'We have the technology to insert an ad in all the 450 channels across the country': Rajendra Khare

Media convergence company SureWaves Media Tech recently announced their association with Hansa Research. According to the deal, Hansa would carry out third party audit and validation of the entire SureWaves Spot TV Network.

The  audit and validation would look at SureWaves technology that aggregates television audiences on diverse and fragmented C&S channels in the country.

Speaking with Campaign India, Rajendra Kumar Khare, chairman and managing director, SureWaves said, “There are two ways in which satellite channels are broadcasted. One is DTH is able to receive the signal at home directly while cable receives the signal and is then transmitted to the homes of customers.  The other kind of channels called the cable regional channels, which are not available on satellite and can be viewed only in the areas receiving the signal. So far it was very difficult to monitor the cable regional channels.”

Khare goes on to explain what SureWaves SpotTV platform allows for when he says, “What SureWaves has done is that we’ve aggregated the viewership across the country and have more than 450 channels that is part of SureWaves network and when an advertiser wants to air an ad, we have the technology to insert an ad in all the 450 channels across the country.”

 “The technology also allows advertisers and agencies to view the telecast and reports immediately online. Our technology is such that our devices are sitting in the studios of the cable channels and the channel passes through our device. During commercial breaks, our device inserts the ads. This allows us to provide instant reports with respect to whether an ad has aired, what time and on which channel”, he adds.

The company’s association with Hansa research is considered as a major step when it comes to validating and recognising the importance of the relional channel monitoring system. Speaking about Hansa’s role in the process, Khare says, “ Hansa is now able to monitor our telecast reports  for authenticity and also view all the regional channels live using our online portal. Hansa compresses the ads shown on channels along with the telecast reports which are generated. Using this, Hansa can audit all the reports across the entire body of channels.”

Being a primarily media company, SureWaves has also said that it would work with agencies like TAM and BARC by offering its platform since it is not a measurement company.

 When it comes to the monitoring of satellite, TAM and BARC are the two organisations that monitor the channels. Being a satellite signal, channels can be monitored wherever they set up their monitoring centre, since they’re able to receive the signal and monitor the ads appearing on those channels.

 “Now it is impossible for a cable channel to be viewed from one single place because these channels can be seen only in that particular geography, so any agency finds it difficult to monitor it since it’s not available in a single place,” Khare added.

Cable regional channels’ overall viewership of these channels is measured as a category and the viewership share for this category is amongst the top four properties in the country. Khare explained, “To put this into perspective, that is in the same ball park as the Star Plus, Zee, Colours and Sony.”