisted through the year was the rumour that its former partner Star India would re-enter the news channel business.

    The year 2014 looks set to be an exciting one with national elections on the anvil. Even international channels have taken note of this with Al Jazeera, France 24 and BBC World News sprucing up their presence in the country. But there are challenges that the broadcast news sector will have to face: the ad cap situation needs resolution, carriage fees need further reduction, and the struggle to make money continues. But what’s keeping the sector hopeful is the scheduled completion of digitisation by end 2014. The hope is that the dark clouds will part to reveal a silver lining. And then clear skies.

  • McCann takes forward Greenlam Laminates message of beauty

    McCann takes forward Greenlam Laminates message of beauty

    Mumbai: Greenlam Laminates has created a new campaign, taking forward the idea of “Zamaane ko Sajana hai”.

     

    The campaign – ‘Mahaul Sundar toh Khayal Sundar’ – plans to bring the message in a more interesting and engaging manner to the masses. In keeping with the brief given by the client, the TVC created by McCann depicts social evils and day to day happenings in a more positive manner.  

     

    MWG India CEO and chief creative officer Prasoon Joshi says, “This is a special client who allows space for such creative flights for the brand. This ad is a satire and creative take by the brand, which exaggerates how a product like Greenlam transforms not only your physical being but also transforms your state of mind and thinking. The script carefully takes care of striking a balance between cynicism and humour. Music enhances it to make you really think and question… And it was as usual enriching to work with Ram.”

     

    The cue for the creative was taken from the New York metro case study. A research done in New York highlighted the fact that keeping the surroundings and environment clean reduced the crime rates drastically as compared to unkempt and filthy environment.

     

    Hence, the agency took the social angle but by sticking to the brief of –‘When your environment is beautiful it results in getting positive thoughts.’

     

    On the campaign, Greenlam Laminates marketing and communications vice president Alex Joseph says, “Greenlam Laminates has taken a leap forward from its last year’s ‘Zamane ko Sajana hai’ campaign which goes on to evoke beautiful, positive and refreshing thoughts amongst the masses. Our belief that beautiful surroundings lead to happy thoughts has been highlighted in the TVC in a satire manner.  We intend to touch the human hearts with emotions of happiness and comfort, thus instilling the need of a beautiful ambience.”

     

    A complete 360 degree media campaign is planned for the campaign. The TVC was aired on 70 channels. Prior to the TVC, the teasers were used in print media where half page jackets in almost all leading publications informed the readers on ‘changing india’. RJ’s in various FM channels asked their listeners to be tuned in to their favorite channel to witness ‘changing india’. A complete online campaign also ran informing the surfers about the change.

  • RAM outlines radio listening trends in 9 cities

    RAM outlines radio listening trends in 9 cities

    MUMBAI: Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad have emerged as the growth markets for the radio industry, according to the second round of ‘9 Indian Cities Listenership Sweeps‘ data provided by RAM, the radio measurement service of TAM.

    The Southern metros have seen more than 30 per cent growth in listening thresholds while Ahmedabad has witnessed 15 per cent growth. Pune, Kanpur, Indore and Nagpur have remained at almost the same levels as the previous round.

    The second sweeps data is for the period of February-April 2012.

    According to RAM, the sweeps release will help the radio industry, including the broadcasters and media planning agencies, to assess the impact that radio is having on audiences in towns other than the major metros.

    TAM CEO LV Krishnan said, “The second roll out is as per timelines committed by us to the industry. After the first sweeps in October last year, this second one shows interesting changes in radio consumption patterns. While in some markets, radio consumption base itself has seen an increase, in others granular trends like Out Of Home (OOH) listenership have seen an encouraging increase.”

    RAM‘s second sweeps highlights changes in radio consumption behaviour not only across the nine cities but also in comparison to the first round of sweeps which was released in October 2011.

    The RAM panel coverage was expanded to nine additional cities – Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Nagpur and Pune. Prior to that, RAM operated out of the four Indian metros – Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

    According to RAM, average audience in morning day part has seen a surge in Ahmedabad, peaking at 9 am with a 70 per cent growth. This is largely due to a 10 per cent growth in cumulative reach. In fact, cumulative reach has grown across all the days, with Sunday leading the pack. While 95 per cent of the audience cumulative reach build up was achieved by afternoon earlier, now 95 per cent of the audience can be targeted by the morning day part alone (at a weekly level).

    Time spent, however, has dropped marginally in Ahmedabad, according to RAM data.

    Radio listeners in Chennai, in sharp contrast, have significantly increased their time spent, led by the morning day-part band.

    The share of SEC C‘s listenership has grown from 37 per cent to 43 per cent, while cumulative reach levels have dropped across all the day parts.

    The share of in-home listenership has grown from 76 per cent to 87 per cent. The audience build up has got spread through the day.

    In Hyderabad, evening and night day parts have grown significantly while morning has witnessed a drop in listenership levels. The drop in morning day part is primarily due to drop in cumulative reach levels, while TSL (time spent listening) has grown. In fact, across the day parts, TSL has almost doubled across the day parts.

    Another significant trend is that contribution from SEC A & B has increased.

    There is a 6 per cent drop in share of in-home listening, reflected in the growth of listening share from car/travel/conveyance. According to RAM, equal and high threshold of listenership can be observed across weekdays and weekends. The evening and night day parts add significant amount of audiences to cumulative reach build up.

    The other key findings from the six cities are as follows:

    Nagpur:
    1. The weekly listenership levels have remained at the same levels as the previous round
    2. The daily cume reach has gone up, with Sunday being the maximum, but time spent levels are down across all the days.
    3. Share of In-home listening grows from 82-87%

    Jaipur:
    1. Drop in listenership thresholds across the day
    2. The same reflects in the cume reach levels across the day parts
    3. Dominance of SEC DE in Jaipur‘s listenership contribution is normalized. Proportionate contribution from all SECs to listenership
    4. Morning day part continues to be the one where listenership peaks, though at a lower threshold
    5. Sunday emerges as the one with highest cume reach and time spent levels
    6. The audience build up has got spread through the day. It takes up to afternoon day part to cover 95% of all audience.

    Indore:
    1. The listenership peaks have interchanged between mid morning and morning, morning peak emerging as the highest. Other day parts are more or less are at the same threshold
    2. At a weekly level, morning day part emerges as the highest in cume reach and time spent.
    3. Mid-morning day part saw a reduction cume reach levels.
    4. TSL level growth in night day part
    5. Share of In-home listening significantly drops from 94% to 71%. Maximum growth in Car share of listening (22%)
    6. Saturday loses audiences as Sunday emerges as the destination of maximum listening
    7. Faster cume reach build up across the day as 95% of the audiences are reached by the mid-morning day part.

    Pune:
    1. Similar listenership thresholds across the day parts
    2. Mid-morning to night, there is a drop in cume reach levels, but across the day parts there is a growth in TSL levels
    3. Contribution from different places of listening remains the same
    4. Sunday emerges as the destination of highest listenership
    5. Audience addition from afternoon grows in the current year

    Lucknow:
    1. Listenership thresholds drop across the day parts, while night primetime holds the thresholds
    2. While there is cume reach growth in some of the day parts, there has been TSL drop across all of them
    3. Share of listening from 35+ age group comes down
    4. Contribution from in-home listening grows from 89%-93%
    5. Cumulative audience on Sunday grow from 82% to 94%
    6. Weekdays and weekends have similar thresholds of TSL

    Kanpur:
    1. Marginal changes in day part wise preferences
    2. Growth in consumption share from SEC AB and 45+ age group
    3. OOH share of listening grows from 23 to 29%, majority of the growth coming from car/travel
    4. Sunday emerges as the clear leader in listening threshold

  • Radio ads to get a boost as RAM expands footprint

    Radio ads to get a boost as RAM expands footprint

    MUMBAI: Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), launched by TAM Media Research in 2007 for the radio Industry, has expanded its footprint across nine additional Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Nagpur and Pune.


    RAM has also released its first set of findings in these cities based on respondent data collected during May-August 2011.


    In the last four years, RAM operated out of the four metros – Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.


    TAM CEO LV Krishnan said, “Our commitment to take RAM beyond the four metros has fructified. This time, the RAM roll out is much wider and deeper. These nine cities will throw light to advertisers the interaction radio is bringing to their consumers and also help broadcasters fine tune their basket of programming to these audiences. This will help propel higher commercial viability for the Industry at large. As always, we will work very closely with the ndustry to help them understand the dynamics of this very high potential communication and brand building medium from these markets as well. Like in four RAM metros earlier, we believe that in these nine metros too, RAM’s entry will boost the radio advertising investments.”
     
    RAM said that the study based on new cities offers some “very interesting trends” about radio listenership or consumption behaviour.


    Some highlights are:


    The universe size of the newly added nine markets is an impressive 50 per cent of the existing four RAM markets.


    Southern markets observe higher FM penetration as compared to northern markets.


    On an average, there is 95 per cent FM universe has been reached in a week across all the markets.


    Chennai and Jaipur observe 100 per cent weekly reach.


    Time spent listening among the nine new markets is comparatively more than the existing four metro markets.


    Markets like Nagpur and Jaipur observe 28.29 (hh:mm) and 24.05 (hh:mm) time spent on a weekly basis.


    While majority of the newly added nine markets observe heavy in home listening, OOH (out-of-home) listening in existing four metros market is higher compared to new markets.


    Indore and Lucknow observe least OOH listening among the new RAM markets.


    Majority of the new markets have heavy composition from male audiences whereas existing Mumbai and Kolkata market witness substantial composition from female audiences.


    Listenership in northern cities like Delhi and Jaipur are skewed towards higher SECs. Markets like Nagpur and Kanpur are skewed towards lower SECs.


    Morning time band observes highest listenership contribution across the day.


    Indore market observes highest listenership contribution from mid morning time band.


    Listenership contribution on Saturday and Sunday are higher for the new markets whereas in the existing markets Saturday observes least contribution.


    Radio ADEX data reflects a very positive change that RAM has brought about in the radio advertising scenario ever since its launch in 2007.


    “If one looks at 4 metros advertising numbers for the period of January-June 2011 and compare it with the same period in the year of RAM launch in 2007, ad duration volume grew by 87 per cent, new advertisers entered which resulted in an increase of 42 per cent in the advertiser base; and the number of brands participating in radio advertising grew by 45 per cent,” RAM said.
     
     

  • 2007: Radio powers ahead-Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday

    2007: Radio powers ahead-Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday

    Its an amazing feeling when you sit back at the end of the year and think of what ACTUALLY happened during the year and in most cases, the stories are of incrementalism. In the case of radio fortunately, there’s a much more substantial story to write home about!

     

    For starters, radio spread out across the country. From just about 15 cities covered by private FM on 1 January, 2007, we have more than 50 towns boasting of private FM across the country today. This is on account of the roll-outs of the new stations that were auctioned under phase II of the radio reforms in Jan 2006. Its been a long wait, but finally, the radio networks have arrived! And there is a medium today that challenges the national coverage that satellite TV hitherto offered exclusively.

     

    Then there is the fairly robust growth of radio advertising revenues to write about. I would only call it “fairly robust” and not “terrific” (an adjective I am prone to use every now and then!) simply because while the growth has been in excess of 50 per cent for the second year running, the fact is that on the small base that radio had/has, a century would have been nicer! Nevertheless, two years of good growth, and its clear no advertiser/agency planner worth his basic MBA degree is asking questions like “Radio? What’s that?” or “But you charge more than even MTV”!!

     

    Yes, radio rates have indeed gone past MTV’s. In fact very substantially. Today the larger radio players (City, Mirchi) charge more for Mumbai or Delhi individually than MTV charges nationally. But are the prices commensurate with what they deliver? No way and that’s what makes the story for 2008 (You will realise I am already preparing the piece for next year’s story!). In terms of the importance of the medium, radio is inching closer and closer to TV. For eg., Mirchi alone gives more reach (and now the diary (RAM – though only 17per cent accurate) shows that it delivers more GRPs too!) than most TV channels. And the advertiser realises that and has started to pay us accordingly. Today, the average price for the Mirchi network is of the order of Rs 12,000 per 10 seconds with premium schedules going upwards of Rs 15,000. Same question again: Commensurate with what we deliver? No way!

     

    Its interesting how radio truly has reflected the growth in the Indian economy itself. The largest segments of advertisers on radio are media and entertainment, telecom, retail, auto and of course the all-time-favorite FMCG (but with declining importance).

     

    Here-in also lies the prognosis for 2008. Radio is bound to grow – When businesses are spreading their wings into the mini-metros and smaller towns, the primary medium for communications is indeed radio! As brands seek more touch-points for their brands at local levels, the ONLY medium really is radio (adding strength to an activation exercise). When advertisers need consumers to respond to their products, they will have no where to go but radio. When IPOs market themselves, and target certain key but dispersed markets (Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Calcutta, Mumbai), the only real medium to hammer home the reminders is radio. 2008 surely looks like a good year for radio!

     

    In summary, the year 2007 reflects the coming of age of radio. The romance has started. The first date has happened. Now the real action should be unfolding. Hopefully, this will a happy story and not a Balaji tearjerker!!