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| Ticketpro’s Grimaux:
India focussed |
Globally roughly 90 per cent
of tickets for music concerts are sold online. The us-based Ticket
Master and the Czech Republic-based Ticketpro are two of the global
leading names in this business. Ticketpro, which provides both online
and offline ticketing services (the latter via its owned points
of sale), soft-launched with two Bryan Adam concerts and one Deep
Purple gig, all in Bangalore. As of now, e-ticketing is not possible
in India as each physical ticket has to be stamped by the tax authorities.
So, access codes were installed at the entrance of the venues, which
read the tickets purchased offline that had unique barcodes-the
first time such a concept has been introduced in India. Says Serge
Grimaux, Chairman & CEO, Ticketpro: "I believe the ticketing
business is poised to grow in India as much as the live entertainment
industry. There is a change in consumer mindset." Industry
players estimate the global ticketing services industry to be worth
$40 billion (Rs 1,76,000 crore), and Ticketpro's strategy is now
to focus on emerging markets. Ticketpro's revenues are generated
principally from a service charge on each ticket sold (sponsorships
and web advertising are other revenue streams). In India, the service
charge is 10 per cent on all tickets. For the immediate, Ticketpro
will soon start selling tickets in India for Iron Maiden. Grimaux
expects to sell 500,000 tickets in India by the end of 2007.
-Anusha Subramanian
Beyond
the Nylon Curtain
The launch of DuPont's India R&D centre
is well timed.
The company that introduced
the world to nylon will flag off its first research & development
(R&D) centre in India by early next year. DuPont Co, the 204-year-old
American chemicals giant, has zeroed in on Hyderabad, where it
will have 300 employees at full capacity in a unit that will soak
up Rs 100 crore in investment.
The 15-acre centre, which has been christened the India Knowledge
Centre, is likely to focus on basic research and applications,
specifically for the local market, although global markets will
not be ignored.
If you're still wondering why India, the answer, of course,
is the good old domestic advantage of quality research staff now
bolstered by a strong domestic market. "We believe in going
where there is growth," says Balvinder Singh Kalsi, President
and CEO, E.I. DuPont India. The centre will help the company adapt
to market requirements faster. "The response time of innovation
for Indian market from anywhere else in the world is very long,"
says Homi Bhedwar, Director at the India Knowledge Centre.
Fortuitously for DuPont, its interest areas of research match
the sectors that are booming in India. "DuPont India seems
to mirror in its product profile a lot of the growth areas in
India," says Bhedwar. For instance, if the company is looking
at newer packaging materials such as breathable films, India's
upcoming retail chains are looking for innovation precisely in
those areas. The same is true for infrastructure development and
construction, agriculture and nutrition (mainly rice and corn),
renewable energy such as photovoltaics, and nanotechnology. Other
areas of interest for DuPont such as automotive industry too are
poised for immense growth. And if that is not enough, the company
has a safety consulting business. Indian corporates such as Tata
Steel and Tata Motors are using DuPont's services to analyse and
improve their safety track records.
No wonder then the company's India subsidiary is already clocking
revenues of $360 million (Rs 1,580 crore) even as it is looking
to maintain an over 20 per cent growth over the coming few years.
"Our global aim, which we adhered to last year, is that new
products (those that are less than five years old) should contribute
a third to our revenues," says Kalsi. That can only be good
news for the India Centre.
-Shalini S. Dagar
Surviving
Planet Earth
Discovery raises the stakes for niche
channels.
When you sink Rs 100 crore
into a series, you'd expect results to show. And Discovery Channel,
which flagged off its big-budget, 11-part programme, Planet Earth
at the beginning of February, is beginning to score in viewership.
Now ratings of 0.21 in the prime time 8-9 p.m. slot across Indian
cable & satellite homes may not sound awfully impressive but
then Planet Earth has helped Discovery move comfortably ahead of
competitors like National Geographic Channel (NGC) and History.
For instance, according to rating agency tam, Discovery's relative
channel share in the sixth week of 2007 stands at 44 per cent as
against NGC's 26 per cent, History's 19 per cent and Animal Planet's
5 per cent. Says Deepak Shourie, EVP & Managing Director, Discovery
Networks India: "Planet Earth is a stunning television experience.
The series takes viewers to an unforgettable journey through the
challenging seasons and the daily struggle for survival in earth's
most extreme habitats. Using a budget of unprecedented proportions,
HD photography and unique filming techniques, Planet Earth has taken
audience to experience sights and sounds that they may never experience
again."
For Planet Earth, Discovery has roped in advertisers such as
Pepsi, Amex, J&J, Microsoft, Parle, Sony Ericsson and ICICI
Prudential at average rates of Rs 2,000-2,500 per 10 seconds.
Rahul Johri, Senior Vice President (Advertising Sales), Discovery
Networks India, says: "Planet Earth has been a resounding
success. Not only has it recorded a 100 per cent jump in the slot
average (the average viewership of the time-band during which
the programme is aired) but has also augmented Discovery Channel's
market share, consolidating its supremacy amongst international
channels in India." However, media planners point out it's
still early days. Says Girish Upadhyay, Associate Media Director,
Starcom Mediavest: "Though Discovery has shown an increase
in channel shares, following the launch of Planet Earth, it's
too early to say that Discovery is on a high. We have to wait
and watch for a few more weeks to see if it is a continuous positive
trend. Having said that, in the conditional access regime, and
after the expansion of the tam panel (to 7,000 peoplemeters),
niche channels have gained a little bit." Discovery Channel
wouldn't be complaining.
-Anusha Subramanian
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