The media network is pitching Bigg Boss as the second most popular media property after the Indian Premier League. “Bigg Boss is the IPL of entertainment,” Viacom18 Head of Network Sales Mahesh Shetty told ET.
The network is hopeful of achieving the viewership target since the TV reach last season stood at 174 million and is expected to cross 200 million this year. On digital, the property will be streamed on JioCinema, a much stronger platform compared to Voot, which is being integrated with the former.
JioCinema had raked in 450 million viewers through free streaming of the IPL 2023.
“We are targeting an audience reach of 350-400 million for Bigg Boss 17 on both TV and digital. The viewership will also grow exponentially on OTT because the show will stream on JioCinema, which is a much bigger platform,” Shetty stated.
While Shetty is tight-lipped about the ad revenue numbers, the company is believed to have set an internal target of Rs 350 crore since advertisers are expected to up their ad spending during the second half of FY24 due to the festive season.He expects ad monetisation to be equally strong on both TV and digital.Bigg Boss 16 garnered Rs 250 crore worth of ad revenue. However, the ad spending during the festive season last year was below expectations due to the challenges faced by FMCG companies, the biggest ad spending category in broadcast entertainment.
Viacom18 has already closed two sponsorship deals and is eyeing 12 sponsors in total. “Bigg Boss has traction across categories. We are tapping FMCG, personal care, kitchen products, beauty, and auto,” Shetty said, adding that the property is not over-indexed in one category.
The media company is seeking outlays of Rs 6-45 crore from sponsors. “We have sponsorship packages for advertisers of different ticket sizes. 65% of the ad inventory is consumed by sponsors, while spot buyers take 35% of the inventory,” he said.
Bigg Boss’ advantage is that it covers the entire festive calendar, from Dussehra to Christmas. “Brands who partnered with us want to come again, and new brands are also keen to associate. There is a very strong demand for Bigg Boss because it’s a tried and tested property,” he stated.
The fact that the property’s viewership witnessed growth last year on both TV and digital will also help it get premium rates from clients.
“Last year, we delivered 174 million viewers on TV. On Social, we had a reach of 15 billion across all platforms, while engagement stood at 200 million. Bigg Boss is not just about TV, it’s also about OTT and social media,” Shetty said.
Bigg Boss 16’s average rating was 2 TVR, while the finale rated 3.9 TVR due to the programming tweaks made by the Viacom18 content team.
“Last year was a reboot year for Bigg Boss. While the core remained the same, the show became more fast-paced, and there was uncertainty to keep the viewer’s interest alive every day,” he stated.
Bigg Boss’ rating usually spikes during the weekends while remaining flat during the weekdays. “But last year, our ratings during the weekend and weekdays were the same due to tweaks we made to the show,” Shetty said.
