ITV

Tag: sab tv

  • Colors goes FTA in the UK; gears up for battle

    Colors goes FTA in the UK; gears up for battle

    MUMBAI: The battle to capture the eyeballs of the UK-based Indian TV channel viewer is about to get fiercer. The Viacom18 group’s flagship brand Colors has announced that it is going free to air in the UK from 2 September. Following this, all of Sky Digital and Virgin Media’s cable TV viewers will be able to receive the channel as a free service.

     

    Says Colors CEO Raj Nayak: “We are elated to offer two of our leading brands, Colors and Rishtey, to our viewers in the UK. With this move, we will be reaching out to a much wider audience base giving them an enriching viewing experience of our top class fiction and non-fiction programming”.

     

    Colors became a part of Multiscreen Media’s ViewAsia bouquet (available on Sky as an Asian pack for pound sterling 17.99) in 2010 and was a pay channel there. Over the past year, ViewAsia tenants such as Sab TV, Sahara one and Aaj Tak opted to go free, leaving Colors to give company to Sony Max, B4U Movies, Sony TV Asia and ARY digital on ViewAsia. Now Colors too has headed for the exit, leaving question marks over ViewAsia’s pricing structure.

     

    Points out IndiaCast group CEO Anuj Gandhi: “The UK continues to be one of our most important markets – where in the past we have challenged the status quo with the launch and success of Rishtey and now with Colors going free to air, we are making our next big move towards leadership.”

     

    Over the past three years, the Network18 group and Viacom18 have launched Colors, Rishtey and News 18 – the first international news channel covering India- in the UK with the Viacom-Network18 joint venture Indiacast. The network says, Colors is available in close to 75 countries and its content is distributed in over 100 countries.

     

    ” Over the last 12 months, we have had phenomenal success with Rishtey that has made us the strongest challenger in the market. With Colors going free to air, we will neutralize the undue distribution advantage that some of the other south Asian channels have enjoyed in the market, making it a level playing field and we are confident of being the leading south Asian network in the UK in the near future,” says Indiacast COO Gaurav Gandhi.

     

    Adds IndiaCast UK’s business head Govind Shahi: “As a growing network, we are thrilled to independently deliver a broader spectrum of high quality entertainment to the consumer – with path breaking dramas, round-the-clock news, movie premieres and all-time favourite international formats like Bigg Boss, India’s Got Talent and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Now with our channels reaching DTH homes in the UK, we are going to be the most potent and effective platform for the advertisers targeting South Asian homes.”

     

    Once it goes free to air, Colors will become a BARB rated channel in the UK. The latest BARB ratings for the week ended 11 August, show Star Plus is the leader in the UK market with 1.16 million viewers, UMP Movies is second with 994,000 viewers, Rishtey, third with 888,000 viewers, Zing – a part of the Zee Network – is at fourth with its best ever ratings of 621,000 viewers. At fifth place is Star Gold with 580,000 viewers. Sony SAB TV follows with 573,000 viewers. At seventh spot is Star Life Ok with 440,000 viewers.

     

    Cumulatively, the Star Network channels account for 2 plus million viewers in the UK – a stranglehold that the Netowrk18 group will be hard-pressed to try and break. But knowing the IndiaCast, Network18 and Viacom18, teams, well, they love a good joust. Get ready for a good fight!

  • SAB TV in association with Bollywood Tourism launches ‘SAB Ki Sawaari’

    SAB TV in association with Bollywood Tourism launches ‘SAB Ki Sawaari’

    It’s everyone’s dream to watch their favorite stars perform LIVE…get to watch them prepare for a shot or a chance to shake a leg with them… To make your dreams come true, SAB TVhas partnered with Bollywood Tourismto launch ‘SAB Ki Sawaari’, a unique initiative that brings fans closer to their favorite stars.

    For the first time viewers who have loved Chandramukhi for her dabangpolicegiri, Gadha for his Ishtyle, Balveer for his superhero stunts will get a chance to see the stars live in action &a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch shoots, rehearsals, to pose with their favourite stars! SAB Ki Sawaaritakes the viewers from Goregaon to various SAB TV sets on weekends.

    Announcing this initiative, Mr. Anooj Kapoor, EVP & Business Head, SAB TV stated, “We at SAB TV constantly endeavor to create interesting and entertaining content for the viewers and through this initiative we will take this experience off screen too. This is a unique way to provide an opportunity to consumers to engage with the brand and its popular characters. We are glad to partner with Bollywood Tourism &I’m sure this experience will create lasting memories in the minds of our consumers“

    Talking about the launch, Mr. Manoj Gursahani, MD, Bollywood Tourism said, “We at Bollywood Tourism are delighted to be associated with SAB TV for the launch of the unique offering SAB Ki Sawaari. We are confident this will provide a unique and unforgettable experience to all our guests”

    This unique experience is sure to carve splendid memories and once again bring smiles and cheer to families across India.Priced atRs. 2,250/- perperson, the tickets are available just a click away at https://www.bollywoodtourism.com/sab-ki-sawari.Beginning at Oberoi Mall, Goregaon, (E) SAB Ki Sawaari goes on to tour the sets of SAB TV’s iconic shows!

  • Sab TV revamps look; announces marketing initiatives

    Sab TV revamps look; announces marketing initiatives

    Comedy general entertainment channel (GEC) SAB TV has added vibrant colours and new motifs to its channel and show packaging, which went on air from 9 pm onwards on 21 June.

    Argentinian design studio Steinbranding was hired for the revamp."Our new look signifies renewed freshness and a positive move into the future, truly articulating the spirit of ‘Asli Mazaa SAB Ke Saath Aata Hai‘. We have only changed the clothing of the show, but retained the content, concept and basic colours. We have also added more designs which is relayed between soaps," said SAB TV EVP & business head Anooj Kapoor at a conference held at JW Marriot Hotel.

    And in order to further propagate the fact that it has a fresher and peppier look it has put together quite a few promotional films on the lines of its existing ‘Sab Ka Wakt Ata Hai‘ called "Saas-bahu," "Mooch" and "Hands-Up."

    The channel‘s management announced that it is going the whole hog on digital with online games and applications. One of these is ‘Sabarbia‘, a one of its kind social game, which has attracted 75,000 people in the past two months.

    The channel has also launched a loyalty program called ‘Sab ki Sawari‘, through which viewers are rewarded for watching its shows for longer durations: they get a chance to meet their favourite actors on the sets of different Sab shows. "Then we have school programmes called Sab ki Paathshala that aims to engage with a younger audience by providing them with interactive learning experience," added Kapoor.

    Then SabTV has integrated free applications including, SAB Ke Comics – a mobile app available on iOS and Android smart phones. The application has over 100 comic strips of six shows cracking jokes on five popular characters of Sab. The five characters which have been animated include: SAB ka Gadha, SAB ka Gopi, SAB Ka Gulgule, SAB ka Mama and SAB ki Jeannie. "The application has already registered 200,000 users," informed Kapoor.

    Apart from this, Sab has rolled out ‘SAB Khelo SAB Jeeto,‘ an unique game show that can be played with the entire family. The game show enables fans and consumers to participate and win gifts and merchandise.60 per cent of the channel‘s total promotional budget is set aside for TV advertising, 30 per cent for print and the remaining 10 per cent for out-of-home advertising and others. "As far as digital media is concerned, we have not made any investments. It is just a platform for us to drive the audience to television," said Kapoor.

    The channel has gone in for oodles of activation in malls, Big Bazaar, Cafe Coffee Days and multiplexes and has a huge outdoor presence – over 700-800 hoardings pan India, excluding Mumbai. "In Mumbai, we have placed our hoardings in over 100 bus shelters in residential areas," said a source.

    The faith that both Sony Entertainment COO N.P. Singh and Kapoor have had in taking the comedy route for the channel five years ago seems to have been well-placed when one looks at its success today.

    "Our ratings have gone up by 600 per cent and revenues by 900 per cent in the last five years. We have seen a surge in advertisers from 25 in 2008 to 80 plus now. With its current presence in the US, the UK, Australia and South Africa, the channel will soon expand to Dubai," Kapoor informed.

  • Rudolf Fernando appointed as National Head of Global Advertisers

    Rudolf Fernando appointed as National Head of Global Advertisers

    MUMBAI: Mumbai based, an outdoor agency Global advertisers have been appointed Rudolf Fernando as a National Head of Global Advertisers.

    Fernando will be looking after four regional sales divisions of the agency. His core responsibility involves strategising, designing, execution and media planning of outdoor campaign executed across the country He will report to Global Advertisers MD Sanjeev Gupta.

    Over his 20 year career, Fernando had started his career with Free Press Journal in Mumbai. He also worked with a publication house like Dainik Bhaskar and TV Channels like Sab TV.

    Prior to joining the advertising firm, he was heading Navbharat Media Solution’s sales department where he also led various innovative and BTL activities.

    Commenting on the appointment Fernando said, “I have become a part of out-of-home advertising medium, my role has widened with challenges and opportunities. Through my skills and understanding of the media industry, I am confident to expand the client portfolio of Global in the coming season.”

    Global Advertisers MD Sanjeev Gupta added, “Rudolf will leverage our presence across four regions and he will also be assisting the team leaders in pitching new clients. His expertise and experience will bring out innovation, fresh approach and better execution at a larger scale.”

  • ‘We can monetise more in a digitised environment’ : Business Head of Sab Anooj Kapoor

    ‘We can monetise more in a digitised environment’ : Business Head of Sab Anooj Kapoor

    A product manager at Colgate Palmolive, a copywriter at JWT, an ad producer, a sitcom writer and director, and finally a television channel head. Anooj Kapoor has successfully worn different hats in his career spread over two decades. And why not? He follows what is dear to his heart, so much so that he quit Colgate to join JWT at half the salary that he used to earn at the FMCG major. Reason: he could pursue his creative instincts.

     

    His urge to write and direct ads made him launch his own production house called Creative Compass in 1999, which he ran successfully for three years.

     

    Kapoor joined UTV to head its comedy cell in 2004 and made shows like Sharaarat for Star Plus. He went on to write many shows for Indian television. In 2007, he moved to Sab and what followed was a change in positioning to a family entertainment channel. Since then, Sab has shown remarkable growth. 

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Prachi Srivastava, the business head of Sab talks about the channel‘s growth and how it can benefit from digitisation.

     

    Excerpts:

    How has Sab performed after the first phase of digitisation?

    Sab has grown from 130 GRPs pre-digitisation to around the 150 GRP mark on a consistent basis. Two factors have contributed to this growth. The shows that we had launched in the digitisation phase have been received well, be it Balveer, Jennie Juju or Waah Waah Kya Baat Hai. We had set a target of 151 GRPs for March 2014 which we have achieved in January. So we are more than a year ahead in achieving our targets.

     

    Apart from content, what has also worked for us is the fact that we are now placed in the Hindi GEC cluster on the Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) in Mumbai and Delhi market because of which the sampling of the channel has gone up. With increased sampling, the time spent on the channel has also increased and, therefore, the growth in viewership.

    Do you see any change in viewership patterns?

    There is no such change. Our channel is for the entire family and is fairly divided between Males, Females and Kids. The representation of viewership has remained unaltered. It’s just that more families have sampled the channel; the composition remains the same.

    The 6-8 pm slot is generally for youth TV viewers. Are you looking at cracking this time slot?

    Our focus remains the family, and not just youth. Previously, we were a youth entertainment channel with shows like Left Right Left and Love Story. At that time we could collect only 20-22 GRPs. So we realised that the youth positioning is not really helping us. We, thus, changed the positioning to a family-led comedy channel.

    There was a time when Hindi GECs were having original programming on the afternoon slot. Do you have any plans to revive this slot?

    Despite our budgetary limits, we have extended our prime time programming to seven days now. We don’t have the bandwidth or interest to revive the afternoon slot as our primary TG is family and not just the female audience. Our channel has a male skew and 51 per cent of this segment constitute our audience profile.
    ‘Comedy is a very nascent genre but is bound to grow. If there are five channels that are showing the same kind of shows and there is just one channel which is showing comedy, it is obvious that people will watch us‘

    Max has a vast library. Do you plan to air movies from their library?

    Over the last four years, we have been able to build the slot of classic titles on our channel because these are the films that people are not able to watch on regular basis and there is a definite audience that we have managed to create over the last four years. They don’t get to see those titles on any other Hindi GEC. So we get undiluted audience coming to watch the classic films.

    Which are the weak slots that you would like to strengthen?

    We recently launched two shows, Hum Aapke Hain in Laws (HAHIL) and Tota Aur Maina at the 10-11 pm slot. Tota Aur Maina, which airs at 10.30 pm, is struggling a bit. We would like to strengthen that slot.

    Are there any new shows that you are planning to launch?

    We have nothing pre-IPL. We have just launched Safar Filmy Comedy Ka, which is a tribute to 100 years of cinema in India.

    How do you plan to expand geographically?

    We don’t make shows for a particular market. However, characterisation can be from a certain state. For example, HAHIL and Tota Aur Maina are both based in UP.

    Was 2012 a forgettable year for Hindi GECs as few of the new shows worked with audiences?

    The industry is indulging and over-indulging in permutations and combinations of the Saas-Bahu formula. Either the people have run out of formulas or the audience has run out of patience. The year 2012 was no different. They have the same Saas-Bahu drama and the same reality shows.

    The digital media has been growing in leaps and bounds. Any plans there?

    We are launching an app- Sab Ke Comics for iOS and Android with over a 100 Comic Strips of six shows to entertain fans on the go (on smartphones and Tablets) with short jokes from Sab shows and characters. This app is an adaptation of the successful print ads in comic strip formats in leading newspapers. These are for shows like Jeannie aur Juju, Chidiya Ghar, FIR, Lapataganj, R.K. Laxman and Golmaal.

     

    We have also launched Sab’s popular characters: Gadha, Gopi, Mama, and Gulgule as 3D animated talking character which repeats whatever the user speaks. The characters also react to gestures like tickling and punches.

     

    There is also an augmented reality app where one can scan images on a Sab TV Dairy or Calendar and see the character coming to life in a video format. Besides, one can also have their pictures clicked with popular Sab characters.

     

    We recently launched SABurbia which has been extended to apps. Here players can visit and interact with different show worlds and characters in a quest to help the Sab characters and become the mayor of SABurbia.

    Will Sab be able to monetise more in the digitised environment?

    Yes, the point is that we have moved into the EPG and we are in the vicinity of the other Hindi GECs, which was not the case earlier. Earlier, it was difficult for consumers to come across our channel on a consistent basis in various areas. Now the availability of Sab will be easier and, hence, there will be more trial and sampling for the channel. We believe that once the sampling increases, the retention of the audience will also increase. If there is more retention, there is more ratings. This increases the monetization scope.

    What is the future of comedy as a genre on Indian television?

    It is a very nascent genre but is bound to grow. If there are five channels that are showing the same kind of shows and there is just one channel which is showing comedy, it is obvious that people will watch us.

  • Everest Gets Aditya Birla’s ‘more’

    MUMBAI: Everest has won the strategic and creative duties for Aditya Birla Retail Limited‘s brand ‘more‘. The agency‘s Mumbai office will handle the business.

    Aditya Birla Retail Limited head marketing and branding Kunal Dhawan said, “We believe that Everest will work with us as partners in building our brand equity as they have a strong team and we welcome Everest to our team.”

    Everest Brand Solutions president Dhunji S. Wadia said, “We welcome Aditya Birla Retail to the Everest family. We believe in working with our clients and adding value to their business. This is a significant win for us. It‘s a huge vote of confidence for our way of working. Everest is in an exciting phase of transformation. The hard work put in over the recent past is bearing fruit now. We expect a lot of action in the coming months.”

    Everest NCD Rahul Jauhari said, “more is a challenge of a different nature and we look forward to it. And of course, I am always happy to be working with a client team that is as clear on expectations and way ahead as they are.”

    Everest‘s list of clients includes Parle Wafers, Ranbaxy Volini, Kotak Mutual Fund, SAB TV, GoAir, Power Grid Corporation of India to the kitty, amongst others.

  • Eleven Brandworks beefs up senior creative team

    MUMBAI: Advertising agency Eleven Brandworks is beefing up its creative team and has appointed Kapil Batra, Abhishek Dey and Subrato Mehta as senior creative directors.

    Sambit Mishra, who is currently senior creative director (copy) at the agency’s Delhi office, will be moving to Mumbai and partner Dey. Batra will be working closely with senior creative director (art) Aneesh Jaisinghani at the Delhi office.

    Batra comes in from McCann Delhi where he worked for five years and held the post of creative director when he left. He has worked with Contract and Publicis during his decade long career and has experience of working with brands like Perfetti portfolio (Chlor-mint, Big Babol, Happydent & Alpenliebe), General Motors, Greenlam Laminates, yatra.com and Usha Fans.

    Mehta’s previous stint was with Dentsu where he worked for four years. He has experience in the field spanning 22 years during which he has been associated with brands like Canon, Honda, J&J, ICICI, Reid and Taylor, SAB TV, Kinetic, HDFC and Manchester United Café and agencies like Ogilvy & Mather, Lintas, JWT and Triton.

    Dey has been in the business for 11 years now and his latest assignment was with Lowe Lintas Mumbai. A commercial arts graduate, he has worked with agencies like Rediffusion DY&R, McCann Eriksson and Publicis. During this time, Dey has worked on brands across categories like Tata Tea, ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Motors and Lifebuoy.

    Eleven Brandworks founder director Prateek Bhardwaj said, “Adding depth to the talent pool has been a priority for us. These additions are another step towards building a robust creative organization.”

    Independent agencies are looking at expanding their talent pool. “Increasingly clients‘ businesses are moving faster and getting more demanding. There is a shift in preference to independent agencies, as they are fleet footed and create fresh work. Our new creative talent will help create a dynamic creative pool to manage and acquire exciting businesses,” Eleven Brandworks COO Sampada Chaudhari said.

    Providing a flexible structure is a source of attraction. Eleven Brandworks partner Vivek Suchanti said, “The independents have been able to attract some very good talent, with open structures, great work environment and partnership/ownership models (more like the consulting firms). They have become true brand custodians taking on the onus of performance of their work.”

    So what brings the new recruits to a smaller agency? “The move to Eleven is an exciting challenge. With the freedom the small set-up offers comes the responsibility of winning and managing substantially sized businesses while producing outstanding creative products,” Batra said.

    Mehta added, “Smaller set-ups are bringing like-minded people together and offering greater freedom of thought as well as a relief from mundane systems.”

  • Dilip Jayaram leaves ESS for Procam International

    Dilip Jayaram leaves ESS for Procam International

    MUMBAI: After a long stint of over six years with ESPN Star Sports (ESS), Dilip Jayaram has decided to move on. He will be spearheading Procam International as its senior VP and would be groomed to take over as its COO in a year.
    He used to work with Buena Vista Television India earlier which used to manage the ad sales for ESPN, followed by a stint with MTV and SAB TV.

    In 2000 he came back to ESS as the regional head of the southern region, and in 2002 he moved to Delhi as the regional head for north and east. In 2004, DJ took on the portfolio of business development and innovations for ESS and was heading the team that was responsible for the
    launch of the Premier Hockey League in 2005. He was then promoted as ad sales director in June 2006.

    Procam International organises the Standard Chartered Marathon in Mumbai (which incidentally has in four years found a place in the top 10 marathons of the world) and the Hutch Half Marathon in Delhi (which is the richest half marathon in the world). Procam is also involved with Under 17 Cricket which it manages under the aegis of over seven state associations and also runs the soccer leagues in Goa and Kerala.

    Additionally Procam has also done premium sports events in India like the Squash World Cup and Mr Universe to name a few. He says, “I have worked extensively with one vertical of sports with the best in the genre and have also gained valuable insights on the other side of sports during the Asia Cup in 2004 and the first two editions of PHL. I am now crossing over to the next aspect – that of owning and promoting sports events in the country?”

    Anil and Vivek Singh the promoters of Procam said, “His past experience with ESPN Star Sports, combined with his innate entrepreneurial initiative, gives him extensive knowledge of media and sports events covering the entire gamut from conception to execution. He has been responsible for some of the largest media deals in sport and has also been the chief protagonist of the PHL.

    Procam Mediatel, responsible for the live production of the Marathons, is also currently involved in creating
    innovative shows and concept formats for television.

  • Star Plus seeks its break; Zee improves: Hindi GEC Q3 Study

    Star Plus seeks its break; Zee improves: Hindi GEC Q3 Study

     

    The Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) space is back in the spotlight. Strategies, counter strategies, experiments and innovations enchant the market, though audiences remain cautious while deciding their staple programming diet.
    The ongoing churn owes a lot to the manner in which Subhash Chandra’s Zee TV made its comeback to the reckoning. Because, this turnaround has forced the channel’s rivals (both leader Star Plus and trailing number three Sony Entertainment) to re-think their strategies and hence, we have a real humdinger of a ratings battle going on these days. This exciting range of happenings has inspired Indiantelevision.com to examine the GEC arena a bit more closely, as it completes its 2006 calendar year’s third quarter.

    Relative channel share- All Day, CS4+ HSM

    A first look at the data gives an obvious picture. Star Plus leads the tally, followed by Zee TV, Sony, Star One, Sahara One and Sab TV (Average market share data, All Day, CS4+ HSM, 1 July to 30 September, Tam).

    Star Plus, which maintained an above 50 per cent average when we did an April 2006 (All Day Part) analysis, has recorded an average market share of 46.1 per cent for the three month period (Average market share data, All Day, CS4+ 1 July to 30 September, Tam).

    Though the channel made its best efforts to improve its position through various new launches during this period, the market share score missed the 50 per cent mark in this period. In September, it even dropped below the 45 per cent mark for the first time since the KBC phenomenon rewrote Indian television history. From 45.9 per cent of July, the channel improved its position considerably to 47.8 per cent in the month of August. However, in September, the share recorded a slight drop at 44.9 per cent.

    However, Star One has recorded an improvement during this period, as compared to its April 2006 share. The channel, which struggled during the first half of the year due to affairs such as cable blackout in certain parts of the country, has now recorded an average channel share of 6.4 per cent, while the April score stood at 5.38 per cent. The channel is now banking on properties such as Nach Baliye 2, Paraaya Dhan and Kadvee Khatti Meethi to better its position by the end of 2007.

    “We have launched about three to four shows during this period including Nach Baliye 2, Saathi Re & Paraaya Dhan (Star One) and Antariksh, Karam Apnaa Apnaa and Prithviraj Chauhan (Star Plus) and the effort is to take on any kind of competition in any time band. Star Plus is not going to sit pretty on its relatively strong position. Now, the effort will be to constantly improve the performance. There will be no let off from our side on this front”, says Star India EVP content Deepak Segal.

    During this three month period, the number two channel Zee TV has actually improved its position – from an average market share of 19 per cent in April 2006 to an average of 22.9 per cent for the July to September period, according to Tam. The score reads like this: July 23.4 per cent), August (22.1 per cent) and September (23.3 per cent). 

    “The turnaround started with Saath Phere and Kassamh Se and the kind of innovations and experiments we employed in our storylines have really contributed to this good performance. This way, we managed to get the audience flow. We have steadied our soaps. The launch of Betiyann has completed our soap range for the year and now the focus is on various other genres. Hence, we will have now programmes such as the mythology Raavan and reality show Cinestars coming up. So, the strategy will revolve around non-soap genres for the next phase,” says Zee TV programming head Ashwini Yardi.

    Sony’s position hasn’t undergone any drastic changes as the channel recorded an average market share of 12.5 per cent for the three month period as compared to its April 2006 score of 12.36 per cent.

    Though flagship channel Sony may be still struggling, but sister channel Sab has been making a slow and steady improvement, on the other hand. The channel which scored an average channel share of 3.04 per cent for April in the All Day Part has improved the score significantly to 4.9 per cent for the June to September period.

    Sahara One, which received an April ‘windfall’ in terms of cricket telecast rights and scored an average market share of 10 per cent during that period, has now gone down in the chart. The channel has scored an average market share of 5.3 per cent for the July to September period in All Day Part.

    Rating Score Card – Prime Time

    Kyunki Saas Bhi… continues to be Star Plus’ channel driver programme. The long running soap of Hindi television recorded its best rating of 14.17 TVR on 31 July, 14.31 TVR on 29 August and 13 TVR on 4 September. The channel has a fixed line up of shows occupying all the top four positions including Kyunki… and the shows are Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kasauti Zindagi Kay and Kahiin To Hoga. While in July, the fourth and fifth positions were occupied by Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Kkavyanjali respectively, in August the positons went to special shows Nach Baliye 2 Muh Dekhai and Shaadi Ke Rang Bhabhi Ke. In September, Prithviraj Chauhan (best TVR 7.38) and Karam Apnaa Apnaa (best: 7.12 TVR) made it to the reckoning.

    Zee TV has three different soaps recording the channel’s best ratings in the prime time in these three months. In July 2006, Saath Phere recorded the highest 7.32 TVR, while in August it was the Balaji Telefilms soap Kasamh Se (6.16 TVR). The top slot for the month of September escaped both the shows and went to the finals of Saregamapa Lil Champs (6.81 TVR).

    Zee TV’s good show in the rating chart has a lot to do with the impressive opening week rating its new launches record these days. For example, Banoo Main Teri Dulhann recorded its best launch-month (august) rating of 3.5. TVR. And in September, Dulhann further consolidated its position with a best of the month rating of 4.37 TVR. Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann’s best of the month (September launch) rating stands at 4.99 TVR.

    For Sony, CID continues to be the channel driver with an average rating of 3.5 TVR for the three month period, according to Tam (HSM CS4+). In September, newly launched reality dance show Jhalakk Dikhla Ja has made its appearance in the top 10 chart for Sony. The show has filled the second slot in Sony’s line up with its best rating of 2.95 TVR.

    Betiyann Vs Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki + Naach Baliye 2

    The month of September also witnessed an interesting battle between Zee TV and Star Plus in the coveted 10 pm slot. The story was about how Zee TV unpacked its biggest soap launch of the year — Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann and positioned it against Star Plus’ unchallenged 10 pm property Kahaani…

    Giving the development to a total new twist was Star One’s strategy to launch Naach Baliye 2 on the same day that Zee scheduled Betiyann’s launch – on 25 September. Though Naach Baliye was slotted in the 8 pm post and it looked the launch had nothing to do with Zee’s 10 pm introduction of Betiyann, Star had different plans in mind. Star One telecast a 2.30 hours special episode of Naach Baliye 2 on 25 September in order to let the celeb dance show’s launch clash with the launch episode of Betiyann. Then on the other side, Star Plus had a spiced up episode of Kahaani…to counter the Zee TV soap.

    Now, let’s see how all these three programmes finally delivered as per Tam ratings:

    The Star ploy of countering Betiyann with Naach Baliye 2 special episode worked well for the channel. Betiyann’s launch ratings stood at 2.58 TVR, while Nach Baliye 2 opening episode recorded a rating of 4.86 TVR (CS4+ HSM). However, it looks like the ploy had backfired in Kahaani…’s case as the soap could gather only 6.14 TVR for the particular day. (Kahaani… normally records a rating of about 8 TVR on an average).

    However, Betiyann recovered from the initial blow quickly and came up with an improved performance during the rest of the week: 3.24 (26 Sept), 4.18 (27 Sept) and 4.99 TVR (28 Sept). And the Betiyann figures also reveal Zee’s success in giving a jolt to Kahaani… in the initial week itself. The Star Plus soap had recorded an average rating of 8.75 TVR in week 38 (17 Sept to 23 Sept). And in the week that Betiyann got launched, Kahaani..’s average rating has slipped to 7.25 TVR, as per Tam.

    Post Script:

    So what is waiting the GEC market in coming months? One genre that is expected to make its presence felt during this period is Reality. Two big ticket reality shows, Sony’s Bigg Brother and Zee TV’s Cinestars, will be unveiled in November. Star One has just kicked off its Naach Baliye 2 and the show has competition from Sony’s celeb dance show Jhalak Dikhla Ja. So the space will have not less than four reality shows engaged in an eyeball war with each other in this quarter.

    Strategy-wise, as Yardi has revealed, Zee TV’s focus will be now on non-soap programmes such as Raavan and Cinestars. Star Plus is looking at the kids genre in a big way and has even accommodated a kids-oriented superhuman show Antariksh in its weekday 8 pm prime time band. The channel has lined up another kids show Lucky for the same slot on Saturdays. As Segal puts it, “We are looking to develop kids also as a key viewer segment of ours. Star has always been popular for its quality kids shows.” Sahara One’s October-November plans will mainly revolve around the upcoming soap Solhah Singaar’.

    As the market leader Star Plus is seeking a good break to go back to its old good days of undisputed leadership and Zee TV uncorking fresh concepts to win back its lost glory, the Hindi GEC space is going through one of its best times. Then we have international players such as BBC and Viacom (reportedly in talks with Sahara One for a stake in the channel) and then our own NDTV gearing up their general entertainment channel plans for the Hindi market.

    So the big question remains: Will all these high profile suitors be able to come up with path breaking concepts and innovative positioning strategies to help the market really expand further?

  • ‘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.