With a host of Net ventures just itching to get going with their projects. And with oodles of VC funding in their pockets, ad agencies will be required to promote their ventures, both in traditional and non-traditional media.

For instance, ad agencies will have to learn what turns on internet-freaks, young and old alike, and how they can be targeted. Via traditional and online media such as e-mails, bulletin boards, online fora, chats, news groups etc.

As newer ISPs come in, they will be forced to spend more on advertising in order to hold on to their subscribers. One can expect advertising expenditure of at least Rs 30-40 crore from this segment.

In the case of existing ISPs, VSNL has shown that it is willing to spend heavily to retain its subscribers with advertising supplements, trade shows, full-page ads, double-spreads, billboards. MTNL,MantraOnline and Satyam Infoway have also splurged on advertising.

Even content providers will be big-spenders. One has already seen rediff.com place its commercials on niche channels such as MTV and ESPN-STAR Sports. It has also used the print medium to flog its new interactive content such as its shopping mall, bookshop, the singles section et al. However, it is not known whether all of the advertising is paid for or it has been placed in the form of barter.

Recently, the IRS in round four of its readership survey stated that a 1.5 million strong internet user base has emerged. It has grown by half a million in just about six months. The user base is expected to double every year from now on as ISPs debut. Hence, it's imperative that research firms draw up a proper profile of the internet as he need not only be a rich young guy with an internet bent, but he could also be a student who's a geek.

There's immense opportunity in the internet market. It's up to the Indian advertising world to respond andtap into it.

STAR Plus the beneficiary

The equity restructuring of the joint ventures between Zee Telefilms and STAR TV is likely to allow the two companies to go their own way. That is if Murdoch is still interested in the Indian market.

A beneficiary of this arrangement could be STAR Plus which has been doing well from the increasing Indian content on the channel, which former boss R Basu initiated.

The Indian Readership Survey's fourth round has shown that the channel, which was earlier the high brow service of the STAR TV Network, is doing very well, thank you. It is creeping up on Zee Cinema (4.1 per cent) with four per cent viewers tuning in on an all-India basis. Its impact is, however, being felt most in the top five metros.

STAR Plus attracted 25.1 per cent viewers during the year in these metros as against Zee Cinema's 20.7 per cent. Audiences seem to be tiring of Zee Cinema's relatively limited and old film library. STAR Plus, for its part, is snapping at Sony's heels, which had28.8 per cent of the viewers. Zee TV is comfortably placed at the No.3 slot with 34.6 per cent as against DD-I's and DD-II's 74.8 per cent and 66.7 per cent, respectively.

On an all India-basis, Sony Entertainment Television is in fourth place with 6.8 per cent (5.9 per cent earlier) of audiences while Zee is watched in 7.9 per cent (earlier 7.4 per cent) homes. DD-I and DD-II are watched in 42.8 per cent and 9.7 per cent of homes, respectively. The battle in the coming year is going to get heated up further with STAR and Zee TV going their own ways, and Sony marching ahead.

(The writer is developing an internet portal http://www.indiantelevision.com. Feel free to email with your comments to television@vsnl.com or television@hotmail.com)