MUMBAI: Bhojpuri content has been giving a tough time to its Hindi counterparts if one goes by weekly Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. In week 45, as in several others, the channel was leading with 63910 weekly impressions (000s). Apart from grabbing the viewership, the FTA channel is also in the top priority list of the advertisers who are targeting the Hindi-speaking belt.
In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Enterr10 CEO Joy Chakraborthy informed that 70 per cent of advertising on television is from FMCG brands. When the entire industry was down, television or GECs didn't suffer much due to the FMCG sector. "Bhojpuri market has been a revelation in the last few years as it has a huge population base and it covers Bihar, Jharkhand, UP and Uttrakhand which is primarily the Hindi belt. The market is a single regional market that is a priority for all FMCG brands," said Chakraborthy.
He further said, "This is a priority market for FMCGs and Bhojpuri Cinema is a leader channel in that market. We have most of the FMCG brands on board, HUL, P&G, Dabur, etc, to name a few. We may have said no to certain brands in case they don’t fit in our rate bracket." However, the sector is largely dependent on national advertisers as the regional one are unable to fit into the channel’s advertising bracket.
Chakraborthy states that advertisers can avoid the network if they are targeting Mumbai and Delhi but they can't if they are targeting Hindi belt. “We are three to four times ahead of anybody. We are on very high demands in categories which are focusing on Hindi belt," he said.
Even though Bhojpuri Cinema has been present since 2015, Chakraborthy says that the space is getting competitive only now. “That gives us a larger incentive to strive, think differently and maintain our number one status. This channel is definitely advertisers delight,” he said. The channel has also changed its strategy and is now taking business based on ER (engagement rates) only. “We are seeing good growth on our ERs and this is reflected in the market and people have started accepting us. We started selling proper time-band. Earlier, we were only selling primetime but now we started selling non-primetime. We also started selling fixed programme rates," he said.
The channel has 350+ movies in its library along with the recently launched World Television Premiere slot, which airs fresh content on the channel every Saturday.
"The reach of Bhojpuri Cinema is unparallel in the market and that is across urban and rural. We have the biggest library and are the first destination for film sellers as everyone wants their films to be aired on the no. 1 channel. This is what also gets us the advertising premium. The channel believes in ROI and provides content that is advertising-friendly. The aim to maintain and grow the leadership position is a clear objective. We have a hold on distribution as well as right content procurement to help reach this goal and remain the most sought-after Bhojpuri channel for advertisers," he stated.
The content aired on the channel largely consists of Bhojpuri films and high-impact Bhojpuri award shows/events. "There is no match with the movie content that we have and that is the reason why when you see the adex, maximum no of brands are onboard. The strength of the channel is its unparallel film content that delivers steady ratings. In addition to that, the high-impact, star-studded award shows and events give a huge spike," he opined.
