The 4th edition of the TV Summit brought together a distinguished panel of industry leaders to discuss the evolving landscape of television and its relevance in the age of OTT and digital media. Kicking the esteemed off was Mr. Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands with a special keynote address which highlighted the topic of Cracking the Code: Understanding and Targeting TV Viewers.
Key excerpts from the address-
Television remains a powerful medium despite ongoing claims that it is dying or that OTT has taken over. The reality is that the biggest beneficiaries of TV are the broadcasters, and businesses ultimately operate based on fundamental networks. Television’s CPMs are low, making it a consistently profitable medium.
Daily TV viewership exceeds five hours, and rather than declining, consumption has actually increased. In India, television is an integral part of family time—during the last two to three hours of the day, families gather in front of the TV to watch their preferred content together. This sustained consumption of over five hours per day is a clear indication that television is not going anywhere.
Currently, HD penetration is at over 70 million homes, whereas connected TV (CTV) adoption remains relatively low. Consumers today have access to content through both cable and digital connections, but technically, HD enjoys better consumption. With approximately 60 to 70 million households engaging with television content, the primary challenge lies in the content itself, which needs to be addressed. It is an underserviced market.
A major issue is the way TV ratings are presented. We are not distributing ratings in the right manner. From our side, we are actively working to resolve this by introducing a premium panel, which we hope to launch soon. This presents a significant opportunity—if we can streamline the data and ensure it reaches households effectively, television’s potential will only grow further.
The bigger question is from the advertiser’s perspective. We have not fully explored the broader market potential. Currently, discussions revolve around two primary factors: percentage reach and CPRP (Cost per Rating Point). However, marketers need to adopt a more holistic view of the market. Even within the existing framework, if we start segmenting and analyzing the audience in a more refined manner, it will lead to improved sales.
We conducted an exercise with Amazon when they entered India. They wanted to understand the country’s buyers. To provide insights, we leveraged BARC data, mapping household consumption patterns. At that time, BARC covered around 20,000 to 30,000 homes. The findings revealed that in specific segments, news consumption was as significant as general entertainment. This reinforces the idea that once we launch the premium panel and begin slicing and analyzing audience segments more effectively, television’s impact will only strengthen.
India is one of the highest consumers of television globally, with an average daily viewership exceeding five hours. While mobile consumption is growing, television remains the key medium for family bonding.
Sports consumption in India is relatively low, at around 5-6%, whereas global markets see rates of approximately 10%. However, as sports viewership expands, television will continue to thrive. While digital generates considerable discussion, the fact remains that TV is one of the most affordable and accessible entertainment markets in the world. The way forward for broadcasters is to shift their focus towards audience segmentation and data-driven strategies.
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