Who is the numero uno amongst private Hindi satellite TV channels? Both Zee TV and Sony Entertainment Television are laying stake to that claim.Sony says that it has usurped the market leader in the week ended December 5 in the TAM viewership report. Sony says that it has got a 12 per cent market share of cable and satellite television households based on the Tam ratings for eight cities during prime time (2000 hours to 2300 hours). That is 1 per cent higher than Zee TV's share. And, hold your breath, it claims a 3 point lead over Zee in the three cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Kanpur with its market share of 21 per cent.
Zee in turn flashes INTAM data, which show that it is still leading the market with seven out of the Top 10, programmes being aired on it.
Says Sony market research head Ashish Redij: "We are being as transparent as we can. The numbers show that Sony had an audience of 705,000 vs 598,000 in three cities giving the two channels a television rating of 5.5 per cent and 4.7 per centrespectively. That yields a market share of 21 per cent and 18 per cent respectively for Sony and Zee."
According to Redij, Zee TV has been gradually losing share to Star Plus. "Zee TV had a market share of 21 per cent till September 1998. However, that has been eroded ever since Star Plus has aired Hindi film blockbusters. But Sony has held its ground and has overtaken Zee with the main contributions coming from Monday night programming and Sunday night film and the Saturday film Dream Girl during the week to December 5."
Zee TV spokesperson Ranjan Bakshi dismisses the numbers thrown up Sony as incorrect. "If you look at the INTAM report for the same period it tells you that Zee TV continues to rule the roost and top the popularity charts. Clearly, there is a credibility gap and the TAM data does not give us that degree of confidence to subscribe to it."
Bakshi contends that the TAM report lists seven of the Top 10 programme slots as being on Sony. "Aahat figures thrice in this list ofseven programs on Sony. By sheer magic the most popular Amanat on Zee TV appears only once," he says. "Similarly Dream Girl is reported four times in the Top 60 programmes.
INTAM, however, lists seven of the Top 10 programs as Zee TV shows. This raises a fundamental question on which research agency is more credible. It is to prevent these confusing signals that Zee advocates that the advertising industry has only one currency.
Observers however do not know whether to buy the Sony numbers. "We'll have to wait and watch how Sony performs over a longer period. This could well be a flash in the pan," says a media planner. Redij expects Sony's viewership to head in only one direction: northwards.
Bakshi says Zee TV prefers to stand by the Intam data. "We are still leading the market and will continue to do so."
Clearly, one has not heard the last of this war.
Sites to light up your Christmas season
As we move into the Christmas season, here are a few sites you can surf into forsome useful browsing.
Millions of people all over the world will be coming together over the next few days during Yuletide and the new year to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. And to help you find the perfect card with a message that's uniquely yours, for an associate, friend or family member quickly and easily you could log into 123Greetings, (http://www.123greetings.com).123Greetings is one of the largest, free electronic greeting card companies makes it as easy as 123 to exchange your Christmas sentiments on the Internet.
This one is for those who love canines. DoggieBagz.com (http://www.doggiebagz.com) recently announced the official launch of its unique retail offerings to the Internet world. The site is dedicated to offering unique gifts, accessories, and necessities for dogs and the humans who love them. Now it's the turn of those who want to stash their money in investments rather than for a rainy day. InvestorMap.com, located athttp://www.investormap.com, is the newest, most comprehensive, and easiest to use directory of investing and trading resources on the Internet.Mudra turns to account-planning
Mudra is taking a dive into account planning by stepping on the Springboard. Last week, James Best chairman of the UK-based BMP-DDB, and champion of account planning a la Springbaord, was in India to introduce Mudra executives to the concept. Best did what he is best at: he made a whistlestop tour of the agency's four city offices "evangelising account planning."
He believes that Springboard is a tool, which will help Mudra provide that extra edge in its communications for its clients. "Springboard basically helps agency executives to think and come up with that key insight for brands." He points out that the JWT model of account of planning is more strategy oriented. "Springboard, however, is a wholesome balance of creative and strategy." He believes that DDB Needham's Indian associate has smelt tasted Springboardand it's going to use it to the hilt from now on. "The Mudra guys have been pretty enthusiastic."
Mudra director Madhukar Kamath says the agency has been using account planning for sometime now but it was not structured and a discipline like Springboard. "We have used it for Blue Diamond Almonds and Dhara in the past. But with Springboard we expect to be better equipped both creatively and strategically."
The writer can be reached at wanvari@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in or television@hotmail.com
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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