Orissa, the rising star

From being a print-dominated market, Orissa has seen a slew of television channel launches in the last one year. afaqs! explores

From a one-player market to eleven satellite channels -- that's some track record for growth. And that's exactly what Orissa's television market has witnessed in recent times, with the action really heating up in the last year.

For a long time, Orissa has been a print-dominated state. Advertisers had no option but to look at the top three publications in the market, as television almost did not exist. Of the Rs 200 crore spends on media in Orissa, print media still commands Rs 110- 130 crore.

Pre-2000, Doordarshan's DD6 Oriya was the only channel, which was a GEC. After this, ETV Oriya was launched in 2002.

In 2006, Ortel Communications' Orissa Television (OTV), a cable channel earlier, was launched as a satellite channel, which had a mix of news and entertainment. In 2008, the company, with a view to separate news from entertainment, launched Tarang, a GEC; while OTV was re-launched as a news channel.

Today, there are four channels under OTV Network. The network has seen a 40 per cent growth in revenue in the last one year.

The next spurt was in 2009, when five Oriya channels -- Naxatra News, Tarang Music, Kamyab TV Oriya, Super Star Josh and Kanak TV -- were launched, in the general entertainment, news and music genres. At least three more additions are expected this year.

Eastern Media, which houses Orissa's widely read newspaper, Sambad, has launched Kanak TV, a news channel. "The television scenario here is definitely changing. Although we just started our full-fledged operations four months ago, we are seeing a spurt of advertisers," says Monica Nair Patnaik, director, Eastern Media. The company hopes to leverage its strong foothold in print and also plans to look at other genres.

The share of Oriya GECs has increased from 7.1 per cent in 2008 to 12.8 per cent in 2010, as per TAM Media Research data (C&S, 4+, Orissa market). The overall GRPs have also gone up considerably. The top three channels today contribute 700-800 GRPs.

"We have observed that the number of viewers has gone up, and so has the time spent. So, there was clearly a dearth of quality options for the people of Orissa. Now, there are enough channels to choose from," says Sumit Kanungo, executive vice-president, Lintas Media Group.

Media planners and advertisers have acknowledged the growth in the market. Imran Karim, national buying head, TME says, "Gradually, advertisers have also realised the importance of the local medium. In most of the plans, even if it is a P2 (priority 2) market, regional language channels find a prominent place."

With easier and efficient targeting, advertisers are opting for the regional focus, as it ensures reach and there is no spill-over. "Looking at a regional channel is favourable in terms of cost per contact, while that's not true with national channels," says Kanungo.

The revenues paint an encouraging picture as well. While the print revenues went up by 17.5 per cent, advertising revenue on television grew by more than 50 per cent over the last year. Currently, the size of the Oriya television market is pegged at Rs 50- 60 crore and is poised to grow.

Ratikanta Satpathy, senior general manager, marketing and sales, OTV, reiterates that the last one year has seen tremendous action in the market, with television managing to break the monopoly of print.

The company, in order to lure retail advertisers, offers services and benefits such as devising the creative for the ad and putting it on-air to familiarise them with the process. "Right now, we get around 70 per cent of our revenues from national advertisers; but we see that changing, as more local advertisers come on-board," Satpathy adds.