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Category: Ficci Frames

  • Passing the Copyright Amendment Bill will resolve many issues

    Passing the Copyright Amendment Bill will resolve many issues

    MUMBAI: How does one react on the issue of copyright when a person appeals to a Court to remove a dialogue of the Salman Khan starrer ‘Veer’ because this person had uttered it some years earlier?

    The filmmaker had to finally give in after which the dialogues were indeed deleted from the film on grounds that ‘the expression of the person while uttering the dialogue was copied.’

    Said Anand And Anand Managing Director Rahul Ajatshatru, “Our lawyers and judges are not well versed with the Copyright Act while talking about the subject or passing an order on this topic. It is time the Copyright Amendment Bill is passed.”

    Agreeing, Film Federation of India Secretary General Supran Sen said, “Some years ago the Mumbai High Court had said that if a particular video of a film is shown at home nothing happens, but if it is shown in society then copyright is infringed. This issue was challenged in the Madras High Court that said the Bombay High Court stand was wrong. Later it held that special courts should be set up to hear these matters.”

    The matter led to a lot of debate after which it was decided to come out with a Copyright Amendment Bill. But though this has been through the Lok Sabha, it is yet to get the approval of the Rajya Sabha. “Hopefully this would be done after the Budget session of Parliament,” opined Amarchand Managing Partner Shardul Shroff.

    The views were expressed during a discussion on the process of IP transfer and its legal ramifications in the specific case of film remakes during the FICCI Frames. RCL Motion Pictures head and producer Jagdish Rajpurohit, UTV Motion Pictures creative director Amar Butala, French Embassy, TV & Cinema head Deborah Benattar and International Federation of Film Producers Association former Director General Bertrand Mouiller also spoke.

    Referring to RCL Motion Pictures obtaining the copyright of the French film ‘L’emmerduer’, Rajpurohit said:” “When we approached the French film producers, they were a little inquisitive, but decided to give us the remaking rights after some thought.”

    But they will decide on associating with the Hindi remake ‘Bumboo’ after they come down to India and see whether the makers have followed the content verbatim or have deviated from the same. “I am sure they will be happy after watching the film and associate with our film,” observed Rajpurohit. The film releases in India on 31 July.

    Butala said: “These days things have changed a lot and producers don’t want to go to Court on matters of copyright infringement. They sort the matter amicably.”

  • Filmmakers ready to emperiment with other platforms for release of films

    Filmmakers ready to emperiment with other platforms for release of films

    MUMBAI: Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh said today that compared to the film scenario some years earlier, the situation had changed considerably. ‘In recent years we have been seeing a double digit growth from around 40 to 50 per cent. In 2009, there was only one film that crossed the Rs one billion mark and last year we saw as many as 11 films crossed that barrier.”

    Taking part in the discussion on the marketing of film distribution of theatrical and non-theatrical films at the ongoing Ficci Frames, UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur agreed. “It is because the content in our film has undergone a paradigm shift. While last year, we had remakes like Bodyguard, Ready and Singham, we also had films like Delhi Belly, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dirty Picture to name a few that did good business and earned a lot of acclaim”.

    In films, 50 per cent revenue comes from theatrical collections while the rest is divided between the satellite rights and to a little extent the home video rights. But the overall scene is that from around 1250 films released every year, only a few films work while the others fail badly with some going off the screen in a day’s time.

    All participants were however of the opinion that it was piracy that was eating away 20 to 30 per cent of the revenue of films.

    “That is why I am of the feeling that on the overall, films not only in India but overseas too don’t do good business at all,” commented Specialtreats CEO Colin Burrows who was moderating the discussion.

    This led to the speakers move to the topic of alternate platforms of distributing films and monetizing from the same. Currently there are several platforms like IPTV, OTT, STB, internet portals and mobiles catering to Hindi films. “We are open to different platforms but right now they are at a nascent stage and people should be sure that there would be enough returns monetarily” Singh observed.

    But Shemaroo Entertainment Director Jai Maroo said: “Some time earlier, we had put our film Super K 1 1 on Yahoo. We weren’t sure about its run but recently when we checked, the amount of viewers had grown.”

    Real Image Media Technologies Directories Senthil Kumar, and Enlighten Film Society founder chairman Pranav Asher also took part.

    Meanwhile, in a discussion on From Theatre to Home to the Handheld: Superior entertainment experience all the way”, a majority of the speakers were of the view that new media devices were unlikely to replace cinema halls.

    Most speakers felt this was unlikely, even as mobile phones become more sophisticated and allow users to watch movies in good video and audio and despite the growth of broadband penetration.

    That is because films need a huge investment which only cinema halls justify. Also going to the theatre is a community experience which Indians are not likely to forego. What will happen though is that there will be more distribution avenues after a film has been released theatrically, was the general view.

    Participants at the session included filmmaker Karan Johar, film producer Bobby Bedi, Dolby Executive VP, Sales and Marketing Ramzi Haidamus, Nokia India Marketing Director Viral Oza, and Star India VP and Head digital Lalit Bhagia. The session was moderated by NDTV managing editor – Technology Rajiv Makhni who presented demonstrations to show how sound is great not just in a cinema hall but also in a mobile phone.

    Bhagia noted that the technology eco system is not completely ready for new media devices. For instance, Star produces content using Dolby surround sound. However new media devices do not support it. Johar noted that being a traditionalist, he would rather see people view films in cinema halls. But in some places, cinema halls may not be accessible and some people may not be passionate about the movie going experience. Watch films on the mobile was fine for such people as long as it can be monetized. At the same time he noted that people go to the cinema for a community outing. That will not change. Johar added that he was not keen on making content for the small screen including television. That is why he has only participated in a talk show.

    Haidamus noted that offering superior audio quality on new media devices like the mobile is a way to fight piracy. “If you offer high quality then consumers will see that paying a little extra makes a big difference. We are talking about quality whether on the big or the small screen. Consumers want convenience when they access content and we put quality in their hands whether it is on the tablet, PC or the phone.”

    Dolby offers headphones that give superior experience on the mobile. At the same time he noted that cinema halls are not going anywhere as films need huge investments. A film like ‘Avatar’ will never be released first on the mobile. But it would be interesting to see the sequence of platforms that a film releases on after its theatrical run.

    He said consumers own an increasing number of devices. This offers companies the chance to give consumers high quality experiences on the go. “But the ultimate entertainment device for film is always the cinema hall. A home theatre cannot be replaced by a phone.”

    Oza said consumers want to take their entertainment with them. This is why Nokia has launched things like Nokia Store and Nokia Music Unlimited. “Nokia is about connecting people with their passions. Our DRM free store which we launched a couple of months ago gets two song downloads a second.”

  • Facebook an effective tool for brand promotion: Carolyn Everson

    Facebook an effective tool for brand promotion: Carolyn Everson

    MUMBAI: Facebook has changed the way the present generation all over the globe communicates, and the world has become smaller with various social media platforms providing opportunities to draw people closer.

    In this environment, Facebook can be quite an effective tool for brand promotion, especially if it is consumer interaction that one is targeting.

    Facebook had a reported 845 million users all over the world as on December 2011. Having been on the scene for the past eight years, the social media website has seen a lot of changes, the latest being the Facebook Timeline. Earlier a Facebook profile only consisted of the individual’s personal information, photographs and interests etc.

    Speaking at the 13th FICCI Frames in Mumbai, Facebook VP Global Marketing Solutions Carolyn Everson said, “The Facebook Timeline can be considered a digital container where one can capture a person’s or a brand’s entire life span in photos, notes and videos.” With the introduction of the timeline, Facebook now enables people and brands to have a more expressive and visual online identity.

    Along with the timeline, Facebook has also adopted the opengraph technology which enables seamless sharing on multiple media. As a result the site tied up with the Washington Post in the US and introduced the Washington Post reader application. In a matter of eight weeks the application’s readership exceeded the readership of the regular print copy. In India a similar tie up has been done with CNN.

    News is just one aspect of media and entertainment that Facebook has partnered. The other fields include music (Spotify and Saavn), gaming (Zynga) and films. Everson explained, “In the US a new film does not release without significant campaign or presence on Facebook. Now Facebook allows integration on large scale across media like TV, print and phones which helps accessibility.”

    Decoding the success of Facebook, Everson explained that the site’s psyche is based on an anthropological study. Throughout history, people have existed in communities. These communities have varied from 130 to 140 individuals over time. Interestingly, this corresponds to the average number of friends a Facebook user has. It draws from the basic instinct of humans to co-exist in communities, have networks and seek recommendations by friends and peers.

    When it comes to marketing and branding, Facebook provides an opportunity for consumer interaction and allows brands to open up a two way channel for communication and actually listen to it. As Everson explained, “Social discovery is the most powerful driver of human behaviour in the world today.” With the scope and scale that Facebook offers, it can help in driving human behaviour which is the main goal of any advertising or marketing initiative.

    The world is now moving from ads to stories. Hammering is a thing of the past as the trend now is to share stories. With Facebook’s timeline feature, stories can now appear as news feeds on different platforms like smartphones which helps in targeting a specific audience. According to Everson, 800 million brands have shifted to the new timeline.

    Also, the Like button which was introduced a couple of years earlier Timeline can also be used to create a buzz about brand and measure the effectiveness of campaigns online.

    Concluding the session, Everson said Facebook is conscious about the content it uploads and strives to operate according to the feedback of the various communities it functions in. She said, “We would say we are one per cent along in our journey and are always open to partnerships.”

  • Industry doing nothing to transform biz models for digital world: Uday Shankar

    Industry doing nothing to transform biz models for digital world: Uday Shankar

    MUMBAI: Star India CEO and Ficci Broadcast Forum chairman Uday Shankar set the ball rolling at the inaugural of the 13th edition of the Ficci Frames by saying that the industry is at the cusp of what is set to completely transform broadcasting in India, forever.

    Shankar was talking about the universal digitisation of television distribution. A subject that has dominated all discussions at all forums last year and which he presumed will continue to do so for a long time to come.

    “Most of the discussions that I have participated in are still around whether digitisation will happen and if it indeed were to go through, how chaotic it would be. With all humility may I suggest that it is a meaningless discussion triggered by a bunch of retrograde interests who are living in denial,” he said.

    The Cable Television Networks Amendment Act is not the beginning of digitisation. Digitisation of distribution is a big reality and the 40 – 45 million homes that have bought DTH boxes at some point or the other are a conclusive evidence of that. “In fact as we speak, India may just have overtaken the United States as the world’s largest DTH market,” he said.

    Shankar added, “The critics and the cynics who are still wondering whether digitisation would happen, my answer is: Look around, it is already happening and the rest of it is bound to happen because even in this country it would be difficult to undo such a momentous shift. To those who wonder how chaotic it would be, my response is that there would be some chaos, but chaos is not necessarily bad if the alternative is status quo or regression.”

    However, he also cautioned that his biggest concern now is a chaos of another kind that we are all set to create by our inaction. “Whether we like it or not, in a few years time, the vast majority of this country will receive its content through digital media – digital cable, DTH, 4G, wireless and Internet. But are we preparing for that? The answer is a big no,” he regretted.

    He said that while we debate a digital future day-in-and –day-out, the industry is doing nothing to transform or find business models for a digital world. “Let’s face it. Universal digitisation is going to force us to change the way we do business and we are not ready for it. We often blame the cable operators and MSOs that they are not ready but I am afraid that even the broadcasters and the content creators are not ready for a digital world. Are we then setting ourselves up to become uncompetitive and irrelevant?,” he asked.

    DTH has launched services like HD, Dolby sound and digital video recorder” and yet the broadcasters are doing nothing differently to service this segment. DTH has been around now for about six years and broadcasters or the content community have done nothing as an example of a strategy to exploit the new technology. This, he said, is despite an intuitive and an experiential understanding that the behaviour and the consumption patterns in DTH homes are significantly different from analogue homes. “The data also show that the average time spent on content in digital homes is much more and yet we do not treat them differently,” he said.

    Shankar said that it is scary how “we have force-fitted an analogue broadcasting model into the digital domain.”

    Is that what we are going to do even after cable goes digital, he asked. “I am afraid if the past behaviour is anything to go by, we are not ready to offer anything significantly different and therein lies the biggest crisis and risk of a chaos,” he said.

    He said there is enough global experience to suggest that digitisation leads to decentralisation, regionalisation or localisation of content creation and distribution.

    “Creatively, it is a huge catalyst for innovation and diversity. Essentially what it means is that with universal digitisation the business models of broadcasting, which are built on centralised creation and distribution of content and even a centralized advertising revenue model, may come under a huge pressure,” he cautioned.

    Shankar said that the cable community is still busy lamenting the potential loss of carriage fees and not realising what an amazing opportunity it has to participate in the local economic boom that is sweeping most parts of this country.

    “The first phase of digitisation that covers the 4 metros will be a huge unshackling of broadcasting and content opportunities. These are the cities that have crumbled under the weight of analogue frequency limitations. Just imagine the opportunities that these metros also our economic hotspots present when, from the first of July access to frequency will no longer be a constraint. So to my mind the MSOs and the cable operators may potentially become a powerful content creator that the traditional broadcasters have to contend with. There may be new creative talent ready to ride this technological transition. As the subsequent phases roll on, the decentralisation of broadcasting is bound to gain enormous momentum. However, I don’t see anyone trying to race ahead to take a pole position here,” he said.

    He also pointed out that HD TV sets have been available in this country and while many people were buying them, their off-take was still low primarily because there was no HD content and nobody was willing to invest in HD content because there were not enough HD consumers. “It was the classic chicken and egg problem. However early last year, when we at Star launched 5 HD channels with Dolby 5.1 surround sounds, even we were surprised by the rapidity with which HD gained acceptance. Today, in less than a year there are around 25 HD channels. But, I have to admit with a touch of disappointment that I am yet to see an adequate recognition of the potential of HD and a superior sound possibility by my fraternity. It is a classic case of the old mindsets struggling with a new technology,” he rued.

    Are we going to stay locked into this struggle or are we going to create a new generation of television which would be designed for the digital world?, he asked.

    Shankar said he has been an admirer of the current information and broadcasting dispensation which he thinks has shown more vision than any other dispensation in his two decades of interaction with the broadcasting establishment. “However, let me point out that we still need a lot of official and legislative enablers to remove the bottlenecks on this expressway. For instance, a clear policy to enable multiplicity of beams and splits would be a powerful trigger for proliferation of content and revenue opportunities,” Shankar said.

    He ended his keynote with the example of the latest Oscar success from Hollywood – The Artist – which is a portrayal of how a talented and accomplished artist from the silent era could become completely irrelevant because he refused to see that the times have changed.

    “Let’s not try to thwart a revolution which people are crying for. We will only hurt ourselves. The question is whether we will lead the change or whether we will vacate the space for a new set of entrepreneurs and visionaries who will replace us. It is up to us to use it or lose it,” he said.

  • India must act strongly against piracy if cinema is to thrive: Dodd

    India must act strongly against piracy if cinema is to thrive: Dodd

    MUMBAI: Even though the Indian cinema is thriving and poised to become a $ five billion industry in the next two years, the government must act strongly against piracy if this growth has to be sustained.

    Motion Picture Association of America CEO Chris Dodd said during his keynote address at Ficci Frames on the opening day that movies contributed about $ 640 million to the Indian economy annually. “India is the biggest movie ticket market in the world, with 3.3 billion tickets sold every year. India‘s movie industry is in transition from being a $ 3.2 billion industry until two years ago, towards becoming a $ five billion industry in the next two years,” he added.

    But he regretted that India was among the top 10 markets when it comes to copyright infringement online. He called for joint efforts between the industries to end theft of content as it is a major threat.

    Dodd quoted an Ernst & Young report which said the Indian movie industry loses around $ one billion due to content theft every year.

    He said the notion that one cannot be pro technology and pro copyright at the same time is false. It is important to build relationships between content and technology. The Indian government must act to protect against online theft, he said, adding the government should pass anti-camcorder laws since camcorders are used in cinema halls to pirate films which are then made available on Indian streets within a few days of a film‘s launch.

    He noted that it was important to end piracy in India as money is lost not just by the faces seen on the screen but also by other people like truck drivers, dry cleaners etc. who contribute to the film industry by working in it. He mentioned Creative America which is a grassroots coalition in the United States aimed at protecting intellectual property and commercial interests of Hollywood.

    He noted that in 2010, the Los Angeles India Film Council was formed to facilitate the exchange of ideas, talent and investment. This will lead to more activities, he said. The aim of the council is to also break down barriers in production and distribution. The Council will also look at harnessing the power of emerging technologies and bring artistes to collaborate on new ideas. “Film remains a key growth driver despite economic uncertainties,” he said.

    Hollywood will release around 36 films this year, he said, and the India market was a huge opportunity that the US motion picture industry is keen on tapping.

    Stating that collaboration between the Indian and the US movie industries is expected to increase, Dodd said “barriers that prevent production and distribution of content must be brought down.”

  • Indian film industry attracts investors amid challenges

    Indian film industry attracts investors amid challenges

    MUMBAI: The Indian film industry is buoyant and is generating a lot of investor interests globally. However, it is marred by multiple challenges including a huge gap between investors and creative pieces, industry experts opined at a panel discussion at the 13th edition of Ficci Frames here.

    India is one of the biggest producers of films. “However, out of 1,200 odd films that were released last year, only 100 were studio produced,” said Moxie Entertainment MD and independent filmmaker Soumo Ganguly. “This clearly means that the other 1,100 films were made of independent funding either by banks or with the help of high net worth individuals, family, friends and relatives.”

    Ganguly said it is a challenging task to always depend on such funding and, hence, difficult to find finance.

    Speaking about a large pool of capital available by the way of private equity, Ambit Group CEO Ashok Wadhwa pointed out that while securing finance from high net worth individuals is an option, the challenge arises when the investor does not understand creative pieces.

    On a different note, Wadhwa also advised aspiring filmmakers to be absolutely certain about their finances. “I would like to advise aspiring movie makers to not start their projects unless they have 100 per cent of the film expenditure secured in their bank accounts,” he said.

    Speaking about revenues generated through selling of television rights, Blackstone senior managing director of private equity Mathew Cyriac said that the producers are generating more revenue from selling movie telecast rights to broadcasters rather than box office collections.

    “Television is becoming a bigger distribution point for movies. In Kerala, 50-60 per cent of movies get acquired by general entertainment channels. Similar is the case with Karnataka and other southern markets,” Cyriac said.

    Talking about the challenges in movie making business, he said that the studio model is yet to emerge in India.

    “Studio business in India is the early 1950s equivalent of business in the United States. Hence venture capital flavour of investment is seen more in India,” he said.

    Speaking of combining the best of investor and creative pieces to create a hybrid model, Hollywood-based The Allegiance Theater founder and partner Daniel Dubiecki said that it would be fruitful to bring together venture capitalists and studios models.

    “Group of angel investors have increased, which it is good news for the movie business,” he pointed out.

  • IBF, ISA and AAAI announce launch of BARC

    IBF, ISA and AAAI announce launch of BARC

    MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) Wednesday formally announced the official formation of a nationwide audience research joint body, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

    Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) will have 60 per cent stake in the new entity, while ISA and AAAI will equally hold the balance 40 per cent.

    Originally founded in 2008, BARC was earlier to be set up as a joint venture between the IBF and the ISA on a 60:40 ratio and initial investment of Rs 300 million. However, ISA wanted AAAI also to be a part of the joint body.

    The announcement was made at the inaugural day of Ficci Frames 2012 here in presence of I&B Secretary Uday K Varma, Trai chairman Dr JS Sarma, Zee managing director and CEO Punit Goenka, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta, Times Television Network MD and CEO Sunil Lulla, Star CJ CEO Paritosh Joshi, Madison Group chairman Sam Balsara and Landmarc Leisure Corporation MD Paulomi Dhawan.

    Talking about the way forward, Joshi said BARC will be similar to what BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board) is in the UK. BARC will not conduct audience measurement directly but commission independent specialist research vendors.

    A technical committee is being set up, now that all the stakeholders are in place. The committee will identify the needs and requests for proposal will be invited.

    “We are not a research agency, and we are not going to compete with TAM. Instead, BARC is a joint body, which will evaluate all the research needs of the industry and in a commercially sensible manner,” Joshi said.

    BARC would represent all the clients and address all the issues on a single platform, he added.

    The primary objective of BARC is to conduct and commission market research using appropriate research methodologies, to provide accurate, up to date and relevant findings relating to broadcast audiences, including TV ratings.

    Earlier in the day, Goenka, during his keynote had mentioned that there is nothing wrong in the data provided by TAM, but it is inadequate.

    Joshi said that with the formation of BARC, the quality and scope of TV audience research in the country will get upgraded, the findings will be more robust and financials more transparent.

    “The major challenge will be to cover all the broadcasting modes in the research – terrestrial, cable & satellite, DTH, analogue and digital platforms, developing and new platforms,” he added.

    The Board of the council will have 10 members, six members from the IBF and two members each from the ISA and AAAI.

    BARC will engage in extensive industry consultations with stakeholders, specialist research consultants, existing & potential measurement service providers to identify the key concerns and requirements with regards to audience measurement. This may be followed by an R&D exercise to evaluate potential solutions including technologies & techniques.

    Dhawan said, “We are always looking for robust research in this rapidly changing television landscape. With time, it is going to be more challenging and you will need more insights from research. We have been working together since some time to launch BARC.”

    Added ISA chairman Bharat Patel, “ISA is extremely delighted to be a part of this joint industry body, BARC, along with the IBF and AAAI to provide continued and meaningful research.”

  • Digital businesses should focus on profitability


    MUMBAI: For all the hype surrounding new media, few companies have figured out how to profit from their initial forays into the arena. From running a social media website to publishing a traditional print newspaper online, every company needs to turn the corner from investing in digital businesses to profiting from them. Companies can monetise their offerings through advertising and subscription-based models.


    The realisation has sunk in that while content and distribution are important aspects of the digital business model, companies can provide value in many ways – by providing context, coverage or convenience to the target audience.


    The Ficci KPMG report notes that in the second digital decade, the proliferation of devices created new channels of communication for personalized and localised.
      
    On the other hand in the first digital decade, “content is king” was believed to be the key to success. As telecom operators and cable companies aggressively entered the digital value chain, the debate shifted to whether controlling distribution channels mattered more than owning content.


    In the next five years, more Internet users are expected to connect to the Internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs. Consumers in Bric countries have leapfrogged to newer devices like tablets, as compared to consumers in more mature markets.


    In July 2010, news of India developing the world‘s cheapest tablet hit headlines. Initially, expected to cost $35, the device is another way to provide cheap computing power to the masses.


    The entry of affordable tablets for the price sensitive Indian consumer in time for the launch of 3G services is expected to boost growth in this segment. Tablets are expected to attract consumers looking to replace secondary PCs. 10 per cent of 16 Indians plan to purchase a tablet PC in 2011. In India, some forecasts suggest that there will be 1 million tablet devices in the 17 market by 2011.


    Faster broadband speeds and high user demand in India will drive content to be presented and consumed in different ways such as social media, videos and streaming of music and movies. For instance, last year, YouTube streamed live telecasts of IPL matches on its website – the first time the company showed a 18 major sporting event live .


    The IPL channel received viewers from over 200 countries and territories, and grew from 2 million channel views on the first day of the IPL to 54 million at the end of the season. IPL was the number one YouTube sports channel and the number one channel on YouTube India.


    The ad market: The advertising ecosystem has undergone a dramatic shift. The historical boundaries of traditional print and broadcast advertising disappear in the online medium. Digitisation has not only opened up new ways of reaching out to target audiences but can also effectively measure this outreach. The traditional advertising concept of right advertisement, right time and right place is enhanced with the ability to target the right consumer online through rigorous data analytics, measurement and tracking.


    While new media has created new opportunities, it also requires a shift in thinking – moving from advertising based marketing towards building a dialogue with customers. Harnessing this potential of interactivity and measurability is key to the success of digital advertising campaigns.


    The Indian online advertising market was estimated to be Rs 10 billion in 2010. Of the total online advertising market, paid searches constitute approximately 50 per cent. Sponsored advertisements in search engines (paid searches) are the most cost effective and results driven form for the advertiser, with the highest click-to-seen conversion ratios, whereas, viral marketing ads result in far fewer click conversions. Sponsored ads are more successful as users clicking on these ads are more likely to have an intention to buy the advertised product. Ironically, search is the ultimate form of behavioral targeting because people target themselves. Consequently, paid search is an effective way for small and medium sized enterprises to accomplish their marketing objectives.


    Online display advertising: Online display advertising is a sizeable portion of the overall online advertisement market in India. Online display advertising consists of banner ads, sponsorship links, rich media and digital video. Social media advertising also has a huge potential for growth.


    Successful social media strategies should effectively monitor trends, research new product ideas via social networks, have an online user group for customers, and collect and track customer reviews on their website.


    Categories using online: The biggest online ad spenders are the travel, BFSI, auto and telecom sectors. The FMCG sector, a large advertiser on traditional media platforms, is only now increasing spending on 23 online advertising.
     
    With low Internet penetration and poor understanding of the return on investment of online advertisements, there is an initial reluctance by companies and advertisement agencies to spend heavily on the online medium. However, not only can online advertising be used to publish advertising content quickly, but the content can also be customized by viewer location. Consequently, online advertising in India is expected to grow significantly.


    Mobile advertising: The Indian mobile advertising market is estimated to be Rs 0.4 30 billion in 2010.


    India is the second largest mobile Internet market in the world and now the single largest mobile ad impression market in the Asia Pacific Region.


    The Indian mobile advertising market has grown rapidly over the past year. This is primarily due to the increased penetration and also acceptability of mobile phones in India, which makes mobile phones an attractive medium for targeted and interactive ad campaigns.


    However one of the challenges is technology. In the US, the iPhone and Android are the predominant mobile operating systems with Nokia‘s symbian and Windows mobile also having prominent shares.


    Consequently, advertisers are able to develop highly focused ad campaigns targeting users of these platforms. In India, multiple OEMs and the proliferation of cheap devices used by a large segment of the population, make it difficult to reach consumers using the kind of rich media capabilities available on smartphones. Currently, only 4-5 per cent 33 of mobile phones in India are categoried as smart phones .


    3G is yet to take off: Although telecom operators in India have launched 3G services, the number of 3G-ready devices in India is still a small fraction of the total number mobile phones. With the time required to upgrade these devices to make them 3G compatible, extensive 3G usage may not happen immediately. Data plan pricing will also determine how broad 3G adoption will really be. Therefore, players should be cautiously optimistic of the growth potential of 3G in the near future.


    New media companies face challenges with concept selling of the ad-funded model to advertisers who are used to traditional ways of advertising. Even as larger companies are seriously developing broader multi-channel advertising strategies, mobile Internet advertising remains an afterthought. This is primarily due to the low levels of understanding of the wide variety of options available in mobile and Internet marketing, ranging from SMS based advertising to Bluetooth advertising.
     

  • For scale, industry needs to evole subscription models: Ronnie Screwvala







     






    MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment industry is dangerously tilted towards advertising revenues across segments and for it to considerably scale up, subscription models have to mature.


    Consumers need to pay more for their entertainment if the sunshine industry is to grow at the pace it should.


    “There are no companies of scale in that sense. The biggest problem is that all the segments are heavily dependent on advertising revenues. Even in movies, the sale of theatrical rights to broadcasters is a significant revenue stream – and the channels are dependent on advertising. The industry has to evolve subscription models,” said UTV Software Communications founding chairman and CEO Ronnie Screwvala, while delivering the valedictory address at Ficci-Frames 2011.


    Consumers do not want to pay for the content that they consume. “Due to this, the industry is heavily dependent on advertising revenues. Almost 80 per cent of the revenues come from advertising and this is the problem with all the models. You have to develop other revenue streams like subscription,” Screwvala said.


    The industry is just $15 billion now and should be growing at least 20 per cent.


    “With the given scale of the media industry, we should be growing at 20 per cent or even more like the other sunshine industries,” said Screwvala.


    Emphasising on the need for scale, he said that the media and entertainment industry would attract talent only when there is scale.



    On the rampant piracy prevalent in the film industry, he noted that it is restricting the sector to a mere 7 per cent growth rate, which is “actually a de-growth if you take into account the inflation rate”.


    He said the stakeholders need to put up large sums of money upfront to fight the menace of piracy. The proliferation of piracy was primarily due to the lack of enforcement – and not lack of regulation.


    Talking about the way forward, Screwvala said the industry needs to move from an advertising-led growth model to subscription-led growth, undertake research into audience preferences, ensure enforcement of anti-piracy laws, and innovate to make it a truly creative business.


    He also said that there is need to segregate gut feel from research in trying to find out what the audience want. He urged the younger players in the media and entertainment business to regard research as a good guiding force, by which one could pre-empt what’s going to be a hit or otherwise.


    Screwvala was gung-ho about new media and said the introduction of 4G spectrum would be a “game changer”.


    “But let us not waste this opportunity. 4G should be developed as a subscription-led and not ad-supported model,” Screwvala warned.
     

  • TV news industry should look inwards

    TV news industry should look inwards

    MUMBAI: The electronic news industry in India is in a bad shape. There is an over-dependence on advertising income, too many players (including some non-serious ones) occupy the space, content has degraded, and pressure is on revenues.
    If things remain this way, the future of electronic news is not very bright. This was the general consensus of the panel which debated on “The Future of Electronic News”.

    The session, moderated by Indiantelevision Dot Com founder, CEO and Editor-n-Chief Anil Wanvari, had TV Today Network executive director and CEO G Krishnan, MCCS CEO Ashok Venkataramani, UTV Global Broadcasting CEO MK Anand and CNBC Awaaz editor Sanjay Pugalia in the panel.

    Venkataramani said that the time had arrived for the TV news industry to look inwards. Talking about content, he said he couldn’t remember the last time when a 24-hour news channel broke a story that was followed by the print media the next day. He also pointed out that it is not necessary to dramatise content.

    Venkataramani remarked that unlike BBC, Indian channels don’t invest in documentaries. “We have not seen value in that,” he said.

    He also pointed out that the utilisation of their biggest investment – OB Vans – is less than 20 per cent. “60 per cent of the time, these vans spend in travelling from one place to other, 20 per cent of time they are idle, and the remaining time is when they are used for live reporting. Which business can grow where the biggest asset has a utilisation of under 20 per cent?” he asked.  
    Despite news channels having national network and bureaus, 40-45 per cent of the stories are coming from the stringers, Venkatarmani added.

    Pugalia took a cue from Venkataramani and spoke about the lack of confidence in the editorial operations. He said that reporters were made editors when they should have done reporting for 10 more years. “So they don’t have an idea of what can work and lose confidence in their own content. Every morning, instead of thinking what we are doing today, we think of what the other channels have done.”

    He also blamed the non-serious players for the degradation in content. He said that because one player is showing frivolous content, everyone is following that. “We need to break ourselves out of the the rat race and kick out the intruders and non-serious players. It is wrong to give frivolous content in the name of competition.”

    The panellists agreed that digitisation would help the industry grow.

    “There has been a huge delay in the digitisation and it is a clear roadblock, which has become a spiralling problem. All stakeholders must try to find out a solution in the immediate future. Digitisation will also bring down carriage costs,” Krishnan said.

    According to Anand, the low entry barrier by the government has added to the woes of the industry. While competition is dividing the pie, there is not much room for growth. Managing the cost is also an issue, he added.

    Venkataramani said the industry should invest in content production and delivery for news breaks.