High demand & higher revenue: DPOs offer second landing page with shorter duration

The surge in demand for landing pages, particularly from news broadcasters, has prompted distribution platform operators (DPOs) to experiment with a second landing page. Many DPOs, like GTPL Hathway, are offering dual landing pages in order to cater to the rising demand from news broadcasters.

A source in the TV distribution industry said that the trend will soon get replicated across the country by other platforms. "DPOs have started providing a second landing page as well. GTPL is offering a second landing page to broadcasters. Slowly, other DPOs will follow suit," the source said.

The distribution head of a leading news network said that the dual landing page helps DPOs to earn more revenue. "GTPL has started offering two landing pages. They are running a GEC on Landing Page 1 and a news channel on Landing Page 2," he stated.

A senior executive with a leading cable distribution company noted that the DPOs including GTPL Hathway are experimenting with a second landing page due to the rise in demand from news channels. "The demand for LP1 and LP2 is coming mainly from news channels and specifically the newly launched ones since it helps in getting more sampling and viewership," he stated.

He further explained that the landing channel is visible for a specific duration on certain cable networks while on other networks the landing page doesn't change unless the viewer decides to shift to some other channel.

"While the first landing channel doesn't change unless the viewer decides to shift to some other channel, the second landing page has a duration of seven seconds before it automatically shifts to the default channel of the viewer," the executive said, on condition of anonymity.

He also stated that the second landing page, or LP2, has a very small cost since it is available only for a short duration and hence might not add to the viewership of the channel. "LP1 is important since it adds to the viewership of the channel. LP2, on the other hand, might or might not help in garnering more viewership," the executive said.

According to the distribution head quoted above, the landing page is becoming a nuisance in the news industry due to its rampant use by certain networks that are flush with capital. He also stated that landing pages ultimately harm the interest of the consumers.

"BARC should think about this issue. If the landing page doesn't provide reach and time spent then it will lose its value. The landing page should be used for consumer awareness and advertisement. A live channel should not be allowed on the landing page," he contended.

The landing page/channel refers to the Logical Channel Number (LCN) which is displayed first when the Set Top Box (STB) is switched on. The landing page has become an effective tool for broadcasters to get more sampling, reach and time spent.

Experts believe that the landing page is a potent weapon in a genre like news which is susceptible to high volatility due to a smaller universe size compared to entertainment genres. "The trend of landing pages began with newly launched news channels using them to get more visibility. Since the viewership that happens on landing page gets measured by BARC, many news channels are using it as a quick fix solution to drive up their numbers," an industry source told e4m.