We’re expecting 25-30% growth in volume & 15-20% growth in ad rates: Abhay Ojha

The News genre had seen tremendous traction and increase in viewership during the lockdown period, although the genre didn’t see increase in ad revenues in keeping with the rise in viewership. As India settles into the new normal, news viewership is normalising from the high of the last few months. 

Within a span of a few years, News Nation has grown into a formidable player amongst the top channels in the Hindi News genre in India. The channel’s ideology is to respect viewer’s intelligence and provide them with news that they can use. 

In conversation with Adgully, Abhay Ojha, President - Sales & Marketing, News Nation Network, shares his views on the growth of the news genre during the pandemic period, expectations from the festive season and IPL this year, growth in ad volumes and ad rates and much more. 

What kind of viewership trends in the news genre do you anticipate during the festive season? How do you expect viewership to pan out this year?

During the festive season, the news industry always sees an uprising in viewership, but this year we may see a reverse because the news genre had more than doubled during the lockdown, primarily because people were at home and COVID-19 updates kept the audience glued to the news. Now, the genre is gradually settling down to its normal level due to easing of lockdown restrictions. 

Will brands return with a vengeance to advertise with the ongoing IPL tournament? Do you believe news channels will gain from this positive sentiment?

Brands across categories are looking to increase their advertising spends during the festive season and the IPL to boost consumer demand. However, because of low monetary exchange, the high viewership did not fetch the higher ad sales. Now, with the onset of the festive season and IPL, the category is likely to see a 25-30 per cent of increase in ad revenue. 

Are you focusing on sports journalism in a particular way during IPL season? What daypart and category of advertisers are keen to advertise on your channel?

We are not focusing on sports journalism specifically, we believe in ‘ideal viewer connects’. The channel’s proposition is news that is unopinionated, unbiased, covering the real issues which matter to larger sections of the society, covering the real picture. The channel addresses the ground realities and complexities of diverse and multi-layered India. Talking about advertisers’ interest, it purely depends on advertisers and their TG that they are targeting. Advertisers from various categories are keen on advertising on News Nation, like Personal Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Automobile, Telecom, etc. 

What is the impact of the festive season on ad rates for the news genre? Seeing that this year we are reeling from the effects of COVID-19, has the usual trend changed?

The market is definitely looking up. There has been some improvement in advertising volumes and advertising rates on the onset of the festive season. We are expecting a 25-30 per cent increase in volume and 15-20 per cent increase in ad rates. From an advertising point of view, we see that most sectors have already started their campaigns, with Personal Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Telecom, Automobile, BFSIs and Internet services driving the narrative, reflective of the needs of the consumers. All this has kept pushing the growth engine strongly.