Thakur
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In the last few years, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has been making aggressive investments into both existing as well as new businesses, even as its flagship Hindi GEC is under pressure. SPN CEO NP Singh tells BrandWagon’s Chandni Mathur how the group is poised to expand its content and channel portfolio in the year ahead. Excerpts:
How will the rebranding to SPN help in terms of business growth?
Through the renaming of the company we are trying to bring in a stronger alignment with our parent company. Going forward, all investments we make will be around three pillars — general entertainment (including movies), sports and digital. This will be at multiple levels by expanding both our channel and content portfolio.
What are the network’s expansion plans ?
We are making new investments in every part of our business. In infotainment, we formed a joint venture with BBC last year to bring in Sony BBC Earth, which will launch early next fiscal. We are just waiting for some regulatory clearances after which we are ready to go. We are also looking at enhancing our presence in the music genre and expanding our sports portfolio through our partnership with ESPN.
What value addition will more music channels bring to the network?
We have three licences pending and once they are in place, we will start working on these channels. We launched Sony Mix three years ago in a cluttered environment when there were 14 music channels. We differentiated Sony Mix from the rest by presenting content which maps the mood of the day. We think it’s time for us to expand our footprint in the music genre which will also help consolidate our viewership. The new channels will be Hindi music channels.
The elements missing from SPN’s portfolio are kids and regional channels. Do you have any organic/inorganic plans of expansion?
The kids genre is something I am keen on exploring and we are looking at it. When we see an opportunity at the right time, we may come up with a kids channel. Similarly, we certainly have the intent to get into some regional markets. A few years ago, we made a small investment in Sony Aath to establish our intent to get into regional markets which has been working well for us. Last year we carried IPL with Bangla commentary on Sony Aath and it was a success. I am not closed to the idea of inorganic expansion, but we will evaluate what’s the best route for us.
Will IPL have multiple regional feeds in its ninth season as well? What is the ad sentiment on the property?
We have done multiple language commentary on IPL and have taken it deeper into some regional markets like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in season eight, which will continue in the ninth season as well. With two new teams coming in, there is a surety it will be an eight-team IPL and that gives confidence to stakeholders. We have very strong support from existing sponsors and we are sure that they will continue with us in the future as well. We are looking at significant growth and the response has been encouraging.
With BARC’s rural measurement coming in, broadcasters are changing strategies. What are the plans to beef up your GEC platter?
I believe that one size doesn’t fit all so you can’t have one product that will resonate across all NCCS classifications and geographies. The major viewership for SET is in urban markets and we are going to try to make the channel and content more accessible to the LC1 markets. If we get deeper penetration in rural through that, it’s fine, but it’s not by design. SAB cuts across NCCS and demographics and therefore that channel appeals both to urban LC1 and rural audiences. As far as Pal is concerned, we are repeating archival content from SET and SAB which has been working well. With the BARC ratings for rural being reported, we have seen an uptake in the ratings of Pal and we will continue with that strategy.
http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/we-are-keen-to-explore-the-kids-genre/202079/
How will the rebranding to SPN help in terms of business growth?
Through the renaming of the company we are trying to bring in a stronger alignment with our parent company. Going forward, all investments we make will be around three pillars — general entertainment (including movies), sports and digital. This will be at multiple levels by expanding both our channel and content portfolio.
What are the network’s expansion plans ?
We are making new investments in every part of our business. In infotainment, we formed a joint venture with BBC last year to bring in Sony BBC Earth, which will launch early next fiscal. We are just waiting for some regulatory clearances after which we are ready to go. We are also looking at enhancing our presence in the music genre and expanding our sports portfolio through our partnership with ESPN.
What value addition will more music channels bring to the network?
We have three licences pending and once they are in place, we will start working on these channels. We launched Sony Mix three years ago in a cluttered environment when there were 14 music channels. We differentiated Sony Mix from the rest by presenting content which maps the mood of the day. We think it’s time for us to expand our footprint in the music genre which will also help consolidate our viewership. The new channels will be Hindi music channels.
The elements missing from SPN’s portfolio are kids and regional channels. Do you have any organic/inorganic plans of expansion?
The kids genre is something I am keen on exploring and we are looking at it. When we see an opportunity at the right time, we may come up with a kids channel. Similarly, we certainly have the intent to get into some regional markets. A few years ago, we made a small investment in Sony Aath to establish our intent to get into regional markets which has been working well for us. Last year we carried IPL with Bangla commentary on Sony Aath and it was a success. I am not closed to the idea of inorganic expansion, but we will evaluate what’s the best route for us.
Will IPL have multiple regional feeds in its ninth season as well? What is the ad sentiment on the property?
We have done multiple language commentary on IPL and have taken it deeper into some regional markets like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in season eight, which will continue in the ninth season as well. With two new teams coming in, there is a surety it will be an eight-team IPL and that gives confidence to stakeholders. We have very strong support from existing sponsors and we are sure that they will continue with us in the future as well. We are looking at significant growth and the response has been encouraging.
With BARC’s rural measurement coming in, broadcasters are changing strategies. What are the plans to beef up your GEC platter?
I believe that one size doesn’t fit all so you can’t have one product that will resonate across all NCCS classifications and geographies. The major viewership for SET is in urban markets and we are going to try to make the channel and content more accessible to the LC1 markets. If we get deeper penetration in rural through that, it’s fine, but it’s not by design. SAB cuts across NCCS and demographics and therefore that channel appeals both to urban LC1 and rural audiences. As far as Pal is concerned, we are repeating archival content from SET and SAB which has been working well. With the BARC ratings for rural being reported, we have seen an uptake in the ratings of Pal and we will continue with that strategy.
http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/we-are-keen-to-explore-the-kids-genre/202079/
