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Like Shinde, a growing section of TV viewers are manipulating screen time with the help of new technology. Deferred viewing is on the rise thanks to busy lifestyles, and appointment viewing — on which the fundamentals of buying and selling TV time was based — is being consigned to history. Mona Jain, CEO, VivaKi Exchange, says, "Content is becoming screen neutral and increasingly audiences have more options to be able to watch their programmes at their convenience and are no longer bound to catch it at only prescribed time.The new technology of DVR etc has made it possible to record content and watch it at their convenience and as many times."
This is a global phenomenon. So pronounced is the shift that for the first time, research agency Nielsen is trying to measure the viewership of recorded programmes beyond seven days and up to 29 days in the US, the reference market for tracking consumer technology, to offer agencies data on which they can rework their ROI calculations. Part of this set of data available with The Strategist shows that while sports genre dominates live viewing, primetime dramas and sitcoms dominate the beyond-seven days category. As per industry figures, about half of the TV households in the US have access to digital video recorders (DVR) and other time-shift technologies. About 13 per cent of the content is currently viewed at a different time. Within this, 80 per cent of time-shift viewing is happening within 24 hours of the recording. Though this data pertains to the US market, it may very well show the shape of things to come in India.
But first, where do we stand today?
Largely, TV advertising decisions in India are based on viewership data collated by Television Audience Measurement (TAM). At the moment, leading providers of direct-to-home (DTH) and internet protocol television (IPTV) are not sharing any data on time-shift viewing. So there is no TAM-validated data available yet. In fact, DTH/IPTV players may never evince interest in gathering this data as advertisers are likely to use it to renegotiate ad rates to their disadvantage. Nielsen India’s communication team says there’s no India perspective in their report.
But some back-of-the-envelope calculation might help shed light. Industry estimates peg the number of digital cable and satellite and DTH connections in India at 60 million. Less than 1 per cent households have DTH connections with DVR. That is, less than 600,000 have the technology to record. While this doesn’t necessary mean they defer viewing or zap ads, this gives a sense of the numbers that have already acquired the capability. That said, there are no clear numbers available on IPTV, which records all channels up to a week.
Shashi Arora, CEO, DTH/Media, Bharti Airtel, says, “Like with any other new technology product, HD DVR too will take a few years to witness ready acceptance in Indian homes. Apart from lack of awareness, one reason for low adoption is its price. As digitisation spreads, we foresee a much faster adoption by the middle-class viewer who currently cannot afford the HD DVR set-top box but aspires to the technology that will help her watch TV at her preferred time.” In a developed market like the US, an HD DVR is second to the cellphone as the most essential household technology product. But this category is yet to take off in India as the HD DVR is viewed as a premium product. For instance, a new Airtel digital TV HD-DVR connection is priced at Rs 5,740.
In a data dark market, the best way to go ahead is to look at global trends. And global trends show that television programmes are increasingly being viewed as standalone videos rather than… well, television programmes. And they are being viewed on the go — on the mobile, on the tablet or laptop. The viewer has the choice of watching it on the broadcaster’s website or on YouTube.
The broadcaster, too, has a wide variety of options to reach the viewer. This also means the media planner/buyer’s life is getting more complicated.
Viewership is changing
What makes the media guys’ task even more difficult is the fact that the way we consume television is also changing rapidly. Five years ago, most Indian households had single screens and prime time was strictly for family viewing, a forte of leading general entertainment channels (GECs) like Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony TV. With the number of screens per households increasing — we are not just talking about the second TV set, but of mobile and internet TV too — new genres like lifestyle and English movie channels are gaining traction. The viewership for such youth channels is driven by people in the age group of 15-35 years. Time-shift viewing is an appealing proposition for this target group.
“Over the years, media planners and research providers have understood the importance of live GRPs and time-shifted GRPs and how both provide value for the advertiser,” adds Ravi Kiran, who has spent 20 years in the media industry and is now associated with Friends of Ambition, a growth advisory company he co-founded.
Until a few years ago, the average media plan of a big advertiser focused on TV, print, outdoor and, if the budget permitted, some in-shop advertising. Digital spends have picked up in recent years with FMCG and automobile players taking the lead. The advantage for advertisers who plan to up spends on digital is the ability to track wastage. Concepts like cost per click, cost per thousand, to advanced tracking codes for measuring reach have come to the aid of the advertisers.
Broadcasters have more than just changing viewership to grapple with. They are dealing with the mammoth task of selling ad spots on TV channels, facilitating in-show placements and brand integrations and monetising content on YouTube channels. All three are crucial to a sound media plan. In fact, broadcasters are collaborating with Google to build their presence online. For instance, while Google blocks pirated content (for example, episodes of soaps) posted by users to safeguard the interest of broadcasters, a revenue sharing model is followed for distribution of ad revenue between the two parties.
Indeed, Google’s free video warehousing platform YouTube, with more than 125 million videos in India, is the best example of how advertisers now have a platform where they can fine-tune their social media strategy with minimal spillage. Let us look at what an advertiser can do on YouTube.
Pre-roll allows an advertiser to place his commercial before a video chosen by the user is played. The user gets five seconds to skip the ad. If this happens, the advertiser does not pay for the impression. On the other hand, if the ad runs for six seconds or more it is considered as viewed. In this case, an advertiser pays on the basis of the duration for which the ad ran. A YouTube spokesperson says, “We do not charge advertisers for ads that are skipped and thus encourage them to develop more entertaining and likeable creatives that users want to watch. Advertisers can view metrics such as number of impressions, conversions and viewer demographics via their YouTube Insights accounts. This gives them total control of their spends and helps to measure their campaigns effectively.”
Atul Hegde, CEO of internet marketing agency Ignitee, says, “The number of users skipping the ads on YouTube is very low and so advertisers from across the categories are willing to invest in pre-roll.” Interestingly, YouTube also offers a carpet bombing option titled First Watch in pre-rolls in which an advertiser’s ad is played before every video for a day. Besides opting for text ads on videos, a brand can take sponsorship of a channel which provides ample scope for branding. Soaps, Bollywood and cricket are the three most viewed contents on YouTube. Currently, 5-8 per cent of the overall digital spends is going to YouTube.
Indeed, broadcasters don’t want to lose out on any opportunity that might come their way. Last month, MSM launched Sony LIV, a portal that will offer its TV content online. Targeted at urban users in the 15-34 age bracket, the channel is also available on iOS and Android platforms. The likes of Star Plus and NDTV too have taken up similar initiatives in the past.
Nitesh Kripalani, senior vice-president, new media, business development and digital syndication, MSM, says, “Clients are savvy like never before in terms of ROI on their digital spends. Interestingly, within two weeks of launch we realised that while 60 per cent of the overall viewership comes from abroad, only 40 per cent of content is seen by Indian viewers. With Sony LIV, we want to establish a global advertising model.”
Onus on creativity
So who should worry? First, the advertiser. Second, the media buyer/planner.
A large chunk of the media buying/planning community is not in sync with emerging technology, says an agency insider. A view echoed by Kiran of Friends of Ambition as well. “Most of them are reeling under the pressure of ‘here and how’, a legacy of traditional media planning focused on TV and print. Since content is now a video, media planning for TV will soon be recognised as video planning across devices,” says Kiran.
Why should the advertiser worry? Because plain vanilla advertising will no longer work. According to PepsiCo’s senior director, marketing (colas, juices and hydration), Homi Battiwalla, brands have to put their best foot forward by creating engaging content across media. Manisha Lath Gupta, CMO, Axis Bank, says, “A brand should come on YouTube if it can entertain, educate or inspire. In reality this ends up as an afterthought. Many mainstream agencies still do not have separate strategy for YouTube. Playing commercials is passé, and this has given birth to another challenge for advertisers — what works on a YouTube channel?” Battiwalla adds, “YouTube is crucial for our brand. It can be a big rival of national channels. We will allocate a significant portion of our niche media budget to YouTube and also experiment with the content on our YouTube channel.”
According to KV Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett, brands and agencies will have to seemlessly work with content creators. “Brand integration will become a necessity. We already have some great examples like Coke Studio, Thums Up Khatro Ke Khiladi and Amul Master Chef,” he adds.
All of this might, after all, turn out to be a fantastic deal for the advertising industry. When viewers have the power to dodge ads served by brands, the onus will be on cutting edge creative to provide the all-important eyeballs.
Get the drift?
