The Hindu Business Line : Star re-negotiates ad rates with HLL, other advertisers

Mumbai March 21 As the standoff between HLL and Star continues, the latter is expected to have losses amounting to Rs 18 crore per month. According to industry estimates, HLL is one of the biggest advertisers on the network with almost Rs 200 crore allocated to the channel network.

HLL ads have been off Star Plus for the past 21 days. In the past, such standoffs have happened between the two, but of late the impediments in the CAS roll-out has also added to the woes of the broadcaster, which has been resisting dropping ad rates.

Mr Paritosh Joshi, President, Ad Sales & Distribution, Star India, says, "HLL is our biggest customer and in the past too there have been times like this. It is not broadcasters but the media agencies, that are asking for dropping the rates. In the case of CAS too, there is no logic as the base is less than 1 per cent of the audience share." At the same time, media planners claim that the broadcasters have already made `corrections' especially with respect to the ad rates in the CAS rollout.

According to Mr Sundar Raman, Managing Director, Mindshare, "Corrections are being worked out across advertisers at present. Wherever there has been a drop in connecting with audiences, there have been corrections."

Mr Rahul Welde, General Manager, HLL, said "Wherever there have been dilutions, corrections have been made."

While advertisers have been asking for a 5 per cent drop in rates, the figure is supposed to escalate in the second phase of CAS. As Mr Raman observes, "Five per cent is the rate drop here and now. But the figure would get more defined on the second phase of CAS."

Surprisingly, the Zee Network too denies having to drop rates for HLL due to the time lags in implementation of CAS. As Mr Joy Chakraborthy, Vice-President, Zee Network Sales, says, "HLL is our biggest client and their volumes have only been increasing and we have not been compromising on deals."

In fact, the FMCG player will sponsor some of Zee's programmes including the Zee Cine awards in Malaysia later.

CAS impact

According to industry observers, CAS has affected Star more than the other broadcasters. Loss of its top management and the weak TRPs of KBC have not been helping the channel network. Sources indicate that apart from HLL, there are other big advertisers such as Maruti, Nestle and Reckitt Benckiser who are re-negotiating with the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, making up for the loss of visibility on Star Plus, HLL is back, buying airtime for the World Cup. Mr Rahul Welde says, "We have started advertising on cricket and are hoping that our team's performance takes off. We are happy with the rates we have got with the official broadcaster for cricket."

Surf Excel spots have been appearing on the channels of the official broadcaster, SET MAX.

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