MAM
Marketing world cautious over NTO 2.0, Coronavirus
NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: It has been less than a year since the dust around NTO had settled, which even resulted in a dip in TV ad spends last year, and the hay has once again been unsettled with uncertainties raised by NTO 2.0. With broadcasters taking up the case legally against the new pricing regime, the marketing world has to deal with a new set of confusions.
Elaborating on the situation, Carat SVP Vinita Pachisia notes, “Advertisers usually earmark budgets for each medium before the new financial year begins. A change in the tariff regime will again disrupt the viewership. Last year when the NTO was implemented it took almost 6-8 weeks for the data to stabilise and for the advertisers to use it for plan evaluations. The new NTO amendments could again lead to similar fluctuations as it aims to bring in more viewership options to the audiences at a lower cost and higher FTA channels access. This in turn will lead to the advertisers to rethink on the advertising options before committing any spends.”
According to Update Geotarget MD and founder Sharad Alwe, marketers are looking for alternate and effective mediums to deliver impactful messaging as people are moving to other platforms.
He says: “It is no secret that since NTO 1.0, the availability of broadcast channels in GEC and movies genres has dropped appreciably in households. DTH has also shown a slight downtrend and is undergoing consolidation. Viewers are either happy with the mandatory Free-To-Air channels that come with the base NCF package, or, in the case of metros and Tier 1, some are moving to OTT.”
Havas Media CEO India and South East Asia Anita Nayyar shares similar sentiments, “The ad spends (on TV) will get affected given the changes in NTO 2.0. The total cost to choose the channels will impact TV viewing. The other platforms will tend to gain viewership as they become more viable for the viewer's pocket.”
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd VP and head media services Subha Iyer says that there have been cuts on ad spends. “It (NTO 2.0) will definitely cause an impact when we consider the fact that consumer offering in the form of multiple bouquets, pricing, etc. will go through another round of change. In the current scenario, one has to plan for multiple events affecting all of us with their implications in the market, business as well,”
However, Nayyar believes what is impacting media planning and ad spends more than NTO is the novel Coronavirus COVID-19. She says, “There is a lot of caution on ad spends in the market. The cumulative impact is far higher than the NTO impact. And the YES bank fiasco is just adding fuel to fire. Advertisers are waiting and only undertaking crucial spends.”
Pachisia also adds, “Currently the market sentiments are very low due to the present situation of Coronavirus across the world. Advertisers have been affected due to the ban on imports and this in turn has affected the advertising spends. The furore on IPL is another major factor to consider here. Hence it would be very difficult to gauge right now if the advertising spends have reduced due to NTO 2.0 or all the other current factors in the market.”
The whole industry is in a jittery considering the ongoing climate of crisis and the advertisers prefer to tread the waters extremely carefully. Alwe and Pachisia feel that there is going to be a structural shift in the advertising market shares.
Alwe says, “While TV has always been the traditional medium for national awareness, marketers we speak with are constantly looking for a smarter way to deliver their message. Hyperlocal geo-targeting, multilingual communication and ROI are what marketers expect from their media plan. We believe that while TV, digital and print will continue to have their presence in a media plan, marketers will look for other options to complement their traditional strategy, and there will be a structural shift in market share.”
Pachisia concludes, “The new NTO amendments would definitely force advertisers to rethink their strategies, resulting in a realignment of media plans which would definitely impact spends on TV. Clients who have specific quarter-wise budgets may look to spend it on other mediums till such time that the data settles and is comparable. The niche genres are already facing stiff competition from the OTT platforms and factors like these, and so many amendments to the NTO, are fuelling the decision to some extent.”
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
