Dileep Kumar
Member
- Joined
- 8 Jul 2013
- Messages
- 9,651
- Reaction score
- 1,846
MUMBAI: Music and youth entertainment channel MTV India is tapping into newer audiences as 13 is the new 18, according to its latest research. Hence, the channel is also undergoing a lot of changes both on screen and behind it.
One of these initiatives is a hike in its ad rates by 35 per cent effective from July. This is in response to what the channel claims is a 50 per cent viewership growth in the first half of the calendar year.
The pop culture channel has been seeing growth in audience numbers at the rate of 8–10 per cent year on year. But 2014 started at a high, with MTV witnessing an increase in viewership from 10 million GVMs (gross viewership in millions) in January to 15 million GVMs in July in 15–24 HSM, as per data provided by the channel.
MTV India competes with channels like Bindass, UTV Stars and Zoom which also play a mix of music and content.
MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, “Our increased investment in differentiated and insight-based content has seen a 50 per cent upswing in viewership in the last six months, taking MTV to an all-time high. With a brand new line-up of daily original content kicking off this week, we are expecting this number to only go up further. On the back of this, we are increasing our ad rates in line with an increase in viewership and will continue to be the most effective and impactful platform for advertisers to reach young India.
“We have strong relationships with clients across categories and we are committed to working as partners to deliver a strong ROI on a sustained basis,” he added.
MTV India is among the few channels in the youth and music space adhering to the ad cap regulation, due to which they have witnessed a 25 per cent inventory crunch. However, with a rise in ratings, MTV is now looking to take a 35 per cent jump in pricing, which Swamy believes is still lesser than their jump in viewership. However, it could offset the advertisers, given the market sentiments.
Giving a view on the current market condition, Maxus managing partner north and east region Navin Khemka said, “The increase in rates is more functional. But given that the market is soft right now, we are not sure if the pricing will go up as this is not the key season. However, the pricing depends on comparative environment. The channel is willing to increase, but whether the market will absorb is not certain. The advertisers might surely take the move with caution.”
Another senior media buyer, on condition of anonymity, stated that MTV is in a genre where there are 10 different channels and increasing ad rates will not be easy. “I don’t think the channel will be able to get that much hike in FCT [free commercial time] rates. The FCT is not completely sold anyway and if MTV decides to increase rates, I think more clients will find other channels. Having said that, the channel can charge premium on the original programming,” he opined.
Nonetheless, Swamy maintained that efforts are already on and the first few clients have agreed to the hike. “We believe that we would be an extremely efficient buy for advertisers who want to reach the youth and not just urban youth. We deliver well in LC1 markets, and 0.1 to 1 million markets. This growth in viewership is not fuelled only by metros.” Buoyed by viewership growth, MTV hikes ad rates by 35% | TelevisionPost.com
One of these initiatives is a hike in its ad rates by 35 per cent effective from July. This is in response to what the channel claims is a 50 per cent viewership growth in the first half of the calendar year.
The pop culture channel has been seeing growth in audience numbers at the rate of 8–10 per cent year on year. But 2014 started at a high, with MTV witnessing an increase in viewership from 10 million GVMs (gross viewership in millions) in January to 15 million GVMs in July in 15–24 HSM, as per data provided by the channel.
MTV India competes with channels like Bindass, UTV Stars and Zoom which also play a mix of music and content.
MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, “Our increased investment in differentiated and insight-based content has seen a 50 per cent upswing in viewership in the last six months, taking MTV to an all-time high. With a brand new line-up of daily original content kicking off this week, we are expecting this number to only go up further. On the back of this, we are increasing our ad rates in line with an increase in viewership and will continue to be the most effective and impactful platform for advertisers to reach young India.
“We have strong relationships with clients across categories and we are committed to working as partners to deliver a strong ROI on a sustained basis,” he added.
MTV India is among the few channels in the youth and music space adhering to the ad cap regulation, due to which they have witnessed a 25 per cent inventory crunch. However, with a rise in ratings, MTV is now looking to take a 35 per cent jump in pricing, which Swamy believes is still lesser than their jump in viewership. However, it could offset the advertisers, given the market sentiments.
Giving a view on the current market condition, Maxus managing partner north and east region Navin Khemka said, “The increase in rates is more functional. But given that the market is soft right now, we are not sure if the pricing will go up as this is not the key season. However, the pricing depends on comparative environment. The channel is willing to increase, but whether the market will absorb is not certain. The advertisers might surely take the move with caution.”
Another senior media buyer, on condition of anonymity, stated that MTV is in a genre where there are 10 different channels and increasing ad rates will not be easy. “I don’t think the channel will be able to get that much hike in FCT [free commercial time] rates. The FCT is not completely sold anyway and if MTV decides to increase rates, I think more clients will find other channels. Having said that, the channel can charge premium on the original programming,” he opined.
Nonetheless, Swamy maintained that efforts are already on and the first few clients have agreed to the hike. “We believe that we would be an extremely efficient buy for advertisers who want to reach the youth and not just urban youth. We deliver well in LC1 markets, and 0.1 to 1 million markets. This growth in viewership is not fuelled only by metros.” Buoyed by viewership growth, MTV hikes ad rates by 35% | TelevisionPost.com
