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The
DTH operators are going to splurge Rs 6
billion towards marketing across TV, print
and other mediums this fiscal as they aim
to add 11 million subscribers due to a spate
of sporting events. In terms of ad spend,
Tata Sky would be leading the pack with
Airtel Digital TV and Dish TV in near-distance
company.
"Tata
Sky's ad spend will be around Rs 1.2 billion,
followed by Airtel Digital TV. Dish TV will
have a marketing expense of Rs 1 billion
while Reliance Big TV will spend over Rs
800 million," says an industry-tracker.
Videocon is preparing for a bigger ad exposure
for its d2h brand in the second half of
the year. "We were present in the IPL
and are lining up a bigger ad splash in
the coming months. Our ad spend for promoting
our DTH service will be Rs 800 million this
fiscal," says Videocon Group director
Saurabh Dhoot.
DTH operators were equally aggressive in
the previous fiscal as they had to intensely
compete among themselves and cable TV networks
to acquire customers. "There would
be a marginal 5 per cent increase in ad
spend this fiscal. This is because there
was high ad spending in the last fiscal,"
says a senior official of a leading DTH
company.
DTH
companies are the top ad spenders on television
in the 'services category' with a combined
32 per cent share, according to Tam AdEx
data for the first half of the calendar
year based on volumes.
The
ad volume spend by the DTH sector in the
first half of 2010 is up 10 per cent over
the year-ago period. In the six-month period
to June-end 2009, the DTH segment had a
29 per cent share in the overall 'services'
category.
Tam
AdEx data shows that 'properties/real estates' had a 15 per cent share in the
'services' category, while 'Internet service-general' follows at third place with
an 11 per cent share.
Sun
Direct has edged out Tata Sky to become
the leading advertiser among the DTH brands
with an eight per cent share in ad volumes,
according to Tam AdEx data for the first
half of 2010. While Tata Sky stands second
in the list with a six per cent share (same
as previous year), Dish TV, Airtel Digital
TV and Reliance Big TV follow with shares
of five, four and three per cent of the
overall service sector ad volumes on TV.
"The
ad volume growth on TV will not reflect
Sun Direct's position as the lead ad spender.
Sun uses its own channels and a sizeable
part of its advertising is in the south.
Tata Sky will continue to lead in ad spends,"
says a media analyst.
The
rise in ad volumes is driven by three factors - entry of a sixth player (Videocon
d2h), increase in the number of new product launches, and a busy sporting events
year. | 
