One thing that intrigues media and advertising professionals in the recent past is the tumultuous growth of a secondary GEC Channels like ‘Zee Anmol’ and Star Utsav in the Hindi Speaking heartland of India.
For all those of who have been witnessing the transition of Industry currency from TAM to BARC, what keeps them bewildered is the toppling of the top 3 most popular HSM GEC Channels viz Star Plus, Colors and Zee TV. Zee Anmol is therefore the new crowning glory; the neumerouno position it holds by upsetting all the traditional rivals.
Yes, it is the BARC figures of Zee Anmol that has taken the Media Industry by storm. Content wise Zee Anmol runs what one would say, the reruns from the topline of their the programmes they ran successfully in their primary channels. Industry sources say that the steady spiralling could owe to the following reasons.
1) The ZEE Anmol is Free to air and hence lapped by the viewers, particularly in Rural markets.
2) The Successful content even if repeats are new to the 1st time viewers in the rural Markets where BARC established its sample size recently.
3) The repeat option gave them the time flexibility to view.
4) The extensive promotions made by the Marketing team of Zee Anmol.
Will this new positioning among the Hindi GECs are here to stay for Zee Anmol..? Well that is what, only time will tell. The Media buyers and Planners, however are sceptical, they will rather wait and watch than offer the advertising rates on par with mainline Hindi entertainment channels viz Colors, Star Plus, Zee TV.
At Zee Anmol, the role of Marketing team for now seemed to be one-up over the ad sales team. In this constant one-man ship among the departments, the smarter guys in the marketing seemed to have won the 1st round. Information is that this upsurge of Zee Anmol has already awakened the managements amongst the rivals like Star Utsav, Risthey and Life OK. Their common refrain is,’ if Zee Anmol can, why not we?
Can Fiction Serials alone carry a channel forward…? Then what about the investments made for procurement of Movies and not to take away the big monies doled out for making Non Fiction contents like Reality shows, Talent Hunts, Game Shows etc…? If serials alone can take channels ahead then the Ratings of Zindagi should have been better than what it is now. Zindagi (owned by the same media group that owns Anmol) today have made its name with serial like Aadhe Adhure, Bhaag Re man, Daag, Neeyat, Jab we Wed and a host of the others. True fact however is that the ratings churn week after week do not commensurate the popularity and the perception that Zindagi carries.
If popular programmes on Zee Anmol like Sapne Suhane, Choti Bahu, the historical Jodha Akbar, Bandini and Doli Armanon ki can have it in them to take them to this position, the programs on others Channels like Zindagi, Life OK, Star Utsav and Risthey should also help the respective channels. For now, the Marketing teams across channels will have to burn their midnight oil.
While this was the case in HSM Market, the BARC Rural data had also triggered another confused scenario at all India level too…. Sun TV being the Channel with highest viewership in the country that is more than the viewership of Star Plus, Colors, Zee TV etc… Can they demand ad rates that are on-par or at least near matching to that of Hindi GECs that are viewed by lesser population comparatively….?
Wait and watch for more….
Author: Venu Gopal Nair -tvnews4u.com – Mumbai
