Pitch brandometer issue - April 2016

P itch THE ESSENCE OF MARKETING

Volume XII Issue 4 April 2016

` 75

Advt.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 1

Celebrated bollywood directors create short three minute films for the mobile generation on the future of our nation.

India Today premiering India Tomorrow.

mydream

indiaindia

reachforthestars

DIRECTOR IMTIAZ ALI

DIRECTOR MEGHNA GULZAR

DIRECTOR HANSAL MEHTA

primetime

others

DIRECTOR ROHAN SIPPY

DIRECTOR PRADEEP SARKAR

#IndiaTomorrow

Watch the films on www.indiatoday.in/indiatomorrow Exclusively On

2 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

EVERYWHERE On Stands

Online

On Air

P itch THE ESSENCE OF MARKETING

Volume XII Issue 4 April 2016

` 75

Research Partner

BRANDOMETER

The most definitive study to evaluate Media Brands for Media Planners and Marketers www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch |

3

METHODOLOGY

RATING MEDIA BRANDS FOR THIS STUDY The Pitch Brandometer data, put together by Hansa Research, is available for the last four years. Initially, the study was brought out as Media Perception Monitor, and done for a Media House as an entity. But with changing times, the study was done for each newspaper/magazine brand. Over the last two years, there has been two waves of the study (Wave 1: Newspapers and Wave 2: Television channels & Radio stations). This is the most comprehensive and only report of this kind available in the market.

The TG of Pitch Brandometer, in association with Hansa Research, is as follows:

P itch The essence of Marketing

Target Group Definition & Segment Advertising Agencies

Advertisers

Media planners/buyers who are responsible for purchasing media space.

The minimum experience required to be eligible for interview is 3 years

It is essential that the client is well versed with co-ordinating with Print/other media representatives directly.

Designation – Media Buyers/ Planners, Media Directors, Media Managers, etc.

Designation – Brand manager Media Manager, Media Head, Marketing Head, Marketing Executive

Segments Media Buyers – Two segments

Advertisers – One segment

Senior (more than 5 years of experience) Mid Level (2-5 years of experience) Media professionals within the clients

SAMPLE SIZE Centre

Media With 3-5 yrs exp.

Advertisers

Grand Total

With 5+ yrs exp.

Main centres Mumbai

23

21

26

70

Delhi

17

20

23

60

South Centres Hyderabad

7

5

18

30

Bangalore

10

5

15

30

Chennai

12

4

14

30

East Centres Kolkata

10

6

16

32

Total

79

61

112

252

4 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 5

Volume XII, Issue-4 April 2016

introduction

COVER STORY

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Annurag Batra Editor & Director Amit Agnihotri Director Nawal Ahuja

08

editorial team

Issue Editor

Srabana Lahiri

Principal Correspondent

Simran Sabherwal

Design team

Art Director

Shivaji Sengupta

Senior Graphic Designer

Joby Mathew

Photographers

Vilas Kalgutkar (Mumbai) Suresh Gola (Noida)

The Medium is the

Message

ad sales

Rajat Thareja 9810134435 Runa Sinha 9810497903 Prashant Kulkarni 9886138249 Sneha Walke 9845541143

0ffices

NEW DELHI: Shop No. 32, 33 south Ettn. Part-I, Om vihar, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi 110 059 NOIDA: B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Phone: (0120) 4007700 Mumbai: 301, Kakad Bhavan, 3rd Floor, 11th Street, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050 Phone: (022) 2640 3303/09/14/16

The

new ball games

Bengaluru: # 18, 3rd B Cross, Domlur II Stage, Bangalore 560071

circulation/Distribution

Vinod Sharma (Delhi) - 9999447209 vinod@exchange4media.com Anandan Nair (Mumbai) - 9819445200 anair@exchange4media.com On News-stands ` 75

12

tv: Movie

Land of the

rising Sony

www.pitchonnet.com Printed and published by Annurag Batra on behalf of Adsert Web Solutions Pvt Ltd B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Printed at All Time Offset Printers, E-53, Sector-7 Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301

An exchange4media Publication

6 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

14

CONTENTS tv: regional

22

Eenadu 50 A pole vault for

The Gulf of

print

language

30

tv sports

54

The Game’s

Just Begun

58

Print: Hindi & Regional

Delightful

Conundrums Print: english

tv: Hindi GEC

Shuffle at the

top

66

36

top

Lonely at the radio

The wave will

rise

tv: news

42 The slant is

clear tv: News channels: English

About class and

catch-up

columns

46

Sam Balsara Chairman, Madison World Shripad Kulkarni, Managing Director Vizeum, India Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media Navin Khemka, Managing Partner (North, East) and new Biz head, Maxus Rajendra Khare, Founder, SureWaves MediaTech Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group, India & South Asia

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 7

20 40 65 71 78 80

INTRODUCTION

The Medium is the

Message

Pitch, along with research partner Hansa Research, presents Pitch Brandometer 2015 to evaluate media brands on the basis of a set of overall salient features, with feedback from media planners, media buyers and marketing professionals.

P itch The essence of Marketing

I

t’s that time of the year again, when we pause amidst our chaos to remind ourselves that the ‘media’ is just the name of the iceberg which is an industry so large and complex, it has ramifications in the first three pillars of democracy as well.

Moreover, it is an industry that makes over 10,000 crore rupees in revenues annually.

The Pitch Brandometer, the only research and initiative of its kind, was conceptualised to size up the media brands of India on various factors, and most importantly, this was done by the

8 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

very stakeholders because of whom the media runs – media planners, media buyers and marketing professionals.

With each passing year, the scope and ambition of Brandometer widens in size simply because the media in India keeps growing into a multifaceted industry, with every market having its own leaders and losers, complexes and battles, heroes and villians.

It would only be fair if the said stakeholders, media buyers and planners in agencies and marketing professionals would rate media brands. While media

INTRODUCTION houses themselves conduct researches and use market research tools to sense their standings, there are no large scale syndicated studies today that help them understand, leave learn, their ratings from ‘buyers’.

As usual, our research partners Hansa Research have done a stellar job in reaching out to the right heads, seeking their time and invaluable opinions and collating what is definitely a laundry list of top media brands.

The objective of the research and this special issue of Pitch is to evaluate the media on the basis of overall salient features and favourability, as well as ratings on a cross section of important attributes that have been found to be important by media buyers.

This painstaking process of data compilation only helped us get composite rankings to understand the overall position of any organisation, as compared to other leading organisations in the playing field.

Before proceeding to the findings, here’s what you must know about the deciding factors: Innovation Easily the most critical factor for decision makers in choosing their vehicle to talk to millions. In a cluttered, competitive market, the media vehicles reputed to not only think out of the box but deliver the novelties and pathbreakers are respected.

Organisations which made top use of the latest technologies were rated higher, and so were those which were found to be ‘sensitive’ to the needs of unique businesses. Remember we are in India’s start-up era!

Media delivery A basic safety net to determine

Methodology Fieldwork: Hansa Research’s in-house field team, working under the supervision of regional field managers and the overall control of the research executive handling the project, carried out the fieldwork. Specially trained corporate interviewers conducted all interviews across the different segments.

Quality control: In order to control quality, the following measures were implemented during the fieldwork: • Supervisor scrutiny of all completed questionnaires • Back checks of 50 per cent of the interviews • Spot/surprise field checks by both field and research executives Scores: In 2014, The Times of India had hit maximum score of 1,000 on every factor in six dimensions. This time, barring its slip-down to 954 in media delivery for reasons dissected in the further pages, it has hit thousand again.

Scores of the rest of the vehicles have been likewise worked out in relationship of this score of 100

Organisations which made top use of the latest technologies were rated higher, and so were those which were found to be ‘sensitive’ to the needs of unique businesses which media organisation is viable for the long-term or not, this parameter is the only one that’s quantifiable. How good is the deal struck between the media buyer and the publication

or the channel – whether it holds value for money? Eventually, delivery is about ROI. This year’s toppers followed agreed schedules vehemently, and as our columnist has pointed out in the later pages, are strong in their core markets where they operate.

Professionalism Is sometimes, everything. In a market of buyers, there are some nuances and certain nudges toward sustaining relationships that work in the long-term.

Professionalism here refers to ethics, timeliness, transparency.

Is the organisation trustworthy and reliable, the respondents were asked. And the results won’t be a shocker to many – that sometimes the most impactful medium may not be

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 9

INTRODUCTION the most professional and vice versa.

Relationship The other side of professionalism, or as a CEO we spoke to here put it, what results from consistent professionalism! We live in a hyper-connected working environment but sometimes, access could be pricey. Are the media buyers easily able to get in touch with the right people of the organisation? Is the media house’s sales team in frequent touch or surface only during what seems to be target achieving time? A big factor and question here was the access to senior management within the media organisation.

With millions at stake and the destiny of several advertisers at stake, maintaining a warm relationship can show the way forward. How can personal equations co-exist within an ROIdriven environment is the moot point here!

Sales Team Knowledge The faces of a brand often acquire more importance than the brand itself, and they are the critical factors in making or breaking deals. Decision makers and stakeholders on the other side would be impressed by the sales team’s knowledge of not only their inventories, but the overall climate of buying and their competitors.

On the other hand, the knowledge of the advertiser’s business and nature of industry matters too. Do the representatives negotiate, do they react positively to solve issues and queries, do they keep

top 10 media brands in india RANK

GENRE

BRAND

SCORE

1. English Newspaper

Times Of India

1000

2. GEC - Hindi

Star Plus

953

3. GEC - Hindi

Colors

861

4. Sports channel

Star Sports

859

5. Movie channels

Set Max

804

6. News channel

Aaj Tak

803

7. English Newspaper

Hindustan Times

798

8. GEC - Regional

Eenadu TV

780

9. News channel

ABP News

779

10. Movie channel

Star Gold

766 (Scores out of 1000)

We live in a hyperconnected working environment but sometimes, access could be pricey. Are media buyers easily able to get in touch with the right people in an organisation?

10 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

in touch throughout – are the big factors!

Servicing Ability Again, a make it or break it factor for many planners. The quality of service may define the quantity of it and the longevity of the relationship between media buyer and seller. Does the organisation ensure accurate billing, does it proactively inform of changes in schedules, rates or deliveries, are the promises made during sales kept – were the big questions.

Needless to say, the Brandometer survey is today nothing less than an industry currency which is used by all media houses.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 11

TV - INTRODUCTION

The

new ball games

From last year’s no show, this year there are two sports channels, Star Sports and Ten Sports, in the Top 10 TV media brands.

S

urprise, surprise!

For those who have been having their eye on the Brandometer survey from its past issues and are stakeholders in the media, we have news – the Indian television space, which last year did not even have the categories of sports and business channels, has seen some big movers with equally big numbers and promises of the future.

12 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

From last year’s no show, this year there are two sports channels, Star Sports and Ten Sports, in the Top 10 TV media brands. The evolution of sports entertainment on TV picked pace in 2015 with the stagnation of Indian cricket and IPL, the scaling up in all senses of the Pro Kabaddi League, the launch of the Pro Wrestling League and the Hockey India League and Hockey World League picking up steam.

TV - INTRODUCTION This rapidly changing scenario, where several noncricket sports are available to the common Indian viewer, has changed perceptions and helped advertisers in turn.

As Neelkamal Sharma, COO, Buying, Madison World put it, “Sports has really moved a lot beyond cricket … like kabaddi, badminton, soccer, wrestling, hockey, tennis, etc. It offers advertisers to choose options from many which have less clutter and plan their marketing activities which could be relevant and also offers sustainability.”

On the other hand, after digitisation of Phase I and II cities, broadcasters had not been able to reap its full benefits.

The sector is on its way to see a higher subscription revenue growth, which will eventually outstrip advertising revenue increases. Better monetisation, courtesy digitisation, is slated to peg the Indian TV industry at Rs 975 billion in 2019, according to some estimates.

Coming back to the survey reports, Star Plus claims numero uno spot after the number 2 of 2014 in the GEC category, but Colors would not be disheartened with its catch-up game. “They have taken initiatives across various areas to come up to this level, which is also complimented by their leadership in viewership,” Sharma feels. Colors’ big-ticket

show Bigg Boss 9 has just wound up an extended season last week and although the numbers are yet to be seen, it will be interesting to know if the channel has reaped benefits of the whopping 130-135 crores it was reported to have invested in it!

On the news front, Aaj Tak has made its position even

Sports channels offer advertisers options which have less clutter and they can plan their marketing activities which could be relevant and also offer sustainability”

more formidable with a lead of 82 points over its own number one score last year. Set Max and Star Gold are ranked on top and it would be worthwhile to point out here that the latter also enjoyed massive viewership of Pro Kabaddi’s Hindi coverage, especially in the B towns. This year, with two seasons of the popular league scheduled, we won’t be surprised to see it scale to number one easily.

Notably, the first English news channel only comes at number 5, something to chew on again!

The slowdown phases for Hindi GECs in 2015 – Diwali, IPL and the India-SA cricket series, was coupled by the rise of new entrant &TV. Did the new channel, coming from the giant parent network it did, fare as well as others in the network on the parameters? Go through the data to know!

Overall, things were never this exciting for Indian television before, and this survey only captures a neat slice of the brouhaha currently underway!

Neelkamal Sharma |

COO, Buying, Madison World

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 13

tv-Movie channels

Land of the

rising Sony Not just the big titles, innovation too counts in success among advertisers, as this year’s new topper, Sony MAX proved

A

t the turn of 2015, well after a decade of many firsts and phenomenal television, Multi Screen Media (MSM) renamed itself as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).

The rechristening wasn’t just about brand alignment and towing the Sony parentage, it was also about setting the voice of a mature, more reassured media organisation. Incidentally, our data which wound up at the

end of 2015 saw Sony Max – the network’s top movie channel and the telecaster of the Indian Premier League – score heavily and climb to the top.

“We will continue to serve audiences across geographies.

More channels, more genres, more content, more movies, more digital and more television is our six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers whose hopes and expectations”, NP Singh, CEO had said, adding that their focus would

14 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

remain to become the first choice in television and digital entertainment in the country.

Shuffle at the Top At the same time, the rankings have seen the biggie from Star – Star Movies, fall from last year’s number one to number four, giving away to Max at the pole position. That Sony Max and Star Gold were top scorers in all criteria, does that necessarily reflect increasing advertiser and audience interest in Hindi movie

tv-Movie channels MOVIE CHANNELS – OVERALL RANK

channel

2015

1

Set Max

804

2

Star Gold

766

3

Zee Cinema

675

4

Star Movies

606

5

HBO

574

6

UTV Movies

542

7

Movies OK

492

8

Movies Now

434

9

UTV World Movies

410

10

B4U MOVIES

403

INNOVATION Channel

2015

2014

Set Max

771

608

Star Gold

699

611

Zee Cinema

651

596

Star Movies

578

896

HBO

565

709

UTV Movies

507

453

Movies OK

467

429

Movies Now

375

517

B4U MOVIES

358

Not Applicable

UTV World Movies

356

Not Applicable

In tune with viewer needs and aspirations, we have constantly enhanced the experience through our packaging, right scheduling of movies, the best of premiers and value adds...

Neeraj Vyas | EVP and Business Head, Sony Max

channels over English? We asked the experts on what other factors could have led to this shuffling.

Neeraj Vyas, EVP and Business Head, Sony Max, Sony Pictures Networks India laid it down to the ‘environment’ and viewer experience that Max has been giving its audiences.

“Keeping in tune with viewer needs and aspirations we have constantly enhanced the experience through our packaging, right scheduling of movies, the best of premiers and by value adds through peripheral

programming and also by constantly engaging with our viewers,” he says. To really gauge this as a viewer and Bollywood enthusiast, tune in to Max on a lazy Sunday afternoon – you might hit upon a movie you’ve watched at least thrice but the ‘interstitials’ such as Extraaa Shots will keep you engaged.

Just last week, for instance, the screening of Munnabhai MBBS, the Extraaa Shots had director Rajkumar Hirani speaking of his original idea behind the story, as well as

anecdotes from the late Sunil Dutt. Max gave a well-rounded viewer experience without having a ‘spectacularly new’ title to boast of.

“We offer customised solutions, ensuring maximum visibility. Branding and association for some key movie premiers and film festivals offer brands great visibility and helps them stand apart. Interstitials like ‘Extraaa Shots’, ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ and ‘Fully Faltu’ also create an opportunity to integrate brands targeted at the

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 15

tv-Movie channels RELATIONSHIP

PROFESSIONALISM Channel

2015

Channel

2014

2015

2014

Set Max

793

591

Set Max

757

598

Star Gold

718

651

Star Gold

702

587

Zee Cinema

589

588

Zee Cinema

593

568

Star Movies

550

900

Star Movies

561

869

HBO

544

699

UTV Movies

524

482

UTV Movies

517

476

HBO

496

682

Movies OK

487

418

Movies OK

445

451

Movies Now

442

540

MGM

424

Not Applicable

Filmy

430

Not Applicable

UTV World Movies

422

Not Applicable

B4U MOVIES

382

Not Applicable

Movies Now

418

MEDIA DELIVERY Channel

2015

Set Max

823

Star Gold

746

Zee Cinema

697

Star Movies

630

576

TOP ADVERTISERS ON SONY MAX IN 2015 • MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA GROUP • BHARTI AIRTEL GROUP • ADITYA BIRLA GROUP • COCA COLA INDIA PVT. LIMITED • VINI COSMETICS PVT LTD. • GODREJ GROUP • PEPSICO GROUP

HBO

564

UTV Movies

545

Movies OK

496

Movies Now

449

UTV World Movies 427 B4U MOVIES

425

• L’OREAL INDIA PVT. LTD. • AMAZON SELLER SERVICES PVT. LTD. • MINISTRY GROUP - DAVP

emerging youth,” Vyas explains.

And talking of innovation, Star Gold (at number two with not much of a gap) this year became the first channel to showcase a film in 4K in October with Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Expect the

16 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

channel, which boasts of ‘two’ Pro Kabaddi seasons this 2016, to bounce back hard in all ratings this year.

Zee won’t stay down Media planners and advertisers

tv-Movie channels SALES TEAM KNOWLEDGE Channel

2015

SERVICING ABILITY Channel

2014

2015

2014

Star Gold

808

585

Star Gold

1001

608

Set Max

769

568

Set Max

948

612

Zee Cinema

723

562

Zee Cinema

836

615

HBO

610

688

Star Movies

769

873

Star Movies

586

868

HBO

693

704

UTV Movies

564

411

UTV Movies

623

456

Movies OK

497

430

Movies OK

591

463

UTV World Movies

421

Movies Now

557

516

Warner Brother

412

379

UTV World Movies

515

Not Applicable

Movies Now

409

509

& Pictures

509

Not Applicable

may have been for a surprise towards December last year when Zee Cinema, a channel hitherto swearing by its ‘moviesmasti-magic’ content, dabbled into WWE, one of the most watched TV sports in India.

Recognising the adulation and fan following, Zee Cinema hosted a weekly edition of ‘Action Mania’ every Sunday and also ran a contest during the episodes.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) Hindi Movie Channel Business Head Ruchir Tiwari had said then, “We are thrilled to give audiences a

Not Applicable

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

With the high level of enthusiasm (for WWE), we are expecting good participation from audiences,” and we are sure he got the same from the parties that mattered too. With new initiatives and premieres such as that of Aishwarya starrer Jazbaa already underway this year, we expect Zee Cinema too to give the top position a good crack.

The winning ways So what did Sony, this year’s Brandometer topper in the movie

channels category, do right? A big reason was media delivery, Vyas felt. “Reach of Sony MAX is on par and at times even more than the mass GEC channels in the television space at rates which are much lesser. Hence buying across the channel is always at optimum value for the buyer/advertiser. We also offer transparency and clear communication with planners and clients.”

Media planners and industry insiders we spoke to vouched for the channel’s team operating with professionalism to delivery optimising solution to clients.

“Sony MAX is a 16 year old brand with a unique hybrid positioning catering to a huge segment of viewers/consumers be it with cricket (IPL) or with the choicest of movies. Hence, over a period of time the brand enjoys implicit trust and offers complete confidence to deliver to the advertiser,” Vyas sums it up well.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 17

tv-Movie channels

‘HD is driving the English movies genre growth’ Juhi Ravindranath Vice President - Ad Sales, South Asia, Turner International India

‘It has been a fantastic year for the Zee Hindi Movies cluster’ Ruchir Tiwari Business Head, Zee Hindi Movies Cluster

H

ow did the Movies cluster, as a whole, perform last year?

Like always, the Hindi Movie category is one the most viewed genre and commands a whopping 22% share in the total TV Viewing pie as against 17.5% in the previous financial year.

Amongst all the genres on television, the Hindi Movie category apart from GEC is the only category to account for a note-worthy share. The

18 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

other genres, be it the news or kids category, all have a miniscule share. Coupled with digitization, and the availability of weekly rural data, the share of the movie category will further strengthen and only grow in the future. Digitization has definitely created an opportunity for many smaller channels to operate in the movie genre space but the leading channels have successfully retained their position and share.

tv-Movie channels

ON ENGLISH MOVIES GENRE Looking at English genre, it was a bumper year. E-commerce was the driving category last year across television and English benefitted a lot from it. There were many English HD launches and HD saw real disproportionate growth. HD is actually driving the English genre growth. English grew higher than what the average market rate was.

ON HBO/WB We saw very strong double digit growth on our English channels and HBO saw a phenomenal growth. It was largely driven by e-commerce.

(Source: BARC, FY15 - 16, HSM Urban NCCS 4+, Non IPL weeks)

How would you assess last year’s performance of Zee’s Movie Cluster?

The Zee Hindi Movies Cluster (Zee Cinema, Zee Cinema HD, &pictures, &pictures HD, Zee Classic, Zee Action) increased from 33.7% to 35%share post BARC despite the competitive environment with a significant increase in share of Zee Action and Zee Classic. These channels have carved out a set of differentiated viewers ensuring the cluster caters to a wide spectrum of audiences with each channel maintaining its individuality. The cluster has grown in viewership, consumer perception and has won several awards.

Zee Cinema, the strongest brand of the cluster was at the top of the category in H1 (Source: BARC, Week 22 to Week 40, HSM Urban NCCS 4+, Non-IPL weeks)

What was interesting was that it did not concentrate on one region but it was pan-India.

In addition to the larger players, like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, you also had smaller players like car insurance e-commerce sites, fashion etc.

and consistently held ground throughout the year. An in depth understanding of the environment over the years along with several premieres have ensured that the channel remained an undisputed leader in reach percentage even toppling the leading Hindi GECs. Coming to &pictures, it has grown owing to focused efforts directed towards the core TG with clutter breaking content and properties along with various premieres. This has helped the channel to double the consumer perception and maintain a steady position in the category.

Our specialized niche channels, Zee Classic and Zee Action have made significant inroads in the movie genre space, with Zee Classic witnessing 25% and Zee Action witnessing 27% growth in viewership.

Last year has been an important year for Zee Classic.

The channel adopted a robust and aggressive 360 degree approach. With its brand positioning ‘Woh Zamaana Kare Deewana’, the channel successfully experimented in terms of content with The Bimal Roy Festival with Boman Irani and The Golden Years with Javed Akhtar. Bundled with the marketing innovations, Zee Classic saw its perception index increase by 50%.

The Movie Cluster HD channels have also been successful and in fact, &pictures HD is running neck to neck with top channels. The two channels Zee Cinema HD and &pictures HD with the promise of #HD first hosted seven HD premieres including Haider, Dil Dhadakne Do, Jazbaa and others.

Overall, it has been a fantastic year for the Zee Hindi Movies Cluster.

(Source: BARC, FY15 - 16, HSM Urban NCCS 4+, Non IPL week)

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 19

COLUMN

Overall This is a Good Organisation

Let’s give numbers a break Sam Balsara Chairman, Madison World

T

The addition of the seventh criterion – ‘Overall this is a good organisation’, is truly a useful value-add to the Pitch BrandOmeter. It should be given maximum weightage

20 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

he addition of the seventh criterion – ‘Overall this is a good organisation’, is truly a useful value-add to the Pitch BrandOmeter.

Let me tell you why. In award sessions over the years, I have seen that whilst it is good to have ‘parameters on which to judge’ to be given to judges as a guideline, it is never enough to go only by adding up the individual marks on each parameter given by the judges.

An entry which scores collectively high on all the individual parameters may just not be worthy of the big award and may not quite cut it holistically for any or most of the individual judges. Wait, did I just debunk the whole methodology of model hunts and Miss Universe contests? Maybe I did!

My point is, any entrant or juror knows that it is the coming together of the ‘not so inspiring’ parts that very often plays magic in the market place or in the consumer’s mind and so it is with this category.

I am glad that this important seventh parameter has been added. If you have a mature jury, and you do, this parameter should be given maximum weightage.

More often that not, mature judges have the eye to spot a winner when they see one and not really look at or fuss with arithmetical or statistical refinements.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 21

tv-special interest

In a year marked by the rise and rise of non-fiction entertainment, Discovery Channel maintained its top spot across criteria

S

everal cover stories of this magazine and others from our stable in the past two years have celebrated the rise of non-fiction TV entertainment in India, and pointed out how, despite a cluttered environment, several channels and programmes offer advertisers tailor-made

22 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

platforms to reach out to their target audiences.

2015 was perhaps the most pronounced year if we map the trend of factual entertainment. If the years prior to this witnessed India’s first channel to cater to mythology/history (Epic) and an emergence of food channels, last year was when these genres consolidated. Any big advertiser

tv-special interest will agree, the Indian TV scene today is not only about soaps and reality shows, but there is an increased demand for genres such as adventure, survival, technology, travel, food and even automobiles.

The same old leader In an interview to us in August last year, Rahul Johri, then EVP & GM – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, had given us the insight into the

mind of his viewer: “When people come to Discovery, it’s not that they come to watch an Indian channel, they come to watch a global channel as a viewer. They want to see the

SPECIAL INTEREST CHANNELS - OVERALL RANK

We brought a varied portfolio of brands so that viewers across age groups can find something in our product offering. We brought refreshing programming inventory quarter after quarter on each of our channels”

Channel

2015

2014

1.

690 808

2.

546

715

3.

498

509

4.

415

768

5.

398

780

6.

387

Not Applicable

7.

342

Not Applicable

8.

336

361

Rahul Johri |

Former EVP & GM – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific

Top Advertisers on POGO & Cartoon Network in 2015 • HUL • Perfetti • GSK • Colgate • Reckitt Benckiser • Godrej • Dabur

(Scores out of 1000)

Media Delivery

INNOVATION RANK

BRAND SCORE

RANK

BRAND SCORE

1. Discovery 660

1. Discovery 710

2. National geographic 494

2. National geographic 573

3. Animal Planet

3. Animal Planet

440

551

4. POGO 408

4. POGO 423

5. Cartoon network

5. Cartoon network

379

400

6. Disney Channel India 350

6. Disney Channel India 389

7. Discovery Kids

7. Nickelodeon 372

320

8. Nickelodeon 312

8. Discovery Kids

306

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 23

tv-special interest Indian content standing right up there. Our biggest means of localisation to appeal to the viewers is our language,” he had said.

Discovery Channel has topped the BrandOmeter charts this year as well, and although it has seen a dip in scores compared to last year, Johri isn’t perturbed. “In a cluttered television environment, viewers look for unique content that can satiate their curiosity and offers high entertainment value. We brought a varied portfolio of brand so that viewers across age groups can find something in our product offering. We brought refreshing programming inventory quarter after quarter on each of our channels,” he says.

Discovery is over a 100 points above Nat Geo and Animal Planet in the overall ranking, whereas kids channels only begin from number 4. Johri credits his desi programming for last year’s success. “We have consistently presented India themes that can travel the world and international themes relevant to India. Indian audiences have embraced our rich library of high quality programming because it inspires them to dream and explore their world,” he explains.

Explaining the dip After last year’s Pitch BrandOmeter saw several Special Interest channels in the top 10 ranks across categories, this year there are none. Juhi Ravindranath, Vice President - Head of Ad Sales, South Asia, Turner International India blames the Maggi ban

Professionalism RANK

BRAND SCORE

Relationship RANK

BRAND SCORE

1. Discovery 652

1. Discovery 600

2. National geographic 541

2. Animal Planet

3. Animal Planet

415

3. National geographic 432

4. POGO 376

4. Disney Channel India 398

5. Cartoon network

5. POGO 394

367

508

6. Disney Channel India 364

6. Cartoon network

373

7. Nickelodeon 331

7. Discovery Kids

312

8. Discovery Kids

8. Nickelodeon 300

310

among other things. “In terms of advertising, 2015 was a good year for the industry with a healthy 14 per cent growth largely driven by the Cricket World Cup, multiple HD channel launches and categories such as E-commerce, which fuelled growth in mass channels, sports and in special interest genres like English movies,” she says, adding, “The kids genre had a good double digit growth, but with challenges like the instant noodle ban for half the year and a limited growth on kids category clients. To counter this, kids genre increased its dependence on non-kids brands which today stands at 65 per cent.

The overall dip in special interest channels this year is more specifically explained by Anita Nayyar, CEO, India & South Asia, Havas Media Group. “If it is from the numbers perspective, well BARC is the answer, it has done that to most channels. A function of working with more meters, more parameters, differently defined audiences,

24 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

tv-special interest Sales Team Knowledge

RANK

BRAND SCORE

Servicing Ability

RANK

BRAND SCORE

1. Discovery 600

1. Discovery 861

2. Animal Planet

2. National geographic 712

508

3. National geographic 432

3. Animal Planet

4. Disney Channel India 398

4. POGO 507

5. POGO 394

5. Discovery Kids

6. Cartoon network

373

6. Disney Channel India 469

7. Discovery Kids

312

7. Cartoon network

8. Nickelodeon 300

598 483 458

8. Nickelodeon 408

If it is an audience fit, the advertiser is always keen. Special interest channels provide more focused audiences.

But here, content plays a critical role.

Only fresh, relevant content holds the audience.”

Anita Nayyar |

CEO, India & South Asia, Havas Media GroupIndia

sample sizes, rural data etc. Multiple device content consumption is yet another phenomenon which is spliting viewership especially for special interest channels,” she told us.

Keeping up the tempo While Discovery may be enjoying its position and strong brand positioning among viewers and its advertisers, it must also, like all special interest channels, keep providing innovative, fresh content. “In today’s highly cluttered environment is it imperative to provide high-quality and consistent product. The content needs to be extraordinary to catch the attention of the viewer. It also needs to be available on all platforms and marketed smartly. It has to be customised to cater to all target groups,” Johri says, talking of viewer delight being at the core of Discovery’s strategy.

Importantly, it should not come as a surprise to pundits that Discovery has stayed on top thanks to its multi-layered strategy that not only reaches out to the youth but also to children, women, family and regional audience with its distinct brand portfolio.

Nayyar believes it is only the special interest channels that provide a great fit for advertisers. “If it is an audience fit, the advertiser is always keen. Special interest channels provide more focused audiences.

But here, content plays a critical role. Only fresh, relevant content holds the audience. Navigating the youth wave on air as well as online by being delivering a more robust experience towards this group will go a long way” she suggests.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 25

tv-special interest

‘For History TV18, it’s been a spectacular year’ Avinash Kaul CEO, IBN News Network & President of A+E Networks | TV18

ON FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT GENRE Factual entertainment had a great year last year. It’s seen a lot of traction in terms of the interest of broadcasters.

Not many are taking the kind of bets that we are taking in this space. You will see a lot more action in this space.

‘The factual entertainment category is still underleveraged’ Piyush Sharma Group APAC & India CEO, Living Group, Zee Entertainment

26 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

tv-special interest

ON HISTORY TV18 It’s been a spectacular year. We are profitable and have grown significantly over the last year, in fact the fastest among anybody in the category. Looking ahead, our key focus will be on distribution and marketing. You will see great content and some very big shows coming up on History-TV18. The best is yet to come and a lot more action expected.

H

ow did the factual entertainment category, as a whole, perform last year?

The Factual Entertainment category is still quite under penetrated and under leveraged in the country. It has a long way to go to be able to meet up with global standards of the FE category in terms of audience share and in terms of contribution to the overall advertising pie.

How would you assess last year’s performance of Living Foodz?

Living Foodz continues to be the trailblazer first offering from Livingm marking ZEE’s foray into the factual entertainment space. The channel has raised the bar with regards to cutting edge food entertainment programming and in terms of attracting a huge non-hygiene category viewership.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 27

tv-special interest

KIDS

KIDS – Overall RANK

channels

1.

2.

2015

2014

POGO

415

768

Cartoon network

398

780

3.

Disney Channel India

387

Not Applicable

4.

Discovery Kids

342

Not Applicable

5.

Nickelodeon

336

361

Media delivery Channel

INNOVATION Channel

2015

2014

POGO

408 773

Cartoon network

379

Disney Channel India

350

Not Applicable

Discovery Kids

320

Not Applicable

Nickelodeon

312 302

793

Professionalism Channel

2015

2014

POGO

376 744

Cartoon network

367

Disney Channel India

364

Nickelodeon Discovery Kids

2015

2014

POGO

423 804

Cartoon network

400

Disney Channel India

389

Nickelodeon

372 340

Discovery Kids

306

840

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Relationship Channel

2015

2014

Disney Channel India

398

Not Applicable

POGO

394 741

Cartoon network

373

Discovery Kids

312

Nickelodeon

300 418

747

Not Applicable

Sales Team Knowledge Channel

2015

2014

Cartoon network

433

POGO

399 753

Disney Channel India

381

Not Applicable

331 418

Discovery Kids

372

Not Applicable

310

Nickelodeon

308 342

772

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

28 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

747

tv-special interest

‘We saw a lot of innovation and new genres being explored’ Nina Elavia Jaipuria EVP & Business Head, Kids Cluster, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd

H

ow did you see the Kids cluster perform as a whole last year?

The kids cluster performed beautifully. We saw new channels joining the bandwagon and it’s a cluttered space. We are about 14 to 15 channels and still counting, not taking into account the smaller regional channels. Having said that, you are seeing new shows being launched, a lot of innovation happening and new genres being explored.

The kids’ genre is a large genre, with a 6% share of total urban+ rural (U+R) viewership and 8% share of total urban viewership (CS4+). Kids entertainment is here to stay and monetization is only getting better. From an

kids

overall perspective, we are in a great place.

How do you assess the performance of your channels last year?

Nick has been the number one kids channel for the last 20 months and we were able to monetize that success.

We are seeing profitable growth while capturing the hearts and minds of kids, creating characters and telling stories the way we love to tell them. The franchise has delivered and we have a complete offering across age groups, demographics – urban and rural, and across languages – English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The South contributes almost 25% of our ratings. We have a very large successful portfolio which is here to grow and tell more stories.

‘The focus has been to grow the business overall’ Juhi Ravindranath Vice President - Ad Sales, South Asia, Turner International India ON KIDS CLUSTER Television had a really good year and grew by 14-15%. The kids’ genre also grew in line with that and Turner Kids also grew by a similar percentage.

In the kids genre, the focus has been to grow the business overall. It is an under-monetized genre.

ON TURNER KIDS At Turner Kids, the focus has been on driving non-traditional category as the number of kids advertisers is limited. Providing innovative solutions to clients has been a big revenue driver. The success of this gives Servicing Ability us a lot of confidence and also drives us harder to work on such relations with clients. Driving up yields is critical, Channel 2015 2014 obviously through rates, but it is also about more value to advertisers. A pillar of growth has been growth more POGO 507 777 categories. We focus on a category breaking approach Discovery Kids 483 Not Applicable because once you break a category, you break one client, then it’s easier to get others. We have had success with Disney Channel India 469 Not Applicable automobiles - Honda and Maruti, consumer durables – LG and Samsung, e-commerce players and even added new Cartoon network 458 750 FMCG players like Patanjali

Nickelodeon

408 377 www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 29

TV-Sports

The Game’s

Just Begun

T

here has been a remarkable distinction in our BrandOmeter issue and survey of last year and this. Until 2014, much of the sports and sports based programming would seek expected chunks of attention and budgets, but this time round, we have enough action to have a separate category altogether.

‘TV – Sports’ as a basket of choices for media planners and advertisers began mushrooming two years ago, but it truly became a formidable force in 2015. Albeit it was a Cricket World Cup year, but the best part of this story is that there are now many non-cricket alternatives that are engaging for the viewer and profitable for the advertiser.

Advent of sports on TV

From last year’s no-show on our lists, there are now two sports channels, Star Sports and Ten Sports in the Top 12 TV media

From last year’s no-show, there are now two sports channels on our top media brands list.

It’s safe to say that the phenomenon of sports entertainment has arrived

Sports Channels – Overall RANK

channels

2014

1.

444 539

2.

358

493

3.

345

431

4.

329

465

brands. How has the evolution of sports entertainment on TV and the availability of multiple sports properties through the year helped advertisers?

“Sports has really moved a lot beyond cricket like kabaddi, badminton, soccer, wrestling, hockey, tennis, etc. These

30 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

2015

(properties) offer advertisers to choose options from many which have less clutter and plan their marketing activities which could be relevant and also offer sustainability,” explains Neelkamal Sharma, COO - Buying, Madison World. It is safe to say that sports programming equals

TV-Sports

Sports Channels Media delivery

Innovation CHANNEL

2015

2014

Star Sports

859

634

Ten Sports

734

618

Sony Six

503

Not Applicable

Neo Sports

476

465

‘entertainment’, and this insight influences media plans. Sharma feels that if a brand has a strategy which could ride on sport offering both large audience base and relevant platform, it can. “Cricket used to restrict many brands with small or medium marketing budgets to associate with it but non-cricket sports have opened many windows for these brands to

CHANNEL

2015

2014

Star Sports

863

662

Ten Sports

789

641

Sony Six

532

Not Applicable

Neo Sports

472

490

build their communication around these sports,” he says.

New Star on the horizon

This year, two sports channels (Star Sports & Ten Sports) ranked high on the list of overall TV brands. Star Sports in particular, with its packed calendar of domestic leagues that are both homegrown and well-funded, has

made more than a trail here. Swati Rathi, Head of Marketing and Senior General Manager, Godrej Appliances, a significant spender on sports properties is glad to have a biggie in the bouquet. “In the past decade, the content of sports channels has become more fun and entertaining as compared to earlier times, especially in India. The IPL format has helped

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 31

TV-Sports Professionalism CHANNEL

Relationship

2015

2014

Star Sports

826

641

Ten Sports

661

Neo Sports Sony Six

2015

2014

Star Sports

781

645

632

Ten Sports

614

608

469

510

Sony Six

490

Not Applicable

412

Not Applicable

Neo Sports

408

501

other sports like kabaddi, football and wrestling to garner talent as well as popularity. This increasing popularity of sports channels and particularly sports other than cricket have helped brands get a wider audience reach going across age and gender,” she says.

E-commerce giant Flipkart which has been associated with Star Network’s runaway hit Pro Kabaddi, is more than gratified with the visibility the new League is bringing. “Flipkart is a reflection of the spirit of the ‘new India’, rooted in its tradition and yet modern in its outlook. From that perspective it made great sense for us to be associated with an indigenous sport like kabaddi.

From a business perspective, driving market development and accelerating adoption of online shopping across different consumer segments is our key focus area. We felt that the Pro Kabaddi is a property that appeals to a diverse set of audience, cutting across both genders and various markets. Hence the synergy between the two players was obvious,” explains Shoumyan Biswas, VP – Marketing, Flipkart.

As regards Star, Biswas is not surprised at the broadcast giant hitting the highs on the BrandOmeter charts this survey.

“Star has been a consistent partner with Flipkart in not just for our regular marketing campaigns but also for strategic partnerships – be it ISL, IPTL or PKL. Flipkart & Star are both industry leaders

CHANNEL

in their respective space - our association has been strong from the onset and has become increasingly stronger throughout our long journey in the last two years,” he tells us.

And it’s not only retail and e-commerce, the phenomenon of ‘sports entertainment’ has helped many other categories of advertisers. “Both traditional and non-traditional advertisers benefitted from sports but auto, handsets, bank/finance or new advertisers who are late entrants in any category who are looking to build instant reach and TOMA for their brands in short span of

This increasing popularity of sports channels and particularly sports other than cricket have helped brands get a wider audience reach going across age and gender” Swati Rathi |

Head of Marketing and Senior General Manager, Godrej Appliances

32 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

time; also ones who would like to ride their communication on sports which gets new viewers as well apart from regular television viewers,” Sharma says.

Game has just begun

It is no lie to say that sports entertainment is here to stay as a potent option for our planners and advertisers. In fact, there are already two more leagues – one in wrestling and another in badminton, which will impact next year’s survey. Not to mention, the launch of yet another big player, Sony ESPN and its HD variant.

“Sports entertainment always attracted advertisers due to offering new target audiences across age groups including light viewers but what restricted them to build long term strategies based on sports is its increasing costs hence challenge for broadcasters will be to offer better returns on brands’ investments. So that they can rely on sports led strategies and plan their initiatives accordingly,” Sharma adds.

The industry is also looking at a hybrid model of TV and mobile that’s just begun to flourish.

Experts are sure that if the masses are engaged by particular sports, they will watch them for sure on television or recorded content on devices. “Smart phones along with 4G offer a brilliant viewing experience for their favorite content and it will only grow. But the fun of watching on big screen will not go for sports lovers,” Sharma predicts.

TV-Sports Sales Team Knowledge CHANNEL

Servicing Ability

2015

2014

CHANNEL

2015

2014

Star Sports

924

606

Star Sports

1030

600

Ten Sports

674

615

Ten Sports

954

600

Sony Six

518

Not Applicable

Sony Six

617

Not Applicable

Neo Sports

515

461

Neo Sports

585

434

‘Sport cuts across genders and markets’ Shoumyan Biswas VP – Marketing at Flipkart

Why did Flipkart choose to associate with Star Sports Pro Kabaddi?

Flipkart is an Indian company.

Right from its inception, the brand has been built around strong Indian values. We are also a reflection of the spirit of the ‘new India’, rooted in its tradition and yet modern in its outlook. From that perspective, it made great sense for us to be associated with an indigenous sport such as kabaddi.

From a business perspective, driving market development and accelerating adoption of online shopping across different consumer segments is our key focus area. We felt that the Pro Kabaddi League, is a property that appeals to a diverse set of audience, cutting across both genders and various markets.

Hence the synergy between the two players was obvious.

What has been Flipkart’s

experience with Star as regards professionalism, media delivery, relationship and innovation?

Star has been a consistent partner with Flipkart in not just for our regular marketing campaigns but also for strategic partnerships – be it ISL, IPTL or PKL. Flipkart & Star are both industry leaders in their respective space - our association has been strong from the onset and has become increasingly stronger throughout our long journey in the last two years.

Star has become a market leader in sports, and PKL is now vying to compete with GECs. How does that benefit Flipkart?

As the market leader, at Flipkart, we believe that driving market development and accelerating adoption of online shopping across different consumer segments is one of our key focus areas.

Reaching out to various consumer segments and inviting them to start their online shopping journey with us is therefore a clear reflection of our commitment

towards organizing retail in India.

Sports today has become a key source of entertainment for the Indian family audience and the Star team have been at the forefront of bringing this change in our society.

We believe that an indigenous sport like kabaddi with a partner like Star Sports will reach out to a diverse set of audience, cutting across both genders and various markets. And hence we believe that the association will work in our favour.

Which other sports channels or properties of sports entertainment is Flipkart planning to partner with?

Flipkart has been associated with a whole array of sports for the last 2 years – football through ISL, kabaddi through PKL, tennis through IPTL and last but not the least with cricket. We hope to continue patronizing different forms of sports in India basis its relevance to the TG we are targeting.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 33

TV-Sports

‘The IPL experience continues to break records’ Prasana Krishnan,

H

ow did the sports category as a whole perform last year?

The year 2015 was a big year in sports, especially cricket with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ICC Cricket World Cup. The Indian Premier League was the big highlight of the year recording an incredible growth of 21% in viewership as well as the highest rated tournament in the last 5 seasons.

2015 also marked the re-entry of ESPN in the Indian sports broadcasting industry through an agreement with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN). The tie-up between SPN, one of the fastest growing television and digital networks in India, and ESPN, one of the most favoured and respected sports brands in the world was followed by the launch of SONY ESPN & SONY ESPN HD channels.

The trend of domestic sports leagues has taken off in India and is gaining momentum with viewers. What primarily started with cricket with the Indian Premier League has now spread to other sports like wrestling, tennis, hockey, football, kabaddi, etc. Pro Wrestling League which made its debut on our network in 2015, was the biggest new launch of the year and immediately found its place among the top three domestic leagues in India. Regional feeds for broadcasting sports properties

EVP and Business Head Sports Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd was a pioneering initiative by SPN in India. SPN went on to telecast five language feeds, including the first ever Telugu feed, in 2015 for cricket and select other sports.

How would you assess last year’s performance of the sports channels under Sony Pictures Network?

The last year was a big year for the Sony Sports cluster. Our portfolio increased significantly with the acquisition of marquee sports properties. Our focus areas were sharply defined: Football, Tennis, Basketball, and Fight Sports and we worked on providing comprehensive coverage of our premiere properties Football: We had already established ourselves as the home of international football with the acquisition of FIFA Qualifiers, Euro 2016, FIFA 2018, FIFA U-17 in India, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and Africa Cup of Nations to name a few.

In 2015, we further expanded our footprint to Copa America as well as international domestic leagues and tournaments like LaLiga, Serie A and FA Cup. The extended offering further positions us as the premier destination for unparalleled football viewing experience.

Tennis: Our portfolio got stronger with the acquisition of the Australian Open which was our very first entry into broadcasting a

34 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Grand Slam event. We also signed a five-year deal with ATP Media for exclusive broadcast rights of all major ATP World Tour events to be telecast across the Indian Subcontinent up to 2020. The acquisition of ATP rights in our portfolio, along with the Australian Open and the Champions Tennis League is a strategic one that positions us as the ‘home of tennis’ in India.

Basketball: We extended our associations with NBA until 2020.

NBA is synonymous with basketball and enjoys a great connect with the younger generation. Basketball is among the fastest growing sports In India and we have seen a significant growth in viewership. For the first time in India, we launched a locally produced weekly wrap around show, Around the Hoop, with engaging sports content produced exclusively for the audiences in India.

Fight Sports: There was a lot of focus on fight sports last year and we showcased the iconic Fight of the Century with Mayweather vs Pacquaio and followed it up with the Mayweather Vs Berto fight. On the domestic front we also had Vijender Singh’s professional debut as well as the Pro Wrestling League making headlines on our channel. We also renewed our partnership with Total Nonstop Action (TNA) wrestling until 2022. Along with the broadcast of Ultimate Fighting Championship and TNA, we have firmly cemented our positioning as the ‘home of fight sports’.

TV-Sports

2015: The year of WWE, Moto GP, cricket and football...

Rajesh Sethi Global CEO, TEN Sports Network

H

ow did the sports category, as a whole, perform last year?

As we have been seeing, Sports is one of the fastest growing television genres year on year with Sports now contributing over 5% of the overall television viewership.

2015 was a year with a lot of International Cricket and with the debut of many new sports leagues. The leagues are all operating on different models and whether or not they are sustainable is something we will

see in the coming years. UBA, the only professional basketball league in the country has also held its second season this year and planning ahead as well. They have unearthed so much talent and there is a real opportunity for basketball in India. Interest from brands has been positive. They are looking at other sports as well – WWE, Football are now competing with cricket for spends and have offered different entry points for brands which previously did not exist. So overall the last year has been great for sports – increased viewership, more investment make us look forward to the exciting times ahead.

How would you assess last year’s performance of TEN

Sports?

We are very happy with our network performance. We are the only network to have consistent year round viewership which shows that we are not dependent on Cricket or a particular season. Our key drivers this year have of course been the new programming we rolled out with WWE, our Moto GP content, Cricket and our football properties. We focussed on increased viewer engagement and for the first time ever produced WWE shows in India in different languages.

These customized shows have received great response from the market – viewers and brands alike. We took our engagement to the next level with 2 WWE LIVE events in India – it was WWE’s first tour to India in 13 years with a full roster of talent.

Football and Moto GP is now very attractive for advertisers. Cricket continues to be a key offering in our sports bouquet and we broadcasted over 100 days of LIVE Cricket.

We rebranded Ten Golf to an HD platform, Ten Golf HD and the uptake for the channel post the rebranding exercise has been very encouraging. We have undergone a larger rebranding exercise and moved to numericbased channels.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 35

tv-Hindi GEC

Shuffle at the

top

Last year’s topper, Sony, may have fallen to number four but the Hindi GEC category is seeing so much action, the shuffle has just only begun

A

show by Balaji Telefilms, a show with Amitabh Bachchan and a show on Ramayana, with a twist. Star’s Network’s shiny ship, GEC Star Plus may have had a tepid first half of the year according to its own standards but it sure picked up steam in the second half, especially after Diwali.

2015 was also the year when, in its 21st year in India, Multi Screen Media Private Limited (MSM) rebranded itself Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited (SPN). But that apart, the network adopted an aggressive

growth strategy with a new team and reoriented themselves back to its core positioning – urban viewers.

This year’s BrandOmeter has a new topper – Star Plus takes the number one position, toppling Sony which has not only lost to be leader but has slipped to number four. While Colors climbed up to number 4, perhaps thanks to the Bigg Boss ratings, new entrant &TV found itself at number 6 overall in Hindi GECs. How did the shuffle at the top happen and what does newbie ‘&TV’ have in store for this year with the biggies, we asked the experts.

36 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Overcoming the slowdown The GECs have long understood the ecosystem of sportsentertainment in India now and programme their best shot at GRPs with many factors in mind.

Like the past half a decade, the IPL’s two months remain a no-go for huge shows or youth-savvy content. Nearly all GECs faced a slowdown not only during the IPL but also the India-South Africa cricket series and also the predictable Diwali season.

The great stand out from the good in how they bounce back, though, and Star Plus, after witnessing a Diwali fall, hit back post the festivities with

tv-Hindi GEC

Overall ranking RANK

channels

2015

2014

1

Star Plus

953

755

2

Colors

861

658

3

Zee TV

757

667

4

Sony

729

827

5

Life OK

590

509

6

& TV

550

Not Applicable

7

Sab TV

528

531

8

DD National Network

469

Not Applicable

The channel has always resonated with 15-34 yrs females, and in the last two years the content has not really worked for them, though male viewership has grown, so we are working towards a balance. We want to bring back our female viewers especially on the weekdays” NP Singh |

CEO, Sony Pictures Networks the launch of Siya ke Ram. The new show, widely publicised and heavily marketed to planners and advertisers, met expectations and the channel saw nearly 34 GRPs in the week post Diwali.

Colors on the other hand replaced ‘Balika Vadhu’ and ‘Udaan’ with ‘Naagin’, and it rose to the top, claiming the number one GRP position for many weeks until the end of 2015.

What are a GEC’s keys?

Clutter-breaking shows and GRPs apart, what are the factors that play a role with media planners and advertisers in determining which GEC will be

their vehicle, especially when there is such multiplicity in the market? Swati Rathi, Head of Marketing and Senior General Manager, Godrej Appliances, attributes this to many. “There are a number of factors popularity of a GEC in priority markets, type of programming, profile of audience catered to and more,” she says, adding that aspects such as a show’s resonance with the key message of the campaign can often be the deciding factor.

“As a brand, we also actively look at product integrations and hence a good fit of the product within the overall storyline and

conversations in the program is also looked at. Innovations offered and overall returns from the channel go a long way in determining the GEC selection,” Rathi explains.

Neelkamal Sharma, COO – Buying at Madison World added another deciding factor, especially with this year’s survey throwing a new topper. “Most important factor is the parent network it belongs to and also the entrepreneurship of handling the business which is the core competency of the network,” he said.

Curious case of Sony It must be quite a story, and not

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 37

tv-Hindi GEC Innovation Channel

Media Delivery

2015

2014

Star Plus

909

738

Star Plus

951

Colors

840 669

Colors

848 709

Zee TV

689

Zee TV

810

Sony

651 778

Sony

799 886

Life OK

542

466

Life OK

613

507

& TV

511

Not Applicable

Sab TV

581

526

Sab TV

465

& TV

573

Not Applicable

DD National Network

410

DD National Network

543

Not Applicable

just the excellent programming by rivals, that Sony fell from its top position to as low as number four. According to NP Singh, CEO at the channel, the broadening of the viewership canvas did not work. “We were trying to follow a more inclusive strategy and some elements of that haven’t worked. The channel has always resonated with 15-34 yrs female, and in the last two years the content has not really worked for them, though male viewership has grown, so we working towards a balance. We want to bring back our female viewers especially on the weekdays,” he says, adding that the first six months of 2016 would see a ‘big surge’ in viewership.

Sharma, on the other hand puts it clearly: “It has been long that Sony is waiting for their at least two-three shows to do well but there is still a wait.

Hence it is their performance which has brought them down in ranking but given the gap, they are relatively better off when compared to other players in terms of their overall ranking

626

444

Not Applicable

Channel

along with their performance.”

So the flagship channel of the network, which has in its repertoire iconic shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati and Boogie Woogie, is currently going to a difficult phase, and its CEO agrees. “The flagship (channel) continues to be my number one priority in addition to growing the network and with that in mind we have put in place a new management team. Danish Khan has joined as the business head of that channel (Sony TV) and he has put in place a new team under him in content, communication, on-air promotions, research and strategy, marketing, etc,” Singh tells us.

As far as broadening the canvas goes, Sony hasn’t really given up on that either, so do not rule it out to hit the top very soon. After all, MSM is the only network with three mainstream GEC channels. On plans for the network’s third GEC Sony Pal, Singh said, “It has gone through the content strategy change and viewer traction is growing. There

38 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

2015

2014 794

681

tv-Hindi GEC Relationship Channel

Sales Team Knowledge

2015

2014

Channel

2015

2014

Star Plus

920

763

Star Plus

973

Colors

757 643

Colors

869 644

Zee TV

734

Zee TV

772

Sony

673 830

Sony

714 835

Life OK

598

531

Life OK

622

& TV

559

Not Applicable

& TV

558

Sab TV

536

Sab TV

537

DD National Network

494

DD National Network

445

662

598

Not Applicable

759

658

500

Not Applicable 520

Not Applicable

Servicing Ability Channel

2015

2014

Colors

1100

660

TOI

1000 Not Applicable

Sony

918 803

Zee TV

885

669

Life OK

686

530

& TV

634

Sab TV

615

DD National Network

566

Not Applicable 531

Not Applicable

is a broad outline for the next six months that we will start working on.”

New order next year?

Things may be looking shaky for not just last year’s topper but all players of the category, we feel as new series, award shows and sitcoms stir up the Indian television scene. Remember, this time last year, &TV had just begun and it scooped up 90.6 million GVTs in its first week itself.

And with Sony planning to launch ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ with the 9pm slot soon, there is reason to believe next year’s BrandOmeter might just wear a different look!

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 39

tv-Hindi GEC

COLUMN

Servicing Ability

The 10 pm friend Shripad Kulkarni, Managing Director Vizeum, India

Servicing ability is to fire-fight and respond at the eleventh hour, that’s what separates the good media from the great

S

ervicing by media’ for agencies and clients is about help in flawless execution of campaigns.

It also is about flexibility in deal structures, positioning of advertisements and help in last minute requirements and changes. Transparency while dealing with agencies and their clients is an important for agencies. Agencies are aware of the constraints and revenue compulsions of leading media, so when leading media such as Colors, Aaj Tak and Times of India, which have topped the BrandOMeter charts this survey, show these qualities, agencies appreciate them better.

Servicing ability of a media organisation can give an edge to its advertisers, as it determines the servicing ability of agencies to clients. Along with the relationship media people enjoy with the agency, the media’s servicing ability is a very critical aspect of the client-mediaagency ecosystem.

I can vouch for this by giving a real-life anecdote! I was a Business Head, and it was around 10 pm on one long working day, when I got a frantic call from a client regarding

40 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

next day’s launch campaign schedule. There was some miscommunication on a deal between one of my buyers and a leading GEC. I immediately got the client and the Channel’s Revenue Head on a conference call and requested the Revenue Head to help out, giving him my word that within the next 48 hours we will sit and re-work the deal. He helped me out of this and we have been very close friends ever since!

I have worked with some very efficient media and over the years seen their systems working like clockwork.

Once you get even a verbal confirmation from such media, there is no chance of any change or shift in the schedule without proper prior notice.

Let me wind up by talking about best practice. It is first about what I call the ‘calibration of relationship’.

Often, it is not a conscious, calibrated strategy but is people-dependent. Some media organisations believe in fostering relationship building attitude in ad sales, but many don’t. Personally, I believe in the perhaps old-fashioned relationship-based culture.

MEET THE JURY OF 2016

PRESENTS

#16IDMA

JURY CHAIR 17th June, 2016 Mumbai

MANAV SETHI Group CMO & Head Digital Platforms ASKME India & Malaysia

Divisional Chief Executive Food Business, ITC Limited

ATUL HEGDE BEENA KOSHY LAKSHMI GOYAL JACK UPPAL Co-Founder Vice President & Head VP Marketing & Customer Head of Brand & Marketing Rainmaker Ventures Advertising & Brand development Standard Chartered India Experience Bajaj Electricals Ltd General Motors

MANOHAR BHAT President Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.

SHERAN MEHRA Head – Group Strategic Marketing & Communications DBS Bank (India)

NIKHIL RUNGTA CMO Housing.com

PRAVIN KULKARNI Head Marketing Parle Products Pvt. Ltd

RAJA CHAKRABORTY Head of Marketing J K Helen Curtis Ltd Names in alphabetical order..

ANJALI PATIL Head of Brand & Communications BNP Paribas India

V L RAJESH

JURY

SIDDHARTH BANERJEE Senior Vice PresidentMarketing Vodafone India Ltd.

SUNIL KUMAR SHARMA Associate Director Consumer Tyre Business Goodyear India

SUPARNA MITRA CMO - Watches & Accessories Division Titan Company Ltd More Names to be added..

For more information, please contact:

Nikita Vig: nikita.vig@exchange4media.com or +91 8860302087 Abhishek Dutta: abhishek.dutta@exchange4media.com or +91 9910604791 Suparnaa Chadda (Event Curator): suparnaa.chadda@exchange4media.com

www.exchange4media.com/idma-2016

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact:

Runa Sinha, National Sales Head: runa.sinha@exchange4media.com or +91 9810497903 Sneha Walke, VP Special Projects & South Head: sneha@exchange4media.com or +91 9845541143 Ashish Kudalkar, Regional Manager - West: ashish.kudalkar@exchange4media.com or +91 9820541742 Rajat Thareja, Consultant: rajat.thareja@exchange4media.com or +91 9810134435 KNOWLEDGE PARTNER

BLOGGING PARTNER

CO - SPONSOR

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 41

tv-news

The slant is

clear A

t the 2015 saw a cricket world cup and a keenly fought state election in Bihar among many other news episodes. In the latter, especially, Hindi news channels had their tasks cut out right from the day the election dates were announced – the Hindi speaking belt takes its politics very seriously and there was massive scope for intelligent, rabble-rousing, clever, noisy programming.

In September, Aaj Tak held a

Hindi channels raced ahead again, with Aaj Tak emerging on top after a close contest with ABP News. What do English news brands need to do to up their game?

conclave in Patna which perhaps was one of their biggest events in the run up to the state polls.

The line-up of speakers included incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ex Chief Minister and President RJD and Jitan Ram Manjhi, Former Chief Minister of Bihar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and IT, Upendra Kushwaha, MoS for Human Resource Development, Asaduddin Owaisi, President AIMIM and many more across party lines and fields.

42 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

When political leadership such as this, from ruling and opposition parties from the state’s political landscape discuss the biggest issues, there is little doubt in the industry about which media brand can have the biggest pull with advertisers and media planners too. As it was, Aaj Tak had led the news pack in the BARC ratings in previous months, closely followed by but never overtaken

by ABP News.

What Aaj Tak did right

tv-news News channels – overall RANK

channel

2015

2014

1

803

721

2

779

558

3

716

4

561

549

5

504

606

6

485

444

7

472

457

8

470

607

9

466

669

10

454

Not Applicable

11

453

633

12

453

Not Applicable

13

433

441

14

380

319

15

380

Not Applicable

16

366

Not Applicable

17

363

581

487

Ashish Bagga, Group CEO, India Today Group, put a finger on the highest standards of professionalism in explaining the channel’s success in BrandoMeter.

“No matter how easy or tough the environment is, the attitude is always positive. An undeterred mindset to leave no stone unturned whether it’s the value to the viewer or to the advertiser. This approach is what keeps them on the top of the game. I would like to congratulate Rajnish and his team for very effectively handling the Nation’s No.1 news brand by far. They have raised the benchmarks yet again by being true to all their promises, exemplary product, exemplary communication, exemplary servicing and delivery,” he said.

That Aaj Tak offers customised solutions made them clear leaders in the news genre. Their innovative thought matched with top assets created unmatched value across impact properties.

“The rate structure of Aaj Tak continues to be admired by the business associates for the multiple choices, transparent dealings and hence there is high level of trust in the business. Our advertising rates as per our rate card are consistent and we don’t give any special discounts to any advertiser. The advertisers respect this and understand that we charge a premium for the value that we offer,” Bagga explains the numbers.

All about comfort levels Much of what Aaj Tak enjoys with media planners today can be credited to relationship and equations over the past years. “There is a clear expectation setting with our clients as we have always delivered much more than our promise.

It is a relationship of trust, respect and solutions enabling the client to achieve the desired results. Our sales team’s understanding of the media environment, advertiser needs and objectives along with an in-depth product knowledge, a solution oriented mindset and an innovative approach is what keeps us on top,” Bagga feels.

We are told the sales team is updated weekly on the new benchmarks that

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 43

tv-news Aaj Tak crosses in ratings and new content formats. There is continuous training on approach, client understanding and how the client can benefit by associating

with Aaj Tak. Webbing syndicated research like TGI, IRS, NUMAR with BARC/ TAM has kept the channel’s team equipped to recommend the most effective plans to clients.

INNOVATION Channel

ABP tops in media delivery Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, ABP News Network, which has scored just less than 30 points on the overall table than the topper Aaj Tak, is happy about his delivery

media delivery

2015

2014

Channel

2015

2014

Aaj Tak

748

714

ABP News

831

590

ABP News

700

554

Aaj Tak

801

761

Zee News

678

435

Zee News

729

510

NDTV India

509

597

NDTV India

607

562

Times Now

471

611

Times Now

536

613

NDTV 24 x7

457

708

IBN 7

515

401

IBN 7

444

427

India TV

506

480

CNN-IBN

435 588

NDTV 24 x7

483

666

NDTV Profit

429

Not Applicable

CNBC TV 18

470

CNBC TV 18

423

Not Applicable

BBC News

466

professionalism Channel

2015

Not Applicable 662

relationship

2014

Channel

2015

2014

Aaj Tak

751

651

Aaj Tak

748

741

ABP News

712

518

ABP News

748

544

Zee News

601

487

Zee News

689

507

NDTV India

511

490

NDTV India

510

523

Times Now

448

596

IBN 7

475

461

IBN 7

442

474

CNN-IBN

471 608

CNN-IBN

427 641

Times Now

449

598

CNBC TV 18

427

India TV

447

493

India TV

424

451

CNBC TV 18

442

NDTV 24 x7

421

674

BBC News

438

Not Applicable

44 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Not Applicable 590

tv-news sales team knowledge Channel

2015

2014

servicing ability Channel

2015

2014

Aaj Tak

820

727

Aaj Tak

1011

719

ABP News

769

570

ABP News

973

562

Zee News

741

488

Zee News

912

507

NDTV India

573

539

NDTV India

695

563

BBC News

500

615

Times Now

663

598

Times Now

494

618

CNN-IBN

494 585

India TV

608

456

IBN 7

479

450

NDTV Profit

593

India TV

473

464

IBN 7

581

NDTV Profit

467

CNN-IBN

579 608

NDTV 24 x7

464

BBC News

574

systems and relationships too.

In fact, ABP News have pipped Aaj Tak in the media delivery parameter (see table).

“I think we have done well (on the media delivery parameter) because we try to live and work by the principles we stand for as a channel – honesty , being truthful and straight. Our constant endeavor to strike win-win relationships with our clients all the time and not leaving anyone feeling ‘short changed’. Lastly, we believe that empowering people on the ground to make the deals so that the decision is faster and decentralized,” he shares.

Bagga winds up with confidence of remaining on top.

“The fact that there is continued growth in spends from our regular advertisers is proof enough of the reliability of Aaj Tak among advertisers. Consistent overdelivery on commitments has made the channel a preferred platform among advertisers

Not Applicable 618

Not Applicable 475

611

looking at getting the maximum bang for their buck,” he says.

The fact that there is continued growth in spends from our regular advertisers is proof enough of the reliability of Aaj Tak among advertisers.

Consistent overdelivery on commitments has made the channel a preferred platform Ashish Bagga |

Group CEO, India Today Group

The English factor Not surprisingly, there is no bucking the trend and fact of Indian media that English news channels are rated lower than their Hindi counterparts by advertisers and media planners.

This year’s results see Times NOW coming in only at number 5, scoring even lower than the previous year’s number. Interestingly, it is the opposite of the trends in print, where English publications consistently enjoy better reputation from media planners than regional counterparts. The insight to this disparity isn’t anything Greek, it’s just the fact that the advertisers for both types are of varied natures and rely more on reach and numbers by opting for Hindi channels. That said, can English news channels up their game by offering innovations to lure even ‘that’ erstwhile regional media planner? Surely, and channel business heads might have a lot to chew on in 2016.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 45

tv-English News

About class and

catch-up The first English news channel in the overall top 10 only comes at number 5. But can this year’s changing newsscape get English news houses to up their game?

English News channels – overall RANK

F

or those who’ve followed BrandOMeter in its past issues or simply know about the media/advertising trust levels, there are no surprises. There has been no bucking the trend this survey that English news channels are rated lower than their Hindi counterparts by advertisers and media planners. This year’s results see Times NOW coming in only at number 5, scoring even lower than the previous year’s number.

CNN-IBN, which is part of the Mukesh Ambani controlled Network18 Media and Investments Ltd, may be playing catch up with Times Now on

46 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

channel

2015

2014

1

Times Now

504

606

2

CNN-IBN

470

607

3

NDTV 24 x7

466

669

4

CNBC TV 18

454

Not Applicable

5

BBC News

453

633

6

NDTV Profit

453

Not Applicable

7

Headlines

433

441

8

News X

380

319

9

Bloomberg

380

Not Applicable

10

ET Now

366

Not Applicable

11

CNN

363

581

tv-English News

INNOVATION Channel

various TVR fronts but has given a stiff chase in perception meters. In ‘professionalism’ and ‘sales team knowledge’, there is not much to tell apart the two channels’ points and in ‘relationship’ the TV18 channel even overtakes the Arnab Goswami headed news channel.

2015

2014

Times Now

471

611

NDTV 24 x7

457

708

CNN-IBN

435 588

NDTV Profit

429

Not Applicable

CNBC TV 18

423

Not Applicable

Headlines Today

392

Bloomberg

390

BBC News

383

655

News X

339

234

ET Now

337

CNN

331

professionalism Channel

2015

363

Not Applicable

Not Applicable 547

media delivery

2014

Channel

2015

2014

Times Now

448

596

Times Now

536

613

CNN-IBN

427 641

NDTV 24 x7

483

666

CNBC TV 18

427

CNBC TV 18

470

NDTV 24 x7

421

BBC News

466

662

NDTV Profit

415

Headlines Today

455

448

BBC News

409

641

CNN-IBN

453 612

Headlines Today

394

474

NDTV Profit

447

News X

373

337

CNN

387

606

ET Now

364

Not Applicable

News X

383

309

Bloomberg

349

Not Applicable

Bloomberg

383

Not Applicable

CNN

328

ET Now

368

Not Applicable

Not Applicable 674

Not Applicable

604

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 47

tv-English News

sales team knowledge Channel

2015

2014

relationship Channel

2015

2014

BBC News

500

615

CNN-IBN

471 608

Times Now

494

618

Times Now

449

CNN-IBN

494 585

CNBC TV 18

442

NDTV Profit

467

BBC News

438

590

NDTV 24 x7

464

618

NDTV 24 x7

428

662

Headlines Today

448

467

Headlines Today

424

482

CNBC TV 18

433

NDTV Profit

408

Not Applicable

News X

399

ET Now

375

Not Applicable

Bloomberg

360

Not Applicable

Bloomberg

365

Not Applicable

ET Now

360

Not Applicable

News X

355

CNN

360

CNN

355

Not Applicable

Not Applicable 303

565

servicing ability Channel

2015

2014

Times Now

663

598

NDTV Profit

593

CNN-IBN

579 608

BBC News

574

611

NDTV 24 x7

561

670

CNBC TV 18

557

Headlines Today

513

438

News X

467

360

Bloomberg

443

CNN

441

ET Now

414

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Not Applicable 565

Not Applicable

48 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

598

Not Applicable

406

602

Interestingly, this is the opposite of the trends in print, where English publications consistently enjoy better reputation from media planners than regional counterparts. The insight to this disparity isn’t anything Greek, it’s just the fact that the advertisers for both types are of varied natures and rely more on reach and numbers by opting for Hindi channels.

This year, the English news-scape is poised to see big changes. After ‘Headlines Today’ has completed its brand metamorphosis to India Today TV successfully and already hosted newsmaking conclaves, there are other rebranding news in the offing. Just recently, CNN-IBN announced that it will be rebranded as CNN News18, complete with a new logo and a new studio, designed by US based Broadcast Design International Inc. More importantly, the company is refreshing its content as well, leveraging its content partnership with CNN. TV18 Broadcast also plans to do the same with its Hindi channels IBN7 and IBN Lokmat.

Can English news channels up their game by offering innovations to lure even ‘that’ erstwhile regional media planner? Surely, and channel business heads might have a lot to chew on in 2016.

tv-English News

‘There’s a certain amount of energy back in the news space’ Avinash Kaul, CEO, IBN News Network & President of A+E Networks | TV18 ON NEWS CLUSTER There is a certain amount of energy back in the news space and it has seen a substantial amount of growth. It’s not a nascent category where nothing is happening, there is a lot of action happening every single day and that is what keeps it abuzz.

Viewership has also seen a new revitalization of sorts because new audiences have been added. The second screen has also come up strongly. If we break it down into clusters, regional news is taking the leap forward and there is a lot more action happening in this space. A lot has been happening in the digital world, in terms of apps, news platforms etc, but none of this has resulted in any net erosion as far as news is concerned. News is still centre-stage.

We are great consumers of news, and there is no issue as far as the genre is concerned but it just needs to learn to innovate with the times, be really dynamic to change, and we are betting heavily on that. The younger audience is looking at far more enriching content, not just politics but a lot more areas, and that’s where we are hoping our catchment would be.

ON IBN NEWS Looking ahead, you will see more weekend content and we are looking to spruce up various other time bands of the day as far as CNN News18 is concerned. IBN7 will see a complete re-launch with a lot more shows across various pillars.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 49

tv-regional

T

he year started with a bang, and we are sure the media planners and advertisers may have seen it coming. In the first quarter, Star India and Maa Television Network announced a deal under which Star India acquired the broadcast business of Maa Television Network’s four channels – Maa general entertainment, Maa Gold, Maa Music and Maa Cinema, making it one of largest players in the Telugu market. The deal was estimated to be around Rs 2,500 crore according to media reports and gave Star access into a Rs 2,000-crore Telugu television market, the second largest in the regional space in terms of revenue potential.

Eenadu’s X-Factor Telugu television’s growth story was only an indicator of the times to come and the trends among advertisers. As it turns out, a

A pole vault for

Eenadu From 382 points last year to topping the table with a whopping 780 points this time, Eenadu TV’s story has been indicative of the waves in the regional GEC space

channel that was ranked much lower last year by Brandometer’s respondents, now is on top. The Ramoji Rao led Eenadu TV made a pole vault from 382 points last year to topping our charts with 780 points this time.

An insight into this as given to us by industry insiders is that BARC numbers have changed many channels’ perceptions through the data and in the minds

50 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

of professionals. While awaiting the stability to set in for BARC data, the qualitative evaluation apart from quantitative is also being considered by media professionals. Nonetheless, there is the element of ‘perception’ which may or may not map the hard numbers. “Eenadu has focused on its programming for viewership, has stepped on its movies and also set up

tv-regional regional channels – overall RANK

channel

2015

2014

1

Eenadu TV

780

382

2

Gemini TV

630

372

3

Maa Telugu

555

240

4

Zee Bangla

520

277

5

Zee Telugu

502

295

6

Sun TV

478

458

7

Star Jalsha

455

209

8

Udaya TV

455

310

9

ETV Bangla

452

251

10

ETV Kannada

425

274

11

Zee Marathi

424

259

12

Jaya TV

397

305

13

Zee Kannada

387

271

14

Star Pravah

384

Not Applicable

15

Raj TV

380

304

16

Vijay TV

379

298

17

Surya TV

364

280

18

Asianet

359

282

19

ETV Marathi

356

224

20

ETC Punjabi

338

Not Applicable

21

Kalaignar TV

329

290

22

PTC Punjabi

293

Not Applicable

the Eenadu Champion Cricket Cup which has all had positive effect on its image and been well accepted by its audience,” offers Anita Nayyar, CEO – India & South Asia, Havas Media Group.

Eenadu has also made a case for itself in 2015 by being one of the sole regional players to offer a bouquet of tailor-made offerings to advertisers. This was possible with the biggest launch in a go in its 20-year-run in October, when it introduced four new channels - ETV Plus (for comedy), ETV Life (health and lifestyle), ETV Abhiruchi (food) and ETV Cinema for movies.

K. Bapineedu Choudhary, chief executive officer of Eenadu Television, reportedly called the genres ‘rich in content and developed with subject specialists with high source credibility.”

Interestingly, as for BrandOmeter, Gemini TV too got a similar makevoer

Eenadu has also made a case for itself in 2015 by being one of the sole regional players to offer a bouquet of tailor-made offerings to advertisers.

This was possible with the launch of four new channels - ETV Plus (for comedy), ETV Life (health and lifestyle), ETV Abhiruchi (food) and ETV Cinema for movies. www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 51

tv-regional INNOVATION Channel

media delivery

2015

2014

Channel

2015

2014

Eenadu TV

714

302

Eenadu TV

789

359

Gemini TV

574

331

Gemini TV

656

397

Maa Telugu

523

164

Maa Telugu

579

230

Zee Bangla

475

204

Zee Bangla

560

275

Zee Telugu

444

207

Sun TV

526

508

Udaya TV

444

279

Zee Telugu

494

284

Sun TV

431

407

Star Jalsha

474

202

ETV Bangla

404

199

Udaya TV

474

297

Star Jalsha

389

172

ETV Bangla

474

224

Jaya TV

377

260

ETV Kannada

459

280

Professionalism Channel

2015

Relationship 2014

Channel

2015

2014

Eenadu TV

829

418

Eenadu TV

767

432

Gemini TV

535

379

Gemini TV

657

416

Zee Bangla

517

287

Maa Telugu

575

298

Maa Telugu

511

271

Zee Telugu

553

355

Zee Telugu

511

328

Zee Bangla

506

338

Sun TV

442

462

Star Jalsha

487

245

ETV Kannada

430

301

Zee Marathi

483

275

Star Jalsha

427

200

Sun TV

461

502

ETV Bangla

424

276

ETV Bangla

453

285

Udaya TV

421

318

ETV Kannada

445

325

in perceptions among media planners – this year’s data threw it right on number 2, followed by Maa Telugu and two channels from the formidable Zee regional table – Zee Bangla and Zee Telugu.

The onset of regional ‘Colors’ It might not have made a giant impact in this year’s survey but we expect big rises from the stable of Viacom18, for which 2015 was the year of announcing that

52 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

‘Colors’ will expand its portfolio by rebranding five ETV regional general entertainment channels (owned by Prism TV Private Limited). The move has expanded the footprint of brand Colors to key regional markets, as ETV

tv-regional Sales team knowledge Channel

2015

2014

Servicing ability Channel

2015

2014

Eenadu TV

738

401

Eenadu TV

889

421

Gemini TV

637

342

Gemini TV

768

376

Maa Telugu

509

224

Maa Telugu

665

285

Zee Telugu

479

289

Zee Bangla

633

310

Zee Bangla

460

276

Sun TV

606

456

ETV Bangla

448

241

Zee Telugu

568

339

Sun TV

433

411

Star Jalsha

562

250

Star Jalsha

433

200

ETV Bangla

539

307

Udaya TV

433

318

Udaya TV

532

344

Zee Marathi

399

256

Marathi, ETV Gujarati, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla and ETV Oriya are donning the Colors identity.

Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO Viacom18 Media had told us, “59 per cent of the country converses in regional languages as their primary language of choice. Today regional TV channels command the second largest viewership in India. The expansion fuels our growth strategy in building the Colors franchise, a brand that has become the cultural touchstone for millions of Indians across the world. The move will help us foray into key regional markets as we nurture and monetise the bouquet across platforms.”

It is apparent that new regional programming line-ups have evolved to suit the socio-cultural ethos of the respective regional markets. Every regional channel now wants to bring alive the regional general entertainment through enhanced packaging and an integrated marketing approach.”

View from the other end Do the advertisers recognise this boom in the regional TV space and more importantly, put their monies and energies in developing new relationships? Nayyar says, “They are certainly important to local marketers as well as national marketers having a regional audience. These marketers have a lot of confidence in regional channels both from a reach and content perspective.”

Overall this is a good organisation Channel 2015 2014 Eenadu TV

889

421

Gemini TV

768

376

Maa Telugu

665

285

Zee Bangla

633

310

Sun TV

606

456

Zee Telugu

568

339

Star Jalsha

562

250

ETV Bangla

539

307

Udaya TV

532

344

What Eenadu has done right last year serves almost as a growth module for other players in the regional space - refresh and revive content, don’t be afraid to diversify into niche content, up the channel packaging and be aggressive in promoting it. “They must push new and good properties, as in the end, content is the key. Attracting and touching the rural and youth audience is important,” Nayyar advises.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 53

Print-INTRODUCTION

The Gulf of

language 54 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Print-INTRODUCTION

R

egional is the new national’, the pundits had said a couple of years back, and the Indian print industry’s trends vouched for that – regional language publications continued to have a dominant growth. While readership and circulation meters have their trends based on changing habits and growing demographics, the key in 2015 was and will still be content differentiation.

Advertisers and media planners have no two opinions about which is the tool of choice to reach out to Tier II and Tier III towns – it’s regional publications.

Also, sectors such

as pharma, footwear and organised retail would always choose a Hindi or regional daily for their biggest campaigns.

All that said, just why, in multiple surveys of BrandOmeter, would regional and Hindi publications fall behind their English counterparts? Unlike in TV news, where Aaj Tak, ABP News and Zee News have ruled the roost and the first English channel (Times NOW) comes in only at rank five, things are a lot different in print.

This issue, while Times Of India has expectedly hit the highs in all factors, followed by Hindustan Times, Hindu and Economic Times, the Hindi list begins with Hindustan and goes down to Navbharat

Times, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran in overall rankings. The moot point – Hindustan’s overall rating of 444 is at par with that of DNA, which is ranked number 6 in the English list.

In the regional ratings, the numero uno is Anand Bazaar Patrika, followed by Malayala Manorama and Eenadu. But again, if you look at their scores on innovation, servicability and others, it won’t take too much insight to figure they have fallen.

We spoke with the experts as well as media representatives to know just what the Hindi and regional publications can do to up their game and match up with English counterparts.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 55

56 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 57

Print-Hindi & Regional

Delightful

Conundrums Media buyers and brands trust the reach of regional dailies over their English counterparts. So why do they rate them lower on all criteria? We ask voices across the board on what regional leaders need to do‌

58 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Print-Hindi & Regional

I

n a year when the shrillness of television news media was under more gaze, the Indian print media continued to buck the global trend of flailing fortunes and falling reader interests. A total of 1,05,443 publications were registered as on March 31 last year, out of which 14,984 were dailies and bi/ tri-weeklies while the remaining 90,459 were other periodicals.

Interestingly, the largest number of newspapers and periodicals registered in any Indian language was 42,493 for Hindi, followed by 13,661 for English. Government figures claimed, as announced by Mr Arun Jaitley, that total circulation of the registered publications stood at 51.05 crore, as against 45.05 crore in 2014.

Does that mean higher revenue for publications from advertisers too? Not really. In July DB Corp, of the Dainik Bhaskar Hindi newspaper, announced quarterly results with an increase in circulation

Overall ranking - Hindi RANK

Publication

2015

2014

1.

444 539

2.

358

493

3.

345

431

4.

329

465

5.

284

349

6.

149

304

Overall ranking - Regional RANK

Publication

2015

2014

1.

409 421

2.

361

410

320

Not Applicable

320

317

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Ananda Bazaar Patrika Malayala Manorama Eenadu

Mathrubhumi Daily Thanthi Maharashtra Times Lokmat

9.

Gujarat Samachar

10.

Bartaman

305

Not Applicable

254

289

249

295

247

Not Applicable

228

301

200

268

Loksatta www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 59

Print-Hindi & Regional by as much as 16 per cent but a decrease in ad revenues by 8 per cent.

What did the BrandOmeter respondents decide on, as regards their picks?

The overall downer

Of the Hindi dailies, Hindustan retained its overall numero uno ranking but fell in rating points to sub-500 levels from 2014’s 539 (see table). It wasn’t the only publication to fall from its own mark, and the decline of Navbharat Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala only indicates that their advertising functions did

not match up to their clients’ or media planners’ expectations.

The above Hindi publications, in the above order, with Rajasthan Patrika at rank 6, were rated low on their on marks in terms of all the criteria as well.

One look at the table would make you wonder whether it was the content or the delivery of it went wrong.

As for the regional charts, they were topped by ABP, followed by Malayala Manorama and Eenadu in second and third rank respectively, and their decline across criteria isn’t as sharp as that in Hindi dailies.

Matter of reach

Their media planners and advertisers might be singing a different tune this issue, but talk to the newspaper-wallahs themselves, and you’d be convinced the sector is rising like no other, and the comparison to English almost irks them.

FIVE-POINT PLAN

Often, planning/ buying decisionmakers, metro dwellers, are making decisions in their metro cocoons. So I am not surprised by the English dominance in the barometer.

This is a comfort zone. You have to step out of it and experience the power of the so-called ‘regional media’ to change this mindset Kaacon Sethi |

Chief Marketing Officer, Dainik Bhaskar Group

Shreyams Kumar of Mathrubhumi explains in six simple points what can Hindi and regional print players do to catch up with English counterparts to score higher on BrandOmeter’s parameters:

1

2

3

Be media solution providers.

An integrated force is formidable, assures better deliverables to clients/readers

Organise reader engagements in local geographical markets. These activations must ensure social media integration too, thereby having large participation of the mobile dependent youth.

Get involved / partner with various rural community development programmes, spearheading socio economic reforms and cultural transformation.

Listen to the needs of local communities and gain confidence of the rural mass.

60 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

4 Create highly localised content.

Probably a separate edition covering a geographical area, not exceeding a 10km radius.

Why not!

5 Create highly localised content. Probably a separate edition covering a geographical area, not exceeding a 10km radius.

Why not!

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 61

Print-Hindi & Regional

Ranking (Hindi)

Ranking (Regional)

INNOVATION PUBLICATION

INNOVATION 2015

2014

PUBLICATION

2015

2014

Hindustan

352 485

Ananda Bazaar Patrika

378

400

Dainik Bhaskar

309

369

Malayala Manorama

339

400

Navabharat Times

263

392

Mathrubhumi

287 289

Dainik Jagran

244

381

Eenadu

248

Not Applicable

Amar Ujala

222

280

Daily Thanthi

244

Not Applicable

Ranking (Hindi)

Ranking (Regional) Media Delivery

Media Delivery PUBLICATION

2015

2014

PUBLICATION

2015

2014

Hindustan

438 514

Ananda Bazaar Patrika

395

385

Navabharat Times

351

466

Malayala Manorama

357

382

Dainik Jagran

304

457

Eenadu

357

Not Applicable

Dainik Bhaskar

302

420

Mathrubhumi

333 272

Amar Ujala

260

309

Daily Thanthi

319

Ranking (Hindi)

Not Applicable

Ranking (Regional)

Professionalism

Professionalism

PUBLICATION

2015

2015

2014

Hindustan

518 568

Ananda Bazaar Patrika

430

404

Navabharat Times

427

574

Malayala Manorama

401

418

Dainik Bhaskar

406

449

Eenadu

330

Not Applicable

Dainik Jagran

406

479

Mathrubhumi

330 326

Amar Ujala

336

393

Daily Thanthi

322

62 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

2014

PUBLICATION

Not Applicable

Print-Hindi & Regional

Ranking (Hindi)

Ranking (Regional)

Relationship

Relationship

PUBLICATION

2015

2014

Hindustan

464 590

Navabharat Times

417

Dainik Jagran

2015

2014

Ananda Bazaar Patrika

423

467

579

Malayala Manorama

317

437

399

536

Eenadu

312

Not Applicable

Dainik Bhaskar

391

478

Daily Thanthi

300

Not Applicable

Amar Ujala

312

413

Mathrubhumi

252 362

Ranking (Hindi)

PUBLICATION

Ranking (Regional)

Sales Team Knowledge PUBLICATION

2015

2014

Hindustan

445 547

Navabharat Times

323

Dainik Bhaskar

sales team knowledge 2015

2014

Ananda Bazaar Patrika

380

421

486

Malayala Manorama

350

401

314

444

Mathrubhumi

347 318

Amar Ujala

314

365

Eenadu

323

Not Applicable

Dainik Jagran

309

470

Daily Thanthi

323

Not Applicable

Ranking (Hindi)

PUBLICATION

Ranking (Regional) Servicing Ability

Servicing Ability PUBLICATION

2015

2014

Hindustan

466 562

Navabharat Times

394

Dainik Bhaskar

PUBLICATION

2015

2014

Ananda Bazaar Patrika

453

472

508

Malayala Manorama

397

441

359

455

Mathrubhumi

370 365

Dainik Jagran

338

502

Eenadu

355

Not Applicable

Amar Ujala

277

376

Daily Thanthi

325

Not Applicable

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 63

Print-Hindi & Regional “Dainik Bhaskar is India’s largest circulated newspaper (ABC JJ14) and NOW also declared the world’s fourth largest newspaper (WAN IFRA ’14). We deliver in 14 states through 61 editions. We strive to bring to our readers a reading experience which has earned us their trust and provide advertisers a trusted environment for their messaging,” explains Kaacon Sethi, Chief Marketing Officer of the DB Group.

Would it be time for advertisers to wake up and smell the ‘Unmetro coffee’ as Sethi puts it and for them to open their eyes and mind to the growth story unravelling in these markets?

“That’s where regional media lives – delivering large swathes of audience rich with new found consumerism and the aspiration to indulge. You call this regional!”

Sethi adds.

Out of the first 10 newspapers in the country, nine are regional dailies. However, on revenue front English counterparts have fared well in 2015, due to higher spend by the e-commerce trading sites.

MV Shreyams Kumar | Director, Marketing, Mathrubhumi Group

Pravin Kulkarnii, General Manager (Marketing), Parle Products also agrees on the story: “As an advertiser, I think Hindi newspapers have better reach and people prefer reading Hindi newspapers. English is popular only in metros,” he puts it simply.

The urban-rural valley

We asked Shreyams Kumar, Director – Marketing of Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam newspaper based in Kozhikode, Kerala, and one which has ranked number 4 overall in this issue, about the regional v/s English divide and his response was insightful: “Out of the first 10 newspapers in the country, nine are regional dailies. However, on revenue front English counterparts have fared well in 2015, due to higher spend by the E-commerce trading sites. English dailies, with their huge dependence on the urban market were successful in having an integrated approach for this category and other revenue generating categories too. Money spent in urban was higher and this year spent by FMCG for English dailies were higher,” he said, but added that in his state, all English dailies put together would not cross four lakh copies!

Mathrubhumi has scored well in all categories compared to its scores last year and its Director credits many factors for it. “We revamped the marketing team to adapt to industry requirements with a focused, category-wise market approach - various categories were clubbed into clusters, headed by cluster heads, which spearheaded to reorganise Mathrubhumi Publications as ‘Media Solution Provider,” he mentions.

Of course, the Malayalam publication conducted various on-

64 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Mathrubhumi conducted various on-field activations which helped in creating a stronger bond with readers and advertisers. It has a focused and vibrant print/ newspaper integration with other Mathrubhumi verticals Pravin Kulkarnii |

General Manager (Marketing), Parle Products field activations such as education expos, home and builders expo, consumer expos and musical fests which helped in creating a stronger bond with readers and advertisers. Lastly, they had a “very focused and vibrant print/ newspaper integration with other Mathrubhumi verticals such as magazines, TV, radio, digital and online,” Kumar explained.

The ‘English’ comfort zone

Sethi explains the English dailies’ dominance and influence over media planners/buyers is more about perception, less about reality. “I believe that often planning/buying decisionmakers, metro dwellers are making decisions in their metro cocoons. So I am not surprised by the English dominance in the barometer. This is a comfort zone. You have to step out of it and experience the power of the socalled ‘regional media’ to change this mindset,” she says.

Innovation

COLUMN

Learning from the hot stars Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media

Innovation is an unending cycle. If the pedal push comes from the media, the advertisers will gladly ride on it

I

n times when the media landscape is changing irrevocably and the millions of newly connected Indians are appreciating novel forms of content, it is essential for media entities to keep innovating, not only in what they dish out to consumers but critically, to advertisers as well.

Just having innovative products is only half the battle won. They must be backed by a powerful thoughtprocess that involves advertisers too. 2015 was the year of digital innovations. Even as Netflix threatened to arrive, indigenous start-ups upped the ante and wooed the urban Indian who doesn’t mind paying to stream.

The game-changer in innovation, to my mind, was Hotstar from the Star TV Network. It was just the right product at the right time, in the right context and in the right content framework. With over 800 million mobile subscribers in the country, out of which over 100 million have graduated to smartphones, and with nearly 140 million actually having access to data connectivity, Hotstar found itself just in the right soft spot in the rapidly changing media

scenario. The likes of Netflix, Hooq and Voot are all on the way with varying offerings but Hotstar will remain the pioneer-leader by miles.

Why do I mention Hotstar in BrandOMeter, which is all about print and TV media? Because its lessons are for all. For starters, it is a simple combination of technology and content. The viewer, unlike many of its ‘competitors’ (not really), doesn’t have to struggle, sign-up, log-in, click at five different places to finally arrive at the content. Userfriendliness in navigation, that’s the key. Hotstar’s streaming is seamless even when the data connection is weak. Lesson – innovate your offerings keeping in mind the market environment, you cannot sell fizzy drinks in a place where water is a scarcity!

With its monopoly over cricket and its own menu of the likes of ISL, Pro Kabaddi and the host of shows on GECs and foreign content, Hotstar could have well sat on its giant repository of content, but they chose to invest in original content, such as the AIB show. Lesson – when you

create an innovation so strong, invest in it to make it an independent destination, without resting on your network’s assets.

If you look at all the toppers of innovation in this issue, you’d realise all of them have done the above things right, and more. I’m not surprised that Star Plus, despite its back-and-forth with rivals on TVRs, rates highest on innovation, a mile ahead of Colors, and the distance is even wider between regional topper Eenadu and the second-best, Gemini TV. The Times of India may well be called the gold standard of print innovations, and they have had the solid set-up in relationships and delivery to carry them out and emerge on top, year after year. I’m also not surprised that Star Sports, with its bunch of properties, now gives GECs and other a run for their money. With Sony ESPN in the fray now, expect this survey to hot up next edition!

Well done, team E4M for yet another issue that’s a tell-all on the way we media professionals are.

One request though, digital and mobile is now too huge to be ignored in your next BrandOmeter issue!

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 65

Print-english

top

Lonely at the

It’s apparent from yet another survey why English publications rule over their regional counterparts (despite lagging in readership) – tailormade storytelling

I

n the cluttered print publication scene today, the competition for English publications not only comes from Hindi and regional counterparts but also digital publications in urban markets.

At the same time, we are also living in the era where the chart-toppers Times of India and Hindustan Times are changing the rules of delivering value to advertisers with innovations and top-class servicing.

Gulf after top three

As opposed to last year, our chart toppers this year reach lofty scores in terms of overall points (as well as individual sections such as innovation and servicability), but there is quite a gap after the top three – Times of India, Hindustan Times and The Hindu.

Not only has TOI scored the highest in all criteria, it tops across categories – for a second consecutive year. Which brings us to the question yet again this year – just what gives TOI

66 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Print- english

Overall ranking - english RANK

Publication

2015

2014

1

1000

1000

2

798

787

3

711

790

4

506

Not Applicable

5

479

Not Applicable

6

459

558

7

317

Not Applicable

8

265

Not Applicable

9

213

Not Applicable

10

212

Not Applicable

11

185

Not Applicable

12

167

Not Applicable

13

142

Not Applicable

14

138

Not Applicable

I am overjoyed that TOI has once again been ranked the No. 1 media brand in the country.

TOI operated like a well-oiled machine and delivered sustained quality toreaders, advertisers and agency partners. That in this day and age of digital and electronic disruption, brand TOI still stands head and shoulders above all else shows the quality and credibility we deliver.�

Arunabh Das Sharma | President, Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd

the edge over other players, across categories, in terms of Pitch BrandOmeter judging criteria? Arunabh Das Sharma, President, Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd, first conveys his elation at this result and

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 67

Print-english English News paper INNOVATION Publication

Media Delivery

2015

2014

Publication

2015

2014

Times Of India

1000

1000

The Times of India

954

1000

Hindustan Times

769

737

Hindustan Times

708

786

Hindu

700 734

Hindu

643 769

DNA

438

Economic Times

488

Economic Times

436

DNA

476

Indian Express

382 Not Applicable

Indian Express

458

Not Applicable

Mint

266

Not Applicable

Mint

306

Not Applicable

Hindu Business Line

179

Not Applicable

Hindu Business Line

254

Not Applicable

Telegraph

179

Not Applicable

Mid-Day (Eng)

200

Not Applicable

Statesman

160

Not Applicable

Statesman

177

Not Applicable

Mid-Day (Eng)

158

Not Applicable

Telegraph

157

Not Applicable

Deccan Herald

132

Not Applicable

Mumbai Mirror

131

Not Applicable

New Indian Express

119

Not Applicable

Deccan Herald

121

Not Applicable

Mumbai Mirror

104

Not Applicable

New Indian Express

109

Not Applicable

proceeds to explain: “First of all I am overjoyed that TOI has once again been ranked as the number one media brand in the country.

This is the effort of thousands of people who work almost 24x7 to make it happen. TOI operated like a well-oiled machine and delivers sustained quality to the readers, advertisers and agency partners.

The fact that in this day and age of digital and electronic disruption, brand TOI still stands head and shoulders above all else shows the quality and credibility we deliver,” he says.

Bridging the gulf

Pitch BrandOmeter’s print results

516

Not Applicable

are always intriguing given that fact that India is one of the few markets in the world where print as a sector continues to grow.

And despite the growth rates having slowed down in the recent past, scores of advertisers and media planners swear by the opportunities the media offer.

Herein lies the opportunity and rays of hope for others in the list – Indian Express, DNA, Mint, and Hindu Business Line, which are ranked from five to eight on our charts this year.

“The opportunities that the sector offers are still wonderful and I personally think we as a publication need to focus on

68 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

Not Applicable 527

investing a lot more on our products and research,” says a spokesperson of the bottom five of our list.

Sanjay Mani, Vice-President and National Head, DB Connect had explained this well to E4M in an earlier interview: “Increasingly, brands will move money from traditional vanilla advertising to neatly crafted, integrated storytelling. The better you can help brands tell their stories, the more money you are likely to make,” he had said, highlighting the importance of print ads.

“Clients are taking a lot of interest in the actual creative process of a press ad. They are demanding

Print- english

Professionalism Publication

2015

Relationship 2014

Publication

2015

2014

The Times of India

1000

1000

The Times of India

1000

1000

Hindustan Times

857

816

Hindustan Times

790

837

Hindu

778 835

Hindu

728 832

Economic Times

596

Not Applicable

Indian Express

538

Not Applicable

Indian Express

582

Not Applicable

Economic Times

532

Not Applicable

DNA

468

DNA

450

Mint

365

Not Applicable

Mint

349

Not Applicable

Hindu Business Line

313

Not Applicable

Hindu Business Line

300

Not Applicable

Mid-Day (Eng)

301

Not Applicable

Statesman

246

Not Applicable

Statesman

251

Not Applicable

Mid-Day (Eng)

230

Not Applicable

Deccan Herald

231

Not Applicable

Telegraph

185

Not Applicable

Telegraph

213

Not Applicable

Mumbai Mirror

179

Not Applicable

New Indian Express

187

Not Applicable

Deccan Herald

177

Not Applicable

Mumbai Mirror

173

Not Applicable

New Indian Express

135

Not Applicable

579

626

more engaging communication from their creative agencies. Print campaigns are also being treated as ‘separate’ from the TV campaigns through use of different creative, local idioms, etc.” he had added.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 69

Print-english Servicing Ability Publication

2015

2014

Overall this is a good organisation Publication 2015 2014

The Times of India

1000

1000

The Times of India

1000

1000

Hindustan Times

869

782

Hindustan Times

869

782

Hindu

693 797

Hindu

693 797

Economic Times

503

Not Applicable

Economic Times

503

Not Applicable

Indian Express

501

Not Applicable

Indian Express

501

Not Applicable

DNA

460

574

DNA

460

Mint

335

Not Applicable

Mint

335

Not Applicable

Hindu Business Line

283

Not Applicable

Hindu Business Line

283

Not Applicable

Statesman

240

Not Applicable

Statesman

240

Not Applicable

Telegraph

224

Not Applicable

Telegraph

224

Not Applicable

Mid-Day (Eng)

207

Not Applicable

Mid-Day (Eng)

207

Not Applicable

Deccan Herald

194

Not Applicable

Deccan Herald

194

Not Applicable

Mumbai Mirror

159

Not Applicable

Mumbai Mirror

159

Not Applicable

New Indian Express

152

Not Applicable

New Indian Express

152

Not Applicable

The topper’s mantras

That said, ask the TOI bosses what keeps working for them every year on these factors and the responses are all about keeping it simple yet breaking moulds. Sharma says, “This survey is based on the pillars of innovation, media delivery effectiveness, professionalism of our teams and the relationships they have in the market place.

Those, combined with the knowledge and servicing that our sales team brings onto client accounts is what makes TOI what it is today.”

But probe him further on the process of TOI’s superior delivery, and he responds, “Clients come to us for ideation,

but we are not only open to ideas, we also add value to them and importantly are able to deliver those ideas to the market. We have systems that ensure fairness and transparency and we train our people to carry the values of the organisation forward. Every market facing person has a whole team that works hard to make every deal happen successfully.”

Ultimately, the reason why Times Of India succeeds isn’t rocket science. The publication’s well-oiled machineries keep participating in building their clients’ businesses. Which is a reason why today, hardly any media plan of a major multi-

70 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

574

media advertiser is complete without having three words – Times of India. “I really thank our clients and agency partners for their support and congratulate the team for this honour,” Sharma signs off.

As 2016’s intriguing printdigital landscapes roll out, it is important to understand that advertisers have begun to look at digital media a lot more seriously and there is momentum building up in favour of integrated solutions. For the laggards of our list, it would be a good idea to focus on keeping the medium relevant and not do anything that will alienate the advertisers.

COLUMN

Sales Team Knowledge

Sales is in the details Navin Khemka

Managing Partner (North, East) and new Biz head, Maxus

Excelling on the sales front in media is a function of one simple mantra – the more you know, the more you sell!

G

ood sales people know what they sell, and sell what they know. When it comes to salesperson knowledge, it is critical that they know about the media industry, their client’s needs and their company’s offering to be able to sell. Without this knowledge, they cannot ask the right questions to understand the need gap nor match the right media options for agencies and clients.

In fact, I have also observed that inefficient or ill-informed salespersons cannot even position the value of their media as superior to other options available to agencies and clients, which is a big pitfall.

If either or all the above is not done, sales may still happen but there will definitely be dips and missed opportunities, something today’s cut-throat environment does not take kindly to.

Media sales over the past two decades have evolved. With the proliferation of media choices, gone are the days when a sales team could sit tight in their offices and only service release orders from agencies.

It’s safe to say that every media alternative is replaceable

today (except for perhaps good ol’ cricket!) and there are opportunities across media, platforms and screens that are being consumed by the same consumer.

The consumer can be reached in more ways than one and that too, effectively. This makes the sales person’s job more challenging. It need to deliver not just a good pitch but do so with complete knowhow of the industry, its trends and a keen sense of these ‘alternatives.’

Any media house today is able to grow and show profits thanks to a sales team that delivers.

I am a firm believer of the old

saying, ‘God is in the details’, so in this reference I would say ‘the more you know, the more you sell.’ This is critical from three aspects: 1) Media Environment: While most sales people have knowledge of what they are selling but are sometimes unaware of what their competitive set of channels and/or publications are driving.

This is critical as clients are eventually going to buy the best for their brands and it could be a competitive media offering.

2) Relevance: It is critical for them to also have a fair understand of the business challenges - their key markets, challenges - that the brand is facing. There is no point serving me a cocktail if I am a tee teetotaller!

3) Customisation: The ability to map media solutions to my business challenges. Only then would I be interested in a conversation that is beyond rates and commodity.

To sum up, best-in-class media companies will have fluent salespeople. If you can build this kind of sales knowledge within your team, you can experience best-inclass sales results. I’ll still repeat, the more you know, the more you sell!

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 71

RADIO

The wave will

rise Radio channels saw an overall dip in scores from last year, but e-commerce start-ups continued to spend their monies on the medium

72 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

RADIO

P

rint reams and radio waves aren’t really chalk and cheese when compared to TV. Because although the number of advertisers and sheer volume of inventory of television is larger than print and radio, all three are still viable alternatives for the media planner and advertisers to reach their audience, which is often tuned in to multiple media through the day.

In 2015, retail, particularly fashion and clothing was the most advertised product group across the three mediums. Lifestyle Int. Pvt Ltd, increased its spends in radio, but not more than Shoppers Stop, which was a big advertiser on the airwaves.

Radio Stations – Overall RANK

Channel

2015

2014

1.

570

710

2.

516

563

3.

485

543

4.

479

521

5.

369

222

6.

358

458

7.

349

Not Applicable

8.

315

281

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 73

RADIO Radio as a category is growing in leaps and bounds in popularity – even the Prime Minister is using the medium to reach out to the country with his Mann Ki Baat broadcasts!

Dip in scores

That said, riding on the sunshine advertisers does not really mean all is shiny on the advertising front for radio. Our survey has thrown up nearly the same list as 2014, but with the notable exception of lower scores.

Radio Mirchi still tops, but takes a battering of 140 points over its 2014 score of 710, and so do the other two from the top three, Radio City and Red FM. The only exception here is Tamil

GG Jayanta |

National Marketing Head at Radio Mirchi

Radio Stations INNOVATION

Media delivery

CHANNEL

2015

2014

CHANNEL

2015

2014

Radio Mirchi

499

692

Radio Mirchi

605

731

Radio City

486

545

Radio City

534

583

Red FM

459

502

Big FM

521

553

Big FM

432

478

Red FM

464

578

Fever FM

337

391

Suryan FM

385

202

Radio One 94.3

327

Not Applicable

Radio One 94.3

357

Not Applicable

Suryan FM

318

178

Fever FM

355

460

My FM

262

253

My FM

327

246

Professionalism

Relationship

CHANNEL

2015

2014

CHANNEL

2015

2014

Radio Mirchi

529

738

Radio Mirchi

573

739

Radio City

496

591

Radio City

512

579

Red FM

460

565

Red FM

469

546

Big FM

451

504

Big FM

459

547

Suryan FM

343

224

Suryan FM

357

262

Fever FM

310

462

Fever FM

343

515

Radio One 94.3

292

Not Applicable

Radio One 94.3

316

Not Applicable

My FM

282

296

My FM

314

298

74 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

RADIO Radio Stations Sales team knowledge CHANNEL

Servicing Ability

2015

2014

CHANNEL

2015

2014

My FM

329

280

Radio Mirchi

693

666

Suryan FM

357

220

Red FM

589

539

Fever FM

369

470

Radio City

587

531

Radio One 94.3

369

Not Applicable

Big FM

543

533

Big FM

491

512

Suryan FM

496

269

Radio City

503

547

Fever FM

469

472

Red FM

503

530

Radio One 94.3

462

Not Applicable

Radio Mirchi

567

694

My FM

412

336

Nadu’s Suryan FM, of the Sun Group, which rises by well over 100 points from its last score of 222. Secondly, Radio One, the only station playing international music makes an entry in the top list, which is a telling factor on how univeral content is being lapped up.

Action after auction

Phase three auctions, heralded by many as a boost to the industry, will ensure 2016 is an action-packed year in radio and the scores should spike again.

“The Phase III (auctions) have given a new fillip to radio and the coming year will see more action.

Radio as a category is growing leaps and bounds in popularity – witness even the Prime Minister is using the medium to reach out to the country with his Mann Ki Baat broadcasts!” offers GG Jayanta, National Marketing Head at Radio Mirchi.

Dissecting the dip

Mann Ki Baat may have brought much needed visibility to the medium, but the advertisers and

Overall this is a good organisation

The trend of nearly ‘exclusive’ campaigns that started first with the retail segment, real estate in particular, followed by government & elections, made radio noticed by all. The secret behind the success of a radio channel lies in its capability to feel the pulse of the audience through continuous audience research “ Nisha Narayanan | COO, Red FM

CHANNEL

2015

Radio Mirchi

48

Radio City

42

Big FM

38

Red FM

38

Fever FM

31

Suryan FM

29

My FM

25

Radio One 94.3

23

planners are yet to be convinced of the story that radio is now new and improved.

Last year’s toppers have under-performed across all factors this year, and the dip in scores might be because of 2014’s elections, experts feel.

Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM gives us a deeper perspective.

“Radio has been growing steadily and consistently, however the trend of nearly ‘exclusive’

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 75

RADIO campaigns that started first with retail segment, real estate in particular, followed by government & elections, made radio noticed by all. The secret behind the success of a radio channel lies in its capability to feel the pulse of audience through continuous audience research and to design and modify programme content including presentation accordingly. If we look at the trend over 2014 -15, the former year was completely dominated by news, infotainment and programming around General Elections and politics at large.

This resulted into elevating listenership who chose to switch to radio channels for real time updates. In 2015, we grew with a 12-15 per cent YoY growth rate.

We have an optimistic outlook for 2016 as we see lot more growth in coming this year when most of

the new frequencies auctioned will become operational fully.

Expansion in tier-2 & 3 cities is posing embryonic opportunities for the industry during the coming years,” she says.

Radio is not able to garner traction for advertisers. The reach of the medium hasn’t increased; only a limited segment are listening to radio” Pravin Kulkarnii | General Manager (Marketing), Parle Products

76 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

E-commerce the top spender In 2015, overall a good year in terms of advertising on radio, the ad pie in metro markets reached up to 6-8 per cent. In smaller markets, it is evolving gradually.

The overall advertising, especially spending in the festive seasons was 15-20 per cent higher than last year.

Even though Pravin Kulkarnii, General Manager (Marketing), Parle Products feels ‘Radio is not able to do traction for advertisers’ and ‘the reach of the medium hasn’t increased, only a limited segment are listening to radio,’ those in the medium are bullish.

Jayanta mentions clearly that it was e-commerce that was the flavour of the year across all categories at Mirchi, and third-ranker Red FM’s Narayanan too agrees. “Off late, E-commerce has emerged as a strong contributor in spurring the revenue share of Indian radio. The aggressive communication from start ups specially from Dotcom companies gave an extra boost to advertising on RED FM,” she reports.

These new-economy players such as OLX, Jabong, Flipkart, Grofers, PayTM, PayUMoney, Urbanclap, Bla Bla Car and Snapdeal and many more such brands chose the toppers of this year’s list as their preferred choice for advertising.

Apart from e-commerce, consumer goods products, pure retail, BFSI and auto majors too spent a big amount on advertising, the experts told us.

RADIO

‘For Radio City, 2015 was a year focused on growth’ Abraham Thomas CEO, Radio City 91.1 FM

H

ow did the Radio category, as a whole, perform last year?

Phase III of the radio auctions was the high point that defines the radio industry for 2015. Revenues generated for the government were in the vicinity of Rs 3,000 crore for the same. Put together, the Q1 TRAI report for 2016 shows that ad revenues and rates increased for both operators, and we’d say it was a year focused on growth. Tier 2 & 3 markets have opened up opportunities for players and versatility in offering new programming will be one of the key focal areas going forward, basis last year’s performance and ecosystem growth curve.

How would you assess last year’s performance of Radio City?

We’ve been market leaders across multiple geographies for more than 450 weeks now, and with our consolidation of Radio Mantra with Radio City as well as our acquisition of 11 new markets in Phase III, we will now focus on consolidation and innovation. PlanetRadiocity. com continues to grow and we have been able to provide content that makes our listeners relate to us, thereby strengthening brand loyalty. Given that change is permanent, our effort was, is and will be on coming up with fresh, listener-focused content. With Rag Rag Mein Daude City, our new brand campaign, we look to reiterate our position as a network that understand listeners, their thoughts, their passions, their emotions better.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 77

Professionalism

COLUMN

Only pros, no cons Rajendra Khare

Founder of SureWaves MediaTech

To achieve professionalism in media advertising spends, the medium must set up a clear eco-system which involves both convention and technology

F

or many advertisers, media is one of the biggest operational cost heads apart from manufacturing or infrastructure costs. The mandate of media spends is a great responsibility which rests on the shoulders of the media professional.

A few interesting observations emerge after we look at the results related to professionalism in this BrandOmeter survey. Do the high stakes or high ratings help in improving the perception or help teams rise to the occasion?

Looking at the rise of Star Sports, which handled the World Cup and Set Max which handles the IPL this certainly seems so.

Does the perception of the team’s professionalism take a hit with reduction in ratings? Looking at Sony TV’s ranking and score this year compared to last, it seems so as well. While most of the regional or vernacular media are in the lower half, it is heartening to see Eenadu TV rubbing shoulders right at the top with Star Plus and Hindustan Times. However, the same cannot be said for other vernacular dailies and regional channels.

I see all the TV/radio channels and newspapers that have topped

the survey have a great emphasis on technology, ensuring accountability for the clients as well as proactive thinking on their part to grow their client’s business, not just their own business. There should be consultative selling backed up with technology.

How can the media and marketing personnel create a professional ecosystem? For starters, ensure that there are well-defined processes and criteria for accountability in spends. In the absence of these and pricing norms, the chances of advertiser’s objectives not being fulfilled are quite high. Hence, organisations need to establish procedures and systems to develop trusted business partners within the eco-system to prevent potential leakages. It is the responsibility of the top leadership team to ensure these internal checks and balances are adhered to, for spends no matter how small, and they are continuously reviewed.

Secondly, use technology to promote transparency and for informed risk taking. Media professionals need to constantly seek new ways of growth for the client. They would have to look at, and evaluate, the nontraditional options. The impact of the non-traditional media

78 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

or delivering media needs to be understood through a series of proper evaluations. Often, the media agency personnel are hesitant to explore new options for the client as they feel that in case the new options do not work out, the blame will fall on them.

No conventional ways of delivering audiences or consumers should be brushed under the carpet, just because they do not fall under the ‘approved’ list. While this may appear to be in contradiction to the first point mentioned above, technology can plug the gaps by helping in creating isolated experiments. It is critical for the media planners and buyers to work along with the advertiser as well as the non-traditional media vehicle to understand and take an informed risk.

We, at SureWaves, have built a professional network of over 530 local cable channels bringing the ‘untapped‘ local cable channel audiences to the advertisers in an accountable and transparent manner. In some ways, local cable channel networks are similar two regional media that their perception on professionalism is low. However, with this end-to-end technology platform, their status on professional delivery to the advertisers has been elevated and, in some ways, is ahead of the curve.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 79

Media Delivery

COLUMN

Deliver us from evil Anita Nayyar CEO, Havas Media Group, India & South Asia

This year’s top media deliverers prove how critical it is to be strong in operating markets

M

edia Delivery’, now here’s an attribute that we do not see extolled in press with reams written on it or it being worthy as an interview subject. On the other hand, its counterpart ‘innovation’ is not only the darling of the media and ad world but also of their consumers. That said, ‘media delivery,’ for those who know and understand it, forms and will keep forming the core foundation of the media and adverting sectors in any market.

The historic publication, the top-reach channel, the most optimized media plan, the most impactful scheduling - all these factors do not matter if at the end of the day the client does not get most of what you promised – media delivery; and consistently at that.

As we have seen before, even today the client/brand needs ‘delivery’ for every single spot and campaign. This is where the leading media organisations stand out, make the difference between the good ones and the truly better ones.

The latter ones have strong structures and comprise competent people, have sufficient technology to create and execute optimum and tailored packages, rigorously follow agreed schedules and have substantial bases in their operating markets influencing the audience into loyalty to sit back and consume their ‘brand’ content.

Without delivery, there would be chaos and that is the primary reason of loss of a client, a huge setback in today’s

80 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com

competitive market. Whether you are a media agency planning to deliver a brand plan or you are the media partner offering the vehicle to deliver that plan, the final result is always ‘delivery’.

At the risk of sounding academic, let me reiterate to all the peripheral industry people that reach, GRP, CPRP, CPT, TVT, position, credit titles, promo tags, sponsorships, RJ mentions at all – are all forms of delivery. Undermine any of these at your own caution!

The top scorers for this year have been: TOI, Hindustan Times, Ananda Bazaar Patrika in print; and Star Plus, Eenadu TV, ABP News, Sony MAX, Star Sports, Discovery in TV. As for radio, we have Radio Mirchi.

Anyone who has worked with either of the above, you’d know that each of these is a leading media organisation only because they keep to their schedule and are strong in their operating markets.

This year’s top names have also been proactive in attitude, receptive to India’s youth and India’s consumption of media.

They understand the necessity of content and updating content – all factors drawing a loyal customer base.

Most importantly, they are competitive in their offering, providing value and hence and furthermore, these channels ‘deliver’, making for successful business for everyone.

The bottomline? Awareness of delivering to the audience through content across markets is the most winning combination.

www.pitchonnet.com | April 201 6 | Pitch | 81

82 | Pitch | April 2016 | www.pitchonnet.com