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The week 50 ratings from TAM Media Research are here. In the second week of normal programming for the Hindi general entertainment channels, data suggests that the new shows have managed decent opening numbers. Star Plus continues its ride on the top, followed by Colors and Zee TV. Sony, Star One and NDTV Imagine follow in that order.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 18, 2008 6:31 AM
It has been over two years since the National Readership Survey made any appearance on the Indian print industry scene. The NRSC, however, is still very keen on getting the survey back on track. A special committee has been meeting with research agencies with the agenda of getting the NRS in the market in 2009, and ensuring that it is a continuous survey in the next avatar.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 18, 2008 6:29 AM
Following the completion of the contract between Tata Teleservices and its media agency Lodestar Universal, the company is in the process of reviewing its media duties. Tata Teleservices has already spoken to various agencies for credential presentations, and is now in the process of short-listing the agencies that would finally contest for the business.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 17, 2008 7:09 AM
The Lintas Media Group’s calendar has been full in 2008. From the settling in of a new structure, where the agency focussed on fortifying the Lintas Media brand and on the Collaboratives model, to the pay-per-performance model with Pinstorm, Lintas experimented with different things in the year. The year also saw Lintas Media Group score the highest on new biz wins.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 16, 2008 6:51 AM
The ratings of the Hindi general entertainment channels are finally back to normal. Numbers for week 49 show that while the top tier hasn’t seen any changes – Star Plus leads the charts, followed by Colors and Zee TV – the tier three channels see some changes in order. SAB continues in its GRP gain at that level, while 9X has seen one of its lowest figures in recent times, given that the channel is still airing repeats.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 11, 2008 6:58 AM
Lodestar Universal has had a decent year, according to agency CEO Shashi Sinha, who said that the meltdown was yet to show it colours on the agency’s performance. Sinha expects the first quarter of 2009 to be the testing period though. In the meanwhile, the agency has added businesses like Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Welspun, and Asia Pacific Breweries, among others, that together add over Rs 150 crore to its billings.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 8, 2008 6:27 AM
As was expected in the recent 9X environment, where the shooting of fresh episodes has as yet not begun, the channel has seen the exit of its Head of Fiction, Kumud Chaudhary. Vikas Varma, Content and Business Head, 9XM, who has been looking after 9X programming on a limited basis so far, would now take charge as the Content Head of the channel.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 5, 2008 6:45 AM
As was expected in the recent 9X environment, where the shooting of fresh episodes has as yet not begun
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 4, 2008 11:57 AM
TAM Media Research data for week 48 throws no surprises in viewership trends. Just about every genre has either dropped or maintained its numbers. The largest hit is taken by the Hindi GECs that in any case have been on a decline trend for three weeks now due to the repeat programming. The only genre that has seen significant growth is the news channels.
Noor Fathima Warsia Dec 4, 2008 6:25 AM
The Indian news broadcasting media faced some heat from the police and the Government on November 28 over the coverage of the terror attacks in Mumbai. The police had issued a notification to cable operators to plug out the news channels, which was subsequently cancelled by the Government. Later in the day, however, the I&B Ministry called upon the news media owners to express concern on the extent of the coverage that, according to the Ministry, had caused harm to the police operations against the terrorists.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 29, 2008 6:43 AM
Hindi GECs are geared to air fresh content from December 1, 2008. Even though this still means dealing with advertisers for cancellations and compensations, at least the advertiser holdback problem would be solved now. The drop in numbers that the genre had seen last week due to repeat programming continues in this week as well.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 27, 2008 6:30 AM
Barely a day after the industry was rejoicing the resolution of the dispute between the producers and the Federation of Western India Cine Workers (FWICE), things have taken yet another turn. FWICE at a press briefing on November 20 announced that it had decided to revoke the MoU it had signed with the producers the previous day.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 21, 2008 6:55 AM
The standoff between the Federation of Western India Cine Workers (FWICE) and the producers has been sorted out. The FWICE and the producers met on November 19 and signed an MOU that tackles the problems of the workers’ wages. The producers have also met with the broadcasters to inform them on the terms agreed at this meeting. At least for now, channels are deciding on a date when they would all begin fresh programming.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 20, 2008 6:47 AM
The week 46 of 2008 would go down as one of the most unusual weeks for television, when the Hindi general entertainment channels were airing only repeat programming, with the exception of ‘Bigg Boss’ on Colors. TAM Media Research data shows that for the week’s ratings, the Hindi GEC viewership dropped by 7 per cent on the all day numbers, and by 14 per cent in the primetime numbers. The biggest gainers in the week were Hindi movies and sports channels.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 20, 2008 6:41 AM
The standoff between the Federation of Western India Cine Workers (FWICE) and the producers has been sorted out. It is understood from sources close to the development that the strike has been called off. When asked, a few broadcasters said that they had not officially heard about this yet. A formal communication from the producers is expected only by 6.00 pm today.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 19, 2008 3:16 PM
The standoff between the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and the producers has led to 10 days of repeat programming on primetime Hindi GECs. The ‘grace period’ given by the advertisers to the broadcasters to resolve the issue gets over on November 19. From November 20, advertisers and agencies would get into bilateral discussions with the various broadcasters to seek compensation on the days when their ads were shown on repeat programming.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 19, 2008 6:30 AM
Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) has restructured its operations in Asia. A few markets have been identified as the emerging areas that are expected to add to the overall SMG growth in the time to come. Amongst the other changes, the Asia restructuring would see Ravi Kiran, CEO, SMG South Asia focus and build India further. In this new structure, he would also lead the specialist solutions practices for all of the emerging markets.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 18, 2008 5:40 AM
The various producers’ bodies met on November 17, 2008, over the standoff between the producers and the Federation of Western India Cine Workers (FWICE). The producers are looking at various measures that would bring the Federation to see their point, and some of the ongoing initiatives include the formation of a uniform rate card. On the downside, it appears that matters relating to the standoff don’t seem to have progressed much, adding further uncertainty to what the duration of this strike would be.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 18, 2008 5:37 AM
Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) has restructured its operations in Asia.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 17, 2008 9:53 AM
STAR India’s move to closely follow its Bengali and Marathi channels with a JV with Jupiter Entertainment that owns the Asianet brands for the South region, has given a quick access to the media house in the South market. Industry leaders have said that even though this still means that STAR Jupiter needs to crack three of the four South markets, it has helped STAR skip the launch stage and directly get on the consolidation one. STAR India is suddenly more attractive in the national media plans.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 17, 2008 6:27 AM
November 17, 2008, marks the completion of one week of repeat programming on Hindi general entertainment channels. The fate of the situation depends on the decision that the producers’ bodies and the FWICE arrive at in their meeting today, provided the meeting does take place. In the meanwhile, media observers have identified news, movies, sports, and, to some extent, even the kids’, as genres that would benefit from the current situation.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 17, 2008 6:26 AM
The Pitch CMO Summit 2008 sought to be a platform where the Indian marketing industry’s direction could be discussed and advice could be given to brand managers on what is the next step. The event was an initiative of Pitch, the marketing magazine from the exchange4media Group. The event not only saw marketers reiterate new ways of looking at the media plan, it also saw Pitch unveiling its new positioning – ‘Face of Indian Marketing’.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 14, 2008 5:48 AM
Most Hindi general entertainment channels have said that the need of the hour is to be ‘rigorous’ in watching the cash outflow of the company. However, newcomer Colors is clear that the channel wouldn’t make any “knee-jerk” reactions that could “slow down its momentum”. Most channels are confident that they would be able to make it through the current situation; the better channels would survive the bubble burst.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 13, 2008 6:09 AM
Next week’s numbers from TAM Media Research would be very interesting, given the repeat programming mode that Hindi general entertainments are in. The latest data for week 45 does not yet show the impact of repeat programming and marks one of the better weeks that that genre has seen. All players have added to their overall ratings and the genre GRPs have increased from 1064 to 1203.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 13, 2008 5:49 AM
A GEC may be the largest consumer of ad revenues, but it also is the most expensive genre for investment. Needless to say, this genre has been the worst hit by the economic slowdown. Broadcast chiefs are calling SOS meetings to identify all areas where the industry can cut costs. In this first part of the report, exchange4media looks closely at some of the problems that the genre is facing, and the steps that the top execs of three media companies are taking to address the situation at hand.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 12, 2008 6:39 AM
The dispute between the broadcasters and the producers shows no signs of a resolution. The members of the AMPTPP, IMPPA and the Producers Guild that together constitute almost all TV producers and motion picture makers, addressed the press on November 11. Mukesh Bhatt, Chairperson of the Producers’ Committee, at present, is the ‘official spokesperson’ of the producers, who have said that a solution could be arrived at if the broadcasters, FWICE and the producers got together on the matter.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 12, 2008 6:24 AM
The Gunn Report for 2008 has been released and the news is not a very happy one for India, which has slipped in its performance as compared to last year. While India was the 15th most awarded country in 2007, this year, it was down two places at the 17th position. O&M Delhi and JWT Mumbai are the two agencies that have scored better in this year’s results.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 12, 2008 5:42 AM
In the single most high-powered press address that has happened in recent times in Indian broadcasting history, top execs from across Hindi GECs got together to announce their decision to block out fresh content on their channels. The objective of this address was to show that the otherwise bitterly competing fraternity is absolutely united on this cause. The broadcasters, for now, have the support of the advertising agencies and advertisers too. The key, however, is how long the blackout would last.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 11, 2008 6:27 AM
The economic slowdown has impacted many business plans, and not in the most positive way. INX Media and INX News, too, are caught in the midst of a speculations storm, triggered by the economic meltdown. Rumours ranging from senior level exits to company sale were discussed widely in the last week. Some of the touted names in context to the sale included the Bhaskar Group and Balaji Telefilms. Indrani Mukerjea, Founder and CEO, INX Media and INX News clarified on all of these speculations.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 10, 2008 5:23 AM
In the absence of any resolution or feedback from the producers on the dispute between the producers and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), Hindi GECs have instructed their respective programming teams to be geared for all repeat programming beginning November 10. The only channel that would see an exception in this is Colors for its show ‘Bigg Boss’. At the same time, 9X’s directive to its programming team to stop shooting completely is seen in a different light.
Noor Fathima Warsia Nov 7, 2008 6:03 AM
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