After a subdued first half of the year, the broadcasting sector is optimistic about strong AdEx growth in the second half of the year, which will be bolstered not only by the festive season but also big- ticket properties including Cricket World Cup, Asia Cup and general elections.

According to Rohit Gupta, CFO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), the new fiscal has started on an optimistic note with some green shoots being seen in the overall advertising sentiment. “That said, there remains immense headroom for overall ad environment recovery on the back of improving consumer demand, and we remain hopeful of the next few quarters driving growth,” said Gupta during their Q1 earnings call.

H1, say marketing experts, was slow due to a multitude of reasons such as the division of IPL media rights between TV and digital and new-age categories/brands cutting their ad spends.

Gupta also spoke about the muted ad spending environment during the good part of the quarter. “Q1 started off on a slow note, and with IPL during the months of April and May, ad spending was particularly muted. However, towards the back end of the quarter, there were early signs of ad spends starting to pick up, led by FMCG. We have seen this pickup continue heading into Q2 as well. However, recovery is still nascent, and pace of pickup is moderate at this point. Overall, we remain hopeful that the positive momentum will continue, enabling us to drive growth in ad revenues.” He also highlighted that ad revenues pickup will hopefully be also aided by a longer festive period this year with Diwali being in mid-November.

According to the TAM advertising half yearly (Jan-June 2023) report, the advertising volume remained stable in Jan-June 23 as compared to the same period last year. However, as compared to the same period of 2021, ad volume on TV saw a minor growth of 3%. Sectors such as F&B, personal care and services were the top three sectors during the same period.

Vishal Shah, Managing Partner of EssenceMediaCom India, too is extremely optimistic about great growth in H2 because it is an action-packed year. "After a long time, we will see a normalised year," he said. “The Covid effect appears to have worn off, and people are out shopping. The festival season is also approaching, as are the Asia Cup, Cricket World Cup, and elections. Some big-ticket properties such as Bigg Boss and KBC are also in H2, and the combination of these should see significant momentum,” Shah added.

Shah also highlighted that the overall AdEx of H1 is almost back to pre-Covid level. He said it is in fact higher than 2021 and 2020 and almost back to 2019, but remained stable as compared to previous year. “One medium which is recovering relatively slower but gaining much traction is radio. Print and TV both are seeing momentum. I am very bullish and optimistic about H2. Clients are looking at spending and they will be back in full swing.” Shah predicted that AdEx in H2 will grow in the range of 8-15%.

Sharing a similar viewpoint, B Sridhar, Group Director, Innocean WorldWide Communications, said that the second half of the year has festive season along with Cricket World Cup which is happening in India this time which will lead to a strong AdEx growth in H2. "Overall, it really augurs well. Then there are general elections, so all of the factors that should benefit advertising are present. There is no reason to doubt that the AdEx will grow." Sridhar predicted that the AdEx in H2 is expected to grow around 10-12% as compared to previous year’s H2. He also mentioned the categories like consumer durables, and e-commerce are doing extremely well.

In the Jan-June 2023 period, auto was the new category that entered the list of top 10 advertising sectors, as per the TAM AdEx report. The industry believes that along with other sectors, the auto sector is likely to increase the ad spends as compared to the previous year.

Speaking on the festive outlook for the auto industry, Vivek Srivatsa, Head, Marketing, Sales and Service Strategy, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, shared that the festive period looks positive for the sector. “The auto sector has been growing continuously as the need for personal mobility is growing. The festival season will be one of the best in the last few years,” Srivatsa said, adding that H1 for the sector was strong and the growth will be sustained in the second half as well. “The industry is going to see loads of launches and ad spends will definitely increase.”