‘There’s no show like Bigg Boss in terms of brand engagement & integration’

One of the biggest shows or  impact properties on Indian Television, Bigg Boss is all set to come back with Season 14, starting from October 3. The show will continue to be hosted by Salman Khan.

The last season of Bigg Boss was the biggest from a viewership, digital and advertisers perspective. In a conversation with exchange4media, Mahesh Shetty, Head, Network Sales, Viacom18, says he is optimistic that this year too Bigg Boss will have a blockbuster season both in terms of viewership and revenue. 

The network has already signed Mobile Premier League (MPL) as the presenting sponsor along with Dabur Dant Rakshak Ayurvedic Paste and HUL as the ‘Powered by Sponsor’.

“We have a month to go before the show starts and discussions are still on for closing the sponsors. In the next couple of weeks, we will have many sponsors on board. Last year, we had nine sponsors and this year I am very confident we will close nine or more,” shared Shetty.

As per BARC India data, Bigg Boss Season 13 (started on September 29, 2019) garnered 213 million viewers and the finale alone witnessed 10.5 million impressions. 

“Last year was a fabulous season and we had very good traction for the brand. We expect that this year too will be a blockbuster season both in terms of viewership and as far as monetization goes. There are very few properties like Bigg Boss, actually none like Bigg Boss as far as brand engagement and integration goes,” Shetty shared.

“Bigg Boss 14 will start from October 3 - that is before Diwali - and I think it's on the bang on date as far as advertising spends go. We are very optimistic that in terms of monetization we won’t face much of a challenge. Brands are waiting to advertise as they come out of the lockdown and we have had very active discussion going on with many brands for Bigg Boss. We are very confident that we will make last year’s revenue or may be more than that.” 

The launch of big properties during the festive season is expected to drive ad revenues for broadcasters. Hence, the importance of a show like Bigg Boss increases even more when the industry is going through tough times in the wake of COVID-19. The 106-day long show gives various brands a chance to be associated with it.

However, the second of the year looks way better than the first. According to Shetty, television overall has recovered faster than any other medium along with digital media. “As lockdown eases, many brands are coming on board to advertise and we see the volumes of advertising on mainstream television channels going up, which is a positive sign. And as we enter the festive season it is an extremely positive sign. Just hold on to the pricing.”

Speaking about categories that are taking interest in the upcoming season of Bigg Boss, Shetty said that as far as categories go the beauty of Bigg Boss is that brands across categories can easily come in and be associated with the show. This year MPL itself is a new category which came on board as a presenting sponsor. We have brands across categories, right from personal grooming to appliances. “Different parts of the Bigg Boss house give different opportunities for different brands to connect. If we see the history of Bigg Boss, we've had car brands and handset brands. Also Bigg Boss comes during the festive season and hence it has also become a great launch platform for many brands. For instance, last year Vivo launched their V 17Pro on the Bigg Boss platform. This year because of the increased sensitivity to cleanliness, hygiene and sanitization, there are other new bunch of brands that are actively engaging with us on associating with Bigg Boss.”

Sharing more on brand associations, Shetty said that this year there were some unique activities in the Bigg Boss House. “For instance, people missed going out for shopping, so there will be a small shopping mall area for the contestants. Similarly, they missed going to the gym so we will have space for a gym, a mini theatre to watch movies and a small dining area. It's not that everybody's going to get it very easy and there'll be tasks around it. When you have so much innovation in the Bigg Boss House, which is very topical, it gives an opportunity for brands and hence I think there will be increased traction for brands.”

Speaking on ad rates and inventory, Shetty said that by the time the show will go on air, 60 per cent of the inventory would have been sold. There were rumours that we are dropping rates because of COVID, let me clarify we are not dropping rates. “We had a super season last year and we would have substantially increased the rates this year but it will be broadly close to what we were selling last year in terms of rates.” 

“COVID or no COVID, Bigg Boss is our biggest property and during this pandemic it becomes even more relevant and important because people have had experience and seen contestants locked in the Bigg Boss house but for the last six months all of us have also been in a lockdown and the script that we're going to give to the Bigg Boss lockdown is something that I'm sure people will be waiting for.”

Speaking about the growth in the second half of the year, Shetty shared that in the overall mix of advertising spends, television has become even more important because the consumers have stayed with television as a medium during lockdown. 

“The importance of television has grown in the overall marketing spend pie. So in the second half of the year I expect television overall to do well. For any brand campaign, television has become more important because the impact of COVID on other mediums like print, theatres, outdoor or radio is much higher. They have lost a lot of consumers but television has not. Television becomes very important for any market here, he said. “Then we have the festive season that is again important for the industry and we see festivals to be on the same line as last year. I would say a single-digit growth is expected, which is generally a very positive sign in the current scenario. From October-March we expect highest single digit growth.”

Signing off, Shetty shared the key growth factors for Viacom18 - the overall TV performance and importance in TV ad spends (from a macro standpoint). Secondly, the growth will also be driven by channel performances.  “The fact that we are now back in the FTA space will also lead the network towards growth with Rishtey and Rishtey Cineplex,” he added.