Indiantelevision.com Team

(25 March 2008 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment sector is booming. Proactive government policy has facilitated entrepreneurs to come into this space whether it is in terms of running channels or creating content or distribution.

At the same time, the two challenges for these entrepreneurs are scaling up and achieving global relevance. This point was made by Asianet chairman and Ficci president Rajeev Chandrashekhar at the inaugural session of Frames.

Chandrashekhar also noted that today it is easier for entrepreneurs to access organised capital. After all, the likes of Temasek and NBC are entering India. Moreover, companies like NDTV and UTV are rejuvenating the space.

"Scaling up is a challenge for entrepreneurs as the path they have to follow is not what a traditional enterprise would do. The Indian media and entertainment industry also has to be globally relevant to consumers and producers. Having said that I see a time when the new stars of the sector will be those who attain a global brand name and presence like Infosys and Wipro."

"The Indian entertainment industry has reached critical mass and Ficci has played a key role in being a catalyst for this."

At the event, Reliance Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna said that in the shifting paradigm of entertainment, people will receive services in exchange for their attention. It is monetising this attention that will be the business model of the future. After all, concepts like time shifting and viewing of content across multiple platforms are already happening. Monetising of attention will be difficult as there will be anarchy. A vacuum will thus be created and these spaces will have to be filled. Those who can do this will reap the benefits.

It is important to innovate quickly as the internet has made it easier to copy ideas. At the same time, trust and talent cannot be copied. "Therefore, it is key for media companies to build up these values and then transfer them into services," added Khanna.

Digital technology is reshaping the value chain. So it is important that media companies adapt to this to survive. The convergence of the net, TV and phone will allow for manmade channels. "Already we are seeing this with YouTube and Facebook. In the coming years, interactive content that is personalised for the consumer will be the standard. Digital television will allow for real-time interaction with celebrities."

Sony Entertainment Television (Set) India CEO and Ficci entertainment committee co-chairman Kunal Dasgupta noted that the price freeze was a monster that had been created to ensure fair play. He expressed doubts on the ability of DTH to replace cable in the short term. This is leading to lacuna on the part of operators as far as upgrading their systems is concerned. Television will continue to depend on advertising for a longer term.

On the technology front, he expects to see HD in the country in a year’s time. He notes that revenue models will change. He offered the example of Jab We Met, which, he says, changed the way one looked at home entertainment and TV rights. Moser Baer released the DVD a week after the film's theatrical release. The window was thus collapsed.

He says that there will be a shakeout among production houses unless they create IPR. If they were to do that then they could sell formats and shows globally which is what the likes of Endemol are doing. “Our content creators should look at introducing path breaking concepts,” added Dasgupta.