Goafest 2023: 'Ad market will bounce back after August,' says BARC India chairman Shashi Sinha

 BARC India chairman Shashi Sinha on Thursday said that the entire advertising industry is under pressure due to slowdown in start-up ecosystem.

“All the unicorns are under pressure. Similarly, all the crypto companies are under pressure. So, I think that has affected the commercial value,” said Sinha while talking to BT TV at Goafest 2023 on Thursday.

“But from a consumption point of view, it's very heartening to see the overall consumption going up so dramatically,” he added.

He also told that advertisers are pulling out because the ratings have dropped due to higher consumption of Indian Premier League.

“Advertisers are pulling out, because they say ratings are dropping. That's been true because all the consumption has been on IPL. So, the money from other businesses is getting sucked, but not the money itself. It's a peculiar situation of consumption and of viewership, as the content on IPL is very high,” Sinha said.

Siddharth Zarabi, Managing Editor of Business Today TV, also asked him about the exceptions of the recovery, if any, that could be seen in the coming months giving companies a sigh of relief.

Sinha said that hopefully by June, things will start getting normal and money will start flowing back into other media businesses. He is also optimistic about that fact that as the new economy (start-up ecosystem) revives, things will get even better. Things could even get better in the second half of the year when the festive season will start as companies usually spend more on advertising around the festivals.

“Hopefully in June money will come back,” Sinha said. “Festival is always a great time, September to December. We are hoping, at least we are optimistic. Diwali is also in November, slightly late. The Cricket World Cup is also there. So, we are very optimistic that, whatever is happening now, we'll probably be far better in that quarter”

Watch the full interview -

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