On June 1, 2012, ABP News made its debut on Indian television screens, after Media Content & Communications Services India (MCCS) - the 74:26 JV between the Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) Group and Star India Pvt Ltd – came to an end after nine years. A re-branding exercise is a big challenge anytime, but shedding the powerful Star name and building a new brand in the super-competitive Hindi news space, while keeping the brand values and viewer engagement intact, was no mean task. However, all three channels - Hindi news channel ABP News (formerly Star News), Bengali news channel ABP Ananda (formerly Star Ananda) and Marathi news channel ABP Majha (formerly Star Majha) - came out with flying colours, or TRPs in this case, as they took shape under the ABP News Network (ANN) brand. Under the leadership of its CEO, Ashok Venkatramani, ANN has steadily progressed since then, building its digital platform and officially launching a Gujarati news channel, ABP Asmita, in February (after a soft launch in January) this year.
BUILDING THE GUJARAT CONNECT
“A great opportunity, good economic performance and lack of a solid news channel” is what prompted ANN to enter the Gujarat market and launch ABP Asmita earlier this year, says Ashok Venkatramani. But, how would ABP Asmita
‘If we hadn’t got the rebranding right, we’d have shut down in six months’
Q] There were expectations that carriage fees would drop post digitization, but it hasn’t happened...
To be very honest, it hasn’t happened at all. It happened only in the Phase I, between 15%-25% in the first year. After that, it started going up and in Phase II and Phase III, it is virtually nothing. This is a matter of serious concern. We have been talking to the I&B Ministry and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and have made representations at every forum. In the recent consultation paper which TRAI released, our stand has been very clear and consistent saying why should there be any carriage fee because the investments that even a small-sized Multiple- System Operator (MSO) makes is recovered by the portion of the subscription revenue he gets from pay channels. There is no case actually for any carriage fee to be even demanded or asked.
Q] You are on the board of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), what are some of the initiatives undertaken by the association?
There are three-four key issues. Self-regulation as far as content is concerned and News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) is the body which manages self-regulation on behalf of NBA. We are keen that selfregulation continues and wish that the government mandates every channel to follow the NBSA guidelines, whether they are a member of NBA or not. The other important topic is carriage fees and we have been pushing the government to do away with it and bring in some form of intervention. We have been single-mindedly pursuing the ad cap rule - our stand is clear that advertising can’t be capped as it will be detrimental to news channels, especially because a lot of news channels would simply collapse. Ad caps choke the revenue of the news broadcasters and that comes in the way of free Press. However, as the matter is sub-judice, I don’t want to say too much. We have been pushing our case for getting better remuneration from DAVP too, as the rates haven’t changed for the last five to six years.
Q] How has the addition of rural markets in the BARC system played out?
I would give the rural data another three months to stabilize, but it’s been a huge change and as BARC keeps adding measurement points and has more robust data, it will be good for the industry. We are very happy with what has happened over the last one year since BARC came in.
Q] What were some of the challenges you faced last year?
Any year that follows a general election is always a huge challenge because of the huge base to catch up with in terms of revenue. We would have been happier if the economy, i.e, advertising spends, grew a little faster. I wouldn’t say it was a challenge but it could have been better. We had to really work hard last year to get our revenues up and running.
Q] Tell us an anecdote related to your personal experience in the industry, something which you could call a defining moment?
The most defining moment was when the JV broke. We had literally a couple of months to rebuild a brand from scratch without letting the revenue drop and frankly, if we had not got that act right, we would have shut down in six months.
Q] Did the rebranding affect advertiser relationships?
A few advertisers did adopt a wait and watch stance, but a lot of them were supportive and I must give them credit for that. I would also give a lot of credit to the media and advertising fraternity for supporting us at that point in time. They didn’t let us drop and that gave us the confidence that we were doing the right thing. We stuck to the basics and what we believed in – providing a good solid news channel regardless of what the name change was. The brief internally was that, behave as if nothing has changed and stay true to what you were always doing and then hope for the best. The fraternity and viewers played along with us, and finally it all worked out.
Q] What do you bring to your current role from your earlier role as a marketer?
Nothing has changed, it’s just that I am on the other side. Earlier I was marketing my brand, now I am marketing my brand and helping other marketers market their brand through me. I now understand my customer needs much better and have built a very strong culture within the organization of serving the customer and making sure that we have a happy client at the end of the day. It has played out well and today I can safely say we have a healthy relationship with our clients. They have been by and large happy with us. That comes from the fact that one has a marketing mindset and a marketing background. The other thing different from doing a job on that side versus doing a job this side, is that a news broadcaster has a lot of expectations and responsibility. We recognize that and have a social angle built into the definition of who we are. There are times when we need to take a call, not from a business hat but from a social responsibility hat. We compromise with our own interest, by dropping ads during breaking news, to make sure that the viewer interest is taken care of.
Q] Tell us about your team...
I am very proud of them. All of them have been there longer than I have been, so I am the youngest if I can say that. The fact they have stuck through thick and thin, not just with company but also with me, speaks about their own commitment to their job, their company and to what they bring to the table. So, I give them all full credit. They are all old war horses and understand the business. I have just been a catalyst to glue all of them together and get great output out of them.
Q] What’s your work mantra?
Delegation, trust your people and give them a complete free hand.
Q] Do you believe in processes or letting people do their own thing?
A combination of both... If you have good processes in place, you can let your people be completely free, because you know they will be working within certain guidelines and processes.
differentiate itself in a market that already has at least five other news channels at play? Says Venkatramani, “There is space and we will be able to create a unique identity. The channels present now are regional channels and there is no national player launching a regional offering there. The entry of a strong player with solid grounding in the news space will open up the regional market for business as well. The competition is going to be only healthier in spurring the market to become bigger as far as ad revenue is concerned.” ANN also sees an opportunity to connect with the Gujarati diaspora living outside their home State and plans are afoot to take the product outside India. Being platform agnostic, the brand has been extended to the digital platform with a website and mobile offering too.
Technically speaking, ABP Asmita is the first launch since ABP Majha was launched way back in 2007. Venkatramani says that ANN believes in treating each channel as a brand, and each brand as a business, and the regional channels are not looked at as a national channel in regional language, but channels in their own right. Thus, each channel was given time to build itself. Moreover, the economic downturn of 2009-10 and dissolution of the JV with Star India required the focus to be on establishing ABP as a brand, and ensuring that the overall business stood on a firm footing.
ABP LIVE, THE MASTER DIGITAL BRAND
The last three years also saw ANN work on building its digital business from scratch and creating a master digital brand called ABP Live. Under the master brand rests six websites - abpnews.in, abpananda.in, abpmajha.in, abpasmita.in, English news website abplive.in and Punjabi news website, abpsanjha.in. Also available is LiveTV, where video streaming is optimized for all types of phones and screen sizes and an app. ANN has also partnered with YouTube to offer its viewers news videos on the Internet. Venkatramani says that the digital product is a different brand from the TV product with the target group (TG) – the youth - also being different from the TG of the television brand. He says, “The response has been very good and we have crossed 250 million page views a month. We have crossed 20 million unique users between the website and the app put together. Going forward, we see a huge opportunity in videos. We are excited because we see this as a market of the future and being a serious news player, we would like to be present in that space.”
THE BRAND-BUILDING JOURNEY
Looking back at the nearly four years since the re-branding, Venkatramani says that the journey has been excellent and the response to the re-branding better than anticipated. He adds that the objective to establish the flagship brand, ABP News, as a household name, has been achieved. “Our focus has been on building a brand in the classical way - both in the urban and rural markets. I am very happy with the progress and we have done this without any loss to the business, without any dip in revenues and in an almost seamless change-over,” he says. A large part of the transition success can be attributed to the fact that ABP News stayed true to its original positioning, guidelines and maintained consistency in the performance of the channel and what was delivered to the viewer. Venkatramani says that the channel drew its core values from the parent company – the ABP Group - to be seen as a public prosecutor for the citizen and speak the truth fearlessly, stand up for what it believes is right for the citizen.
LEADING THE REGIONAL SPACE
Taking about the regional channels - ABP Ananda and ABP Majha - Venkatramani says that both channels have consistently maintained their leadership position, increased their lead over their nearest competitors, especially after BARC ratings came in, and have become strong solid brands in the regional space. “They have played the role of ‘son of the soil’ very strongly, which was the intent. They are regional channels of the region, for the region, by the region,” he says, adding, “The way the channels operate, they are completely independent and are given a free hand to decide what is right for that geography and the people they represent. That has helped strengthen their positioning as very strong regional players. They have grown because the regional space has been growing faster than the national space and that has reflected in their business performances.”
‘EXPECT 15% INCREASE IN REVENUE’
Looking at revenues in the TV sector, the growth has been consistent with general and State elections providing a boost in 2014 and 2015 respectively. With the buoyancy returning in the economy and business reviving, advertisers have again started loosening their purse strings. Looking ahead, Venkatramani says, “I am quite bullish. Since rural data has come in, there has been a very sharp increase in reach for most channels, especially news channels. We expect that to translate into higher market rates and hence revenues. A 15% increase is a reasonable increase to expect at the very least.” Special emphasis has been placed on building awareness about the brand and communicating what the brand stands for in rural markets where ABP is still a relatively new entity. The other focus has been to improve connectivity and penetrate deeper into smaller towns and rural markets by striking deals with cable operators located there. “Brands don’t get built overnight in rural areas; it takes years sometimes. It’s an ongoing process, it will take time,” observes Venkatramani.
CORE PROPOSITION: SERIOUS CONTENT
A common critique of Hindi news channels is sensationalism and lack of quality content. This is because the cost of generating such content is high and channels struggle to put up the required capital needed. This constraint, therefore, forces channels to often resort to producing low cost content such as talk shows. According to Venkatramani, “Good content costs money and where is this money going to come from? We were hoping that carriage fees will come down sharply and we will be able to plough back at least a part of that money into building good content. When that doesn’t happen, channels are forced to use low cost methods to generate content.” He adds, “A lot of the news channels, especially in the regional and Hindi space, are constrained by the fact that there is only that much they can spend on generating good content, and that pinches. Many of us are conscious of the fact that we are not spending adequately on content. But then somewhere we need to balance our books as well, so content suffers.” If carriage costs get regulated or done away with, channels will reinvest in good quality content and news channels will lift themselves up in terms of quality of news they present, Venkatramani feels. On its part, ANN has invested substantially on shows such as ‘Pradhanmantri’, a political documentary series hosted by actor-director Shekhar Kapur, ‘Love Story’, a series showcasing the real-life love stories of superstars and ‘Second Opinion’, a series on medical negligence. In 2009-10, ANN took a conscious decision to step out of genres such as astrology and religion and focus on its core positioning of serious news – be it political news, business news or even sports and entertainment news. Says Venkatramani, “We wanted to position ourselves in a particular way and hence from the bouquet of sub-genres within news, we chose a few where we will focus on and build our strengths in that space. Religious content or astrological content is not something which we saw as our forte and hence we decided to stay away from that.”
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
For now, it’s a wait-and-watch policy as far as future launches in the regional space are concerned. Venkatramani analyses that the regional channel space is either crowded or the business is not big enough yet, but is confident about the network’s ability to launch more channels. He says, “We now feel very confident that we have the ability to quickly launch and build a strong channel, especially in the regional space. I would safely say that’s one of our strengths. So, we will wait and watch till the opportunity comes along.” “Within the Hindi-speaking market (HSM), Punjab remains an opportunity and we will keep our eyes open. More channels in the Hindi heartland… unless we have some product differentiator, I don’t see that as an opportunity,” he adds. It may be noted that ANN had soft-launched its Punjabi news channel, ABP Sanjha, in 2014 but as per media reports, did not get a distribution deal with FastWay Transmission, the largest cable TV network in Punjab owned by the political family, the Badals, which led to the channel being shelved. On his part, Venkatramani clarifies, “It has nothing to do with the State government. We concurrently started work on Punjab and Gujarat, and at some point in time we felt Gujarat requires a little fast-tracking over Punjab. We are still open on Punjab. We still have the website, the YouTube channel, and the Sanjha product in non-TV live going on and growing. We just felt that with a new government in place and the Prime Minister being from Gujarat, the huge thrust on development, Gujarat needs to be fast-tracked.”
But, what’s crystal clear is the main agenda for ANN - building ABP Asmita as a strong brand, trengthening the digital offering which it is betting on to be a “big game-changer”, taking regional channels beyond Indian shores and capitalizing on and monetizing the rural explosion.
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