Poor reception

BRAND LAUNCH LEAST SUCCESSFUL

This picture's looking a bit grainy. Zee Sports didn't have too many takers in the annual Brand Derby. Over 45 per cent of the respondents felt the television channel was not successful, making it the second-worst performer in this round of the Derby. "Zee Sports hasn't done anything special," was the frequently-heard gripe.

That's not quite true, but we'll get to that. First, consider what could be wrong with the latest "flower" in Zee Network's bouquet. In a word, cricket. Or rather, the lack of it. "Cricket is the Trinity "" it is the creator and destroyer of sports channels," declares Meenakshi Madhvani, managing partner of media auditing firm Spatial Access Solutions.

The numbers bear that out: a single series of international cricket, in which India is playing, can draw in revenues of close to Rs 170 crore. The next popular sports "" Formula 1 racing and football "" are way back in the stands in terms of revenue: Rs 20-25 crore and Rs 10 crore, respectively.

But when Zee Sports was launched in June 2005, it didn't have the rights for live broadcast of any cricket event. Says Gaurav Seth, vice president, marketing, Zee Sports, "We would love to have as much cricket as possible, but the problem is availability. By the time we entered the market, most telecasting rights were already booked."

Which is probably why Zee Sports didn't make a song and dance about its launch. Its first campaign consisted of just 20 hoardings in Mumbai and Delhi, along with a few banners on trade sites. The major promotion had to wait until August when the channel acquired the telecasting rights for the Afro-Asian cricket series played in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Zee Sports used the time to scout around for other avenues of growth. "We realised we had to own a property for a long term, nurture it and then gain from it," says Seth. That's when the channel hit upon football. The channel has now acquired the telecasting rights of all football matches of the All India Football Federation for the next decade.

It's making good use of that opportunity. It forked out over Rs 1.8 crore on promotions for the Federation Cup in October. Apart from disk jockeys, fire throwers, jugglers and fashion models, that included the Zeebras "" a squad of cheerleaders, complete with short skirts and pompoms.

Radio promotions, hoardings and print campaigns exhorted football fans to "come cheer for Indian football with the Zeebras". "We were targeting SEC A and B men in the 15-34 age group, so we thought adding some glamour would make it more appealing," explains Seth.

It did work: according to a survey by Zee, 68 per cent of the 2,000 men interviewed during the series said they had come to watch the Zeebras.

Still, cricket is the Holy Grail. And with the telecast rights to Indian cricket for the next four years to be decided soon, Zee Sports' quest is still on.

Meanwhile, its December broadcast of the India-Sri Lanka test series dominated television ratings for the month "" Zee Sports was ahead of Ten Sports, ESPN and Star Sports, no mean feat (source: TAM Peoplemeter System). Says Himanshu Mody, business head, Zee Sports, "We have close to 15 per cent of the market. For a channel that's only six months old, that's a commendable job."

Media observers say Zee Sports earlier cricket telecasts haven't exactly stood out for originality and innovative presentations. Sony Entertainment Television bringing in Mandira Bedi as a non-sports commentator during the 2003 World Cup is held up as the standard by many experts "" it helped draw in a whole new audience, which meant new sources of advertising revenue. "If you fail to make a connection with the consumer by not being innovative, it can prove expensive," points out marketing consultant Deepali Naair.

What has already proved costly for Zee Sports is the absence of a brand-building exercise. A campaign had been planned some weeks ago that communicated how the channel stood out from the crowd, but Seth says it had to be cancelled because "a cricket series came up". Zee Sports has a clear picture when it comes to priority.