Marketing Ganga

Category: Media

  • Radio Requires Reinvention

    Radio suffered due to pandemic, and its estimated revenues of Rs.2750 crore by 2023 would be smaller than Rs.3110 crore it earned in 2019. Though radio ad rates were just Rs.100 for a 10-second spot, advertisers felt regional TV gave them better reach. Thus even pre-pandemic radio was facing tough times. It is possible radio revenues may recover but the digital advertising is gaining mileage, and is giving tough competition to radio. Radio requires reinvention.

    Besides, there is no credible evaluation of the effectiveness of radio advertising — there is absence of third party audit.

    Radio was a preferred medium for small and local advertisers, but these have diverted to the digital media such as Google. Digital has the advantage of being targeted advertising. And the visibility of digital media is higher.

    Radio should create live feeds and market them aggressively. They should experiment with podcasts on radio. Radio jockeys should promote radio listening on cell phones. They should focus on live events and content production. They can think of producing original audio/video content. Clients love solutions, and these are one third of radio’s total revenues, and two-third revenue comes from FM. This should be 50:50 in the coming years.

    There are opportunities in online concepts, influencer marketing, brand advocacy, podcasts and audio solutions in smart speakers.

    Non-advertising business could increase its share in years to come. Radio stations have survived by massive cost cuts and reductions in pays, infrastructure and overheads. However, the need of the hour is the reinvention of the medium itself sooner rather than later.

  • Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) Abolished

    The Centre promulgated The Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Services) Ordinance, 2021. It has done away with the appellate authorities under nine acts, and has vested the high courts with the appellate powers. The Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) has been removed. It was established in 1983 under the Cinematograph Act. It was a statutory body constituted to hear appeals of filmmakers aggrieved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) order.

    FCAT was a very fast and economical mechanism. In contrast, high courts are already overburdened and have little time. FCAT arranged screening speedily for the aggrieved filmmakers. It could focus on repeated screenings of the disputed material if necessary. It also took into consideration similar past films. It was being fair to the film makers.

    The government treats it as a cost reducing exercise. Here the public at large is not a direct litigant. As it is, very few films go in the FCAT. In the last two-three years, only 0.2 per cent films were taken to FCAT. If CBFC works efficiently and pragmatically, there is hardly any need to have a tribunal.

  • OTT Channels

    There are currently about 40 providers of OTT services. OTT has become affordable, and its delivery on internet is also affordable. The rising penetration of broadband has played a key role in speeding up the growth of OTT. As the content is accessible on smart phones, content can be accessed anytime and anywhere. People do not want to be tied down to specific times to view the content. This is the main reason for the rise of OTT.

  • Facebook to Pay for Content

    Facebook has agreed to pay mainstream media in the UK to license their articles. Most British newspaper groups have signed up to the programme under which their articles will appear in a dedicated news section on the site. Currently, the news is consumed through links shared on a user’s main newsfeed. Contractors will be roped in to select the main stories of the day. In return publishers are promised substantial returns. The stories could be curated. The stories could be chosen algorithmically to reflect a user’s interests.

  • Disney+

    Disney+ has been launched in India in 2019. It is Disney Company’s streaming services in India and Indonesia. Together both these markets account for 18.4 million subscribers. That is more than a quarter of Disney+ customers worldwide (73.7 million). Most subscribers in India pay just a fraction of what US subscribers pay. In April 2020, Disney introduced three levels of service — free, VIP and premium. The VIP version includes live sports, Indian movies, and Disney films dubbed in local languages. It costs Rs.399 per year ($5.40). The premium version includes Disney+ originals and English language content. It costs $4 a month or $ 20 per year. Cricket matches are big draw for Disney+ in India.

  • MX Player

    OTT platform MX Player has diversified into music, gaming and short-format video business. After the departure of TikTok, there was void in the market. MX Player has introduced MX Taka Tak to fill this void. It is an advertising-led revenue model. On MX Player, they have close to 100 games. They have opened the platform to game developers who publish their games on it. They will scale up to have thousands of games. SVOD-only content internationally cater to the youth. It is an opportunity. More than half the content is driven by originals. They have good international content which is dubbed in Hindi.

  • OneWeb : Satellite Internet

    A low-earth-orbiting (LEO) satellite communications company called OneWeb has now emerged from bankruptcy and will start commercial internet connectivity services in late 2021. They will start test services in India soon. They will work with ISRO. By May-June, 2021, the whole of India will be covered. Sunil Bharti has been appointed as the Chairman of Oneweb. They will continue to launch satellites in 2021 and 2022. A consortium of the UK Govt. and Bharti Global have invested in new equipment. That has emerged the company from US Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Both the partners in the consortium hold 42.2% stake each. Others hold 15.6%. Bharti Global is the overseas arm of Bharti Enterprises, the holding company of Bharti Airtel.

  • Collaborative Approach to OTTs

    TV content is governed by the Cable TV Network Act, 1995 and Cinema by the Cinematograph Act,1952. There are no specific laws to regulate OTT platforms. In general, OTTs follow Article 19(2) of the Constitution which provides for reasonable restrictions on the freedom of expression. There are provisions in the IT Act that can be invoked for objectionable content with powers to block access. The recently suggested Intermediary Guidlines and Ethics Code (February 2021) expects intermediaries to exercise due diligence while showcasing information on OTT platforms. These platforms are already subject to IPC provisions about defamation, deliberate and malicious intent etc. The proposed COTPA Bill of the Ministry of Health has provisions against tobacco advertising and glamorising content on OTT platforms.

    So far the the artistic fraternity was elite, big banner, big people affair. OTTs have invited all and sundry and have broken the walls that existed. Entertainment industry employs directly and indirectly lacs of people. Even the audience has changed. Content has to conform to the present day audience, and its geographic location.

    None wants micromanagement and excessive regulation of this segment. Provisions of existing laws could be used to lead to self-regulation. There should be collaborative model between the government and industry. Anything that delays the content clearance will sound the death knell for the industry.

  • Short-video Apps

    The average short-video is 15-20 seconds. To finance this app, you require $100000 to $5 million plus. In short-video, tech is very important. The load time should ideally be not over one second. If it hits 3 seconds, the bounce rate is 30-40 per cent. (the rate at which people drop out). You require fast video delivery. There are issues of music licensing. The videos created are mostly of dancing and comedy. The language used is mostly Hindi. Technology and media firms are investing heavily in short-video apps. There are MX Player’s Taka Tak, Zee5’s HiPi, ShareChat’s Moj, Facebook’s Instagram Reel, and Inshorts’ Public.

    These apps are great for bonding. India is a country of 700-plus districts. There are creators of short-video all across. If we estimate 100 creators in each district, the total number of creators could be 70,000.

  • Big Brother Indian State

    The rules framed for online media, e-news channels and OTTs put restrictions on freedom of expression and dissemination of information. The government has assumed wide ranging discretionary powers to vet the content on social media and to take punitive action. The messengers too will be compelled to break the encryption . The grievance address mechanism will shoot up costs. Digital news sites and OTTs will be under a three-tier structure to regulate them. The Inter Departmental Committee (IDC) of government is the final tier.

    The time to take down content has been reduced from 48 hours to 36 hours. The digital platforms would have to comply with a Code of Ethics framed by the Press Council or Code under Cable TV Network Regulation Act. It contains negative list of issues pertaining to sex and violence. An aggrieved person submits grievance to the mechanism established. Literally, it is open field. There is a compliance officer and nodal officer to interface with the law enforcement agencies. On being dissatisfied, the aggrieved party approaches the self regulating body and then to an oversight mechanism. There could be endless harassment.

    Messangers have to identify the originator of the message violating the code. It is in response to judicial orders or government order.

    It could lead to environment where the government has an unfettered freedom to shut down content.

    There are issues of fake news on digital channels. Powers that be put their own spin on the digital media. It is necessary to look into this. However, these guidelines go far too much. There could be selective application too as there is lot of discretion available.