Category: Event Coverage

Mumbai: In a highly engaging panel curated on the opening day of FICCI FRAMES 2024 titled ‘Reinvent: Navigating the Future of the Media and Entertainment Industry’, Prime Video India country director Sushant Sreeram delved into the dynamic landscape of the streaming industry in India, exploring growth trends while highlighting Prime Video’s business and content commissioning strategy.

Moderated by Ernst and Young partner Ashish Pherwani the panel began with a keynote from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting secretary Sanjay Jaju.  In addition to Sushant Sreeram, the panel saw the participation of industry leaders from multiple M&E sectors, including Prasar Bharti CEO Gaurav Dwivedi, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee chair and Viacom18 CEO – broadcast entertainment Kevin Vaz; FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee co-chair and Meta India VP and head Sandhya Devanathan; FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee co-chair and Warner Bros Discovery general manager – India & South Asia Arjun Nohwar, and Signpost India chairman & managing director Shripad Ashtekar.

Responding to a question on key trends across SVOD, TVOD and AVOD business models, Sushant said, “Streaming is seeing phenomenal growth in India. It has, in fact, become a dominant use-case for internet in the country, and a large part of that growth is coming from outside the metros.  We have about as many people streaming content in India, as those watching linear TV. This is a very significant inflection point for the video streaming industry in India.”

He went on to share, “Another key point to note is that there is no one single customer for streaming, our customers sit across the spectrum of accessibility, affordability, and the languages in which they prefer to consume entertainment. Therefore, our strategy for building solutions for India has always been to focus on “AND” solutions, rather than making choices between “this” or “that”. That is exactly why Prime Video’s entertainment hub – where all the different VODs come into play, continues to do incredibly well. In fact, India is one of the frontrunners on new customer adoption for Prime Video globally. Also, our Channels proposition, where consumers get access to content from popular streaming services with add-on subscriptions, has grown well, with more than 20 partners on the service. Further, our Movie Rentals service where consumers – both Prime members and those who aren’t yet Prime Members, can rent movies ala carte, is seeing great consumer uptake across the country. Mini TV, Amazon’s free ad-supported service, also posted steady great growth in 2023. When we think about how to serve India, we prioritize what is important for customers – great value, great selection, and convenience. It is true for what we do at Amazon overall and the same holds true for Prime Video as well.”

Responding to a question on the cost of content, Sushant spoke about the fact Amazon and Prime Video is invested for the long-term in India. Elaborating on the same, he said, “It is important to place this in context – our investment thesis is built on developing this category over a fairly long period of time. That’s the time horizon that we operate with for all our investments at Amazon, and the same holds true for Prime Video. The second is that we want to create a category of great cinematic storytelling and we know that consumers value that. We realized that creating an ecosystem across the board, not just the service, but creators and the technical ecosystem is an investment that is well made.”

He went on to add, “The other thing about our investment thesis is that we look at it through the lens of how we bring in customers to enjoy this multi-benefit proposition for Prime, which is a unique proposition for customers and Prime Video is a part of that. That changes how customers evaluate what is value for money, and that gives us the impetus to continue to make investments. And finally, we want to make all the great stories that we can, but we realize that we can’t make all of them. We’re therefore always excited about the collaborations that we can forge, with creators, Channel partners and studios to build out a true video entertainment marketplace. The fact that Prime Video has close to 100 projects right now in various stages of production and development is a clear indication that there is appetite for great stories in the country!”

To wrap up the highly engaging session, each participant was asked their Mantra for 2024, to which Sushant replied, “For us, it’s still Day one!” Day one is both a culture and an operating model that puts the customer at the center of everything Amazon does. Day one is about being constantly curious, nimble, and experimental.

Mumbai: The Indian media and entertainment industry is witnessing significant changes, with shifting consumer preferences for high-quality content, new broadcasting technologies, pressures on advertising spend, and the advent of AI. The #Reinvent session at FICCI Frames 2024 examined the dynamics driving this transformation and explored a range of enabling policies designed to support an industry navigating through a period of significant upheaval.

The keynote of this session was given by Ministry of I&B secretary Sanjay Jaju, who said, “As we move forward, the Government of India’s focus is on creating a conducive environment for the Media and Entertainment industry to thrive.”

The session was moderated by Ernst and Young partner Ashish Pherwani.

“In the last one year, the skilling ecosystem of Maharashtra has supported 48,000 youths from Maharashtra to be trained only in media and entertainment. This was something of a record under M&E skill council. A big thank you to Mangal Prabhat ji and his government for their proactive efforts to train rural and urban youths,” FICCI India AVGC-XR Forum chair Ashish Kulkarni.

“Globally, the media and entertainment industry is witnessing remarkable shifts with digital innovation reshaping consumption patterns and content creation dynamics,” FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee chair and Viacom18 CEO – broadcast entertainment Kevin Vaz.

“India is a significant priority market for Meta globally. We have invested considerable time in developing products tailored to the diverse needs of the hundreds of millions of people using our platforms. We are dedicated to serving both users and businesses by continually enhancing our offerings,” FICCI Media and Entertainment committee co-chair and Meta India VP and head Sandhya Devanathan.

“There is no one single customer. Customers sit across a spectrum of accessibility, affordability, of languages in which they want to watch their entertainment and what their entertainment needs are. For us, building solutions for India has always been about what we need to build as an end solution and not making piecemeal choices,” Amazon Prime Video country head Sushant Sreeram.

“Free dish has been growing continuously and consistently. In 2003, when it started, the industry was at a very nascent stage and it set the context for the rest of the industry to grow and develop,” Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Gaurav Dwivedi.

“We usually focus on the who, what and where. Who is consuming us, what kind of content they are consuming and where do they prefer to consume. I think the new dynamic that is now emerging is for us to focus on when and traditionally linear TV networks didn’t focus on that. By when, I mean consumption patterns that are arising from the situation that you are in – like in an elevator, waiting for a bus or picking your child from school. And in that 30-second to five-minute moment, do you have content form that they find engaging,” FICCI media and entertainment committee co-chair and Warner Bros Discovery Sr VP and general manager  – India & South Asia Arjun Nohwar.

“Out-of-home advertising is playing a great role in sustenance of smart cities because when we see any social spaces – roadside shelters, libraries or any basic first mile or last mile connectivity solutions, it is the responsibility and obligation of out-of-home player where they invest in basic infrastructure. It is beyond billboards and includes investing in smarter solutions like charging points too,” Signpost India chairman & MD Shripad Ashtekar.