Direct to Home (DTH) operators could be asked to provide inter-operable set-top boxes to their customers with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) seeing prima facie merit in a complaint filed by a consumer organisation that it is in violation of competition laws.
For instance, two of GSKCH's OTC products -- Eno and Iodex -- command a household penetration of 9 and 10 per cent respectively in metro cities. GSKCH has already drafted a channel strategy for modern trade in collaboration with South African retailer Shoprite, where cross-category and checkout placements were identified as an opportunity to create a shopping occasion through impulse buying.
This is significant because the ministry of information and broadcasting is actively looking at making a policy announcement for the third-phase roll out of FM radio as part of its action plan for the first 100-days of the United Progressive Alliance government. A final recommendation to this effect has already been made by the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
At least a dozen advertisers, including Reliance Communications, Nokia, Pepsi, Hero Honda, Maruti and Visa among others, and host broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports may find themselves on a sticky wicket with India's exit from the current world Twenty20 cricket tournament.
After beverages and chips, the US major is now betting big on the biscuits market in India.
Even as Bollywood copes with its worst financial turmoil, with no film having been released for over two months, its award shows are raking in big moolah.
It will be the second FM radio operator to have listed on the BSE, after Entertainment Networks India Ltd that operates its radio business under the Radio Mirchi brand.
Ambika Soni, the new I&B minister, called for a full-presentation on Tuesday on both these issues from senior I&B officials, a day after she took charge of the ministry.
Channels like STAR Plus, Zee TV, Colors, NDTV Imagine and 9X, among others, hope to generate Rs 250 crore of advertising revenue from these shows over the next three months. Together, the broadcasters will churn out over 170 hours of fresh TV content in the form of soaps, reality shows, comedy shows and other genres. The average cost per episode of these 25 new shows is pegged at Rs 2.5-3 lakh.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to see a 30 to 40 per cent jump in revenues from the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament over the first edition held in India last year. Profits, however, are expected to increase marginally.
A slew of pending policy initiatives and important directions for the cable, radio and broadcast sector awaits the new Information and Broadcasting minister, likely to be announced early next week.
A near-decisive victory for the United Progessive Alliance (UPA) in the 15th Lok Sabha may have been unexpected for everyone, but not so the viewer turnout for television channels on May 16, the day the results were declared.
From June onwards, millions of Bollywood buffs may now have to watch the new Hindi films at the 8,000-plus single-screen theatres across the country and not in multiplexes. This is because the talks between Bollywood producers and multiplex owners have broken down over sharp differences in the terms and conditions of the proposed revenue sharing agreements.
Both PepsiCo's 'Youngistaan' brand ambassadors -- Virender Sehwag, captain of Delhi Daredevils, and Ishant Sharma, member of Kolkata Knight Riders -- have been formally present at various promotional activities for arch-rival Coca-Cola India, simply because Coca-Cola is the associate sponsor and the official pouring partner for both Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.
After initial hiccups, viewership of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL-2) has picked up pace with the cricket carnival having reached midway.
To expand its services in the five-player private direct-to-home market, Reliance Big TV Ltd, the promoter of Big TV DTH services of the Reliance ADA Group, plans to sell up to 49 per cent to foreign private equity companies and global DTH players.
Contrary to perception that TV viewership of IPL's second season (IPL-2) has been less than the inaugural season in 2008 (IPL1), SET Max got at least 2 million more viewers for the first eight matches (seven were played, one was rained out) of IPL-2 this year, compared with last year.
Among the minority who are relieved at the rising heat are consumer durables' companies and retailers. Air conditioner (AC) sales are picking up in anticipation of a hot summer.
The latest Media Partners Asia analysis on India says TV advertising will grow only 6.5 per cent in 2009, as against 15.6 per cent in 2008. However, MPA expects TV advertising to rebound to 8.7 per cent growth in 2010. Of the Rs 20,000 crore-plus advertising industry, television advertising alone accounts for 45-47 per cent. Overall, MPA predicts that advertising growth may drop to 5.4 per cent in 2009, after a 20 per cent-plus growth in 2006 and 2007.
Videocon, Philips and Godrej are reworking strategy to grow their small appliance business. Last year, their focus was on high-end products. This shift to the low-end segment, they believe, will help them maintain their sales growth from Tier-II & Tier-III cities, while simultaneously helping them penetrate into rural areas. Home appliances account for over Rs 50 billion of the Rs 320 billion consumer durable business and is growing at a rate of 10-12 per cent.
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