The Hindu Business Line : BJP plans to unleash ads on TV channels

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to unleash two-and-a-half minute advertising spots on television channels, which would perhaps be one of the longest advertisements in the recent times.

The normal advertisements on television are 30-seconders and in the last few years the trend has been to release shorter, 10-second spots.

Sources in the broadcasting industry said that the media managers of the party had been seeking inventory details from some of the popular television channels. However, the political party may find it hard to strike a bargain as most of the spots on television channels are sold months in advance.

"Also, since some channels restrict each ad break time period to just three minutes, the channels would have to really juggle with their inventories to accommodate such long advertising spots," said a senior official in a broadcasting company.

"The party is planning to unveil a longish campaign next week in an attempt to boost its image. It will advertise intensely in certain select channels," said a source in the BJP's campaign cell.

Rival party, the Congress, meanwhile has not yet indicated any change in advertising strategy yet, while the Samajawadi Party is the new entrant in the fray. The advertising industry is expecting the poll pitch to go up only in the weeks to come.

According to data provided by advertising tracking agency AdEx India, for the period between April 1-18, Congress topped the charts followed by Telugu Desam, BJP and AIADMK.

The total advertising duration of election campaign categories has been rising tremendously as the poll dates are approaching near. The duration grew almost 10 times in 18 days from about 2,500 seconds on April 1 to 22,000 seconds on April 18.

While the number of spots in popular entertainment channels such as Star, Zee and Sony was not very high, political parties preferred to use regional channels.

"Eight out of top 10 channels are regional channels lead by MAA TV (a Telugu channel). The only two non-regional channels featuring in the top 10 list are Aaj Tak and Zee News," said the AdEx India report. The total ad spends on television is expected to touch about Rs 60 crore during the ongoing elections.

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