It’s been an action-packed week on and off the small screen. While Akshay Kumar alongwith his 13 beauties leapt into the living rooms through a new entertainment channel Colors, there’s been a reshuffle in the positioning of the general entertainment channels. In fact, each one is trying to prove its place in the number game. Star Plus continues to lead with 348 GRPs while Zee TV delivers 225 GRPs according to the TAM data for week 29. STAR Plus also claims to be bigger than two of its closest competitors (Zee and Sony) put together. Meanwhile, Zee continues its stronghold in the No.2 position but it is the third position that remains volatile.
For the last two weeks Sony has made a comeback to its No.3 position which had been shaken by new entrants NDTV Imagine and 9X. Last week Sony delivered GRPs of 99 as against 9X’s GRPs of 87. Says Danish Khan, Assistant VP, Marketing, Sony, “10 Ka Dum has been consistently doing well, specially our celebrity specials. CID too continues to be our top-rated show. On weekends we have been the leaders and we are strengthening our band with block-busters and celebrity episodes of 10 Ka Dum every other week.” Next week will see the Bachna Ae Haseeno team Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba in Salman Khan’s game-show. A kids championship is lined up in Boogie Woogie.The last time they had a kids competition in the show, the ratings had doubled and Khan hopes this championship will do the same, if not more. Also lined up is the TV premiere of Om Shanti Om. They have also got viewing rights for Akshay-Katrina starrer Singh Is Kinng.
Interestingly, Colors during its launch had announced the same titles as the major attractions on its channel. Khan explains that the movies are sold differently these days. “The premiere is with us, the second viewing will be on some other channel.” In fact, the channel-driver of Colors Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi was first seen on Sony. Even their forthcoming show Big Boss had been the frontrunner for Sony when it was aired on it three years ago. Says Khan,”It is a matter of cost-benefit. Fear Factor has worked for them. We used to get a rating of 4, they are getting a rating of 2 and the cost has gone up. We are an 11- year- old channel and we work on a profit basis. A new channel makes illogical investment to get noticed and hopes to recover it differently. For instance, Mahabharat on 9X will be 4-6 times costlier than a Sony show.”
Even as Sony gets upbeat about their positioning, Colors is celebrating one of the best openings in recent times. While NDTV Imagine launched with 55 GRPS and 9X delivered 21 GRPs in the first week of its launch, Colors has had a phenomenal beginning with 81 GRPs. Rajesh Kamat, CEO, is visibly excited. “Our strategy of differentiative and disruptive programme backed by a huge marketing campaign and good distribution has given us enouraging opening,” he smiles. Fear Factor is their disruptive primetime programming that has appealed to audiences across age groups and delivered a rating of 2. “People thought it would appeal to the15 - 24 age group but 4 + audiences are watching and enjoying the show,” says Kamat.
Their other show that has become the talking point is Balika Badhu, which averaged at 0.9 with the peak rating of 1.2. The channel has reached 36.4 million viewers with five-and-a-half days of programming. With Big Boss anchored by Shilpa Shetty to be aired in place of Fear Factor after it’s over, Kamat is confident that they will continue to grow in the slot. Though reality shows attract and spike the ratings, Kamat is aware that it is fiction that will bring loyalty and ‘stickiness’, which he hopes Mohe Rang De and Jai Krishna will bring. These shows got a rating of 0.9.
Meanwhile, 9X which has been dethroned from being No.3 by Sony feels that the Nos. 3 to 6 positions will keep shuffling in the coming weeks now. As Indrani Mukerjea, CEO, 9X, puts it, “We are very happy with our stable all- round growth across weekdays and weekends and all day parts.” But the battle for No.3 will get more hot in the coming weeks.
Tata Sky plans tie-ups with Sony Pictures, Fox for content Reghu Balakrishnan & Pritha Mitra Dasgupta
In the backdrop of intensifying battle in the direct-to-home (DTH) space, Tata Sky's plans to stay on the top with tie-ups. The partners include global entertainment majors such as Sony Pictures and Fox for content as varied as movies and coverage of special events that will constitute the key to the expansion of its ‘pay per view’ portfolio.
Star India Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Fox parent News Corp, holds a 20 per cent stake in Tata Sky Ltd.
The pay-per-view movie-service offers viewers access to the most recently launched Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters. In January, Tata Sky rival, Dish TV, entered into a tie-up with Sony Pictures, in a move to expand its movie-on-demand segment.
The tie-up with Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI), a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, gave subscribers access to the latter’s rich blockbuster movie-collection.
Acknowledging the development, Vikram Kaushik, managing director and CEO, Tata Sky Ltd, told FE , “We are in discussions with Sony Pictures and Fox for content, but it is too early to comment on the the content or the time-frame. As regulations mandate that no DTH player can create and own content, we are forced to go to sources." Earlier, there were reports that Fox News Channel, the US-based channel of News Corp, plans to enter India through its tie-up with Tata Sky.
Recently, Tata Sky expanded its value-added services by launching Actve Matrimony in association with bharatmatrimony.com. The DTH company has also launched Actve Darshan — broadcasting live telecasts of religious services at temples. The company also plans to launch regional content in its pay-per- view offer for which the cost has been estimated at about Rs 50-75 per movie.
However, analysts are not too optimistic about the costs involved. According to a Mumbai-based media, “DTH companies are losing heavily on each new connection. Dish TV is losing about Rs 2,600 per new connection, while Tata Sky is losing Rs 5,000. Dish TV’s recovery period for a single connection comes to 30 months, while Tata Sky will take 50 months.” Tata Sky's Kaushik echoed the same opinion. “It’s like the telecom industry. You will have to have deep pockets as the recovery period is long. So, though the recovery period is pretty long, we have invested about Rs 4,000 crore so far,” he said.
Earlier, Tata Sky had approached the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) to pass an interim order restraining Dish TV from continuing with its advertisement offering free set-top boxes. The MRTPC has reserved its judgment over the case.
Recently, the Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (Voice), a consumer organisation, filed a petition with the MRTPC alleging that Tata Sky was misleading viewers arbitrarily by increasing the price and removing prime channels such as BBC, Ten Sports, ESPN, STAR Sports and STAR Cricket, from its basic bouquets.
