Contract renewals a challenge for Hyderabad media owners

Telangana OOH body pursuing with GHMC for relief on license fee payment

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, media owners operating in Hyderabad are confronted with challenges in having their annual contracts renewed with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and payment of annual license fees.

H V Surendra Nath, President of Outdoor Media Association of Telangana, told Media4Growth that the current situation has hindered the fulfilment of procedures laid down by the urban local body to be complied with at the beginning of a financial year. “We have requested the authority to defer the deadline for the renewals and fee submissions by 30 days.”

Surendra Nath, who is also COO of Prakash Arts, pointed to the growing business challenges for the OOH firms. “Every single campaign has been cancelled without any further intimation, causing a big cash-crunch in the market. It would be a challenge for us to pay the license fees, so we are approaching the local corporation to seek some relief or relaxation in the payment of license fee”.

The local industry also ran a widespread awareness campaign on COVID-19 prevention for which the media owners contributed by giving their media.