Sony Pictures Networks India rebrands channels

At the recently held e4m media debate around ‘India needs multiple TV ratings providers, because competition drives excellence’, Mona Jain, Chief Revenue Officer, Zee Media Corporation Limited took the stage FOR the motion and addressed why India needs multiple rating systems.

She started by clarifying that this isn’t ‘BARC bashing’, but is purely from the perspective of measurement systems.

“If you look at the process that gets a particular channel to get into the media plan, it begins with agencies putting together a communication strategy where they believe that a particular genre is entitled to be a part of the media plan for making the campaigns reach the consumer,” Jain said. After having explained the process further about how the implementation etc. is done, she mentioned that the broadcaster in the media plan is completely at the mercy of the measurement system to decide where it is ranked.

“The issue really is that the entire process has become very quantitative, nobody wants to look at what the reality on the ground is. A particular channel or network is not coming in a genre because BARC says that. But does anybody go beyond looking at the BARC data,” Jain asked.

She mentioned how there are lots of other data points that can be referred to. Sharing her personal stance, Jain said when she pitches to advertisers, she also asks them to look at the online, digital data, going beyond seeing where the channel is ranked. “We also do a softer research on the ground, talk to their stakeholders and figure out what they are saying about our network and then tell them to consider that,” Jain added.

The response from the advertisers and agencies, however, Jain further shared, is that “It all looks good, we get it. But can you get your rating a little higher in BARC? If you do that then possibly, we can give you what you’re entitled for.”

To Jain, this is the reason why she would prefer an authenticated, validated and acknowledged currency, which looks at the system from an alternate perspective also.

She also pointed out that when Chandrayan happened, despite a majority of people in India and globally watching it, data shows that in that particular week the news genre went down. “Is it even a possibility? Is it real?” Jain asked.

Sharing another instance, she said that the automobile sector which was a heavy advertiser on the channel was not really buying into it due to BARC ratings. “We went to 25 cities across the country, cities like Ranchi, Jaipur, Indore etc. and spoke to distributors and also the people who were walking into showrooms to buy the car. Top 3 channels that were being recalled were Aaj Tak, Zee News and ABP. There was no mention of TV9, IndiaTV and Network18 were there in one or two places. Because we had gone to smaller markets, there was a recall of regional channels,” she shared.

This research/video was then shown to 3 automobile stakeholders, saying this is what their partners and consumers were saying. After this, the channel could become a part of the media plan. “For 1 year I wasn’t a part of the media plan at all, for two advertisers,” Jain said.

The conversation further went to the agency saying that this particular network is resonating with consumers, so it should be considered in the media plan. “Then I get a plan from the agency saying ‘so and so is your ranking, GRP, this will be your share and rate’. Eventually, the entire conversation went down to that particular number which was reflected by BARC, which I believe does not really resonate with what the market is saying about the genre,” Jain added.

She concluded saying that monopoly is not the way, it makes people complacent.

The current system of ratings by BARC lacks trust and credibility, said Rabindra Narayan, MD and President, PTC Network, at the e4m debate on Wednesday while asserting the need for multiple rating agencies in the broadcast ecosystem.

The e4m media debate on ‘India needs multiple TV rating providers because competition drives excellence’, held in New Delhi, was chaired by Anurag Batra, Founder of e4m and Editor-in-Chief of Businessworld Media Group.

During the debate, Narayan, who was speaking for the motion with other panellists, questioned the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings, particularly for news channels saying that politicians spending money to advertise on news channels and not GECs, is proof enough that the genre is doing much better than the ratings given by BARC.

“The fact that we are having this discussion, implies that the current system lacks trust. It lacks credibility. BARC analyses only linear TV that is beamed and received through satellite and cable. TV viewing today is not just linear TV, it also has several forms like connected TV and Fast TV coming on the same screen but BARC is not measuring it,” he said.

Narayan further said that it was time to innovate and look at content rating rather than just television rating points.

“As per BARC, news genre reach is 6-7% in the entire country, if that is true then why are politicians eager to spend on advertising on news channels? Why not on GECs? Why all the money spent by advertisers to reach maximum consumers, based on this Bible (BARC) which is junk? Why are we fighting for TV rating points and not content rating points when the technology and the system is changing?

“The current system of ratings (by BARC) is flawed, biased as it is controlled by a handful of people. Broadcaster lobby is controlled by four business houses so it will always remain in their favour. The data shows it,” he argued.

In his concluding remarks, Narayan said that BARC needs to improve and for that it does not even need to invest in more meters than it already has because cable operators and DTH are now digitised.

“They don’t even need to invest more. They don’t even need more meters than the ones installed already because every cable operator is now digitised and has two-way addressable communication available,” he said.

Indian TV news media and advertisers today rely solely on the data released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India to strategise media plans and budgets. 

Hence, many suggest having multiple rating systems which will allow for a more nuanced understanding of viewership patterns across different demographics. 

Rabindra Narayan, MD and President, PTC Network; Mona Jain, Chief Revenue Officer, Zee Media, and Karthik Sharma, Group CEO, Omnicom Media Group believe a multi-ratings system will drive excellence amidst competition. 

On the other hand, multiple ratings systems may also present challenges such as increased complexity, potential discrepancies in ratings, and higher costs for broadcasters as well as advertisers.

The current system of ratings is “flawed” and “biased, as it is controlled by a handful of people,” was the view of the industry veterans who advocated the need for multiple rating agencies instead of just one, which is currently the BARC, saying “monopoly makes people complacent”

During the debate, things got intense when some of the panellists, who were speaking for the motion, questioned BARC ratings, particularly for news channels saying that politicians spending money to advertise on news channels and not GECs, is proof enough that the genre is doing much better than the ratings given by BARC. 

To present a viewpoint against the motion, Chintamani Rao, Strategic Marketing and Media Consultant, Rajiv Dubey, Head of Media, Dabur India, and Varun Kohli, Director and CEO, Bharat Express News Network joined the debate at e4m’s Media Debate in New Delhi. Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld Media Group and Founder, e4m Group, chaired the debate. 

Jain opened the discussion and said, “There is a dependency of an advertiser to take up a particular media plan via the agency. On the other hand, the broadcaster is absolutely at the mercy of the measurement system which decides where you rank. The issue is nobody looks at what the reality on ground is. Hence, I have started telling agencies and advertisers to also look at my digital platform’s ranking but the rating in BARC still holds significant value for them.” 

She further suggested we should have an authenticated, validated, acknowledged currency which is recognised and valued by advertisers and agencies as well.

Presenting an opposing stand, Rao explained, “There many doubts about BARC and its functioning but I continue to maintain that audience measurement is no business of the government.” 

At the end of the day, it is not about the number of vendors but how they are managed. Two poorly managed are not better than one, he added. The key issue is that BARC is dominated by one of its constituents and that is the one which is being measured. 

“If advertiser’s money fuels the entire media ecosystem, why did they accept a structure with Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) at 60 percent?” questioned Rao. 

Sharma, who joined virtually, expressed that if we forget the industry for a while, why do we need the NSE and BSE? Why do we need CIBIL and Experian? The short answer is innovation and competition. If there would be no competition, we would have one brand in every category we operate in. 

“Even in a market like the USA, which has the largest AdEx market, there are two systems. Even the UK, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines and so many more countries have two audience measurement systems. In a largely populated country like India two systems will help in better sampling and segmentation,” he added. 

Dubey took the stage right after and spoke about how one, two or multiple rating systems don’t matter to an advertiser. At the end of the day, it should help the brand sell. His objective is to reach out to the consumers in the cheapest possible manner. 

“The idea of BARC was to have a robust system which could measure everyone well. Have we been able to do that? Probably yes or probably no,” he said. 

With changing times, the audience needs have changed and NCCS was a system that measured the class of people based on the ownership of consumer durables. But now, the newly proposed ISEC fulfils those gaps. 

Consumers have also started consuming content on different platforms, more towards digital and OTT. Dubey believes, “We haven’t been able to measure that audience correctly yet. Hence, the Indian TV industry needs one system and that system needs to be strengthened in such a way that it measures TV and digital audience equally.” 

On having multiple audience measurement systems, the Dabur spokesperson said, “To solve the problem, you should not create another problem, but fix the problem instead.” 

Narayan of PTC, who stood for the motion, expressed, “The fact that we are standing here and debating the issue, implies the current system lacks trust and credibility. We are also setting the premise that by TV ratings, we only mean linear TV ratings because that is what BARC does.” 

He further shared that BARC does measurement via image mapping and hence, when any channel puts its watermark on any platform, it should become measurable for BARC since they already have the technology for it. 

“Then why don't they? Because they need more focus on analysis, not more investment. The trouble is the ecosystem is not allowing the expansion of those ratings,” he added. 

Today, BARC says 9 out of 100 people watch PTC, which is impossible and advertisers bargain for the ad rates accordingly. The channel today continues to invest in good shows but advertiser interest is low due to BARC’s data. If there is any truth to this, why wouldn’t players like PTC fight for multiple ratings systems?

“When Chandrayaan was launched, everyone in the world and India was watching it but if you see the BARC data, that particular week the ratings of the news genre went down. Is that even possible? News genre is much higher than what BARC is projecting,” Jain added.

Even on a day like the launch of Chandrayan, there was no spike on BARC data. Jain and Narayan both believe the current system is flawed and biased because it is controlled by a handful of people. 

“The fact that we are having this discussion, implies that the current system lacks trust. It lacks credibility. BARC analyses only linear tv that is beamed and received through satellite and cable. TV viewing today is not just linear tv, it also has several forms like connected TV and Fast TV coming on the same screen but BARC is not measuring it,” Narayan said.

Narayan further said that it was time to innovate and look at content rating rather than just television rating points.

“As per BARC, news genre reach is 6-7% in the entire country, if that is true then why are politicians eager to spend on advertising on news channels? Why not on GECs? Why all the money spent by advertisers to reach maximum consumers, based on this Bible (BARC) which is junk? Why are we fighting for TV rating points and not content rating points when the technology and the system is changing?

“The current system of ratings (by BARC) is flawed, biased as it is controlled by a handful of people. Broadcaster lobby is controlled by four business houses so it will always remain in their favour. The data shows it,” he argued.

Kohli of Bharat Express, said, “BARC came into existence because publishers wanted a different rating system and then a mechanism was conceived. Now, questioning that system just because ratings aren’t in the right proportion or it doesn’t map digital audiences and to further ask for a separate body, I dont think is the right way.” 

The industry needs to come together and exercise jurisdiction with BARC to tell them what more is needed and where they can get better, he suggested as a solution. 

Rao also suggested it is better to have an aggregator rather than multiple players. In that case, the aggregator can also become the provider of data. BARC can always collect multiple data from various sources and present it. 

The mapping of the audience correctly will also solve the problem in a way, which will be done with ISEC majorly. Having a unified measurement is also another solution, said Dubey. 

According to Sharma, “Having more than one player will definitely fuel innovation and have a little competition, which is good. Different rating systems could also focus on different target segments, cohorts and more.” 

“We need to focus on screens and not linear tv or digital. It is a screen-based world and people are just consuming content which is meaningful for them. So different types of consumptions require different types of measurements. My argument is innovation is critical as it is high time.

“Consumer is looking at the screen through mobile or TV sets. How are we measuring it? Some competition is healthy. It is important to have a mindset of how one system can help the other. The current system is not wrong but the newer system can enhance what we have,” he said.

Narayan concluded, “Television viewing and consumption has changed. Either BARC grows up to the changing times or others should come in and fill the gap. The market forces will decide who will remain and who will go, whose data is authentic and whose is not. There is no need for a debate here.” 

The TV news industry and marketers have been deliberating for some time now the need to introduce multiple TV rating systems to drive competition and achieve excellence. 

e4m is hosting a debate on Wednesday at India International Centre, New Delhi, to delve deeper into this topic, in the background of the country’s diverse cultures, languages and preferences. The discussion will be attended by industry experts from the TV news industry along with advertisers.

The debate will be chaired by Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld Media Group and Founder, e4m Group.

Among those who stand for the motion will be - Rabindra Narayan, MD and President, PTC Network, Mona Jain, Chief Revenue Officer, Zee Media, and Karthik Sharma, Group CEO, Omnicom Media Group.

To present a viewpoint against the motion will be Chintamani Rao, Strategic Marketing and Media Consultant, Rajiv Dubey, Head of Media, Dabur India, and Varun Kohli, Director and CEO, Bharat Express News Network. 

To know more about the e4m Media Debate and register, click here.

The total active subscriber base of Pay DTH services experienced a decline of 1.03%, dropping to 63.52 million in December 2023 from 64.18 million in September 2023, according to a report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The report is titled Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report for the Quarter ending December, 2023.

If we look at the subscriber base from June 2023 to December 2023, the pay DTH has lost 1.98 million subscribers. If we compare from the quarter ending December 2022 till the quarter ending December 2023, pay DTH has lost 3.1 million subscribers. 

In terms of market share, Tata Play's share was 32.71% for the quarter. Bharti Telemedia's (Airtel DTH) market share was 27.76%, Dish TV had 20.81% market share during the quarter and Sun TV Direct TV had 18.72% market share.

Cable TV sector 

As on 31st December 2023, there were 998 MSOs registered with MIB. As per the data reported by MSOs and HITS operator, as on 31st December 2023, there are 11 MSOs & 1 HITS operator who have subscriber base greater than 1 million. GTPL Hathway had the highest subscriber base of over 8 million subscribers. 

Pay TV channels 

As per the information provided by broadcasters in pursuance of the tariff order dated 3rd March 2017 as amended, out of 910 permitted satellite TV channels which are available for downlinking in India, there are 363 satellite pay TV channels as on 31st December 2023. Out of 363 pay channels, 259 are SD satellite pay TV channels and 104 are HD satellite pay TV channels.

FM Radio 

The advertisement revenue of FM Radio operators during the quarter ending 31st December 2023 grew 18.88%.  In respect of 388 private FM Radio channels, the revenue stood at Rs 485.47 crore as against Rs 408.37 crore for the previous quarter i.e. 30th September.

DTH company Dish TV has announced a new service to offer built-in OTT services with its ‘Dish TV Smart+’ proposal.

We caught up with CEO Manoj Dhobal and CMO Sukhpreet Singh to know more about the venture, the long-standing issues faced by the DTH industry and their subscriber reach.

Excerpts:

What can customers expect from the new service ‘Dish TV Smart+’?

Manoj Dhobal (MD): We've gathered a wealth of data insights through extensive market research. Our observations indicate a strong consumer demand for unique offerings, particularly in the realm of content consumption. However, we've noticed a significant hurdle: many consumers struggle to subscribe to these services.

Through our testing with various demographics, we've identified a promising target segment and recognized an opportunity to simplify and streamline the subscription process. Dish TV's approach mirrors the convenience of a DTH (Direct-to-Home) connection, where consumers access multiple channels through a single subscription.

Like in DTH, you don’t go separately for Zee, Sony, Sab TV or Star TV. You have one DTH connection and you get everything. The same is true with OTT now.

In the current landscape of OTT (Over-The-Top) platforms, consumers not only seek traditional linear content but also desire the flexibility of SVOD (Subscription Video-On-Demand) and live streaming options. We've acknowledged the challenge of content discovery and have worked to alleviate subscription constraints, making it easier for consumers to access a wide range of content seamlessly.

How will this new service contribute to the changing landscape of television?

Sukhpreet Singh (SS): In larger cities, many individuals own smart televisions and consume a substantial amount of content via streaming services. Meanwhile, across the country, there are 200 million households, with approximately 50 million at the top of the socio-economic pyramid. Hybrid consumption patterns are prevalent.

However, in tier 2 and 3 towns, numerous obstacles hinder people's ability to access desired content. The significant impact of our solution is that, for just an additional Rs 200, it offers both traditional television and OTT services, which is expected to increase the penetration of both types of content.

We perceive this as a democratization of content as it allows viewers to enjoy their favourite shows and movies on any kind of device, regardless of their location or economic status.

What are your expectations in terms of revenue and subscriber reach this year?

MD: With this new venture, we foresee a significant increase in customer loyalty and longevity with our network. Recently, the average duration of customer relationships has decreased across all operators. Our approach has been validated by adding a layer of service to our existing offerings.

We estimate that even a modest improvement in customer stickiness, say 0.5 per cent per month, will result in gaining and retaining one million subscribers within a year. Existing subscribers are seeking diverse content, not currently available on DTH platforms, which is why we consider this new experience revolutionary. We are confident that others in the industry will follow suit."

What are some persistent challenges faced by the DTH industry? Tell us about the recent meeting of stakeholders with the TRAI Chairman.

MD: Time and again, DTH players have reiterated that the industry has been struggling under the burden of undue licensing, while OTT continues its fast-paced growth without this issue.

There's a laundry list of issues that has been shared for ages now, spanning over 6-7 years, perhaps even more than 10 years. Many proposals, suggestions and recommendations have been reiterated repeatedly. One major concern is the need for a level playing field in terms of regulation for all stakeholders, including OTT platforms, cable providers, and others.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves as the whipping boys of the industry, facing criticism from all sides and being viewed as easy targets for discipline. The same regulations don't apply universally and there are disparities in licensing requirements. Despite this, we strive to maintain a high level of compliance."

In a continuous fight for a level playing field in the industry, cable operators, DTH and broadcasters met TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti recently where all stakeholders raised concerns over the consultation paper 'Review of Regulatory Framework for Broadcasting and Cable Services’.

As per sources, certain broadcasters have advocated for TRAI to enact tariff forbearance to bolster the competitiveness of the pay-TV sector vis-à-vis emerging and established platforms such as OTT and DD Free Dish.

At the recent open house discussion held by TRAI to address issues in the consultation paper 'Review of Regulatory Framework for Broadcasting and Cable Services’, stakeholders brought attention to the regulatory disparity between the declining pay TV business, which is subject to regulations, and the unregulated OTT business.

While the cable industry urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to restore the right of DPOs to make channel bouquets, DTH players sought a level playing field with OTT players with a similar regulatory framework in terms of licensing.

“We sought restoration of DPOs right to make channel bouquets, which is currently with the broadcasters and removal of the 45% discount cap imposed by TRAI on broadcasters while pricing their bouquet of pay channels over the sum of MRPs,” said a source from the cable industry.

Cable operators argue that the 45% discount cap limits their ability to negotiate favourable deals with broadcasters, particularly in scenarios where they may have to carry a large number of channels to meet subscriber demands. They believe that this limitation can negatively affect their profitability and operational flexibility.

The regulatory body has now asked all stakeholders to make their final submissions by April 25 after which a decision will be taken.