GECs

TV still has headroom for monetising from underpenetrated areas

90% of print advertisers aren’t translating into TV advertisers even now.

Published

8 years ago

December 13, 2018

GOA: With the advent of OTT platforms, technological disruptions and change in content consumption trends, traditional linear TV has been facing a difficult time. Moreover, demonetisation and inclusion of GST also came as additional challenges in the recent past, with effects that lingered for long, while the biggest disruption – the new tariff order – is on the way. Due to the rapid changes, traditional players in the ecosystem are changing their strategy to stay profitable.

In this scenario, Video and Broadband Summit 2018 held a session on monetising TV in times of transition. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) chief growth officer Ashish Sehgal, TAM India CEO LV Krishnan, KPMG India media and entertainment partner, deal advisory and head, Girish Menon took part in the session which was moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari.

Wanvari kick-started the session asking what the monetisation trend in TV industry was in the last nine months. Menon, whose organisation KPMG published a report two months ago on the entire ecosystem, spoke about the increasing interest levels, contribution and demand from rural and regional markets on the advertising side which ensures that there is a growing deeper demand. He added that if someone is able to optimally monetise those options, the opportunities fairly exist for ad growth. He also added that a fair amount of traction in the FTA market is attracting brands there. On the subscription side, Menon said there’s enough headroom for growth as till now only 65-66 per cent households are penetrated by TV in India.

ZEEL's Sehgal also endorsed Menon’s view on the growth opportunities for TV. “Across the industry, there has been a healthy double-digit growth which is happening. Even if you talk about the demonetisation and GST period, which stunted growth, even then the industry grew in single digit. It’s not like it had gone back to a certain level and then grew back,” Sehgal commented on the growth of the TV industry.

Asked about tariff order, he said they still need to see how it’s going to pan out. But he mentioned that broadcasters like Zee and Star have come out with consumer-friendly packages which will help in ARPU growth. While he was asked whether users will start cutting cords if the price of subscription packages goes up too much, he answered that there’s no other better option available. According to him, to get the amount of content available on cable or DTH, users need to subscribe to ten other platforms.

TAM India CEO Krishnan also agreed with Sehgal on the growth side of TV. He said that in the first 9 months of this year, TV showed around 11 per cent growth. Owing to the assembly elections, the growth may reach up to 12-13 per cent at the end of the year. Moreover, he added, it is the real revenue growth, not only volume growth.

While the moderator asked if TV has got its real value, Krishnan said it definitely has brought in value itself from advertising and subscription. He also spoke about opportunities in hyperlocal advertising which is very much prevalent in print. There were 130,000 new advertisers just in the last 9 months compared to 2017 on the print medium which is coming from hyper-local editions of newspapers. But when that is being monitored in the adex data, those advertisers are still not translated into advertising on television or radio or digital yet.

“On the other hand if I look at exclusive advertisers happening on digital and on TV it’s very comparable. There are around close to 16,000 advertisers uniquely positioned only on TV and around 12,000 unique advertisers on the digital adex. Now they are just 10 per cent of the overall volume that’s coming into print. If that translates slowly into regional television or digital OTT platforms for advertising, imagine the growth that TV and OTT can get,” he added.

Sehgal believes that certain TV genres aren't getting a fair deal. “Average price across the genres are increasing. Yes, I would say there are certain genres which are still underpriced. For example, south channels are 90 per cent penetrated in terms of television. They are still underpriced. This pricing needs to be corrected. Kids' channels segment is underpriced. Hindi movie genre is highly underpriced while the value input behind purchasing movies is high, from advertising as well as subscriptions you are still not getting the value back,” he said.

Where all the experts agreed was that sports content and TV premieres get higher value but when it was asked if it’s enough compared to other countries they said it’s linked to the purchasing power of the country. Moreover, they also said the growth rate in India is much higher than the US or China. It was also said that the pay-TV ecosystem in most of the developed markets are subscription led not ad led. India is always going to be a market where the rates of advertisement will be low but the fact is given the level of demand there is in the country from a consumption perspective, the growth will also be much higher than what can be seen globally.

While most of the players work on volume rather than value, Sehgal said ZEE is working on the mix. “We have to start working with the real mix – how to get value and volume both together. Today, we are going 2X with the market only because we are not only getting the volume but also value. My price point from what it was last year to this year has increased in every channel. Now somewhere it has increased more and somewhere it has not increased more,” Sehgal said.

On the question of how TV, cable or DTH can be monetised better, the experts think they should not shy away from the competition coming from digital. They think investment in technology, going back to advertisers with more value proposition is important. Though TV cannot engage like digital, they think brand building on TV is easiest. Unless a brand advertises on TV, building awareness becomes difficult.

Related Topics:ad revenue Brand awareness cable TV DTH pay TV subscription revenue

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GECs

Sun TV posts steady revenue, profit dips amid rising costs

Published

4 months ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CHENNAI: It appears there is still plenty of Sun to go around in the Indian broadcasting landscape, even if a few clouds have drifted across the financial horizon. Sun TV Network Limited, the Chennai-based behemoth that dominates airwaves across seven languages, has tuned into a steady frequency for the quarter ending 31 December 2025. While the numbers show a resilient revenue stream, the company’s latest broadcast reveals a few static-filled spots in its profit margins.

For the quarter in question, Sun TV’s total income climbed by approximately 3.31 per cent, reaching Rs 958.39 crores compared to Rs 927.66 crores in the same period last year. Revenue from operations also saw a healthy bump, rising 4.32 per cent to Rs 827.87 crores.

The real star of the show, however, was domestic subscription revenue, which surged by 8.86 per cent to Rs 472.99 crores. This growth highlights the enduring appetite for Sun’s diverse content, which spans everything from daily soaps in Tamil and Telugu to its burgeoning OTT platform, Sun NXT.

Despite the revenue growth, the picture quality of the profits was slightly blurred by rising costs. Eitda for the quarter stood at Rs 409.79 crores, a dip from the Rs 432.14 crores recorded in the corresponding 2024 quarter.

The profit after tax followed a similar downward trend, settling at Rs 316.44 crores against the previous year’s Rs 347.17 crores. Advertisers also seemed to have switched channels slightly, with advertisement revenues sliding to Rs 291.94 crores from Rs 332.17 crores.

Sun TV isn’t just playing on home turf; its sporting ambitions are becoming increasingly global. The network now owns three major cricket franchises: SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL, SunRisers Eastern Cape in SA20, and SunRisers Leeds Limited in The Hundred (UK).

The foray into British cricket saw the company acquire a 100 per cent stake in Northern Superchargers Limited (now SunRisers Leeds) for approximately £100 million. While these franchises brought in Rs 14.61 crores this quarter, they also incurred corresponding costs of Rs 19.89 crores. Over the nine-month period, however, the cricket business is a major player, contributing Rs 487.64 crores in income.

The company’s bottom line took a minor hit from exceptional items, including a Rs 4.23 crore charge related to India’s new Labour Codes, which consolidated 29 existing labour laws. Additionally, the consolidated results reflect the amalgamation of Kal Radio Limited with Udaya FM, a move that became effective in May 2025 and required a restatement of previous figures.

To keep investors from reaching for the remote, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 50 per cent, that’s Rs 2.50 per equity share. This comes on top of earlier dividends of 100 per cent (Rs 5.00) and 75 per cent (Rs 3.75) declared in August and November 2025, respectively.

With a massive cash reserve and a dominant position in the South Indian market, Sun TV continues to shine, even if the current quarter required a bit of fine-tuning. For now, shareholders can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

GECs

SPNI hires Pradeep M with responsibility for standards and practices in the south

Published

4 months ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has hired Pradeep M to handle standards and practices for its southern market, bolstering its compliance bench as content rules tighten across platforms.

Pradeep, who has nearly 13 years in the entertainment media industry, takes on responsibility for content standards in a region that is both linguistically diverse and regulatorily sensitive. His brief spans television, OTT, sports and digital platforms.

He specialises in content review and compliance across shows, commercials, on-air promotions and international feeds, ensuring alignment with broadcast, OTT and advertising codes. He has also handled brand approvals and sponsorship integrations for heavily regulated categories—including online gaming, cryptocurrency, NFTs and lottery brands—offering guidance shaped by fast-evolving rules.

Before Sony, Pradeep worked at Jiostar as assistant manager for content regulation from November 2024 to January 2026. Earlier, he spent nearly seven years at Viacom18 Media, rising from senior executive to assistant manager in content regulation between 2018 and 2024. There he served as a key compliance touchpoint for the network.

His career began on the creative side. Between 2013 and 2018, he worked as executive producer on feature films and television shows, gaining hands-on exposure to production. He also had a stint as a non-fiction show director at Star TV Network in 2017. That mix of creative and regulatory experience gives him a dual lens—how content is made and how it must be managed.

As regulators, platforms and advertisers all tighten the screws, broadcasters are investing more in gatekeepers who can keep creativity within the lines. Sony’s latest hire shows where the industry is heading: in the streaming age, compliance is content’s quiet co-star.

GECs

Colors Gujarati rolls out two new shows from 2nd February

Published

4 months ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Colors Gujarati has unveiled two new prime-time shows as part of its push to strengthen culturally rooted storytelling for regional audiences. The channel will premiere the devotional saga Gangasati–Paanbai at 7.30 pm, followed by the romantic family drama Manmelo at 9.30 pm from February 2.

Inspired by Gujarat’s spiritual and literary heritage, Gangasati–Paanbai: Shyam Dhun No Navo Adhyay draws from the timeless bhajans and poetry of saint-poetesses Gangasati and Paanbai, weaving devotion and human values into a contemporary narrative aimed at younger viewers.

In contrast, Manmelo explores love and responsibility across social divides, tracing the lives of three middle-class sisters whose relationships with three affluent brothers reshape their futures. The show delves into ambition, emotional conflict and the realities of married life, offering a layered family drama.

A Colors Gujarati spokesperson said the new launches reflect the channel’s commitment to authentic Gujarati entertainment that blends cultural values with modern storytelling.