There is high support & goodwill to ensure BARC currency is respected: Sunil Lulla
Lulla, CEO of BARC India, addresses key topics such as TV viewership in the lockdown, the impact of data blackout period on the news genre and meter tampering
Sunil Lulla, CEO of BARC India, asserts that TV will continue to remain the most effective medium to reach people across the country. He articulates the trends in TV viewership during the COVID pandemic and gives us the lowdown on what has been a great season for the IPL in terms of viewership. Lulla also maintains that the recent incidents involving tampering of meters have strengthened the resolve of all stakeholders to come together to add to growing the process and rigour BARC deploys.
- How has the second half of the year been in terms of television viewership as compared to the first half?
Television continues to be the most effective medium to reach people across the country. H1 2020 experienced never-ever-before like lockdown, due to COVID-19. Audiences spent significantly more time viewing television, with viewing peaking to record levels, like never before. In the period of end March 2020 to early June 2020, with schools shut, the workplace shut, the marketplace shut, significant of hours during, ‘Non-Prime time’, 0600 hours to 1800 hours were spent on television. Week 1-26, 2020 witnessed a significant increase of 13.7% in NPT as compared to the first half of 2019. Primetime viewership grew by 3.6% in the first half of 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019. Genres like Movies, News and Kids benefitted in the H1 2020.
India initiated the first phase of unlock in March and gradually from July to September, we have experienced the opening up of transport, work-places and modest recreation. As audiences started re-gearing for many of their activities Pre-COVID, time in front of the Television reduced.
In the second half – H2 2020 of the year, from week 27-43, 2020, while Prime Time grew by 16.2%, Non-Prime Time grew by 24.3% as compared to the same period in 2019. As of week 46, Genre share for Movies is 23% which is at the same level as Pre-COVID while Genre share for GEC is 56%, up from 52% Pre-COVID.
2. During the lockdown period, we have seen news genres growing the most as compared to the GECs. What is the scenario now? Which are the key genres driving viewership growth?
Let’s answer the news genre first – key points – in week 13, 14 news viewing increased to 21% and came down to 14/15% only in June / July and is now lower. The increase was due to NPT viewing, more viewers in % i.e not there in 2019 – we have enough snippets of news from our Edition series too. News viewing is now back to 8-9%. Put the other genres as they stand now (some of it is below) – viewing from megacities for news grew/ viewing grew from markets.
During the lockdown, considering the lack of original programming, broadcasters brought back classics such as Mahabharat and Ramayana. Ramayana week 46 data GEC at 56% > pre COVID; News at 7% = pre COVID; Movies at 23% = pre COVID. Kids at 7.1% > pre-COVID that dominated TV screens and mythological shows clearly were the winners. Given the pandemic, news consumption also increased as viewers tuned in to news channels to stay abreast on the situation in the country as well as their state. The genre grew from 7% to 21% during the lockdown and is now back to 7% as unlock was implemented.
With original programming making a comeback, primetime viewership too increased. In addition to this, viewership for kids’ genre has seen growth from – 6.6 pre-COVID to 6.7 in Week 12 to 7.1 in Week 46. Overall, the number of unique viewers and average time spent on TV have increased.
3. BARC data on IPL clearly indicates this season is better than the last one in terms of viewership. Can you share some interesting data points from IPL this year? Or viewership/ ad volume trends which are different this year?
IPL-13 surpassed the viewership of IPL 12 by 23% with a total viewership of 400bn viewing minutes as compared to 326bn viewing minutes. Average Viewership per match too increased by 23%. A total of 405 mn viewers watched the series this year.
The opening match of IPL13 registered 11.2bn viewing minutes, a staggering growth of 65% over the previous edition. Average impressions have seen a growth of 29% with 52mn average impressions versus 40.3mn average impressions the previous year. The reach for the opening match seen 21% growth versus the previous year.
On the advertising front, there was a 4% increase in ad volumes for channels that were common to the 2019 and 2020 season. While the top five sectors were almost the same, new sectors were seen advertising this year. The opening match of Mumbai Indians versus the Chennai Super Kings was the most viewed opening match as compared to IPL-12 and IPL-11. With 11.2 billion viewing minutes, viewership of the opening match was up by a mammoth 65% as compared to the opening match in IPL-12. MI vs CSK match also witnessed 158 million unique viewers tuning in to watch the match a 21% growth as compared to the previous year. 106mn unique viewers watched the first six weeks of IPL, a growth of 10% from 96 Mn in IPL-12. Average Time Spent too went up by 13% in the first six weeks from 36:22 minutes to 41:15 minutes.
4. How do you think the data blackout period will impact business for news channels and the overall industry? Can you take us through the steps that are being followed during this period?
In the light of the recent developments, BARC Board had proposed that it’s Technical Committee (Tech Comm) review and augment the current standards of measuring and reporting the data of niche genres, to improve their statistical robustness and to significantly reduce the incentive for infiltration of panel homes. The Technical Committee is actively collaborating with the industry and experts as well on Quality Data Reporting Standards, for Niche, including News.
5. There were talks in the earlier part of the year of increasing the number of Bar-o-meters. What according to you is the long-term solution against tampering of BARC meters? Can Return Path Data solve the problem?
Due to lockdown and COVID-19, expansion of the panel was temporarily paused. We have initiated expansion and are progressing across markets. BARC encourages self-regulation, which is in the code and the contract with subscribers. The solution lies in adherence to the spirit and the word of the code and the signed end-user license agreement (EULA).
6. BARC is an important body for the entire industry. How did all the stakeholders respond to the recent case?
BARC provides the data on which advertising is monetised by channels and paid for by advertisers, basis planning and buying undertaken by the channels. There is very high support and goodwill to ensure the currency continues to be respected and be stable. These incidents make all stakeholders come together to add to growing the process and rigour BARC deploys on behalf of the industry.
7. There is little clarity on whether BARC will release the data for the restricted period towards the end of 12 weeks or will it be a complete blackout?
The Tech Comm is considering all aspects of Data Quality Reporting and will consider the same.
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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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Free Dish e-auction: ABP News picks up 6th slot for Rs 17 cr
The six slots under Bucket C category have been secured by News18, Republic Bharat, TV9, Zee News, NDTV and ABP News
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 17, 2023 12:23 PM | 1 min read
ABP Network has picked the last slot on DD Free Dish. According to sources, ABP News secured the last slot on DD FreeDish for Rs 17.10 crore.
Under Bucket C, which comprises news and current affairs (Hindi) channels, News18, Republic Bharat, TV9, Zee News, NDTV and ABP News bagged the slots. The base price for the bucket was Rs 7 crore.
Prasar Bharati has now made Rs103.15 crore from the six slots under Bucket C.
The highest price paid in this category was Rs 19.85 crore.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, News18 bought the first slot for Rs 19.85 crore, Republic Bharat secured the second one for Rs 16.55 crore, TV9 took the third slot for Rs 14.55 crore, Zee News bought the fourth slot for Rs 15.5 crore and NDTV bought the slot for Rs 16.55 crore.
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