Warner Media will be discontinuing two linear film channels, HBO and WB, in India from December 15. Announcing the exit of these channels from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives, the then South Asia MD of Warner Media, Siddharth Jain, had stated that the spend Television business landscape and the marketplace dynamics have shifted considerably, and “the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for further change”.
Could extra exits be in the offing?
Broadening horizons
English film and entertainment channels have been struggling lately. “For a few years now, these channels have been losing out because of the rise of OTT platforms and the variety of English, Hindi and international content they offer,” says Vinita Pachisia, senior VP, Carat India.
As viewers tune out of linear viewing habits and watch on-demand content material, channels might need to have to adopt a hybrid model. “Linear movie channels will need to offer their content libraries on video streaming platforms and find avenues for monetisation,” says Vivek Srivastava, president – tactic, and enterprise head, news and English entertainment cluster, Times Network.
Networks that personal English film channels claim that the total audience pool for English channels is increasing, and only a tiny percentage is moving to OTT platforms. “The outlook for English movies looks positive. There is a whole set of audiences moving from regional to English content, as they become more comfortable with English as a professional and conversational language,” notes Kartik Mahadev, enterprise head, premium channels, ZEEL.
ZEEL regularly broadcasts Hollywood blockbusters across its network of film channels, dubbed in regional languages. Jumanji: The Next Level, for instance, was premiered on &flix, and simultaneously on Zee Cinema in Hindi. “The premiere garnered a reach of 34 million,” says Mahadev. &flix, the English film channel from the Zee bouquet, also lets viewers opt for the preferred language to watch a film in a multi-language time block referred to as ‘Flix for All’. These motion pictures are aired in English, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Market dynamics
Initiatives of this type are however to bear fruit, say media purchasers. Largely, English film channels do not fetch higher ad prices — a 10-second spot on an English film channel fees Rs 1,500-2,500.
Brands that promote exclusively on English film and entertainment channels are commonly these targeting the SEC A buyers. “These channels have loyal advertisers who wish to target a smaller, albeit quality, audience. Automotive brands, video streaming platforms, gaming apps, tech companies, etc, are frequently visible on English movie channels,” says K Srinivas Rao, national director – purchasing, MediaCom. However, for FMCG brands, the biggest advertisers on Television, English film channels are hardly a priority.
The pandemic has briefly altered viewership patterns. English film channels saw a 12% raise in viewership in the course of January-October 2020, compared to the similar period final year, according to BARC India. Average time spent, as well, recorded a jump of 54% more than final year. However, ad spends have not followed eyeballs, says Srinivas.
The target audience of premium OTT platforms and English film channels have a clear and important overlap. According to a current study by Nielsen, compared to Bollywood and regional channel viewers, Hollywood enthusiasts are two occasions extra probably to invest in larger-priced solutions, extra than twice as probably to personal 4-wheelers, have a stronger presence on social media, and earn practically twice as considerably, as well. This is maybe why various brands flock to digital to woo this TG at a considerably reduced price.
While the struggle for eyeballs will continue, not all of them will down their shutters. Pachisia says that huge broadcast networks that have marquee channels bringing in the majority income share, might be capable to preserve these channels alive longer than other individuals.
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