Kiss crosses over into branded new TV world
Not considered a product, because nobody actually pays for it, Kiss 100 FM has been allowed to start producing its own programmes on Live TV – much to the irritation of magazine companies, who are not allowed brand extensions on TV. Paul McCan
The launch of Kiss 100 FM’s Kiss TV service on Live TV last week illustrates the increasing opportunities for media brands to cross-over into multi-channel TV, as the demand for programming explodes. It also shows the strange nature of the regulatory controls on such media brand moves.
The demand for branded programming has led the magazine industry to spend much of the past few years lobbying the Independent Television Commission and the Department of National Heritage to be allowed to turn magazines into television programmes.
At the same time, cable and satellite channels are lobbying to have sponsorship and advertiser-supplied programming on cable and satellite liberalised, so instruction programming – such as cookery or gardening shows – could contain references to areas covered by the sponsor.
Both of these lobbying efforts fall foul of the ITC’s sponsorship code, and the European Union’s product placement laws. They both have the effect of forbidding any promotional reference to commercial products during a show. For example, a Good Housekeeping programme would be considered to be promoting the magazine, and breaking the rules.
However, the ITC judged that because people do not have to pay for Kiss 100 FM, the radio station it is not a product as such, and a Kiss TV service could be allowed.
There are restrictions. Despite the similarity in logo, Kiss TV has to be separate from Kiss FM. “We are allowed to film in Kiss 100 FM’s studios with Kiss FM DJs,” says Kiss 100’s managing director Gordon McNamee. “But we can’t have a great big Kiss 100 FM banner in the backgroud.”
Kiss TV is, by McNamee’s own admission, a toe in the water. It starts with four programmes – three of them repeated through the week – that run from 12.30am to 1.30am. The programmes reflect the dance music mixture of the radio station, as well as associated lifestyle strands. The four programmes are Kiss Music, Kiss Clubs, Kiss Lifestyle and Kiss Classics.
“We’re taking it very carefully,” says McNamee. “It is a new area and we don’t want to promise too much. We’re still learning about television, but we’d love to be doing up to four hours a night instead of one. Ultimately we’d like to have our own full-time Kiss TV station.”
McNamee is very protective of the Kiss brand as it is uniquely his. He started it as a pirate radio station in 1985, and has nursed it carefully towards the legal and com- mercial mainstream, without alienating a far-from mainstream dance music audience.
He rejected an early idea to pitch for a Kiss-branded programme on Channel 4, because of the fear that it would be too narrow a format to satisfy those who like the station. “Firstly, there is a problem with being seen in the Channel 4 ‘yoof’ slot anyway,” he says. “And it would also have been impossible to cram everything that the Kiss 100 brand means into one hour a week. Whatever we did select would have gone in front of a big audience and left a lot of them cold. It could have damaged the radio station because TV is stronger.”
While McNamee is being cautious with his brand and learning about TV, the programme is not a simple promotional vehicle for the radio station. He wants to see Kiss TV break even in its first year, and produce a profit in year two.
Revenue will come from a share of the airtime Live TV sells during Kiss TV’s broadcasting time, and all the sponsorship, programming and licensing rights to the strands.
Sponsorship sales will be handled by Kiss 100 FM’s sponsorship team, and much effort will be made to take relationships forged in radio across to TV.
“It is long-term partnerships that we’re looking for,” says McNamee. “It doesn’t make any sense pricing it on the people watching at 12.30 at night. Much better is creating a complete package that includes sponsorship of different strands on radio and TV, joint promotions or putting sponsors names on our fliers, and below-the-line marketing.”
Youth and lifestyle advertisers Holsten, The Guardian, Levi’s and Tango have sponsorship relationships with Kiss the radio station, and will no doubt be mainstays of the TV programming.
While Kiss is learning about TV production, and managing a brand extension, it will also, importantly, be learning about cross-media advertising and sponsorship. And all this, while magazine companies – of which Kiss’ parent EMAP is one – can only sit and fume.
