hindifun
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Indian television broadcasters are starting to focus on the rural viewer, a segment that has been neglected for a long time, as the scope of revenues were limited due to the preference for free content. These viewers have been served mainly by the staterun Prasar Bharati and a couple of channels airing repeat content.
But that is about to change, driven by two major developments: the success of DD Freedish, Prasar Bharati's free DTH platform and the encouraging rural viewership ratings reported by measurement agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India.
Broadcasters, who first launched Hindi general entertainment channels in the free-to-air (FTA) space, are now adding more FTA channels to reach out to this underserved market.
NP Singh, CEO at Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) said that broadcasters began to recognise the opportunity in rural markets once BARC started reporting its ratings and have responded by launching channels specifically focused on the rural audience.
“We had some of our channels available in these markets before BARC started to report rural data. Since there is a platform with a large mass of viewers (DD Freedish), which are now being measured, it is important for all broadcasters to evaluate their options for those markets and that's exactly what we are doing,“ says Singh.
SPN had first reached out to viewers in the rural markets with Sony MIX followed by Sony PAL and has recently launched a Hindi movie channel Sony WAH.
Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO at Viacom18 said, “India is a hybrid market, a mix of pay and free. It is important for us as a player to find a business model for both of these markets. I see substantial numbers in the FTA market.“
Viacom18 had launched Rishtey , aHindi GEC, in India in 2014, while it launched first FTA Hindi movie channel Rishtey Cineplex earlier this year. On the market size, Vats said that FTA is likely to make up about 30% of the viewership. “We are talking about a time when hopefully 90% of India will have TV at home. So we are talking about total of 250 million homes, out of which 225 million homes will have TV . Now, 30% of this is a very large number.“
“With the rural markets having opened up for us to read viewership data, the ability to measure and take informed decisions has gone up dramatically spurring the confidence to launch,“ said a Star India spokesperson.
According to media agency GroupM's advertising expenditure futures report This Year Next Year, TV advertising is expected to grow to `27,074 crore by end in 2016. However, a majority of this money is being spent on pay channels, which are heavily dependent on advertising.
So where does that leave FTA channels? “Ad vertisers were always adverti sing on the FTA channels for the reach and with BARC reporting of rural data, their theory has been validated.
Yes, currently spends on these channels is pret ty small compa red to the pay market, but it is growing fast,“ said Jai Lala, head of trading and partnerships at India's largest media agency GroupM, The bigger question is the quality of viewership. Media industry experts argue that as these channels are currently airing repeat content and the viewers' disposable income is on a lower side, the revenue potential is also limited.
“The ad dollars going to FTA will be weighted by the purchasing power. So the premium for the urban audiences, the audiences that can spend more, will remain. That's a fair thing. The eyeballs and the quality of eyeballs will always be measured differently,“ said Vats.
Broadcasters Plan More Free Channels to Tap Rural Viewer
But that is about to change, driven by two major developments: the success of DD Freedish, Prasar Bharati's free DTH platform and the encouraging rural viewership ratings reported by measurement agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India.
Broadcasters, who first launched Hindi general entertainment channels in the free-to-air (FTA) space, are now adding more FTA channels to reach out to this underserved market.
NP Singh, CEO at Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) said that broadcasters began to recognise the opportunity in rural markets once BARC started reporting its ratings and have responded by launching channels specifically focused on the rural audience.
“We had some of our channels available in these markets before BARC started to report rural data. Since there is a platform with a large mass of viewers (DD Freedish), which are now being measured, it is important for all broadcasters to evaluate their options for those markets and that's exactly what we are doing,“ says Singh.
SPN had first reached out to viewers in the rural markets with Sony MIX followed by Sony PAL and has recently launched a Hindi movie channel Sony WAH.
Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO at Viacom18 said, “India is a hybrid market, a mix of pay and free. It is important for us as a player to find a business model for both of these markets. I see substantial numbers in the FTA market.“
Viacom18 had launched Rishtey , aHindi GEC, in India in 2014, while it launched first FTA Hindi movie channel Rishtey Cineplex earlier this year. On the market size, Vats said that FTA is likely to make up about 30% of the viewership. “We are talking about a time when hopefully 90% of India will have TV at home. So we are talking about total of 250 million homes, out of which 225 million homes will have TV . Now, 30% of this is a very large number.“
“With the rural markets having opened up for us to read viewership data, the ability to measure and take informed decisions has gone up dramatically spurring the confidence to launch,“ said a Star India spokesperson.
According to media agency GroupM's advertising expenditure futures report This Year Next Year, TV advertising is expected to grow to `27,074 crore by end in 2016. However, a majority of this money is being spent on pay channels, which are heavily dependent on advertising.
So where does that leave FTA channels? “Ad vertisers were always adverti sing on the FTA channels for the reach and with BARC reporting of rural data, their theory has been validated.
Yes, currently spends on these channels is pret ty small compa red to the pay market, but it is growing fast,“ said Jai Lala, head of trading and partnerships at India's largest media agency GroupM, The bigger question is the quality of viewership. Media industry experts argue that as these channels are currently airing repeat content and the viewers' disposable income is on a lower side, the revenue potential is also limited.
“The ad dollars going to FTA will be weighted by the purchasing power. So the premium for the urban audiences, the audiences that can spend more, will remain. That's a fair thing. The eyeballs and the quality of eyeballs will always be measured differently,“ said Vats.
Broadcasters Plan More Free Channels to Tap Rural Viewer
