Star India hikes ad rates by 20 per cent

Star India on Tuesday said it has raised the advertising rates for its bouquet of channels by 20 per cent on the back of rising input costs.

''The increase in rates was necessitated by spiralling input costs in the form of talent and production costs and increased investments in technology, advanced delivery and distribution platforms,'' said Sanjay Gupta, chief operating officer, Star India.

He said that the input costs had risen by 25-30 per cent in the last two years.
 
Recently the media company had launched HD versions of its key channels - Star Plus, Star Movies, Star Gold, Star World and Nat Geo. (See: Star India unveils new corporate logo, launches HD channels) 

With the increase in ad rates, Star Network, which has a 16 per cent market share, is expecting a 15-16 per cent growth in its revenues in the next fiscal. 

''We expect our revenues to grow by around 15-20 per cent in this fiscal as compared to 12-13% in the last year,'' Gupta said. He added that the revenues would be utilised for making investments in creating innovative content and enhancing technology.

Kevin Vaz, president, ad sales, Star India, said, ''Our network reach has increased and at the same time for the advertiser, the cost of reaching 1,000 people has reduced by 38 per cent in the last two years.