Currently, the planners process a lot of data, choose the channels, place the ads and analyse the impact. There are last minute changes as per the demands of the client. It is a time-consuming and cumbersome exercise. It is also impulsive and intuitive as some decisions are taken on the spot.

The data driven media buying brings buyers and sellers to an automated marketplace. Already, in digital advertising, programmatuc buying is working well. The concept is making inroads into the TV industry. Manual processes are dispensed with.  No endless working on spreadsheets, and lengthy media plans. No requests and orders, and the wait for responses from the TV channels. The process takes a few steps, using a simple workflow.

The campaign is need based. It sets parameters such as audience classification, duration of the creative, GRP objective and genre of channels. The workflows are automated in programmatic TV. It is efficient and transparent. The intelligent algorithms do the e work. The performance is tracked continuously. Apart from convenience, programmatic TV helps exercise better control. It allows immediate remedial action if expected performance in terms of GRP is not delivered. It is flexible.

It is the next revolution in TV advertising. Programmatic TV has already taken its first steps in India.

There is so much talk about digital viewing and its growth. Is it eating significantly the TV viewing? The answer is, no. There has been a great rise in OTT platforms such as NetFlix, Amazon Prime, VOOT etc. They do get subscribers. Still it is early days. These services are additive rather than cannibalistic to TV viewing.

Data from the US and UK shows that there is still a large amount of viewing on a TV set — 92 per cent of all viewing takes place on a TV set (as per the data from the US). Although viewing behaviour is changing, the traditional way of accessing the content is still very resilient. There has been no decrease in TV advertising. Total TV viewing is still pretty stable. TV is not dead. Yes, there is fragmentation.

BARC, the country’s TV viewership monitoring agency has come up with the estimates of audience size and TV penetrationn in India. TV is watched by 780 million citizens in India which exceeds the whole population of Europe of about 745 million.

The homes with a TV set in the country have gone up to 183 million from 153 million. It increases TV penetration to 64% from the earlier estimates of 54%. The urban and rural split was 50:50 earlier. As per the new universe, rural India now has 99 million TV owning homes, contributing to 54% of the total universe, while urban India has 84 million TV homes, contituting remaining 46%

In the 1980s, the goal was one TV in every village. In the 1990s, the goal shifted to one TV every lane. In 2000, the goal was to have one TV in every home. Since 2017, we desire one TV in every individual’s hand, say in the form of a mobile phone. The TV revolution is very fast. As we know TV appeared in India in 1959 and it remained a single channel transmission for specific hours for 30 years. The same channel was made 24×7 channel later. In 1991, there was liberalisation, and foreign investors came forward to enter the entertainment business. TV sets became cheaper. They spread far and wide. In 1992, the number of TV households was 12 lac. This increased rapidly.

Instead of a single channel, there are 800 channels now operating in the country. The reach has gone beyond a TV a set — on mobile screen. The videos on cell phones started five years ago. These videos were seen on YouTube. The regular TV channels recognised the potential and made available the content through an App. Viewers shifted from appointment TV to any time TV on the mobile. Then came the alternative of foreign OTT channels Netflix and Amazone Prime. In India too, OTT channels such as Sony Liv and Webtalkies appreared.

Internet initiated digitisation. TV too transformed into digital and smart format. Google made available YouTube where anyone can upload a video, and anyone can download it to see it. YouTube itself does not produce the videos. There was overcrowding of videos. That led to a digital channel like Netflix. Amazone Prime followed suit. In 2016, both these entered Indian market. In 2013, digital medium had attracted 18 crore dollars investment. There were 200 companies. In next two years, there were additional 80 companies. They started the independent production of videos. Even digital stars become glamourous.

These media too get advertising revenues to sustain them. Besides, the consumers are charged subscription fees.

In 2016, there were 35 lac subscribers of Netflix. It is estimated that in 2025, the number may reach 7 crore 53 lacs. The same is true for other OTT platforms in India. Even Indian advertisers are diverting to internet media. In 2012, out of the total ad expenditure, only 6 per cent was accounted for internet media. In 2016, the number has gone up to 13 per cent, and is likely to touch 25 per cent in 2020. India is readying itself for a streaming war!

Mobile internet is used by 37.70 crore people in 2016. Of these, 12 crore people have smart phones. Young people of the age group 16-30 are using mobile screens for 2 and 1/2 hours everyday. And 45-65 age group people use mobile screen for 1 and a 1/2 hours. Out of these, 40 per cent people listen to songs and see the videos.

The capital costs to start a TV station are not much these days. About Rs. 250 crores are needed in all, and the equipment used to broadcast and edit is getting cheaper every year. The large outdoor broadcast vans (OBVs) are gone and are replaced by hand-held devices with multiple SIM cards that can transmit the content to the studio as efficiently.

The running costs can be curtailed further by being clear about what the content is intended to achieve. Some TV networks used to employ up to 1000 staff. However, these days the primary offering of the channels is opinion and not reportage. Citizen journalists also contribute material. A channel can be run with a smaller staff. Content can be solicited from the viewers.

The important time band is 8-11 pm. The rest of the day can have any content. An anchor during prime time can do journalism which is polite questioning or take a personal position and opinion. A news channel has become appointment viewing just as sports match and serials are.

The most popular mass medium is TV. It is, therefore, natural for advertisers to buy TV airtime. However, each region is unique in its purchase behaviour. There is need to segment TV footprint for an advertiser. How is it possible to bring region-targeted advertising to TV?

There are companies such as Amagi Vubites of Readiff and Adsharp of Star India who have attempted to tap a larger pool of advertisers by geo-targeting on various channels. They use an innovative method of enhancing the value of available ad inventory which allows advertisers to air different ads on the same channel in different regions to maximise the impact and reduce the costs. It is becoming a part of media planning cycle. Broadcasters have remained sceptical of geo-targeting. They feel that this may reduce the revenues it receives from national advertisers.  They limit the targeted approach to a handful of channels in their network.

However, even broadcasters gain.They are able to split the feeds on the channels with the help of players such as Amagi, networks like Zee and Viacom 18. This helps inserting the target ads, which command better premiums.

Advertisers pick and choose inventory in specific markets on Zee TV, Zee Cinema and Zee News. They pay different amounts for different markets. The whole budget is higher by 20-30 per cent.

As there is too much waste in TV advertising, geo-targeting makes it cost effective.

Idea has used geo-targeting through split beam technology on TV for an ATL campaign on the launch of its 3G network in Delhi in 2015. If all the channels covered in national plan are used and geo approach is taken to increase the GRPs, we  multiply the frequency in the market rather than the reach. However, for regular campaigns to improve sales and brand growth, frequency more than an optimal number is a waste. It can work in India if its quantitative model is worked out. Amagi has tied up with BARC where TV networks doing geo-targeting will be separately monitored.

Zee has taken over the media business of Reliance Broadcast — including two TV channels, 45 operational radio stations and 14 radio licences. Dish TV, Zee’s DTH arm, merged with Videocon d2H forming Dish TV Videocon. They already have a cable distribution company — Siticable. Together, they could control 34 million of India’s 170 million TV homes. In broadcasting, Zee is already number 3. The acquisition of Big92.7 FM brand  across 45 markets catapults Zee among the  top few radio companies as well. The group now operates in the spaces of TV, cable, DTH, newspapers and radio. It is in a small way, also into films and music. All this makes it a media conglomerate that is vertically and horizontally integrated.

There are TV shows both fictional and non-fictional which run for a long time, say in some cases several years. Such shows have to keep its loyal audience intact and attract new audience as it goes along. This is stickiness of content. If the show falters while doing so it becomes unsticky. A lot of time  is devoted to developing characters to drive stickiness. Storytelling should be good too. Refreshing the content regularly is a key. The fundamentals are kept the same, and the execution keeps changing. The element of audience fatigue makes this challenging. A spike can be effected by taking a time leap, or by killing a popular character or by introducing an important new character. Spikes are instruments to enhance a story. However, there should not be over-reliance on these as they may damage a story as well.

Nonfiction shows run over seasons. There are innovations in terms of the host, tasks, contestants and audience engagement. However, here stickiness is not so easy. The shows take seasonal breaks, get consumer insights, and refresh the format.There has to be a balance between the old and new format.

Stickiness is the business of content curation. It is a continuous process. Audience feedback helps. If the foundation is strong, there is scope for experimentation making the show sustainable for a longer the show duration.

These days shows are wrapped up very fast.

In online advertising, we have seen how programmatic and real-time-bidding ( RTB ) have changed the complexion of media buying. Earlier buying was manual and took time. These days it is through software for online display, social media ads, mobile and video campaigns.

This trend is now extended to broadcasting.TAM and now extended to broadcasting. TAM and now BARC do audience measurement to guide advertisers about the viewing preferences of the audience. In TV the viewers change channels and leave a trail. This is the basis to decide the audience preferences. It ultimately decides the relevant content.

Advertisers these days tend to leverage big data. advertisers are sourcing data from other sources apart from audience measurement data . The reason for this is the widening of the data points available, over and above TV. There are multiple devices which engage the audience. It is better to derive insights from various data sources to understand media tastes and consumption preferences.

A number of media tech and data analytics companies have emerged in India to provide big data. Information is sourced from various consumer touch points.

Media companies offer OTT services, which  provide billions of data points which are used to their advantage.

Big data also helps to acquire new customers. Content can be customised and personalised to a specific target group. Today, there is generic catering. Big data enables broadcasters to provide content promotions and advertising specifically designed. Big data complements audience measurement system.

A disadvantage here is the deflection of the marketing, programming and sales teams in the face of too much data. It is necessary to generate a standardised output that provides actionable insights.

On the eve of the Asian Games in 1982, Indian consumers switched from the black and white TV to colourTV. Another leap is now from colour TV to high definition TV. In India, there are 4 million HD TV subscribers, being almost 10 per cent of DTH subscribers. India sells 8 million TV sets, of which more than half are HD and 4K TV sets. ( 2014 ). This is likely to rise to a share of 80 per cent of all sets sold in 2019. Many HD TV transmission channels are being launched by the broadcasters, e.g. Star World, Premiere HD, HBO Hits, FX HD, Star Movie Select HD, MN+, Café HD. HD movie channels are popular. They can also show unique content. HD enriches the overall TV watching experience. In Hindi, we have Colors HD launched in 2011. HD channels have minimum advertising or are free of advertising. They show ads lasting for four to five minutes per broadcasting hour. HD channels bouquet is offered on subscription by the broadcasters. They generate better average revenue per user ( ARPU ). HD channels attract premium advertisers. Advertising revenue comes from the marketers of premium products. They allow a higher ad rate. As more and more LED TVs get sold in India, soon the whole TV viewing is going to be in high definition.