Lockdown driving viewership for English movie channels but is it helping ad revenues?
Although the BARC-Nielsen report states a growth of 5% in ad volumes for the entire movie genre, experts say the ad rates are at an all-time low
Television consumption has been peaking since the COVID-19 lockdown came into place.
The disruption has not only boosted TV viewership but has also helped certain genres to grow post the impact of NTO.
One such genre has been the English movies that was losing both viewership and revenue after implementation of the NTO regime. As per the FICCI-EY M&E Report for 2019, the English movie channel genre was among those worst hit by the new tariff rule. The genre had witnessed a drop of 37% in advertising revenue because of the assumption that English and lifestyle audiences had moved away to relatively more affordable OTT products.
Leaving this behind, data for Week 13 provided by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India shows that the total TV growth over the last week has been driven by the movie channels. Viewers are spending more than an hour on movie channels and this has grown week-on-week.
Interestingly, this growth has been achieved across languages. While the movie genre has grown 77% in Week 13, the English channels have shown a growth of 79%.
However, despite the growth in viewership the genre has not been reflecting a similar trend in terms of advertising revenue. Although the BARC-Nielsen report states a growth of 5% in ad volumes for the entire movie genre, experts say the ad rates are at an all-time low.
Speaking on the viewership growth for the genre, Vivek Srivastava, President - Strategy, Times Network shared, “Post NTO, there was a significant drop in viewership for several players. Hence, it is heartening to see that in this period the entire genre has been looking healthy in terms of viewership patterns - not just prime time but also the non-prime time slots have gained a lot in viewership.”
With the stay-at-home advisory in place, the network has been broadcasting blockbuster Hollywood movies like The Avengers, Thor Ragnarok, Thor The Dark World, Spider Man and Creed2.
Sony Pix too has been showcasing successful franchises like Jurassic Park, Fast & Furious, Mummy, Wonder Woman, Batman vs Superman, Justice League, Harry Potter, Secret Life of Pets, Despicable Me among others, thus ensuring ample entertainment for viewers across all age groups.
Tushar Shah, Business Head, English Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India, says: “Sony Pix was the fastest growing channel in the English Movies category in FY20 with 94% growth (from Mar’19 to Mar’20). We also have on our library the popular movie Contagion which has caught everyone’s attention and is trending at the moment. Being true to our brand promise of ‘Stay Amazed’, we continue to offer our viewers a wholesome Hollywood experience.”
With other out-of-home entertainment avenues such as malls and movie theatres closed, viewers have naturally turned towards movie channels, says Kartik Mahadev, Business Head, Premium Channels, ZEEL. They have also gone back to watching conversational shows and sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory.
“We have witnessed a significant uptick across big cities with audiences continuing to consume English entertainment through the day. Interestingly, in week 13 (week after full lockdown announcement) the English Movies HD category grew by 71% reaching an ‘all-time high’ and the English Movies SD genre saw a 39% growth. Tactical changes in our programming and a specially curated line-up included properties such as Flix Superheroes, Kids Flix on our Hollywood blockbuster movie channel &flix and a more nuanced selection of movies under ‘The Bookmarked Collection’ was curated on &PrivéHD. With upcoming properties such as the Flix Movie League, we are certain our audience will be riveted to engaging content from the comfort and safety of their homes.”
Even though all the broadcasters are putting their best foot forward, advertisers seem to be still shying away. Media planners believe that the ad rates during this lockdown period will be much lower than that witnessed after the implementation of NTO last year. The ad rates for the English movie channels has been estimated between Rs 1000- 2000 per 10-sec, as per sources.
Presenting another side of the story was Karan Taurani, VP, Research Analyst (Media), Elara Capital: “People were anyway watching movies online and due to lockdown it has increased further. The disadvantage with the English movie channel is that there is no such content that is available exclusively to them unlike Hindi GEC content, which is not available on other platforms and is played on TV first. Even if there is a minimal spike in the genre, it is just a near-term phenomenon.”
In terms of ad revenues, Taurani said: “Even if the viewership is high it is not going to translate into advertising money nor is it going to bring a structural change for the genre.”
Elaborating further on this was Srivastava. “We are seeing advertising from BFSI, FMCG, e-commerce, consumer durables and some brands in the automobile category.” However, there are some sectors which have been heavily impacted by COVID-19 - such as travel and hospitality - and they have stopped advertising.
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Gauranga Das Prabhu to be part of enba jury panel
Prabhu is an author, spiritual leader, inspirational speaker and member of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 21, 2023 8:57 AM | 2 min read
Gauranga Das Prabhu, an author, spiritual leader & inspirational speaker, has joined the exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (enba) jury panel. Das, a graduate from IIT Bombay, is a member of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission. He is actively involved in enhancing leadership effectiveness and governance of temples and communities globally.
Owing to his expertise in presenting vedic knowledge in a contemporary and enticing way, he has been a part of TEDx events and corporates like Intel, Salesforce, Google etc. He is the director of ISKCON’s Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV), founded by Radhanath Swami Maharaj. The GEV has won several awards, including United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Award in 2017.
He has enabled GEV’s accreditation with multiple United Nation bodies like UNEP, UNCCD, ECOSOC and CBD. On behalf of ISKCON, he is UNEP’s Faith for Earth Counsellor.
enba was formulated by the exchange4media group in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news. The awards recognise and honour industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India. This year, enba is in its 15th edition. The jury will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat and former Election Commissioner of India.
In the last editions, the enba jury was led by Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, SY Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.
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Longest-ever DD Free Dish auction gives Prasar Bharati Rs 1069 crore
The average price per slot stands at Rs 16.5 crore
By Sonam Saini | Mar 21, 2023 8:49 AM | 3 min read
Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has mopped up Rs 1069.60 crore from the e-auction of 65 MPEG-2 slots on DD Free Dish. The broadcaster's total revenue has seen a 66 per cent jump compared to last year's auction.
On the last day of the auction on Monday, seven slots were sold, with the highest bid of Rs 18.7 crore coming from Bflix. Other channels that secured the slots on the last day were Enterr10 (Rs 17 crore), GNT (Rs 17.9 crore), India TV (Rs 18.65 crore), Bharat 24 (Rs 17.15 crore), ABZY Cool (Rs 16 crore) and Sun Marathi (Rs 18.5 crore).
This is the first time in the history of DD Free Dish auction that the process went on for eight days. The auction was conducted over the weekend as well.
The auction saw participation of broadcasters from different genres. However, the big four networks' Hindi general entertainment channels Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal and Colors Rishtey stayed out of the auction.
"The revenue could have gone up if these four channels had participated," said industry sources.
The average price per slot this year stands at Rs 16.5 crore.
In the Bucket A+ category, which comprises Hindi GECs, 11 slots were sold for Rs 189.65 crore.
Last year, there were six slots in this category which were sold for Rs 91.1 crore. The highest bid in this genre was made by The Q India for Rs 17.9 crore. Other channels that bagged the slots were Dangal, Shemaroo TV, Manoranjan Grand, Manoranjan TV, Big Magic, Shemaroo Umang, Nazara, Dangal 2, Ishara TV and Shemaroo Ashirwad. The base price for this category last year was Rs 15 crore.
Under the Bucket A (movie channels), 19 slots were sold for Rs 329.55 crore this year. The highest bid in this category was made by Zee Anmol Cinema for Rs 24.05 crore. In fact this was the highest price ever paid for a movie channel slot in the history of DD Free Dish auction. Last year, 16 slots were sold for a total of Rs 166.55 crore in this category.
Under Bucket B, which comprises (music Hindi channels, sports, and all channels of Bhojpuri languages), 12 channels were sold for Rs 206.85 crore. The highest bid in this category was by Zee Biskope for Rs 22.1 crore. The lowest bid in the music genre was made by 9XM for Rs 15.2 crore.
Sources said, “The best bid came from 9XM, a music channel. They strategically waited for their turn and took a slot at Rs 15.2 crore, which is well below the average price paid for the other six music channel slots.”
Under Bucket C (Hindi news channels), 12 channels secured slots for Rs 199.1 crore in this year's auction. News18 India paid the highest price for the first slot at Rs 19.85 crore. Other channels that secured slots were Aaj Tak, TV9 Bharatvarsh, R Bharat, Zee News, ABP News, NDTV India, News Nation, Times Now Navbharat, Bharat 24, India TV and GNT.
In the 2022 e-auction, the pubcaster earned Rs 120 crore from the sale of 14 slots in this category.
Under Bucket D (all other remaining genre of Hindi, devotional channels, all genre of marathi, Punjabi and Urdu channels and news english channels), 10 slots sold out for Rs 144.45 crore. At Rs 18.5 crore, the top bidder in this category was Sun Marathi. Under Bucket R1 only one channel, Popular TV, bagged the slot for Rs 3.05 crore.
Compared to 2023, in 2022, the pubcaster earned Rs 645 crore from the allotment of 59 MPEG-2 slots.
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FreeDish e-auction ends, Prasar Bharati earns Rs 1073 crore from 65 slots
On the last day on Monday, seven slots were auctioned. The highest bid came from Bflix
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 20, 2023 6:43 PM | 1 min read
Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has mopped up Rs 1073 crore from the e-auction of 65 MPEG-2 slots on DD Free Dish.
On the last day of the auction on Monday, seven slots were sold, with the highest bid of Rs 18.7 crore coming from Bflix. Other channels that secured the slots on the last day were Enterr10 (Rs 17 crore), GNT (Rs 17.9 crore), India TV (Rs 18.65 crore), Bharat 24 (Rs 17.15 crore), ABZY Cool (Rs 16 crore) and Sun Marathi (Rs 18.5 crore).
This is the first time in the history of DD Free Dish auction that the process went on for eight days. In fact, the auction was conducted over the weekend as well.
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enba: Prasanth Kumar joins jury panel
Kumar is the CEO of GroupM-South Asia
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 20, 2023 8:19 AM | 1 min read
Prasanth Kumar, CEO - GroupM South Asia, has joined the exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA) jury panel. Kumar, popularly known as PK, has over 25 years of industry experience.
Before joining GroupM, Kumar was associated with companies like Pepsi, The Hindu, The Media Edge & McCann Erickson.
Kumar is currently President of AAAI for the 2022-23 term.
The exchange4media Group formulated enba in 2008 with the sole objective of recognizing the best in television news. The awards recognise and acknowledge industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India. This year, ENBA is in its 15th edition. The grand jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat and former Election Commissioner of India.
In the previous editions, the enba jury was led by Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, SY Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-Chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.
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Free Dish e-auction: 25 channels pick up slots in rounds 2 & 3
According to sources, the pubcaster has mopped up approximately Rs 409 crore in these two rounds; bidding for remaining rounds to continue on March 20
By Sonam Saini | Mar 20, 2023 8:01 AM | 2 min read
Prasar Bharati continued the e-auction for vacant MPEG-2 slots on DD Free Dish on the weekend with 25 channels picking up slots in rounds 2 and 3.
The starting receive prices for each round were Rs 16 crore and Rs 13 crore, respectively.
While the buckets eligible for bidding in round 2 were A+, A, B, C, D and R1, round 3 saw bidding for buckets A, B, C, D and R1.
According to industry sources, the pubcaster has mopped up approximately Rs 409 crore in these two rounds.
The channels that secured slots in round 2 were Sony Wah (Rs 20.25 crore), Star Gold Thrill (Rs 17.85 crore), Colors Cineplex Bollywood (Rs 17.5 crore), Shemaroo Ashirwad (Rs 17 crore), Dangal 2 (Rs 16.8 crore), Shemaroo Umang (Rs 16.65 crore), Nazara (Rs 16.6 crore), Manoranjan Prime (Rs 16.7 crore), Goldmine Bollywood (Rs 16.7 crore), Ishara (Rs 16.75 crore), Goldmines (Rs 16.9 crore) and B4U Music (Rs 17.05 crore).
The channels that picked up slots in round 3 were Showbox (Rs 17.05 crore), Dil Se (Rs 17.05 crore), Filmachi (Rs 16.7 crore), Goldmines (Rs 15 crore), Aastha Channel (Rs 15.05 crore), Times Navbharat (Rs 15.15 crore), another slot by Goldmines (Rs 15.35 crore), B4U Bhojpuri (Rs 15.05 crore), Bhojpuri Cinema (Rs 15.1 crore), News Nation (Rs 15.05 crore), Aaj Tak (Rs 15.1 crore), 9XM (Rs 15.2 crore) and Movie Plus (Rs 15.2 crore).
In round 1, 33 channels bought slots for over Rs 538 crore.
The pubcaster has so far earned around Rs 947 crore from the e-auction. The remaining rounds (i.e. rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7) will go up for bidding on March 20.
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Madan Bahal joins enba jury panel
Bahal is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 18, 2023 8:30 AM | 1 min read
Madan Bahal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of public relations firm - Adfactors PR, has joined the exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA) jury panel. Over the past 25 years, Bahal has served as a lead communication counsel in many of the milestone events of Corporate India, including fundraises, M&As, disputes, litigations, issues, and crises.
Bahal is known for providing leadership to the Indian PR industry during major events such as the global financial meltdown in 2008, and the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also a member of the governing council of The Yoga Institute, Mumbai – the world's oldest body of organised yoga teaching.
In September 2022, the Arthur W. Page Society inducted Bahal into its Hall of Fame. In October 2020, PRovoke recognised his firm Adfactors PR as one of the seven global agencies of the decade.
enba was formulated by the exchange4media Group in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and for rewarding industry leaders who have shaped the future of television broadcasting in India. This year, enba is in its 15th edition, and the jury will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat and former Election Commissioner of India.
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Free Dish e-auction: 7 slots of Bucket D sold out for over Rs 79 cr
Zee Chitramandir, Zee Punjabi, Fakt Marathi, Shemaroo MarathiBana, Manoranjan Movies, Sanskar TV and Sun Marathi picked up the slots
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 18, 2023 7:50 AM | 1 min read
Prasar Bharati has mopped up over Rs 79 crore from the sale of seven slots under Bucket D of the DD Free Dish e-auction.
This bucket comprises all other remaining genres of Hindi, Devotional/ Spiritual/Ayush, all genres of Marathi, Punjabi and Urdu channels and news and current affairs (English) channels. The base price was Rs 6 crore.
Sources close to the development confirmed six channels that picked up the slots were Zee Chitramandir (Rs 13.40 crore), Zee Punjabi (Rs 12.45 crore), Fakt Marathi (Rs 12.65 crore), Shemaroo MarathiBana (Rs 13 crore), Manoranjan Movies for Rs (13.4 crore), Sanskar TV (Rs 14.6 crore) and Sun Marathi.
Bucket D has eight slots, out of which seven have been sold out. Bidding for the eighth slot will continue today.
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