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Sriram Srinivasan

Chennai , Sept. 2

MEDIA planners and advertising industry professionals have said pay channels are unlikely to face an exodus of advertisers, though some may be forced to provide discounts for advertisement slots, with the introduction of the Conditional Access System (CAS) in Chennai.

Pay channels — which cannot be accessed without a set-top box — would also lose a significant portion of their subscription revenues.

MindShare India's Planning Director, Mr S. Subramanian, said there would be "no major panic" among advertisers, as the `national' channels don't account for much viewership in Chennai and that most of the "favourite" regional ones are free-to-air (FTA).

He, however, said a rollout in all metros (as was planned initially, before Delhi and Kolkata pulled out, and Mumbai decided to play status quo at the last moment) would have certainly hit such channels hard.

From the point of view of brands, Chennai-specific ones need not bother while brands that cater to a national audience could do well to "wait and watch", said Mr R. Krishna Mohan, Executive Director, Ogilvy & Mather. Although it is only Chennai that has jumped onto the CAS bandwagon, "the situation is quite unclear" and thus the need for caution, he said.

According to Mr U. Jayraj Rau, Vice-President & Client Services Director, JWT, some of the agency's clients are already framing short-term media plans that will limit their advertising in pay channels. This, however, does not mean an exodus to FTAs but only deferment of ad slots till the "picture becomes clear", as also negotiation of rates, he clarified.

He said some niche channels, which have a small viewership base, would have to accept the further reduction in their audience base post-CAS and cut advertisement rates. This way, they can attract more advertisers into their fold.

If the situation remains unclear even after couple of months, "press, outdoors and radio (in that order!)" will stand to gain, he said.

Industry observers also expect Star Vijay will face pressure on the rates front due to its `pay status'. Other general entertainment Tamil channels Sun TV, Raj TV, Jaya TV and KTV are available as FTAs. Star sources said Star Vijay is also open to the idea of becoming an FTA, at least in Chennai, though this could not be verified officially.

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