With the big four of FTA getting more eyeballs, are advertisers too making a comeback?
Industry experts say the ad rates these channels are commanding are lower than the period before the pull-out but there is likely to be a competitive price hike in 4 to 6 weeks
It has been just about a month that Free To Air (FTA) channels of some major networks made a comeback to the DD Free Dish platform and the industry is already talking about how these have been a big draw for advertisers lately.
According to data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), Star India’s FTA general entertainment channel, Star Utsav, has emerged as the most watched channel across genres and platforms in Week 25 and has garnered over one billion impressions (1022807 (000s) impressions).
The channels who came back on Free Dish on June 3 after winning MPEG-2 slot bids include Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Star Utsav and Colors Rishtey. They had pulled out of the platform last year post the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) coming up with a new tariff regime.
According to media experts, along with the viewership these channels are also witnessing a jump in ad inventory. However, the rates these channels are commanding have been reported to be lower than the period before the pull out. There is expectation that the rates will increase once the viewership stabilizes after 4 to 6 weeks.
To share further insights, Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer, Advertisement Revenue, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd said, “There is a resurgence, people are coming back to the FTA business. It's not that these brands were not buying these channels earlier, they were buying whichever channel was available in the FTA space. Now with the four channels coming back from four big broadcasters and knowing their success earlier, they have started showing interest to come back on these channels.”
He further explained, “In the last three weeks all these four channels have grown in terms of GRPs dramatically. The advertisers are familiar with their success, hence they are advertising.”
According to Mahesh Shetty, Head, Network Sales, Viacom18, FMCG brands have been showing good interest in advertising on the FTA channels. “After the recent move, both our channels, Colors Rishtey and Rishtey Cineplex, have had a great start on the FTA platform and have are being well received by the advertisers. Most of the large FMCG brands across categories — personal care, home care, snacks and beverages — have come on board. As we strengthen our growth further, we are hopeful that the onboarding of brands will increase in the coming months.”
Pawan Jailkhani, Chief Revenue Officer of 9X Media, also explained the reason why FTA continues to be a big draw for advertisers. “For every advertiser FTA is an important market. We saw GECs and movie channels coming in, which will definitely help the overall growth of the FTA space and it now makes it more lucrative for advertisers to come and spend.”
On how FTA channels are integral to media planning options, Jailkhani further said, “The whole proposition has become very interesting now, the way it used to be a year back. It has created a buzz within the advertising community as they have got a strong media planning option. The music genre was already there and now with GECs and Movies coming back it has become a lucrative package for advertisers to spend on. Also, once the market opens up further, the FTA space will grow more in terms of advertising.”
Another media expert, Kaushik Chakraborty, Senior Vice President (West), Vizeum India, highlighted that the return of channels like Sony Pal, Rishtey Cineplex, Star Utsav, and Zee Anmol on DD Free Dish have been indeed encouraging for the FTA genre. “In the prevailing situation, pay channel subscription has taken a hit, particularly in the rural pockets of India. These channels now with differential content will attract new audiences to this genre and drive significant growth in viewership,” said Chakraborty.
In terms of pricing too, this genre is CPRP-driven, said Chakraborty, explaining that with the increase in viewership and demand from advertisers, we can expect a competitive price hike in the near future.
Stating similar thoughts, Sehgal said, “Pricing differs for each channel. When the channels were launched in June, the new pricing came with no discount. Currently, the deals are happening on the introductory offer and all the deals are being only for a month. Long term pricing will start once we will see 4-6 weeks data, once ratings start to stabilize we will bring pricing back on FTA and definitely the pricing will be parallel to as it was before the withdrawal of the channels.”
A look at the TAM AdEx data shows that in the FTA space, the count of categories in June stands higher compared to the average count of categories in the March to May 2020 period for all the 3 FTA channels - Sony Pal, Star Utsav and Zee Anmol.
According to TAM data, Reckitt Benckiser (India), Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Wipro, ITC, Marico, Ponds India and The Himalayan Drug Co are among the common advertisers spending on these channels. For instance, while Reckitt Benckiser (India) is the biggest advertiser on Sony Pal with a 22% share, Hindustan Unilever has registered a 40% ad volume share with Zee Anmol.
Meanwhile, the count of advertisers for June too was more compared to the average count of advertisers in March-May for Sony Pal and Star Utsav.
The overall TV advertising declined by 63% in the month of April, by 50% in May and in June the drop stands at 40-45%, shared Karan Taurani, VP- Research, Elara Capital. “Pricing is coming down further but the inventory is growing,” he added.
“FTA has always been strong, it was only about capability. Big broadcasters coming back on DD Free Dish, given the kind of bundle offering they have, advertisers they have, capability-wise it should take big pick up from here on,” Taurani asserted.
He cited two more reasons why advertisers were increasingly looking at TV as a medium now. “Firstly, print circulation has taken a massive hit and a lot of advertisers are moving from print to TV. Secondly, Digital is also having its own set of challenges. For instance, global brands have stopped advertising on social media platforms like Facebook. TikTok too that had a good amount of digital advertisers has moved away.”
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WION to launch on UK’s DTT platform Freeview
The channel will be available from March 22, 2023
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 21, 2023 3:56 PM | 2 min read
WION, World Is One will launch on the UK’s leading platform – Freeview via IP and using the most innovative FAST SSAI on 22nd March 2023. The channel expanded its global footprint and increased its reach by 15 mn Freeview Connect households in the UK. Viewers in the UK can tune in to the channel on Channel #287 via Freeview, starting March 22, 2023.
Emphasising the global partnership and outreach, Madhu Soman, Chief Business Officer of WION, said, “WION has always been open to exploring new platforms. Taking into consideration the fact that Freeview replaced the old analogue TV service accessibility to a widespread audience in the UK, it is a great opportunity for the channel to present global stories from an Indian perspective. This global move also encourages us to further boost timely and fast-paced news reportage with gripping visuals and strong content, backed by research and investigation.”
Anindya Khare, Marketing Head of Zee Media Corporation Limited, further added, “The United Kingdom television viewing market is expected to flourish because of some major factors like emerging economies' rapid economic development, demand for smart televisions, the growing over-the-top platform market etc. We strongly believe that the UK market has a lot of potential for the channel to introduce new customised programme packaging to the audience, engage stakeholders through strategised communication and build on a high preference ratio.
Through a strategised approach, we also look forward to being consistent in launching interesting programmes on WION in markets like US, India, UK etc. This allows our glocalised viewers and readers to understand the impact of major global events from a uniquely Indian perspective.”
“We are thrilled to launch WION via Freeview Connect and expand Freeview news offering with the leading news channel from India and also being able to monetise it using the Synapse FAST SSAI”, said Tanya Kronfli, Managing Director of Global Distribution Services, specialising on delivery and digital Monetisation of TV content via Freeview Connect.
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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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