TV stations gear up for revenue battle

Star (August 30, 2011)

It's that time of the year again, when television channels spare no effort to attract viewers, and revenue as well.
According to advertisers, television channels charge almost double during the Eid festival to cash in on the demand, and Eid advertising accounts for up to 15 percent of the television channels' yearly revenue income.
“Leading TV channels that usually take Tk 40,000 a minute during peak hour, charge as high as Tk 80,000 for the Eid programmes,” said Mostafa Kamal Aru, media manager of TBWA\Benchmark, an ad firm.
State-owned Bangladesh Television, known as BTV, leads the race comfortably with higher demand.
“BTV has increased the advertisement rate by 20 percent during this year's Eid,” said Khitish Paul, associate director of Mindshare, another ad firm.
Generally, BTV takes Tk 100,000-Tk 150,000 for per minute advertisement during normal time and it goes up as high as Tk 300,000 during Eid.
In Bangladesh, there are around 20 television stations of which only BTV is terrestrial. All these channels are now ready to set off their festive programmes for the Eid viewers. Some channels have extended their Eid programmes up to 10 days.
Exclusive TV programmes bring families together, while fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies advertise more to create a long-lasting impact.
“There is no off-peak hour during the Eid festival as every company wants to advertise its products to reach the target groups,” said Ashim Kumar Das, marketing manager of NTV, a private satellite channel.
“The rush to gain consumer attention and influence the buying decision is the main drive in the promotional campaigns,” said Paul of Mindshare that works for Unilever, the biggest FMCG company in the country.
Apart from FMCGs, other big advertisers include telecom companies, food, confectionary, soft drinks, juices and electronics .
According to market players, the size of the advertisement and promotional market is estimated at around Tk 1,200 crore annually. Of which, nearly 40 percent goes to the television channels.