The Hindu Business Line : A brand news challenge

WITH close to 30 channels dotting the Indian skies and a few more in the offing, news is without doubt the most happening segment in the television industry. As per a recent study by TAM Media Research, the category witnessed a whopping 74 per cent growth in viewership in 2004, and is slated to grow further this year.

However, the entry of more news channels has also made for a lot of clutter in the market, making channels realise the need for brand building. While channels such as Aaj Tak (Sabse Tez) and Star News (Aapko Rakhe Age) have positioned themselves on the speed and high impact plank, Zee News claims to offer the most in-depth coverage. NDTV has positioned itself on the truth platform, while Channel 7 claims to bring to its viewers everything that revolves around life, with its Zindagi Live tagline.

"A channel has to first provide viewers a truly differentiated offering. Only then will a bond be created with a particular brand," says G. Krishnan, CEO, TV Today.

Similarly, Piyush Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Channel 7, says branding for news channels is as important as it is for the fast moving consumer goods industry. "With the industry offering so much choice, branding obviously becomes important. One has to highlight his strengths within the genre, as the challenge is to ensure that the viewer tunes into his channel first."

Says Laxmi Goyal, Director, Zee News, "In the crowded news space it's imperative to spell out who you are and what you stand for and to whom are you talking. Zee News' positioning is Haqeeqat Jaisi Khabar Waisi (Reality is news). We focus on stories and programming which are more than mere reporting of a certain event. We endeavour to delve deeper and present different angles of a story. This is reflected not only in our news but also in special programmes such as Inside Story, Special Correspondent, FollowUp and Prime Time, to name a few. The brand promise is woven into the channel's look and feel and all its communication. It constantly conveys who we are and what are our differentiators."

On the other hand, Uday Shankar, CEO, Star News, feels Indian news channels are skewed towards conservative delivery of news and are focused on the older male viewers. Therefore, Star News, claims Shankar, has been trying to involve every member of the household through its programming.

Ajay Chacko, Head (Marketing), Television Eighteen, says that news as a genre is as big as entertainment, and therefore, the category has a lot to offer viewers. "The only big challenge that broadcasters have today is to offer a differentiator."

Agreeing with the broadcasters, Jasmin Sohrabji, President, Mediacom, says it is quite easy to break loyalty on television as all one needs to do is switch channels. "Therefore, it is essential for the news channels to tell the viewers where their core competence lies — whether their channel's strength lies in delivering news faster than the rest, or whether it specialises in providing the most in-depth information."

Atul Phadnis, Vice-President, TAM Media Research, says that since the challenge is to attract the greatest number of eyeballs towards one's channel, it is imperative for the broadcaster to assess the most critical aspect from the viewer's point of view that would drive him to tune into the channel.

Branding activities

To ensure greater brand recall, channels are investing in redoing their logos, which are designed to be in sync with their brand message. They are also getting into a number of above-the-line and below-the-line branding activities.

The Star News logo, for instance, underwent a major facelift recently, with the help of BBC Broadcast Design, which, according to a spokesperson from the channel, has been designed to reflect the channel's promise to impact the lives of its viewers.

Goyal of Zee News also claims that the channel's logo, as well as all its branding activities, reflect the channel's promise to deliver in-depth coverage. "The positioning is reflected in the channel's looks, feel and colours. While the use of three-dimensional graphics and the new package of colours and music enhances the news viewing experience, the channel packaging is aimed at communicating urgency, intensity and importance."

In order to enable people to sample its channel, Star News has tied up with the Mumbai and Delhi airports to play the channel in their lounges. Channels such as Aaj Tak are trying to expand their viewership through cross-promotions on other channels such as Sony and MTV.

It's programming that matters

However, Sohrabjee of Mediacom feels that branding only reassures the viewers. "In the long run, it is the product that speaks."

Krishnan of TV Today says there is only one way to break the clutter and that can be done by delivering a great product to the viewer. "He is bound to choose it among the rest. Hence, it's very important to have one's ear to the ground and gauge the pulse of the viewer."

The biggest challenge for news channels today, says M.G. Parameswaran, Executive Director, FCB-Ulka, is delivering the brand promise through their content.

"News has to become conceptually and fundamentally different, something that is not yet happening," says Shankar of Star News. He says it is high time news channels sit up and think about what the viewer wants. Customised news bulletins, focus on local news and news with more impact and a varied range of features, among others, could be a key differentiator, he says.

News & Infotainment

Most news channels today call themselves `news and infotainment' channels, and are not just a medium which delivers breaking news. Most channels have started exploring other areas such as talk shows, sports and entertainment-based programmes, travel and cookery shows. And this strategy, according to Parameswaran of FCB-Ulka, has worked well for most of them. "People are increasingly tuning into news channels for sensible entertainment, as the regular entertainment channels having nothing to offer other than the saas-bahu soaps."

"The only way to ensure stability in viewership is through appointment viewing, which can be brought about through news magazines. They have higher stickiness compared to the routine news bulletins, and are a nice way of ensuring sampling and bringing in diverse audience," says Sohrabji of Mediacom.

Trends

As news channels begin to experiment with new programme formats, industry experts foresee immense fragmentation of categories and specialisation in the coming years. Phadnis of TAM says the future will see super-specialisation of content, which would depend on consumer preferences. "There could be an exclusive entertainment news channel or even a channel on weather," he says.

Nirvik Singh, President & Chairman, Grey Global Group, says broadcasters today are treating all news watchers as a homogeneous mass, but there will soon come a time when they will launch specific channels for various age groups. "Broadcasters may look at launching a channel for viewers who are forty-plus and these may have more analytical and research-based programmes, as the viewers would have the time and patience to watch such programmes."

Phadnis says broadcasters would also look at launching regional channels as there is scope for huge growth in this segment. "Regional news channels have increased their share from 8 per cent in 2003 to 18 per cent in 2004," he says.

The coming years will definitely witness the mushrooming of a spate of news channels. But the big question is whether all of them would be able to garner enough revenues to sustain themselves. Won't distribution become a challenge? Media planners foresee a definite shake-up in the industry, but are equally curious to find out how the new channels would break through the clutter and survive the tough competition.

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