MAM
Digitisation: Broadcasters not ready to rework ad deals
MUMBAI: Broadcasters and the media agencies representing advertisers will soon lock horns over commercial deals as India‘s four metros move to digital cable TV from 1 November.
An uneasy calm is already prevailing as the top multi-system operators (MSOs) have switched off English movie channels in Mumbai and Delhi on analogue cable from 10 October, the two prime ad markets. Next to follow is Hindi movie channels from 15th, news channels from 18th and Hindi GECs from 22nd of October.
More real sense of the pain is to come for advertisers and media agencies nearly three weeks after and it can hurt or be a mild irritation depending on the number of consumers who stay without the digital set-top boxes (STBs) in their homes. The problem of television viewer dropouts in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai becomes more sensitive in a high-spending festive season quarter during an ad slowdown year.
In this interim transition, broadcasters do not want their commercial deals with advertisers to be reworked. Their logic: the gain will be for the whole industry and everybody has to join in making this sacrifice in order to feast later.
“Our festive ad deals are locked. We are not ready to rework the commercial terms. The IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) is taking up the issue on behalf of the broadcasters,” says Zee Entertainment Enterprise chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal.
The media agencies, on the other hand, are wanting to cut short term advertising deals reflecting rate revisions
based on the extent of STB penetration. Says Havas Media India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar, “This has been a year of reduced ad spends and basically a slowdown year. Now there is uncertainty about the reach of the channels in the metros. The deals will have to be re-packaged.”
A part of that duel will be decided on Monday when the IBF, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertises (ISA) meet TV measurement ratings agency TAM.
The broadcasters are insisting on a “viewership data dark period” to smoothen the process of transition to sort out temporary disruptions and avoid a panic situation. An indirect implication of this: advertising deals can’t be renegotiated as there will be no benchmark data on ratings of TV shows or channels.
Media agencies are taking the opposite course to achieve what the broadcasters are out to prevent. They want ratings so that the reality surfaces and every stakeholder knows to what extent digitisation has succeeded. A tussle can, however, be avoided if the government directs TAM to stop reporting about TV viewership data for a short period, allowing the industry to settle down to digitisation.
Multi Screen Media president network ad sales and telephony Rohit Gupta reflects the aggressive mood that runs through the broadcasting community. “No broadcaster is going to rework the deals. The IBF and the NBA (News Broadcasters Association) are working together on this. The DTH has added over 25 million net subscribers and we haven’t got anything extra for this from the advertisers. There is no reason for us to take a cut,” he avers.
Media agencies have already started making their demands. Sehgal admits that some requests have come asking for rate revisions but no discussions have followed. “We haven’t done any negotiations on rate cuts. Even in our annual deals we haven’t factored digitisation at all.”
So will that mean a part of Zee’s ad inventory will go empty? “Our inventory is sold out for the festive season. Even the big-ticket properties like Saregama have no inventory left. For the network, we have locked in most of our deals,” says Sehgal.
Smaller networks may not be in that lucky state and may have factored in digitisation in their ad deals with media agencies. Says
9X Media chief revenue officer Pawan Jailkhani, “The date of digitisation has been decided months back. Advertisers have factored all of this while doing festival and non festivals deals. They take utmost care to safeguard their interests and they know it is not going to affect much as the blackout will be miniscule.”
Most of the sports channels may consider themselves lucky that they do not have any big sporting event coming up during that early digitisation period and, thus, their revenues will not be affected adversely. “It is an interesting period that the industry is entering into. Nobody knows what the short term impact will be. There could be an ad softening in the festive quarter if only there is a major drop in TV viewership. But if the cable empty homes convert to digital cable within a brief period, then there will be a miniscule impact,” says a media analyst.
Also read:
Advertisers want deals to reflect digitisation gaps
MAM
Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
