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According to media planners and industry players, the general entertainment channels (GEC), which telecast daily soaps at the time of the matches, are holding on their own against the onslaught of the Indian Premier League (IPL), even getting their advertising inventories full.
"This year, there isn't a profound impact on the ad revenues of the GECs because of the IPL. The reason is the fact that last year, the sentiment around this time was grim because of the economic slowdown," media agency MEC India's National Trading Head H Vishwanath told PTI.
This year, however, companies in sectors like FMCG and auto are looking at better advertising spends and have bought slots across GECs as well, he added.
His view is shared by officials of GECs like Zee and Star Plus, which air popular serials like 'Pavitra Rishta', 'Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo' and 'Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai' and 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai', respectively in the prime time slot coinciding with the matches.
"Our inventory is full and there has been no impact of IPL on our advertising revenues," Zee TV Head (Marketing) Akash Chawla said, adding that lesser rates of GECs coupled with good viewership have helped in paying dividends to advertisers.
As per industry estimates, the advertisement rates for IPL are about five-six times more than that of GECs. While a five to six second slot during the IPL would cost around Rs 5 lakh, the same duration ad on a GEC prime time slot would be charged around Rs 60,000-Rs 1 lakh.
The cost differential has helped GECs stick to their existing rates, despite a big attraction for IPL among many advertisers.
STAR India Executive Vice-President (Marketing) Anupam Vasudev said, "There is no change in ad rates of GECs due to the IPL."
Advertisement remains the major contributor to GECs' revenues with 80 per cent coming from it and rest from subscription.
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