News Broadcasting
Viacom18 eyes a bumper festive season, with new show ‘The Big Picture’ set for launch
Mumbai: Viacom18’s portfolio of entertainment channels is targeting double digital growth this festive season. According to Viacom18, head – network sales, Mahesh Shetty, the broadcaster expects to beat 2019 festive revenues with two marquee properties to capitalise on.
2020 was an outlier for the media industry because of the impact that Covid-19 had on the industry. Advertising spends that are closely correlated to the GDP and the business economy was depressed for several quarters. “The way the industry bounced back after the second wave was phenomenal. The last quarter results of most companies have been good and that has had a positive impact on ad spends. As we enter the festive period it is just getting better. Most broadcasters are dealing with a problem of plenty i.e., we’re full up on inventory,” remarked Shetty.
The volume of advertisers is yet to recover to the 2019 levels but the values have significantly increased over the past two years. The recovery of ad rates has been driven by the strong demand that the media industry is seeing during the festive period. This is having a positive impact on pricing, observed Shetty.
The broadcaster has invested in big-ticket properties to take advantage of the traction from advertisers. This year its mainline Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Colors will telecast two marquee shows during the festive season namely – ‘Bigg Boss 15’ and ‘The Big Picture’.
“Bigg Boss 15 has signed 18 brands and 75 per cent inventory filled at the time of launch” noted Shetty. “We’ve already signed six brands for ‘The Big Picture’ whose launch is two weeks down the line and are confident that this number will go up.”
Hosted by actor Ranveer Singh, the quiz show is all set to hit the airwaves on 16 October and will be aired on weekends at 8 p.m.
The network has roped TRESemme, Lotus White Glow, Dabur Red Toothpaste, Knorr, Jeevansaathi.com, JK Smart Tyre, Hershey’s Kisses, Garnier Men, Wow Skin Science, Spotify, Moj App, Fogg Deodorant, and Haier Washing Machine for ‘Bigg Boss 15’ on TV and additional five exclusive sponsors on their OTT platform Voot.
For ‘The Big Picture’ the sponsors include BYJU’S, Bikaji, LIC, and Haier Refrigerator on TV and two exclusive sponsors for Voot.
New category advertisers who have become active post-Covid-19 are driving ad volumes and spends, according to Shetty. These advertisers have changed the advertiser mix for entertainment channels and have significantly grown in terms of contribution.
“Looking at a three-year horizon (2019-2021), FMCG which used to contribute 72 per cent to the total ad revenue pie for mainstream entertainment channels, has come down slightly to 70 per cent. Categories like telecom, handsets, apparel have also dropped from about two per cent to one per cent,” said Shetty.
The e-commerce marketplaces which used to be two per cent have grown to four per cent. The contribution of social media apps and OTT platforms which used to be around one to three per cent has jumped to six per cent. “Ed-tech which is a new category that has emerged post-pandemic and now contributes about one per cent to revenues. E-wallets also contribute one per cent. The entire contribution for internet brands which used to be around 12 per cent has now grown to 18 per cent. That’s where the advertising mix has seen a change,” he added.
New categories like e-commerce, fintech, crypto, and ed-tech are investing heavily on TV to change consumer behaviour and drive adoption of their brands. The festive period is the best time to drive preference for their brands when the consumer is usually in a buying mindset and wants to engage with brands.
Apart from GEC, the network’s portfolio of movies, music, youth, and regional channels are also performing well, shared Shetty.
The movie genre is seeing advertising traction with inventories filling up. Restrictions on cinema exhibition halls have been relaxed in several states including Maharashtra and producers have announced the release slate for the next six months. “This will also add to the bank of our movie channels,” he added.
Similarly, the broadcaster has made critical investments in its regional portfolio of channels that will drive growth during the festive period. Apart from Kannada, Tamil, and Bangla channels, the kid’s genre has been going steady and youth and music channels under MTV brand have attracted interest by offering bespoke solutions to advertisers.
The broadcaster is also poised to ride the enthusiasm for fresh sports content with its upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 that will telecast on its movie channel COLORS Cineplex towards the third week of November.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
