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Tag: Rohit Gupta

  • TV ad revenue poised for healthy growth – MSM president network sales, licensing & telephony Rohit Gupta

    TV ad revenue poised for healthy growth – MSM president network sales, licensing & telephony Rohit Gupta

    2010 has certainly brought the smiles back to the television networks as it has been the best year the industry has seen in the last decade. Ad sales growth rates are expected to be close to 20 per cent, up from the original estimates of 15 per cent made after the first quarter.

    The irony is that as an industry, we need to thank the recent economic slowdown since it changed the way clients looked at their overall media spends. They made huge reductions in budgets and the scenario looked bleak for us all, with no quick recovery in sight.
     
    But for me, the big story of 2010 was the rise of non-fiction. Amidst scepticism, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) returned on the small screen – with the original host (Amitabh Bachchan), a revamped format, and a new channel. The programme‘s consistent deliveries on tough weekdays at the 9 pm slot surprised many cynics who thought Sony was flogging a dead horse.

    Bigg Boss too reached its best-ever performance, across four seasons. But what caught most by surprise was the incredible opening ratings of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on Sony. Truly, the fiction vs. non-fiction divide is not the way we have known it till 2009. It is far more balanced today.

    In a highly cluttered environment characterised by ever-decreasing loyalty levels, the role of marketing became ever so important. If a new non-fiction show did not generate enough buzz when it launched, it stood very little chance of resurgence. However, for fiction the resurgence could come over weeks, as content evolved. Many fiction shows opened to good numbers but struggled to hold on, while many others showed consistent growth on the back of powerful content.

    Clients wanted more accountability – they needed maximum impact for every rupee spent and television was the only medium which gave them those efficiencies and better ROI as it delivered by far the lowest cost per contact across various media platforms.
    There was accountability for every spot that got aired and suddenly marketing heads and agencies started seeing television in a more positive light. Discussions shifted from a 10-second rate to more value creation. Big money shifts started to happen from other media like print, outdoor and below the line marketing budgets to television as all other media showed negative growth. Television was the only medium with a positive growth during this period. I say this with a lot of conviction as during this period I was in close contact with all the large advertisers. The fact that we close to doubled our IPL revenues in the worst economic scenario goes to show the power of television.

    The continuous growth, the C&S households and the very positive trends in the DTH business will continue to fuel this very aggressive growth in our business and help the profitability of broadcasters, in line with other industry trends. Acquiring content, whether it is sports‘ rights, movie rights, reality shows and even the basic daily fodder of soaps has seen costs reaching alarming levels. This increased profitability will eventually lead to better quality of content reaching out to the millions of viewers.

    Also, the overall increase in households every year will continue to help the industry grow at a dynamic pace for many more years, like it did for us in 2010. What was heartening to see was that overall trading levels across all genres went up substantially during the year with the exception of news.

    We are currently seeing an overall increase in the size of our market, with the Indian economy at its best and GDP growing close to 9 per cent. This has prompted large segments like the FMCG to increase their marketing spends substantially. Increased competition in the telecom industry has spurred a growth of overall spends and has also opened up a huge new category for us in the handset business.

    Other categories like consumer durables and automobiles no longer spend only at festival time, but advertise across the year. One more interesting fact is that despite the large number of channels within each genre, there is still room for growth for everyone. Next year, despite two large sports properties back-to-back (the World Cup and IPL) pulling away over Rs.15 billion from the market, other genres will continue to grow at a healthy rate. This would not have been possible a few years ago.

    A key look at some of the main genres:

    Hindi GECs – This genre will continue to grow and be the main revenue driver for broadcasters. Like last year, we expect trading levels to grow continuously based on the reach it delivers to media. There will be further consolidation here as this is an expensive business and only the fittest companies or those with deep pockets will survive.

    Impact properties will continue to propel the growth in this genre and the industry expects new benchmark rates to be set. We saw this happening on KBC this year and for our network we now have two channels – Sony and Sab- figuring in the top 5 in this genre.

    Sports – Previously major growth in this genre would only be seen when a cricket World Cup happened. This is not the case any longer and it has now become a huge genre with the coming of IPL, four to five India series and some ICC tournaments taking place every year.

    In this segment also rates will continue to grow as cricket continues to deliver on media plans. We are also seeing more brands now using Cricket as their core medium for communications. IPL has expanded the overall advertiser base for cricket as large FMCGs are now taking big positions on the league and are no longer restricted to only brands with a male TG skew.

    Hindi Movies – This has been a rock steady genre for a long time and revenues have been growing at a consistent pace over many years. In 2010, despite a minor drop in overall viewership, the revenues were not impacted. Over 80 per cent of the revenues are still controlled by the top three players -Max, Zee Cinema and Star Gold, despite some new players entering in the last couple of years. Trading levels in this genre have been traditionally low but that has changed and the genre now operates at the same levels as the GECs.

    Regional Channels – This genre has significantly consolidated its position over the last few years and now contributes close to 30 per cent of the overall revenues. Apart from the southern states which were the mainstay for this genre, Bengali and Marathi saw substantially high growth rates last year. In the south, Tamil continues to dominate, with Kannada doing extremely well last year.

    English Language Genre – This genre across the Movie, Entertainment and Infotainment segments has seen a massive growth this year which will not only continue well into the future but also be a key genre to reap the benefits of digitization. An increase in the number of homes with a 2nd television set and greater penetration of DTH in the metro markets will benefit all channels, as there is a substantial growth in the SEC A & B segments of viewers, that most large brands are now targeting. An increased affluent middle class population is a key consumer of this genre. Another big consumer of this segment in the metros is the youth which is also a key segment for most brands.

    Kids‘ Genre : This segment has not witnessed the dynamic growth seen in other segments. The leading players have been losing their audiences to GECs. This has impacted their overall revenues which have only seen a marginal increase this year. The kids‘ channels need to develop compelling content to win back their audiences in order to achieve the high growth rate they have had in the past. Herein lies a great opportunity for them to increase their stake in the pie.

    News Genre : From the quarterly financial results as well as from my personal discussions with media agency heads, it is evident that the news channels have hit troubled waters. I am sure the senior management of these channels must have had numerous brainstorming sessions over the drop in revenues. English news channels seem to be particularly badly hit and are probably heading toward negative growth. However, there is a slight possibility of the Hindi news channels posting a minor positive growth. Personally, as a keen follower of the news, I feel that the channels need to bring back quality news to Indian television and leave the entertainment to the GECs.

    Although 2010 has proved to be a great year for Indian television, one question still remains unanswered: Is television still an undervalued medium? My honest answer to this would be: Yes. Approximately 10 million new households are added each year in India, translating into 45 million new eyeballs. Yet, the cost per contact of television remains lower than other key media.

    Out of the overall 134 million TV homes, 103 million are C&S homes, of which we only get data for a mere 39 million homes. The balance data from 64 million homes remains unaccounted for. This is representative of the huge opportunity cost that we bear and it needs to be addressed immediately, so that television can get its fair due.

    Another cause for concern is the narrow vision of the channels. We tend to concentrate only on our individual businesses, and thus miss the larger picture. The immense potential of this industry continues to go unnoticed

  • MSM eyes Rs 9 bn of ad revenue from IPL 4.0

    MSM eyes Rs 9 bn of ad revenue from IPL 4.0

    MUMBAI: Controversies, lawsuits! None of that has made an impact on the willingness of advertisers to cough out the big bucks for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Sources say Multi Screen Media (MSM) is eyeing an ad revenue of Rs 9 billion, down from Rs 10 billion, as the extra teams will not be added in the fourth edition of the IPL. This will be 20 per cent up from the previous season of IPL.

    Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that MSM was looking at Rs 10 billion ad revenue from IPL 4, despite the ICC cricket World Cup preceding it.

    Says Multi ScreenMedia (MSM) president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta, “We are eyeing a 20 per cent revenue growth this year. Clients have shown firm belief in the value of this property. Many companies have returned. Vodafone and Videocon are back as co-presenting sponsors. The associate sponsors are Samsung Mobile, LG, Hyundai, Tata Photon, Pepsi. New sponsors joining us this year are Cadbury‘s and Havells. Earlier Havells used to take spots. To accomodate the new sponsors we have decided to include one more sponsor.” 

    Gupta, however, refused to spell out the exact revenue MSM was targeting.

    MSM has roped in nine advertisers for the event and is looking at 11 sponsors in total, one more than last year.

    MSM is also talking to companies including Godrej, HUL and Airtel to come on board as sponsors. The sponsor rate is Rs 500,000. The co-presenting sponsors will shell out Rs 550 million each while the rate for associate sponsors is around Rs 400 million.

    Spot buys start at Rs 550,000. “When we close out 80 per cent of inventory, then we will start hiking the spot rates. Extraa Innings will have around six sponsors and will give us Rs 360 million. We sell at Rs. 100,000 per 10 seconds here. By January, we would have sold out everything,” says Gupta.

  • ‘GEC space will see turmoil this year’ : Rohit Gupta – MSM president (network sales, licensing & telephony)

    ‘GEC space will see turmoil this year’ : Rohit Gupta – MSM president (network sales, licensing & telephony)

    2 009 is expected to be a rough year for all in media. Television is no exception. With the stockmarket collapsing and balance sheets getting battered, advertisers have become cautious and the current quarter is expected to be extremely choppy. Multi Screen Media president (network sales, licensing & telephony) Rohit Gupta concedes that clients are consistently assessing the environment and signing quarterly deals as against the annual ones earlier. He, however, is confident that Sony Entertainment will ride through the stormy times on account of the strength of its network.

     

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with Gupta to find out about what lies ahead, the mood in the market, the importance of tentpole properties etc.

     

    Excerpts:

    How was 2008 for Sony in terms of revenues? What growth was managed over 2007?
    It was a successful year for us. All our channels grew their revenue. Some by 25 per cent, others grew in the range of 10-15 per cent. The other success story was the IPL. We created benchmark rates for Indian cricket before the event had even started.

    This year is expected to be challenging with the recession. What impact will this have on Sony and the television industry?
    As we move forward this year will present challenges. The key one is the meltdown. A client would cut marketing spends but television as a genre will still grow. We believe that television is the cheapest form of advertising in terms of the reach it delivers. TV gives you the best RoI and this is what clients focus on during a slowdown.

     

    Print and outdoor will take a larger hit but television will still grow. A recent report projected a 10 per cent growth which is fair. TV has been growing at 18 per cent over the last few years. While that will not happen this year, there will still be growth.

    For the IPL what is the upside being looked at this time around?
    We have established rates that are in line with what we had decided upon earlier. IPL will be a bigger property this year.

     

    Everybody including the franchisees have more time to prepare. Last time we just had 45 days to prepare. This year the hype will start after the auction ends. We will hold a meeting with the franchisees after 6 February to decide on the course of action to take. Also at the point of time there is no other major property on television.

    So you are confident on the financial performance of Sony for the IPL despite the slowdown?
    Yes! What happens during a slowdown is that the clients’ ability to take risks decreases. IPL is a proven property. There is no risk in being associated with it. People will put money on ‘sure’ properties. The IPL is one of them. Last time the IPL had an 80 per cent reach on Max.

    Have deals been closed?
    Yes! However I cannot divulge any details. Some deals are for both the IPL and the New Zealand series that comes before it. We do not have category exclusivity this time around for spot buys.

     

    This allows us to access more brands. Last time the IPL was not tested. Exclusivity was an incentive that we had to concede. By not giving exclusivity we will ensure that multiple brands can co-exist.

    But won’t it be a challenge to get many brands on-board in a difficult climate?
    You have to understand that cricket’s cost rating per rating point (CPRPs) are still holding up. The reach of the channel is key. Max does not have this issue. So we are confident of getting the desired rates.

     

    I don’t think that the rates are a problem. The challenge will lie in the outlay that a client puts on IPL. So this time around we will have smaller packages. The number of clients taking spot buys will go up. One does not have to buy all 59 games. A company can buy for ten games at a stretch. There is flexibility.
    Has the revenue split within the group changed over the last couple of years?
    I cannot give any numbers. However our dependence on the large channels is not that high. AXN and Pix are growing substantially. Max is now a very big channel in our network.

    What is the clients mood like in general?
    They are more cautious. They are adopting a quarter by quarter approach. They are not signing large deals for a year which used to be the case. For this quarter ending March, clients are being extra cautious. Companies want to show better results with this being the last quarter. So it will be tough.

     

    The key is to have tentpole properties that can be sold. You need to have a distinctive niche in the market. Clients want more accountability. As a broadcaster you need to be responsive and understand clients’ needs. You have to make sure that the client gets value back. Everything is not necessarily about a rate. The question lies in the effectiveness of the media buy.

    Apart from IPL what are the other tentpole properties coming up for the group?
    In March we are launching Operation Dikhla Jaye on Sony. This will be a directors cut where four of Bollywood’s top directors will produce shows for us. It will be a 13 week initiative and will be the first time that anybody has tried it in India. These are one hour shows. We have roped in directors like Madhur Bhandarkar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vikram Bhatt. Then the IPL starts. Post that we will have re-launches of our big shows.

    In the GEC space are the new arrivals having any impact? Is the ad pie growing or merely getting sliced further?
    There has been growth overall. But this year since growth will be restricted there will be some slicing of the pie. The GEC space will see turmoil this year. New players will come in and others will go away. GEC costs are huge and it is a question of who will survive. The like of Star, Sony, Zee will always be around come what may.

     

    New channels will come. They may be on top for a while but the fact is that nobody is on top all the time. Clients also look at networks as opposed to channels per se. They want networks which are strong enough to withstand pressure. They want networks that have the sustaining power to ride over the tough times. Besides that you need big properties which ensure that clients look at you differently.

     

    Each of our channels is in the top four in their respective genre. Sab is number one in the second level GEC tier. Sony has managed to hold on to its share more or less. Other channels have experienced a bigger fall in the GEC space. We may not have many channels but what we have done is to focus on building them.

    How has Sony built up its client relationship management efforts over the years?
    Our focus has always been on giving value back to the client. We were the first to start a client servicing team four years ago. Then other channels started doing this. We work closely with brands to integrate them into our properties. This is how we add value that goes beyond just 10 second spots. Therefore even though there are days when ratings have not been what they should be the clients have supported us. The relationship with clients makes a big difference in terms of your ability to raise rates.

    Which categories will be affected in terms of TV advertising due to the slowdown?
    If you look at it the categories most affected by the meltdown which are real estate and retail these are not big on television. Finance was not as big on television compared with other mediums. Auto companies are shifting budgets from print to television.

    Coming back to the cricket front the New Zealand tour is the first time that Sony will air bilateral cricket. How is this event being positioned for viewers and clients?
    This is a full blown tour. India has not visited New Zealand since 2002. We lost very badly then and so this is a big challenge. There will be anticipation. In fact this is the Indian team’s biggest challenge after playing Australia twice recently.

    But isn’t the timing an issue as the telecast of the matches is very early in the morning?
    The timings are good for the T20 Games which start at 11 in the morning. The ODIs start at around 6:30 in the morning. Test matches start earlier but they are not a big revenue contributor compared with the other two formats.
    How many sponsors are being looked at?
    We have clients who are interested in both the New Zealand series and IPL. That would give them visibility from Feb till June. So we are doing special deals for them. Generally we look at six to eight sponsors.
    Are you also looking at doing long term deals with clients for IPL?
    No! We believe that the IPL which is a big opportunity is better served through yearly deals. You have the option to re-look at things.
    IPL broadened the viewer base. Has the client base also grown for cricket as a result?
    Yes! Godrej an FMCG company came on board. They do not associate themselves with cricket. Max New York Life came on board. It worked well for them. It was not the traditional clients that came on board. This year also you can expect to see some surprise companies coming on board. IPL after all changed the way TV viewership happens. It is not just the male TG that tunes in.
    Will the IPL be simulcast?
    No! It will only be on Max. We did that with the Cricket World Cup in 2007 where some matches also aired on Sab. However viewership got disrupted and the channel loses share. Then it is difficult to get viewers back.

    When HBO left there was a gap created. Is Pix now starting to fill this gap?
    Pix has made a lot of progress over the last couple of years. Pix started when there were already established players. Now it is competing. In some weeks it beats HBO. Advertisers have followed this. Pix is making investments in terms of acquisitions. The aim over the next couple of years is that in terms of ad revenues it can reach the level of HBO and Star Movies.

     

    It is pitched as a premium movie channel. It delivers in the 25+ SEC A, B category which is what a lot of marketers target. All the large brands are on it.

    How come Pix decided to air soccer with the FA Cup?
    The audience for it is similar. It is SEC A,B. We decided to offer viewers something new and extra. Matches air on the weekends and so the movie schedule is not disrupted.
    The other two major distribution bouquets have two English movie channels – a mass one and a niche one. Isn’t Sony at a disadvantage here with just one channel that does not have the latest offerings?
    It does not affect the advertising side. Channels like MGM (which is in the Star Den bouquet) do not carry ads anyway and it is dependent more on a subscription kind of revenue stream.
    What is the roadmap forward for AXN?
    AXN is doing well and has been growing at 25 per cent CAGR. You will continue to see local content. You will shortly see the AXN Action Awards. Each year you will have three shows produced in India.
    Does cost control become important in this environment though?
    This is an area we always look at. It is something that we are always conscious of and it is not as if this area has suddenly assumed importance. For us it is business as usual. One has to see the returns more carefully though.
    On the licensing front how has business grown over the past year?
    This was small four years back. However we participate more actively in trade fairs like Mipcom and we showcase more content in the form of formats there. Our shows are sold in European markets, the US. We took all our formats to Mipcom. along with other shows like Filmfare, Stardust Awards. The other aspect is the Hindi movie licensing business. We syndicate them wherever we have rights.
    Finally we are seeing channels advertise on rivals. What is Sony’s policy?
    We do not advertise on competitors nor do we accept ads from them. We accept ads from kids channels, news channels as we do not operate in that space. But you will never see us air ads from a movie channel belonging to a rival network. We are not desperate for revenue.
  • NBA threatens TV blackout for IPL from midnight

    NBA threatens TV blackout for IPL from midnight

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association has decided that it will blackout all news on the Indian Premier League (IPL) from midnight tonight as the League officials have not reacted to their demand for giving news clips free of cost, sources in NBA told indiantelevision.com.

    When contacted IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said: “NBA is not my problem, talk to Rohit Gupta at Sony. He is dealing with this.”

    But Gupta could not be contacted. Rajiv Shukla’s mobile was switched off.

    The News Broadcasters Association has issued a warning to the Indian Premier League that unless it reconsiders its prices for news coverage and concedes the NBA demands within business hours today, it will take “concrete action.”

    The warning ended around 6 pm this evening. Though NBA did not want to offer details on what “concrete action” implied, IPL sources told Indiantelevision.com earlier in the day that they have already warned of boycotting the event, which means a possible news black out on the electronic media.

    All the top brass of the electronic media met last evening to come to a decision on this.

  • Twenty20 injects new life into sports broadcast

    Though it had cricket, Neo Sports also found the going tough. Its distribution deal with Star fell through. This cost it crores of rupees in terms of ad revenue not to mention the fact that the payments that were contractually due to Neo were delayed – or never arrived. It set up its own distribution team headed by Arun Poddar. But without branding in the market monies it got would have been affected.

    On the advertising front Neo Sports CEO Shashi Kalathil says that the fact that DD bid heavily to do its own marketing for the Pakistan series proved to be a boon. It added Rs. 180 million its kitty, claims Kalathil.

    Non Encryption: There is no respite for sports broadcasters on this issue. Sports feed to DD will not to be encrypted for four to five years. This will impact all the players, more so Neo Sports since it holds the India rights.

    In terms of other sports ESS is re-jigging its Premier Hockey League (PHL) initiative. ESPN had to be careful and innovate the strategy this year since there are a lesser number of teams – this being the Olympic selection year and most top international players being busy – and so the duration of the tourney is also shorter. The media fraternity though, feels that PHL is still to attain some sort of sizeable recognition even though ESS has been doing it for the past few years.

    Mallya brings home an F1 Team: The biggest non cricket event though was news that Vijay Mallya bought the Dutch F1 team Spyker Ferrari. It was then renamed Force 1 India. This news coupled with the fact that India will hold an F1 event a few years down the road is expected to give a boost to motor racing in the country in a big way.

    The Advertising Scene

    Information available with Indiantelevision.com indicates that the sports genre earned around Rs. 7.5 billion this year. ESS made around Rs. 2.2 billion. Ten Sports and Zee Sports combined made around Rs. 700 million. Sony made Rs 3 billion.

    Sinha says that the biggest learning is that everything depends on performance. “When India does well clients get a very healthy return. But when they do not it can be disastrous which is what happened with the World Cup. Hundreds of crores were lost by clients. T20 was a success more due to India’s performance in the form of the game as opposed to the format itself.”

    “Had India fared poorly in the T20 World Cup also the mood would have been very different. Some fringe clients who occasionally invest in cricket got out after the World Cup experience. India’s failure to quality for the Super Eight is something that will haunt some clients and media planners for a long while. The premiums paid were so high that it was impossible for anybody to prepare for what was to follow.”

    And what about talks of accountability? Sinha notes that it is practically difficult apart from maybe a couple of big clients to do this. Venkateish maintains that ESS did not fall into this trap. “After all clients who get involved know that there are ups and downs. If the ratings for a tournament are great we do not ask those who have already signed on to pay more. So why should we take less?”

    Set India executive VP Rohit Gupta adds that for clients like Pepsi it balances out in the long term. “The 2003 World Cup was a bonanza. Yes the 2007 World Cup was bad but then things turned for the better. Most clients who get involved understand this. They are in for the long haul. In addition for each category there are several companies vying for a spot. So in telecom if Reliance for instance pulls out of cricket there will always be an Idea or Vodafone to step in.”

    It is pertinent to note that clients who kept the faith and got in early for the England series and especially the T20 World Cup got a terrific bang for their buck. After all the net effect of the World Cup debacle was that clients were able to negotiate better rates for the events that immediately followed.

    In conclusion, what both IPL and ICL bring to the Twenty20 table is that it is all to the good for the stakeholders – because it derisks cricket.

  • Champions Trophy propels Max into Top 10

    Champions Trophy propels Max into Top 10

    MUMBAI: If there is one truism about television in India, it is that the only sure way to break Star Plus’ monopoly on the ratings is to have India cricket. Such is the case with India cricket.
    Tam data for the period 15/10/06 to 21/10/06 shows that India playing England on 15 October 2006 came in seventh in the Tam Top 100 C&S 4+.

    It managed to get a rating of 5.8. It also appears at positions 21 and 22 with ratings of 4.8 and 4.5.

    Starcom’s Manish Porwal says that whenever India plays in a multi team tournament the round robin matches not featuring India get a ratings that are 1.5 times higher compared to events that do not feature India at all. This explains why the Australia versus West Indies match got a rating of 3.6 and is at number 33. The England versus Australia match got a rating of 2.5. The Sri Lanka versus Pakistan match got a rating of 3.1. Extraaa Innings, which is Max’s wrap around show, also finds a mention twice.

    However, the theory of 1.5 times more for a non India match in the league stage only applies for as long as India is in contention in the tournament. Therefore, from an advertising standpoint, it is fortunate that India versus Australia was the last league match. India’s awful performance and hence elimination would have had a much bigger impact on viewership if it had been held before other league matches. As it is only three matches (the two semi finals and final) are now affected.

    How do advertisers view India’s exit? Porwal says that cricket friendly brands would have taken into account the scenario of India not qualifying for the semi finals. He is satisfied with the ROI achieved thus far. “It has been what we have expected. I will say that there has been a loss of profit with India not getting through into the last four. There has not been a loss per se.

    “That is because brands like Western Union would have done internal costing looking at different scenarios before putting their money on the tournament. Having said that, there will definitely be a backlash on the ratings that the semi finals and final get.”

    Sony executive VP Rohit Gupta concurs on this point saying that if India had been there in the semi finals and final you might well have seen a rating of 7-8. Now one could see a rating of around 3 for the semi finals. It could go up for the final depending on which teams qualify. He adds that when you include Sab, which had a simulcast of India’s matches with Hindi commentary, the match between India and England gets a rating of nearly seven.

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Malcolm Speed’s stand as far as a potential situation of India not making the last four has been that Indians care for quality cricket. As long as people care sport will not die. The ICC’s hope therefore is that the television ratings as well as on ground attendance will not be affected too badly as Indians would want to see quality international cricket. The coverage being given in the newspapers and television indicates that.

    Gupta, meanwhile, is most satisfied on how the non India matches have fared pointing out that it was a big improvement over the ratings that the non India matches got for the Champions Trophy in 2004. In that tournament as well India was eliminated early in that case by Pakistan.

    R Gowthaman, Mindshare MD South & West and Unilever South Asia, which handles media buying for Pepsi and Hero Honda, two of the ICC’s global partners, was not so positive however. He says that the Champions Trophy has disappointed in the cost per ratings point (CPRP) area. A lot of the matches finished early. For instance the match between West Indies and Sri Lanka finished in 50 overs.

    “This means that by 6:30 pm when viewing should be on the up the match is over. So you cannot air spots in the most impactful time. Then the ratings were not as high as had been hoped. The ratings should have been more even for the non India matches given the fact that Extraaa Innings is meant to build up momentum. Cricket is a hyped up property. You hope that it will do well in the ratings area but its performance has been below par just like the Indian teams. If you look at it, cricket’s ratings have been on the decline over the past couple of years.”

    Another problem for Pepsi is that it used a very specific cricket centric campaign (the Blue Billion). The aim was to express support for the Indian team which then failed to perform. This raises the question of whether or not it should continue with that campaign which has now become irrelevant with India exiting the event.

    LG marketing head Sandeep Tiwari on the other hand is satisfied at the response to the event. He points out that since LG is a global brand there will be a benefit no matter which teams win the event or makes the final. So if Australia wins then LG’s visibility down under will increase, he says.

    That of course is not the case with an Indian brand. Also LG did not use cricketers in its campaign. It used Tom and Jerry to celebrate the Diwali festival. So it is not unduly concerned about India going out early as it has not used cricket in the campaign to build an emotional connect. He adds that if you look at the Champions Trophy and the World Cup together, then while the former delivers a 30 per cent impact the latter delivers a 70 per cent push for the brand. That big push of course will come next year in March when the World Cup takes place in the West Indies.

    Interestingly despite reports about stadiums not being full for the ongoing Champions Trophy Tiwari is satisfied at the turnout. He points out that the England Australia encounter had 50 per cent occupancy which he as a marketer feels is adequate to get the brand message across. On television too the delivery is what was projected prior to the start of the tournament for him.

  • ‘The real value of cricket is now going to show up’ : Rohit Gupta – SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management

    ‘The real value of cricket is now going to show up’ : Rohit Gupta – SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management

    Cricket, cricket and cricket. That is the exciting scorecard SET India will have for display in the fiscal 2006-07.

    A lineup of eight sponsors that is set to gobble up 50 per cent of the inventory. A bulk deal with Dentsu that eases the pain of selling individually to clients. Sony’s ad target: Rs 5 billion upwards. A figure that many in the industry are sceptical about, but the team at SET India is confident of achieving.

    Centring around the World Cup will also be a slew of high-profile programme launches. The aim: to give SAB TV and Sony TV the much-needed lift.

    In an interview with Sibabrata Das, SET India executive VP ad sales and revenue management Rohit Gupta talks about how media agencies should go beyond ratings and rates to work with broadcasters for deriving value from sports and other big properties. The industry with 70 million cable & satellite (C&S) homes, he says, is under-served and undervalued.

    Excerpts:

    What exactly is the deal with Dentsu?
    Dentsu has bought a high proportion of inventory on Max for the two ICC tournaments. By coming in early, the agency has ensured that its clients get into the World Cup without paying a real high premium (settling between the sponsorship and spot rates). The deal has put less pressure on us to individually sell that many spots.

    Was there a proposal to handle the entire inventory on a minimum guarantee (MG) and revenue share basis?
    Dentsu did make an offer. But we couldn’t have done that in India because of ICC restrictions. Besides, we were clear that we wouldn’t do one block deal. We still have to maintain our relationship with other agencies and clients.

    Is the Dentsu deal going to be a trendsetter in sports selling even as acquisition costs for cricket TV telecast rights go up?
    It definitely is an eye opener for a lot of people. What Dentsu has done, most agencies should start doing – engaging with broadcasters well in advance. Agencies shouldn’t try to beat the ground pricing always. As much as I have to sell, they have to buy. Everything can’t boil down to rates; then you will never get value. Where are the CPRPs (cost per rating point) for Super Bowl in the US? There is something called an ‘impact buy.’ Cricket should be looked at from that perspective; it not only brings in new audiences but is also a religion in the country.

    Is SET India targeting an advertising revenue of Rs 5 billion from the two ICC tournaments?
    I can’t disclose the exact figures. But we are going to double our revenues from the last World Cup.

    How?
    Just look at the cable and satellite (C&S) viewing universe which will have more than doubled from 32.5 million homes in the 2003 World Cup to 70 million by the time the March 2007 edition kicks off in the Caribbean. That would mean a potential viewership of over 300 million glued on to their TV sets.

    Besides, the two tournaments sit on a perfect timing with brands being active from October (festival season) to April (summer spending). Add to this the advantage of the Champions Trophy being played in India.
    ‘We will use the World Cup to lift Sab to the next level. With cricket and Fame X, we have a far more aggressive growth plan for the channel‘

    How much money have you tied up from the eight sponsors?
    I can’t go into the specific details, but 50 per cent of the total inventory is consumed by the two presenting (Reliance Infocomm and Nokia) and six associate (Pepsi, Hero Honda, Maruti, Hewlett Packard, LG Electronics and ITC Foods) sponsors. We have sold the two tournaments together as they involved huge outlays from clients. We will eat into the share of the biggest channel’s revenues.

    What are the brands you target for Extraa Innings?
    This is a very big property for us and we sell it to a separate set of sponsors. We target smaller brands who do not have that kind of budgets to be on the World Cup matches itself. Extraa Innings is not just wraparound programming but is fun and entertainment. We monetise every property that we have.

    How much of a revenue advantage will the Hindi feed on Sab TV be?
    Doordarshan gets 30 per cent of its viewership from C&S homes because of the Hindi commentary. Our aim is to eat into this. We are, thus, simulcasting 18 key matches on Sab in Hindi. We are offering value to the advertisers who would have also bought on DD. We want to own the entire C&S homes.

    During the last World Cup, SET India’s strategy was to push Max. Are you working out a similar strategy with Sab this time?
    We will use the World Cup to lift Sab to the next level. We did that with Max during the last World Cup and raced ahead of Zee Cinema, which had an early mover advantage, in one year’s time. We have planned big launches like Fame X (the refurbished version of Fame Gurukul) on Sab TV. We have also recently put up a clutch of comedy shows.

    Have you changed the positioning of Sab TV after buying it out?
    When we acquired Sab TV, it had a fuddy, duddy image with an appeal in the Hindi heartland. As this old image restricted growth in ad revenues, we felt the need to reposition it as a youthful, light hearted channel. Sony as a network stands for the youth brand. With cricket and Fame X, we obviously have a far more aggressive growth plan for Sab. Our aim is not to make Sab TV a flanking but a strong channel standing on its own.

    Sony is in talks to acquire stake in Ten Sports. Do you feel the need of a complete sports channel?
    I wouldn’t like to offer comments on this.

    Is the time right to hive off Max into a complete movie channel in the changing scenario?
    With so much of cricket happening now, it is certainly good to have a sports channel. Because in a hybrid channel, you are disrupting the viewership and revenues. But it all depends on what properties you are acquiring. For us, Max has worked well as a hybrid channel. We have been able to marry together both the passions – movies and cricket. The ICC property we had offered major tournaments every two years; we could change gears effectively. Max is no more a poor cousin of Sony, but rakes in ad revenues over Rs 1 billion (from around Rs 280 million before the World Cup) purely on its movie strength. Whether we will continue down this road, I don’t really know. I wouldn’t at this stage be able to comment for the future.

    How will revenue support high telecast fees for the next World Cup bid?
    The industry will have to use new ways. As TV telecast rates climb higher and higher, we may have tie-ups with agencies and clients at the time of bid. We don’t know – all that may happen to minimise risks. We will have to explore all options. Cricket, after all, will be a dominant monopoly at least for the next ten years. Of course, other sports like football will emerge. But cricket will continue to rule in viewership and revenues.

    Will advertising back up such acquisition costs or the model be driven by subscription revenues?
    Ad rates will have to go up. When Harish Thawani starts selling this time, he will have to get real pricing because his company Nimbus has paid that kind of money to get the telecast rights for cricket in India. He couldn’t do that last time because he didn’t have a channel. The real value of cricket is now going to show up because the new rights where people have paid huge money are now coming in. So the next 6-8 months in cricket is going to be exciting because you will see the rates go up substantially. Otherwise, somebody is going to get bankrupt.

    We will also see money shift from on ground to on-air advertising. The value of on ground properties is diminishing.

    What about subscription revenues?
    Direct-to-home (DTH) and conditional access system (CAS) will form a revenue component when the ICC bid comes up this time. We had factored in some inflows from DTH when we made the bid last time, but it got delayed by two years. For us, it has been advertisement-led and we have successfully achieved that.

    With Zee TV on a resurgence, how has the slip in Sony TV’s ratings affected the revenues?
    As a network, our ad sales will grow by 30 per cent this fiscal. Sony TV saw a blip last quarter but with the launch of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa we are sorting it out. We will also be using cricket in a big way to promote our properties and are launching Big Brotherimmediately after the Champions Trophy. Unlike the last World Cup, we have planned up big show launches just after the tournament.

    Isn’t Pix slow to take off?
    We have now got the distribution right. We will start focussing on selling. We are looking at premium brands as the positioning of the channel is for SEC A.

    Pix has a library from MGM but lacks new movies which HBO and Star Movies are able to telecast. How do you plan to correct that?
    The two movie channels show premium new titles only once a quarter. We don’t plan to have those titles for at least the next one year. But that won’t affect us. We have a good library. Besides, there is space for three English movie channels.

    What are the plans for AXN?
    We will continue to do at least three big local ground events. That is the advantage AXN has against its competing channels. We integrate events with the local brands. Man’s World is also coming up. AXN is a youth and adventurous channel which telecasts action titles.

    Is there concern that the World Cup almost coincides with the implementation of CAS?
    We see it as an opportunity. The World Cup will drive CAS. Much like brands being born out of the World Cup. We have seen how the top two players in any sector (consumer durables, telecom, automobiles, etc) have used cricket to grow. That is the power cricket has over audiences in India.
  • Sony appoints Balaji’s Sikcand as chief creative director; announces other promotions

    Sony appoints Balaji’s Sikcand as chief creative director; announces other promotions

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television India has appointed Balaji creative head Sandiip Sikcand as the chief creative director of its flagship channel SET. Sikcand will report to SET India COO N P Singh.

    Apart from this new appointment, SET India has also initiated some other organisational restructuring.

    SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management Rohit Gupta has been given additional responsibility of the digital, licensing and telephony group. Gupta continues to report to SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta. Set India VP licensing & telephony Kaushal Modi, who has been reporting to N P Singh, will now report to Gupta.

    The network has also created a new enabling and technical services group, which will be under Anjani Kumar, who has been heading HR and admin functions for the network so far. The new group that Kumar will head comprises human resources, information technology, post production, administration and web and new media activities. Kumar will continue to report to Singh.

    Speaking on the new appointment and restructuring, Dasgupta said, “Sandiip comes to SET with a lot of experience in the creative domain. I am sure he will contribute in the process of driving the creative vision of our flagship channel and take it to new heights. Leading the digital and licensing group will give Rohit an opportunity to further grow and consolidate a new revenue stream for the company that has got huge potential and is the gateway to future. Also, creating the enabling and technical services group under Anjani will help bring in more efficiency into our working system and provide a seamless access to resources across the network.”

    Singh added, “Sandiip’s appointment comes at a time when the network has taken up several challenges and we are sure, with an illustrious career behind him, Sandiip will bring in fresh perspective and creative excellence to the channel. The restructuring also shows our agility to alter structures as per the needs of time and keep moving our best people in the most challenging roles.”

  • SET to simulcast key Champions Trophy & World Cup matches on Max, Sab

    SET to simulcast key Champions Trophy & World Cup matches on Max, Sab

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India is gearing up full on for the Champions Trophy in October and the World Cup in West Indies early next year. The target this time round is to be armed cap-a-pie, thus leaving no stone unturned to garner maximum eyeballs and revenues.

    With an aim to eat into the viewership of Doordarshan, SET will simulcast key India matches, the semi-finals and the finals of both tournaments on Max and Sab.

    While the feed on Max will be in English with its own set of commentators for Extraaa Innings, the feed on Sab will be in Hindi. “Today DD gets 30 per cent of its viewership from cable and satellite homes, where people prefer to watch the matches because of the Hindi commentary. Now with Sab having a Hindi feed, we will be able to eat into the C&S share of DD during the matches. It is a huge chunk of the market, which we want to own,” SET India executive vice president (ad sales & revenue management) Rohit Gupta tells Indiantelevision.com.

    “DD was getting its viewership for cricket matches not just from UP and MP but even from Delhi. Our aim is to own the entire Hindi C&S space with the upcoming tournaments in our kitty and that is the proposition we are giving to advertisers. In a way we are also looking at eating into the revenue shares of DD,” he asserts.

    Apart from this, a lot of brands that were buying air time space on Max, were also doing so on DD during the earlier matches. But now with a combination of Max and Sab, they don’t need to do that barring some brands like Lifebuoy, which have a specific rural focus, Gupta argues. The Champions Trophy, it is worth noting, will be held during the festive season (7 October to 5 November), which is when most brands will be active to the hilt. Even the World Cup in March-April will see a slew of brands upping their advertising before the peak summer months, he adds.

    Brands such as Maruti and Hero Honda, to name a few, who were buying 300 – 500 seconds of advertising time on DD, need not buy more than 100 seconds now because of the package that they will be getting in Max and Sab, is the point that Gupta and his team will be trying to drive home to advertisers in the coming months.

    “While the television universe extended to 35 million homes the last time the Champions Trophy was played, this time it has increased to 70 million homes. We expect to see Sab hitting a different level with this because of the sheer viewership,” says Gupta.

    What’s more, in order to encash on the scaled viewership post the Champions Trophy, Sab will be launching a slew of new shows. “The idea is to use cricket as a platform to take Sab to a different level,” he states.