Category: Specials

Portfolio adds preschool, lifestyle content to catalogue

MUMBAI: Portfolio Entertainment is en route to MIPCOM with an expanded catalogue featuring an all-new lineup of preschool, factual and lifestyle series. These new acquisitions from Portfolio Entertainment join its current slate of internationally-renowned content.

Mack & Moxy (12 x 13’) is a fun and colourful preschool series that introduces kids to universal values and important causes. Each episode of award-winningMack & Moxy features a special celebrity guest such as Hank Azaria, Rachael Ray, Keegan-Michael Key, Kal Penn and Josh Duhamel. So Smart! (7 x 30’, 52 x 5.5’ and 3 x 30’) is an award-winning collection of animated series for babies and toddlers. These series are the latest acquisitions from the U.S. to join Portfolio Entertainment’s kids and preschool lineup. Portfolio Entertainment is also driving into MIPCOM with its brand new title, Car Stories, a series from Canada’s Joe Media that tells high octane and emotional stories about the world’s most prized classic cars. The distributor is also introducing Best In The World Japan (10 x 30’) and Welcome To The Railworld Japan (10 x 30’), two new lifestyle/travel series from Malaysia-based Primeworks Distribution. Best in The World Japan is a series on the extraordinary culinary delights of the island nation, while Welcome To The Railworld Japan takes viewers on an incredible journey across the county by train.

“Portfolio Entertainment is aggressively pursuing acquisitions across all genres and is continuing to forge international partnerships with talented content creators. We are very excited to bring these freshly acquired titles to MIPCOM,” said Portfolio’s director of international sales and acquisitions, Jonathan Abraham. “Over the years, Portfolio has built a rich and diverse catalogue of entertaining and informative preschool, lifestyle and travel content that hits the mark with audiences around the globe, and these five new additions to our catalogue are no exception.”

So Smart!

•        Baby’s First Beginnings (7 x 30’)
•        Baby’s First Word Stories (52 x 5.5’)
•        King Otis and the Kingdom of Goode (3 x 30’)

So Smart! is an award-winning series of videos for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. A trusted brand for almost two decades, the deliberately gentle pace, engaging imagery and soothing music make So Smart! a favourite for families worldwide.

Best In The World Japan (10 x 30’)

As a country that boasts the most three-star restaurants in the world and an array of spectacular cuisine, Japan is the ultimate food lover’s paradise.Featuring the hilarious and high-energy host Razif Hashim on his journey to the Land of the Rising Sun, viewers will discover the culture, the history, and most importantly the food of this extraordinary island nation.

Welcome To The Railworld Japan (10 x 30’)

Host Henry Golding discovers the essence of Japan by embarking on a unique and fulfilling journey through the Japan’s most prominent mode of transport, the railway system. Viewers join Henry on this ride where he is on a quest to uncover all the rich culture, fascinating attractions and mouth-watering delicacies that the Land of the Rising Sun has to offer.

Car Stories (13 x 30’)

Car Stories is a rolling tour of some of the most beautiful and rare classic cars ever made, as seen through the loving eyes of their doting owners. From powerful muscle cars like the 429 Boss Mustang to slow but steady practical classics like the Citroen 2-CV, each of these cars has a backstory. Viewers buckle up for a fun and a sometimes hair-raising ride with tales of love and loss, youth and excitement, and attention to detail.

Visit Portfolio Entertainment at MIPCOM booth P-1.A0.

October 12, 2016
ATF 2016 conference to tackle pragmatic concerns across digital business

MUMBAI: The Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) 2016 has announced a new approach to its annual conference, taking place from 6 to 9 December 2016. Significant emphasis on strategy and investment is set as the milieu, where tactical financing and ventures into new domains are presented.

C-Level Summit

ATF’s C-Level Summit, focused on the digital space, will allow decision makers to discuss the very real issues of business today, as the industry is compelled to steer into the online world, a realm set to continue in its disruption of traditional content consumption and monetization.

“ATF aims to provide a platform where attendees can tap on the brightest minds internationally, with topics tailored on the region. Each year, we place emphasis on gathering the most relevant and current industry leaders, so that delegates can obtain the keys to navigating today’s dynamic Asia content market, as they discover the latest trends and opportunities to leverage,” said Yeow Hui Leng, Senior Project Director of ATF and ScreenSingapore.

The roster of significant speakers hold successes in their own right and represent the various pillars of the digital world, coupled with conventional giants who have made weighty partnerships in line with necessary pre-emptive adjustments, and natural aggregators who are looking at their own advantage to innovate and expand.

C-suites from Southeast Asia’s noteworthy telcos, including Winston Damarillo, Chief Strategy Officer of PLDT Group and Prashant Gokarn, Chief New Business & Innovation Officer at PT Indosat Tbk, alongside other top management, will sit to have a discourse on their own OTT offerings, as they hold the combination lock to infrastructure and mobile partnerships.

Chief Content Officers of digital native businesses, including Krishnan Rajagopalan, co-Founder of the Hooq Group and Kazufumi Nagasawa of Hulu Japan, along with Chris Erwin, Chief Operating Officer of Big Frame and Joanne Waage, Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Programming of Viki, Inc, will address ROI issues against a somewhat bearish landscape. CEOs, including Clifton Dawson, Founder and CEO of Greenlight VR, deliberate as content being king, will have to take on the daunting responsibility across various screens.

The C-Level Summit will also highlight brand expansion opportunities in technology and new markets. Involving veterans in virtual reality and new digital studios (Multi-Channel Networks), the Summit will harness new facets of the digital business unseen at ATF in the past.

Immerse in a new reality

Continuing the mark from conference to market floor, virtual reality is played out as a new but vital piece that the industry is attempting to incorporate into individual manoeuvres. In the virtual realm, creativity will abound on the market floor like never before, as transmedia is presented at the VR Zone in the only worthwhile way it should; via an experiential method.

The zone will be developed into a seminar-cum-workshop session, where some of the most avant-garde players in the VR space chat on exceptionally progressive productions within the cybernetic sphere. This is backed by an undeniable inroad of the content industry’s symbiotic relationship with the technology domain. The blending of creativity and technology has never been more pertinent, as ATF presents the likes of Okio Studio, Honkytonk, Innerspace VR, Silex Films, Dailymotion and AGAT Films, among other revolutionary ventures.

More information about the conference and speakers is available at www.asiatvforum.com/en/programme.

ATF is co-located with ScreenSingapore, and is part of the Singapore Media Festival (SMF).

October 10, 2016
ATF 2016 conference to tackle pragmatic concerns across digital business

MUMBAI: The Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) 2016 has announced a new approach to its annual conference, taking place from 6 to 9 December 2016. Significant emphasis on strategy and investment is set as the milieu, where tactical financing and ventures into new domains are presented.

C-Level Summit

ATF’s C-Level Summit, focused on the digital space, will allow decision makers to discuss the very real issues of business today, as the industry is compelled to steer into the online world, a realm set to continue in its disruption of traditional content consumption and monetization.

“ATF aims to provide a platform where attendees can tap on the brightest minds internationally, with topics tailored on the region. Each year, we place emphasis on gathering the most relevant and current industry leaders, so that delegates can obtain the keys to navigating today’s dynamic Asia content market, as they discover the latest trends and opportunities to leverage,” said Yeow Hui Leng, Senior Project Director of ATF and ScreenSingapore.

The roster of significant speakers hold successes in their own right and represent the various pillars of the digital world, coupled with conventional giants who have made weighty partnerships in line with necessary pre-emptive adjustments, and natural aggregators who are looking at their own advantage to innovate and expand.

C-suites from Southeast Asia’s noteworthy telcos, including Winston Damarillo, Chief Strategy Officer of PLDT Group and Prashant Gokarn, Chief New Business & Innovation Officer at PT Indosat Tbk, alongside other top management, will sit to have a discourse on their own OTT offerings, as they hold the combination lock to infrastructure and mobile partnerships.

Chief Content Officers of digital native businesses, including Krishnan Rajagopalan, co-Founder of the Hooq Group and Kazufumi Nagasawa of Hulu Japan, along with Chris Erwin, Chief Operating Officer of Big Frame and Joanne Waage, Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Programming of Viki, Inc, will address ROI issues against a somewhat bearish landscape. CEOs, including Clifton Dawson, Founder and CEO of Greenlight VR, deliberate as content being king, will have to take on the daunting responsibility across various screens.

The C-Level Summit will also highlight brand expansion opportunities in technology and new markets. Involving veterans in virtual reality and new digital studios (Multi-Channel Networks), the Summit will harness new facets of the digital business unseen at ATF in the past.

Immerse in a new reality

Continuing the mark from conference to market floor, virtual reality is played out as a new but vital piece that the industry is attempting to incorporate into individual manoeuvres. In the virtual realm, creativity will abound on the market floor like never before, as transmedia is presented at the VR Zone in the only worthwhile way it should; via an experiential method.

The zone will be developed into a seminar-cum-workshop session, where some of the most avant-garde players in the VR space chat on exceptionally progressive productions within the cybernetic sphere. This is backed by an undeniable inroad of the content industry’s symbiotic relationship with the technology domain. The blending of creativity and technology has never been more pertinent, as ATF presents the likes of Okio Studio, Honkytonk, Innerspace VR, Silex Films, Dailymotion and AGAT Films, among other revolutionary ventures.

More information about the conference and speakers is available at www.asiatvforum.com/en/programme.

ATF is co-located with ScreenSingapore, and is part of the Singapore Media Festival (SMF).

October 10, 2016
MIPCOM 2016 hosts Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch

MUMBAI: The MIPCOM 2016 Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch once again features some of the industry’s heavy-hitters discussing the role of women, both on and off-screen.

The fifth edition of MIPCOM’s annual thought leadership and networking event for the most influential women shaping the future of TV and entertainment is run in partnership with A+E Networks and Lifetime, along with The Hollywood Reporter.

The global entertainment content market, MIPCOM takes place in Cannes, France, from 17-20 October. The Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch is scheduled for Monday 17 October, at the Hotel Majestic.

The event will be introduced by A+E Networks chief marketing officer Amanda Hill, who will take a deep dive into the female experience, uncovering and highlighting the important issues facing women today via a recent Lifetime study. In addition, Hill will discuss Lifetime’s launch of a new multiplatform initiative called The Fempire, which targets fourth-wave feminists. Its mission is to create content for women, by women, about women, and to engage with them 24/7.

This will be followed by a presentation from Emmy® Award-nominated Constance Zimmer and fellow actress Shiri Appleby, who both star in Lifetime’s “UnREAL”. They will talk about their respective roles in the series, and how it ties into Lifetime’s ethos and what female empowerment means today.

The Women in Global Entertainment programme continues with an inspirational conversation between two leading figures of the film and TV industries, Betsy Beers, Partner at Shondaland, and pioneering French Director, Screenwriter, and Producer Euzhan Palcy.

A multi-award-winning producer, Beers is Executive Producer of ABC Studios’ hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” and “The Catch,” along with the upcoming new Untitled Shondaland Project (formerly known as “Still Star-Crossed”). In 2008, Beers partnered with Shonda Rhimes and her company Shondaland to develop and produce additional feature film and television projects. Prior to her exclusive foray into television, Beers served as President of the Mark Gordon Company, President of director Mike Newell’s Dogstar Films, and developed and produced such films as “200 Cigarettes,” “High Fidelity,” and “Pushing Tin” among many others. In 2014, Beers and Rhimes were honoured by the Directors Guild of America with the coveted Diversity Award for their commitment to diversity hiring and their long record of providing opportunities to women and minorities. (Rhimes is also being honoured as MIPCOM 2016 Personality of the Year.)

Euzhan Palcy is an award-winning filmmaker, and the first black female director produced by a major Hollywood studio, through her apartheid-themed feature movie, “A Dry White Season” (MGM, 1989). She is also the first black person ever to win a Cesar, the French Film Academy Awards, and the only woman ever to have directed Marlon Brando. Through films such as “Sugar Cane Alley,” “Ruby Bridges” and “The Killing Yard,” her work explores themes of race, gender, and social justice from a decidedly feminist and humanist perspective. In 2016, Palcy received the Honorary Award of the first Positive Cinema Week of Cannes, and The Wrap included her on its list of 17 Most Influential Women Who Revolutionised Hollywood. Palcy will unveil exclusive images in Cannes from an interview she did with the late South African President in a segment entitled “Nelson Mandela and the Role of Women,” an extract from a 25-minute filmed interview.

“For the fifth edition of MIPCOM’s Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, we are delighted to welcome a line-up of women who are behind some of the most creative and challenging content in contemporary television. The summit is thus continuing its mission as a key event for those women who are shaping the future of TV and entertainment,” said Reed MIDEM’s Television Division director Laurine Garaude.

October 7, 2016
MIPCOM 2016 hosts Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch

MUMBAI: The MIPCOM 2016 Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch once again features some of the industry’s heavy-hitters discussing the role of women, both on and off-screen.

The fifth edition of MIPCOM’s annual thought leadership and networking event for the most influential women shaping the future of TV and entertainment is run in partnership with A+E Networks and Lifetime, along with The Hollywood Reporter.

The global entertainment content market, MIPCOM takes place in Cannes, France, from 17-20 October. The Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch is scheduled for Monday 17 October, at the Hotel Majestic.

The event will be introduced by A+E Networks chief marketing officer Amanda Hill, who will take a deep dive into the female experience, uncovering and highlighting the important issues facing women today via a recent Lifetime study. In addition, Hill will discuss Lifetime’s launch of a new multiplatform initiative called The Fempire, which targets fourth-wave feminists. Its mission is to create content for women, by women, about women, and to engage with them 24/7.

This will be followed by a presentation from Emmy® Award-nominated Constance Zimmer and fellow actress Shiri Appleby, who both star in Lifetime’s “UnREAL”. They will talk about their respective roles in the series, and how it ties into Lifetime’s ethos and what female empowerment means today.

The Women in Global Entertainment programme continues with an inspirational conversation between two leading figures of the film and TV industries, Betsy Beers, Partner at Shondaland, and pioneering French Director, Screenwriter, and Producer Euzhan Palcy.

A multi-award-winning producer, Beers is Executive Producer of ABC Studios’ hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” and “The Catch,” along with the upcoming new Untitled Shondaland Project (formerly known as “Still Star-Crossed”). In 2008, Beers partnered with Shonda Rhimes and her company Shondaland to develop and produce additional feature film and television projects. Prior to her exclusive foray into television, Beers served as President of the Mark Gordon Company, President of director Mike Newell’s Dogstar Films, and developed and produced such films as “200 Cigarettes,” “High Fidelity,” and “Pushing Tin” among many others. In 2014, Beers and Rhimes were honoured by the Directors Guild of America with the coveted Diversity Award for their commitment to diversity hiring and their long record of providing opportunities to women and minorities. (Rhimes is also being honoured as MIPCOM 2016 Personality of the Year.)

Euzhan Palcy is an award-winning filmmaker, and the first black female director produced by a major Hollywood studio, through her apartheid-themed feature movie, “A Dry White Season” (MGM, 1989). She is also the first black person ever to win a Cesar, the French Film Academy Awards, and the only woman ever to have directed Marlon Brando. Through films such as “Sugar Cane Alley,” “Ruby Bridges” and “The Killing Yard,” her work explores themes of race, gender, and social justice from a decidedly feminist and humanist perspective. In 2016, Palcy received the Honorary Award of the first Positive Cinema Week of Cannes, and The Wrap included her on its list of 17 Most Influential Women Who Revolutionised Hollywood. Palcy will unveil exclusive images in Cannes from an interview she did with the late South African President in a segment entitled “Nelson Mandela and the Role of Women,” an extract from a 25-minute filmed interview.

“For the fifth edition of MIPCOM’s Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, we are delighted to welcome a line-up of women who are behind some of the most creative and challenging content in contemporary television. The summit is thus continuing its mission as a key event for those women who are shaping the future of TV and entertainment,” said Reed MIDEM’s Television Division director Laurine Garaude.

October 7, 2016
MIPCOM: Zee presents scripted, unscripted series

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) announced its slate of six new and current formats for MIPCOM for licensing and development. For the first time, screening sessions will be held in the Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre located at ZEE’s booth # P1-K51.

Sunita Uchil, recently promoted to chief business officer, international ad sales, global syndication and production, said, “Zee has a rich history of developing and producing programs with universal themes that are adaptable to all regions of the world. We are looking forward to hosting buyers and showcasing our new formats, as well as the popular dance-based reality show ‘Dance India Dance’, at our Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre. In other words, Zee Bollyworld promises a truly edge-of-the-seat experience at MIPCOM 2016”.

Zee’s unscripted formats include India’s original dance reality show, Dance India Dance, in which contestants are judged by leading Bollywood choreographers on their dance skills. Launching its sixth
season later this year, there have been numerous spinoffs of the format, a Singapore edition, as well as a local production in Thailand. Moksha is a brand-new game show requiring strategy, luck and
skill.

Zee’s scripted formats include: Phantasmagoria is a series of 12 wickedly twisted short stories. The story centers on an inconspicuous pawnshop in the corner of a decrepit by lane. Each tale brings about a series of illusions, apparitions and deception based on the elements that are uniquely characteristic of each sign of the zodiac. The Eclipse Harvest is a high-octane crime series about the NYPD Organized Crime Control Bureau. The son of a decorated officer in the Narcotics Division and the son of a drug lord each set out to eclipse their respective fathers of their glory. The mothers of the young men narrate the stories of how their lives are taken away by circumstances and how they are paradoxically connected.

Two additional scripted formats are all-time favorites in the comedy genre are Hum Paanch (Five Is A Crowd) and Kareena Kareena.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 222,000 hours of television content.

October 3, 2016
MIPCOM: Zee presents scripted, unscripted series

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) announced its slate of six new and current formats for MIPCOM for licensing and development. For the first time, screening sessions will be held in the Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre located at ZEE’s booth # P1-K51.

Sunita Uchil, recently promoted to chief business officer, international ad sales, global syndication and production, said, “Zee has a rich history of developing and producing programs with universal themes that are adaptable to all regions of the world. We are looking forward to hosting buyers and showcasing our new formats, as well as the popular dance-based reality show ‘Dance India Dance’, at our Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre. In other words, Zee Bollyworld promises a truly edge-of-the-seat experience at MIPCOM 2016”.

Zee’s unscripted formats include India’s original dance reality show, Dance India Dance, in which contestants are judged by leading Bollywood choreographers on their dance skills. Launching its sixth
season later this year, there have been numerous spinoffs of the format, a Singapore edition, as well as a local production in Thailand. Moksha is a brand-new game show requiring strategy, luck and
skill.

Zee’s scripted formats include: Phantasmagoria is a series of 12 wickedly twisted short stories. The story centers on an inconspicuous pawnshop in the corner of a decrepit by lane. Each tale brings about a series of illusions, apparitions and deception based on the elements that are uniquely characteristic of each sign of the zodiac. The Eclipse Harvest is a high-octane crime series about the NYPD Organized Crime Control Bureau. The son of a decorated officer in the Narcotics Division and the son of a drug lord each set out to eclipse their respective fathers of their glory. The mothers of the young men narrate the stories of how their lives are taken away by circumstances and how they are paradoxically connected.

Two additional scripted formats are all-time favorites in the comedy genre are Hum Paanch (Five Is A Crowd) and Kareena Kareena.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 222,000 hours of television content.

October 3, 2016
Friend MTS announces major initiatives at IDOS 2016

GOA: Friend MTS (FMTS), a leading digital piracy containment technology and service provider, announced here at IDOS 2016 that India would be strategic to its plans over the coming years.

Industry stalwarts from the broadcast and cable industry, spanning all segments of cable, OTT and DTH, at IDOS 2016 acknowledged the opportunity and challenges in a digital world, including that online and digital piracy is a growing menace that needs to be addressed and tackled sooner rather than later.

The participation of FMTS at IDOS 2016 highlights this very fact as India goes digital and Indian content, its owners and creators not only surge ahead, but also grapple with digital downsides like online piracy.

FMTS EVP Paul Hastings said, “We have engaged with almost all the stakeholders in India, ranging from broadcasters to DTH operators to OTT players to Films and Television Guild. There is recognition across the board that the next generation piracy containment service based on forensics-global identification- monitoring and takedown from FMTS will be a game changing offer to the Indian market”.

Friends MTS’ South Asia partner Rahul Nehra added, “FMTS anti-piracy service offerings will help content owners realize substantially higher revenues and we will be working relentlessly with all stakeholders, including the government, film associations across regions and Indian Broadcasting Foundation to prepare, prevent and profit from this digital revolution.”

October 3, 2016
Friend MTS announces major initiatives at IDOS 2016

GOA: Friend MTS (FMTS), a leading digital piracy containment technology and service provider, announced here at IDOS 2016 that India would be strategic to its plans over the coming years.

Industry stalwarts from the broadcast and cable industry, spanning all segments of cable, OTT and DTH, at IDOS 2016 acknowledged the opportunity and challenges in a digital world, including that online and digital piracy is a growing menace that needs to be addressed and tackled sooner rather than later.

The participation of FMTS at IDOS 2016 highlights this very fact as India goes digital and Indian content, its owners and creators not only surge ahead, but also grapple with digital downsides like online piracy.

FMTS EVP Paul Hastings said, “We have engaged with almost all the stakeholders in India, ranging from broadcasters to DTH operators to OTT players to Films and Television Guild. There is recognition across the board that the next generation piracy containment service based on forensics-global identification- monitoring and takedown from FMTS will be a game changing offer to the Indian market”.

Friends MTS’ South Asia partner Rahul Nehra added, “FMTS anti-piracy service offerings will help content owners realize substantially higher revenues and we will be working relentlessly with all stakeholders, including the government, film associations across regions and Indian Broadcasting Foundation to prepare, prevent and profit from this digital revolution.”

October 3, 2016
IDOS 2016: OTT advertising vs TV advertising

GOA: Is Online Video (read: OTT) advertising eating into TV’s share? That was the question posed by the final session of IDOS 2016 held in Goa’s Leela Hotel. The obvious consensus answer from the panelists was a big “no” – and it does not take a genius to reach that conclusion.

On the panel were IPG Media brands CEO Shashi Sinha, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) digital head Uday Sodhi, Starcom India Group CEO, Mallikarjun “Malli” Das and Eros Now business head Zulfiqar ‘Zulfi’ Khan.

“Digital advertising accounts for about eight to nine per cent of total ad spends,” said Malli. “Most of this goes towards Google, Facebook. Two to three per cent is going towards digital video, and that too most of it is going towards You Tube. It’s early days yet for the OTT players to have any revenues of significance.”

“Google has played a pioneering role – the educational and evangelizing approach that it along with YouTube took visiting advertisers and agencies to explain to them the efficacy of using it platform,” said Zulfi. “The OTT industry is too nascent and new, and has a lot of work to do.”

Sinha pointed out that the disparity in CPMs between television and online IP video is drastic. “Television is being sold on a cost per rating point (CPRP) basis in India today. In most countries, it is on a CPMs,” he said. “The CPMs even for TV are very low, and for online video, even lower. Airtime on television has become a commodity as there is plenty of inventory, but networks have large enough audiences to present to advertisers.”

Added Malli: “Television also has a reliable currency – BARC – to measure what’s happening to their spends – the reach, the viewership. Which makes all of us in the media and advertising community secure. We can buy across a network and aggregate audience.”

The panelists agreed even though the OTT players are providing very specific – in fact a surfeit of data, enough confidence has yet to be built in among the advertisers. “There’s fragmentation in the OTT community. There are too many platforms,” said Sinha. “And you can’t aggregate enough audiences of significance to allow us to take CPMs up here.”

Sodhi agreed that OTT video platforms had managed to build an active audience of about 70 million. He said: “China’s tipping point for OTT to significantly impact TV ad spends came when the number of users crossed 200 million. India has to grow. SonyLiv has around around 10 million. Good and stable bandwidth and right pricing of data are the issues to be dealt with to expand the OTT user base,” Sodhi said.

Malli believed that the audience of 70 million is large enough. “The Times of India has a seven and a half million readership and there is thousands of crores going into the paper.”

Both Malli and Sinha stated that agencies have started presenting media plans which, include TV plus and online video. “That’s a great improvement over earlier. We are putting in money behind online video. But it’s left to the OTT- owner – the broadcaster – to show it as OTT ad spend or TV ad spend. However, to be fair, the sector will grow when FMCGs start putting in their faith behind digital online video,” revealed Sinha.

Then what is holding the ecosystem back? “Most of the robust OTT platforms are backed by the broadcasters,” revealed Sinha. “The leadership is fearful their targeted revenue objectives from television might get impacted if they start shifting the focus more toward digital video advertising. This leadership has to take a hard call.”

He pointed out that BARC – of which he is a technical committee member – is gearing up to measure online video consumption and become the second country in the world to do so.

“We are ready to launch online video measurement by March 2017. Relevant data is going to be provided by some of our partners in the ecosystem to allow us to provide effective measurement numbers. However, the signal has to come from the broadcast community,” he quipped.

Zulfi pointed out that Eros Now has around a million subscribers – split between India and overseas – paying Rs 49 a month for its Bollywood movie service.

However, his view that today snacking was the primary form of consumption of digital video, was countered by Sodhi, who stated that the SonyLiv audience was sticking around for around for 16-22 minutes per session.

They all agreed that there is a bright future for digital video advertising. But, none wanted to hazard a guess as to when will it happen. “I have no clue when will the inflection point come,” Sinha said. “It is now.”

Malli too said that he had no clue about it. “Although the stage is set, I can’t predict when a significant migration to digital will happen — in one, two or three years from now.”

Sodhi revealed that almost 70 million users are being added to the digital video consumers pie every year. “Within two to two and a half years we will have 200 million users,” he predicted. “And that will be a number no one will want to ignore. The advertising tap will flow and flow then.”

October 3, 2016