A lot has changed in the last one year for broadcasters, with the notification of the new tariff order (NTO) by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Even the big four television networks – Disney-Star India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Networks India - weren’t spared from its impact. What pinched them the most though was their decision to pull out from DD Free Dish and its direct impact on the ratings and advertising revenues. However, the economic slump in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the big four back into the Free-to-Air (FTA) game. Will the return of Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey, Sony Pal and Zee Anmol Cinema on FTA finally push the top-lines of the broadcasters’ northwards? Possibly yes, say industry insiders.

This will dramatically change the market dynamics and grow the free-to-air space. How will it impact Dangal and new entrant Shemaroo?

When it comes to entertainment on television, it is often an encounter between the predator and the prey, or David versus Goliath. The free-to-air space (FTA) space in Indian television is about to get more entertaining. The ‘big daddies’ in the media and entertainment industry - Star and Disney India, Zee, Sony, and Viacom18 - have all bought slots in the government's DD Freedish.

BARC India data for week 21 for the rankings of the Top 10 Brands and Advertisers across all genres and all platforms are as follows:

Brands:

In the category for Top 10 brands we see PolicyBazaar leading the chart followed by Lux Toilet Soaps on the 2nd spot and popular drink brand Horlicks on the 3rd spot. New entrant Pears secures the 4th spot on this list and Harpic Power Plus/Bathroom cleaner on the 5th spot. Clinic Plus Shampoo secures the 6th spot, along with gaming app MPL on the 7th spot. For the last three spots on this category, we have Dove, Godrej No.1 Soap and Wheel Active 2 in 1.

When it comes to occasions that bring the entire family together, few match up to the grandeur and togetherness of Indian weddings. Over the years, this grand event has been a part of countless Bhojpuri films and has brought families regaling in the festivities of life’s most important relationship. Bhojpuri region observes the month of June especially the second week as the wedding season when there are many auspicious marriage dates. Amidst the current situation, when people are confined to their homes, the region is missing out on the celebrations of occasions like marriages. Being true to its core, Zee Biskope keeps the festive celebrations alive this wedding season, through Lagan Utsav - an unmatched collection of marriage-based movies.

Disney+ Hotstar is now offering global health and wellness content to its subscribers. With the aim to strengthen the health and fitness category, Disney+ Hotstar has entered into a strategic alliance with Brilliant Wellness to introduce value-added content from top fitness experts, yoga and spiritual gurus, along with celebrity nutritionists spread across more than 100 fitness programmes.

MUMBAI: A recent report by Fitch which indicates a slow revenue growth in FY21 for telecom players might be bad news for Airtel, which is already losing market shares to Jio. But its home broadband business is gradually taking off. In the last quarter of FY 20, the telco operator added almost 60,000-65,000 net additions, one of the highest numbers it has seen in many quarters. Moreover, the lockdown has boosted the demand for home broadband.

In week 21 the Hindi GEC Pay-TV category, we see Star Plus having a dream run as this week too we see it leading the category with 780mn impressions according to the television viewership data released by BARC India. Sony SAB on the 2nd spot with 690mn impressions followed by Colors on the 3rd spot week with 423mn impressions.

We see a swap in positions as Star Utsav moves up to the 4th spot with 395mn impressions while Sony Entertainment Television gets down to the 5th spot with 358mn impressions, followed by followed DD National on the 6th spot with 289mn impressions.

Sony Pal still at the 7th spot with 286mn impressions and then for the last 3 spots in this category we have Dangal with 265mn impressions, ZEE TV with 243mn impressions, and Star Bharat with 220mn impressions.

According to BARC Ratings of South GEC for week 21, the following are the ranking of various Regional GECs.

Malayalam:

Asianet leads the Malayalam GEC category with 136mn impressions while we see Mazhavil Manorama moves up to the 2nd spot with 110mn impressions making previous week’s player Surya TV get down to the 3rd spot with 99mn impressions. For the last two spots, we have Flowers TV with 87mn impressions and new entrant Asianet Movies with 58mn impressions.

Media experts believe move will lead to supply consolidation, compared to the current highly fragmented situation With COVID-19 causing broadcaster revenues to hit an all-time low, the leading networks which collectively withdrew their channels from DD FreeDish last year in March are back on the platform after bidding for MPEG-2 slots on June 3, 2020. Last year, with the onset of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) new tariff regime, channels lik Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Colors Rishtey and a few more pulled out of the free dish. Experts believe the coming back is likely to lead to supply consolidation, compared to the current highly fragmented situation. “The extent of impact on GRPs and reach of these new FTAs and other paid GECs will vary depending on how soon production resumes and original content is back. However, these FTA channels will cannibalise the paid GEC audiences and it will definitely impact some of the large existing FTA channels on DD Free Dish,” said a senior media planner who did not wish to be quoted.

Seven regional news channels of Zee Media are getting a free ride on the government-owned free-to-air dish platform and haven't been made to pay the mandatory carriage fees, multiple broadcasters have alleged.

A senior broadcast executive at a regional channel told BestMediaInfo.com (on the condition of anonymity) that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had written to Dish TV, asking them not to leave seven regional news channels from Zee Media unencrypted on GSAT15 because of which they have become available free of cost on DD FreeDish.