The Hindu Business Line : Zee Sports scores well on Test debut

THE verdict is out. While cricket on Doordarshan's National continues to dominate due to the terrestrial nature of the channel, newcomer Zee Sports has managed to attract a good number of eyeballs for the second test match played between India and Sri Lanka in Delhi in cable-connected homes.

According to data provided by TAM India, covering persons above four years of age in cable and satellite homes across the country, DD National has received 1.8 television rating points (TRPs) while Zee Sports recorded 1.13 TRPs.

Prasar Bharati officials said that the test match delivered over six TRPs across all homes in SEC A, B, and C towns and persons above the age of 15 years. (Usually, it takes almost a fortnight for the research agency to put out the viewership data.)

Media planners told Business Line: "With India playing well, the level of interest in cricket was high. Zee Sports has done well, though we were apprehensive about the channel initially. The coverage of the second test in Delhi put an end to all our doubts and advertisers who did not buy in this test match looked at buying spots on the Ahmedabad match."

Mr Gautam Sengupta, Executive Vice-President, Zee Network, said: "We were able to get on board advertisers who did not traditionally advertise on cricket. These included Canon, Nokia, and Reckitt Benckiser, to name just a few. We also allowed the advertisers to innovate."

For instance, Nokia advertised its N Series range for mobiles on the channel.

Apart from regular commercials, Zee Sports offered the brand a pop-up with picture-in-picture. The 15-second pop up appeared 24 times a day.

Similarly, Coca-Cola too advertised at a time when its advertising activity is low. `Jiyo Sir Utha Ke' appeared as a pop-up when batsmen scored 50 or 100 or during any other landmark. Other brands that were present during the series include BSNL, Indian Oil, Idea, Paras Pharmaceuticals, and Airtel.

Zee Sports also said that the channel was sold to advertisers on a standalone basis.

Prasar Bharati officials, on their part, said that it would not be appropriate to compare DD National available through cable networks with Zee Sports.

"DD-I is a terrestrial channel and it was given the terrestrial rights. The advertiser profile on the channel is different from those who bought on the private sports channel. Therefore, it is not fair to compare the two channels," said an official.

The official maintained that cricket has always been delivering good ratings to the terrestrial channel.

More Stories on : Radio/TV | Advertising | Sports

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Rains turn saviour for lands affected by tsunami

AirTel offers pre-paid with lifetime validity — Bundles handset for as low as Rs 1,399

Tata Chem buys 63 pc stake in Brunner for Rs 508 cr

Inflation dips on cheaper food, non-food items

Sasken loses arbitration case against 3G.com

MF sector witnessing job churn as opportunities rise

Ranbaxy settles patent suit with Cephalon for sleep-disorder drug

Zee Sports scores well on Test debut

Acer unveils fifth generation tablet PC

FBT blow to industry may be softened — But it is here to stay, says CBDT Chairman

Sharp decline in returns filed under `one-by-six' tax scheme