The 'Republic' of advertisers

Arnab Goswami has been quite a money-spinner in the English television news space and the star anchor is trying to maintain that image for his upcoming entrepreneurial venture Republic. Slated to be launched with 10 advertisers on May 6, Republic is generating a lot of curiosity among viewers and advertisers and announced its partners through teaser campaigns.

Also read: Republic TV to launch with eight sponsors

Vivo, Jio, Renualt, Microsoft, hike, Yes Bank, Ravin, Nestaway, Havells and Ola are founding partners of Republic. The channel refused to speak about advertisers and partners but sources close to it said each one has come aboard as a special associate with a specialised tailor-made deal.

Microsoft is the technology partner for the channel and will power Republic’s broadcast technologies.

Also read: Republic interrupted by India Today: Who gained what?

Coming from a brand like Goswami, it will be interesting to know how advertisers, media planners and buyers are looking at Republic. A senior media planner said, “I don’t think the channel will immediately get premium rates since there isn’t any empirical data on viewership. But the advertisers will show some loyalty to Goswami only to a certain extent. One must not forget that supporting Republic blindly will attract some amount of resentment from Times Network and advertisers would not want to do that for long.”

Goswami’s bitter exit from Times Network (at least that’s what he made the world to believe) has created some bitterness between the two.

A trading head of one of the leading media agencies said goodwill works more between channels and advertisers, especially in the launch phase. “The advertisers don’t always pay for ads at the launch of the channel. Till the time there are viewership numbers to prove the mettle of the channel, advertising deals are mainly on the basis of goodwill. This only gives security to the channel about the continued support from brands.”

Another media buyer said, “Marketers are getting cautious and smarter with time. They will only invest money where they find a better RoI. Yes, Goswami is a big brand and that might work positively, but only after the channel has proved good viewership numbers.”

Also read: Republic will become the No. 1 news brand in the country: Arnab Goswami

Goswami’s Newshour used to fetch anywhere close to Rs 20,000-30,000 per 10 second slot while the rate also touched Rs 60,000 on big days. However, the average ad rate for one of the top five English news channels is in the range of Rs 3,000 per 10 second on run of daypart (RODP) basis.

Also read: Times Now is ready to take on Arnab Goswami’s Republic: MK Anand

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