ITV

Tag: FICCI FRAMES 2015

  • Changing dynamics in consumption of kids content

    Changing dynamics in consumption of kids content

    MUMBAI: Producing content to consume for today’s kids is no child’s play. Data and trends on kids content consumption across media-electronic and print goes a long way in impacting decisions made by commissioning editors and TV programmers. A panel at the just concluded FICCI Frames 2015 titled “Decoding Kids’s Content Consumption” presented such data and trends.

     

    On the panel were Eurodata TV Worldwide International senior sales manager Eric Lentulo, Viacom 18 Media EVP and GM Sonic and Nickelodeon India Nina Jaipuria, BARC chief business officer Romil Ramgarhia, IMRB International group business director Ashish Karnad and Stratagem Media CEO Sundip Nagpal. The session was moderated by FICCI AVGC Forum chairman Ashish Kulkarni. 

     

    Lentulo shared some crucial insights from various reports of studies conducted by the company. He said that kids in Asia were viewing less amount of kids content as compared to their US and European counterparts with an average viewing daily time of 2:32 minutes. In Germany, sports worked best for kids with nearly 95 per cent of the kids under the research having watched the FIFA World Cup Final. In Canada, the Super Bowl brought in large traction kids viewers. “Kids are watching content on smart phones as well as tablets but television is the firsts screen for children,” Lentulo observed. 

     

    Providing an Indian perspective, Nagpal said, “Younger kids spend just 30 per cent of their time watching kids channels in India, 35 per cent of GEC content, and the remaining 30 per cent of other content.” He went on add that TAM data showed that young mothers spend just six per cent of their time watching the content viewed by their wards. “The kids genre is popular across metros and one million plus towns and even in towns with population less than one lakh people. While Maharashtra and Gujarat were well performing markets for the genre, Kerala is missing out on children’s content.”

     

    On the other hand, as per Karnard’s study in 2013, two out of three kids seek entertainment primarily to reduce stress and tension from studies. The second primary reason was to seek information. “Three out of the four kids prefer watching content in Hindi rather than in English, while they love animated characters that help others. When they are alone, they would use mobile phones and computer games, they would utilise television to watch music and shows. On the other hand, when in company of their friends and family, they would play outdoor sports and watch movies and sports on television,” Karnard stated.

     

    Having the last word on the subject, Jaipuria said, “While kids today are consuming content on various devices, TV is here to stay for a while.” According to her, kids latched on to television for two reasons: 1) They were terribly bored and seek it as a form of entertainment value. 2) They wanted an escape route where they are able to run from a competitive world to one of fantasy. “Animation is the only medium that can transform them to an imaginative world,” she added.

     

    Highlighting an important point from the perspective of a kid’s broadcaster, she said that they were a safe genre and hence parents trusted the network for its content. Storytelling too was crucial along with quality dubbing and environmental sounds that together made up for solid content. “The primary factor that drives this category is the element of fun and being mischievous and kids are looking for honest values,” she said.

     

    The other elements that children looked for in a character were looks (dressing, style and smile), fantasy (talking about gadgets) and values that the characters stood up for. Throwing light on whether language made a difference, Jaipuria said, “It is the character, bond and relationships which brings them to TV. Language only breed familiarity. Local content is currently edged out because we started off late.”

     

    For the category that is growing at nine per cent and sees under two per cent ad revenue, Jaipuria informed that with carriage fees going down and subscription going up, there was space for further segmentation.

     

    Ramgarhia added that with the coming of BARC, the audience measurement platform would cover everything that India watched including the rural markets. “As more segmentation takes place, a lot of thrust will be placed on kids channels. Nine is the new 14,” he said, adding that moving ahead it would be their endeavour to expand the panel that monitors channels.

     

  • India will shape mobile innovation: Ajit Mohan

    India will shape mobile innovation: Ajit Mohan

    MUMBAI: The digital consumer is on his way to become the king of media and entertainment. It is he who will dictate future content trends, platform specifics and most importantly revenue flows. How can the vast media and entertainment ecosystem channelise its vision towards a sustainable revenue system reaping off the all encompassing digital landscape – overhauling payment gateways, broadband speed and consumer sensitisation?

     

    Seeking answers to these questions, a panel discussion was held in FICCI Frames 2015 moderated by BBC Global News presenter Matthew Amroliwala. The panel comprised Star India digital head Ajit Mohan, Yahoo India MD Gurmit Singh, UCWeb India MD Kenny Ye and Airtel global voice and data business CEO and director Srinivasan Gopalan.

     

    The digital platform is yet to have a concrete revenue model and most of the content available now is free content. Mohan said, “India is going to shape innovation in mobile and not the United States and hence we need to have our own model and cannot refer to any other. My observation is that consumers are underserved and they are absolutely ready for real and fresh content in the VOD platform. It is a mass market and quality content will find recognition and appreciation.”

     

    Yahoo’s Singh added, “Yahoo is a 20 years old company that has seen technological evolution. Every 10 years, we have a new technology, which shapes the processing and the same will happen when 4G and 5G comes in. All the existing devices will talk to each other, complement each other and advertisers will have a choice of platform. The advantage of digital is that proper analysis can be done, which makes reaching the target audience easy and accurate. This will also ensure higher returns.”

     

    Talking about the Indian circumstances, UCWeb India’s Ye said, “The government of India launched a digital India campaign, which is highly encouraging and mobile will play a very important role in making India digital. The revenue model is yet to be figured out and a lot of that will be decided by development in infrastructure in the near future. Better online payment infrastructure and more credit and debit card holders will make the revenue model easier.”

     

    The online ventures need communications and carriers to carry the signal from provider to consumer. Airtel’s Gopalan asserted, “About 93 per cent of internet usage is in mobile and it’s high time that content makers and service providers collaborate in order to make things more efficient and revenue generating. We should bundle content and put it in a package for the consumers. And data is not expensive in India and it’s mobile data, which is expensive and there are different reasons behind it.”

     

    Star India’s digital platform Hotstar was free and it got a lot of encouragement in terms of viewership. Commenting on the success of the venture, Mohan said, “Hotstar is not free. The content needs data and the consumers are paying premium rates to see content and hence the myth is baseless.”

     

    It remains to be seen what revenue model the digital platforms accept and if the formula of content is king is followed.

  • I&B Ministry open to discussion with M&E sector: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

    I&B Ministry open to discussion with M&E sector: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

    MUMBAI: The India media and entertainment (M&E) sector is undergoing rapid changes and has huge potential to take its content across the globe. However, in order to achieve this, the sector will need the support of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry.

     

    “The country has the power to become a super power in M&E and as government, we want to interact with the different sectors in the M&E industry. We want to hear about the bottlenecks and the suggestions. We are keen to iron them out to do business,” said Minister of State Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

     

    Rathore, who was talking at the just concluded FICCI Frames 2015, said that the Indian M&E sector had the ability to reach out to the world. “India is poised to be a global phenomena. We just need to come up with content that can create a foothold in any country,” said Rathore.

     

    He added that Indian content can be targeted at larger audiences and not just the Indian diaspora. “This we can learn from the US, which has been able to push across its culture across boundaries,” he said.

     

    The I&B Ministry, under the aegis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, has been working hard towards improving the media unit. “The Prime Minister has been able to popularize radio, which is now expanding. In a year or so, close to 800-900 cities will have either one or multiple FM Radio stations,” he informed.

     

    Talking about film certification, Rathore said that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has be a certification board and not censorship body. “They need to give certification based on content,” he said, adding that the Ministry has decided to have a re-look at the Cinematography Act.

     

    The Ministry is also looking at improving the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). “Script is important for any movie and that is what is currently lacking. There is no structure. This facility needs to be improved. Film and TV industry should partner with FTII,” he said.

     

    Talking about the other initiatives, which the Ministry is undertaking, Rathore said that a National Centre of Excellence for the Animation, Visual, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) is being set up. “We want this centre to be a benchmark for all centres that come later. But to do this, the government will need the support of the industry. It is the industry, which can give life to this project. Become a partner with us,” urged Rathore.

     

    The MoS is of the view that the country’s culture can be promoted though the films. “The content that is being put out should carry our culture,” he said.

     

    Speaking on how the M&E sector could become a ‘Soft Power’ of the 21st century, Rathore said, “Currently, the M&E sector is working on individual efforts. We need to join forces and interact more to understand the strengths and move in a certain direction.”

     

    Rathore concluded by assuring the sector that the Ministry will, with open arms, help the M&E sector grow. “We need to develop a degree of trust to grow,” he concluded.

     

  • Gaming apps, YouTube, publishing can boost revenue for kids content producers

    Gaming apps, YouTube, publishing can boost revenue for kids content producers

    MUMBAI: Kids content is being developed worldwide primarily through satellite or public broadcasting or a combination of both. In the absence of a strong public broadcasting model, content creators can become completely dependent on satellite broadcasting only. Thus it becomes a challenge to build larger than life character brands from which alternate sources of revenue can be milked for higher returns. However, can Indian children’s programming develop towards embracing emerging alternate revenue sources in the digital age?

     

    At a FICCI Frames 2015 discussion titled, “Emerging alternate revenue sources for kid’s content,” panelists shared their experiences. On the panel were, Dream Theatre founder and CEO Jiggy George, Disney India VP and head consumer products Abhishek Maheshwari, Aditya Horizons founders GD Bakshi and Aditya Bakshi, Yaboho New Media founder and CEO Hitendra Merchant and Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal. 

     

    Panelists shared their views on how alternate sources of revenue for kid’s content can be monetized.

     

    Yaboho New Media founder and CEO Hitendra Merchant

    According to Merchant, when the multi-channel network started off it realised that it did not have to be a multi-national company (MNC) based in North America to create strong digital content. “We create pre-school content and we are one of the largest preschool content creators on YouTube.”

     

    He also said that a digital multi-channel network content provider did not have to rush towards a broadcast network to put forth their content. The changing dynamic of the media space, according to him, presented two opportunities. One was through YouTube, which could help monetize kid’s content and secondly through gaming apps that kids were increasingly using today. “Both are driven by storytelling, for example Angry Birds,” he explained.

     

    Disney India VP and head consumer products Abhishek Maheshwari

    Explaining about a large brand like Disney, Maheshwari informed that the revenue potential created through merchandising across categories like stationary and toys were a bigger source of revenue than the content itself (i.e films produced by the studio). “Publishing of our content both on print through books and on digital platforms are also value added propositions for us,” he said.

     

    He then went on to speak of the brand’s iconic journey so far the world over. The fundamental aspect to the success of Disney’s characters was that consumers were able to relate to the story and that later on translated towards revenue streams. “About 75 per cent of our focus is on storytelling. Mickey Mouse is a big gift that continues giving us maximum revenue across networks. ESPN as a sports brand is also a large contributor towards our overall revenues,” Maheshwari highlighted, adding that the brand was launching its next big theme park in Shanghai and the Marvel franchise was a big growth booster in India.

     

    Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal

    For Agarwal, gaming was going to become the next big reality in monetization of kids content. Illustrating his point through an example, he said that when parents today reached their respective homes, their smart phones were taken over by their kids in order to play games. Raising two key points, he said, “High speed internet without buffering issues was still a roadblock and secondly, propensity to pay for gaming apps is no longer a major issue as audiences don’t mind paying for the same.”

     

    He also remarked that the psychological roots of a gaming app pushed users towards purchasing items in the real world, which boosted additional revenues. Throwing in some vital statistics, he said that while a popular gaming app would easily see close to five to ten million downloads in a month, a newly created gaming app would receive a million downloads easily in a country like India because of a large market. Ads via these apps were revenue boosters too.

     

    Aditya Horizons founders GD Bakshi and Aditya Bakshi

    The father son duo are pioneers behind the brand called Indian War Comics. While GD Bakshi hails from a military background as he is a retired major general, his son Aditya is from a merchant navy background. “None of our educational systems today have values,” the former army man began. He said that the comics created by them were based on real life stories of Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra real war heroes, who had laid down their lives for the country. “Values are not thought but caught,” he added. The target audience was sixth and seventh class upwards and the comics strive to propagate “national values.”

     

    Aditya, on the other hand, went on to explain that the comic company had tied up with institutions like schools, NGOs and self-help groups to distribute their comics as they found the traditional distribution systems daunting. The company’s step will be towards digital apps and toys in order to monetize.

     

    Dream Theatre founder and CEO Jiggy George

    George’s company is mainly into merchandising and licensing of content on three mediums i.e films, digital apps/games and television. For George, two trump cards that could help a lot in gaining from the licensing market in India were the size of the entertainment market and a rising consuming class that had strong and bigger pockets to purchase items. “In addition, local content on TV, like Chotta Bheem, will always perform better.”

     

    Towards the end, entrepreneurs were guided that they should explore the art of telling great stories for kids, while other monetizing options would follow. Catch them while they are young they concluded.

  • Brands on its way to digital success

    Brands on its way to digital success

    MUMBAI: As digital advertising and online presence gains ground for brands, they are increasingly realising that the digital world differs greatly from traditional media. A one size fits all strategy is unlikely to help brands leverage the full strength of the digital platform.

     

    Additionally, user engagement in real time and dynamic digital environment is a challenge. To add credibility to visibility, marketers need to continue to make full use of online by listening and engaging-not just showcasing.

     

    Discussing the same were panelists namely Dentsu Aegis CEO Ashish Bhasin, GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas, Producers Guild of America CEO, Bunnygraph and VP, new media John Heinsen, Culture Machine CEO Sameer Pitalwalla and Viacom18 Media MTV EVP and business head Aditya Swamy.

     

    The panelist discussed the ingredients required to build a successful online brand presence. The session was moderated by film-maker Rohan Sippy.

     

    According to Srinivas, the world is moving towards programmatic buying and advertising. “Most of the advertising media is getting automated on digital. It has huge implications on the brands,” he said.

     

    Talking about brand’s engagement on the digital world, Bhasin feels that there is nothing different in the digital world earlier than the digital brands. He believes that many brands in today’s time are going wrong. “The principle of any brand is to identify the consumer’s needs and fulfil them,” he said adding that today many brands are getting caught between digital and technology.

     

    He believes that the key to success will be to retain factors like – maintaining the principles of brand building and secondly speed of response accelerated to deliver a lot more basis on the consumer’s needs.

     

    Heinsen opined that brands on digital platforms are the best combination. It gives visibility to brands even more. A successful brand building is the convergence of three things – traditional media, advertising and technology. According to him, integrating these things are needed to build a brand. “As content creators and story-tellers, if we have all these factors only then can you entertain, engage and influence the audiences.”

     

    According to Pitalwalla, brands face two challenges on the digital platforms. One, there are multiple platforms and each of them comes with their own rules and have a lot more content than traditional media. Second, there is a fragmentation of content. He believes that TV commercials have become just one format in a way people are interacting with the brand.

     

    Swamy has a different story to tell. He asserted that if people are not talking about your brand, it is considered that your brand has not made it to the heart and minds of consumers. He feels that brand management has now become a 24×7 and 365 days activity.

     

    As a broadcaster and content creator, Swamy believes that everyone is messing with the format. “People are just playing with all kinds of formats. There is not one fixed formula to it, but people are just experimenting and waiting for it to hit the right chord.”

     

    Swamy added that dialogue conversation with the digital audiences is very important to keep the brand healthy and live. He stated the example of Roadies. “When Roadies was launched, we noticed that there was buzz only for that time of the period till it was on-air. Offline, there were no conversations at all. To keep the brand alive, we launched a digital series, which is accessible throughout the year and now the digital has become a base and TV show just compliments it. That is the power of digital,” he informs.

     

    Bhasin believes that today’s consumers have matured. Earlier, people consumed whatever was shown on television. “Now the consumers are telling us what to do. They are dictating the tonality to which we can pass message through our brand,” he said.

     

    Heinsen believes in the power of conversations. “As a content creator, you should be able to create a content that can spark off conversations. And that’s where social media platforms come into play.”

  • Freedom of press under danger in India

    Freedom of press under danger in India

    MUMBAI: While the fourth estate is known both as a conscience keeper of society as well as shaper of public opinion, is the freedom of speech for the media under pressure in recent times? Speaking on the same were BBC Global News presenter Matthew Amroliwala, NDTV managing editor Manika Raikwar, Equus founder and Counselage India managing partner Suhel Seth, and FICCI entertainment committee co-chair Ramesh Sippy at a panel discussion at the ongoing FICCI Frames 2015. The session was moderated by Association of International Broadcasters UK CEO Simon Spanswick.

     

    The witty Seth had the audience in constant applauding mode. He began saying that the current Censor Board chief in India was an idiot. “If words like Bombay are banned in a film, why don’t the jokers also approach the High Court of Bombay? Again, we have some very good judges and some very bad judges. Society must mirror the varied aspirations of society,” Seth said.

     

    He was of the strong opinion that the press in India had abused its power for far too long. “Most channels today are on sale and are driven by commercial interests. Times Now is clean but is a noise factory. We are in very troubled times and there is grave danger to the freedom of press in India. We are ruled by a right wing party and fringe elements have arisen. Instead of discourse and debate, people are resorting to violence,” he opined.

     

    When questioned by Spanswick on ethics being compromised because of revenue, Raikwar posed a counter question, “How do you get revenue for a costly business medium?” She was of the opinion that transparency was the key by informing the masses about which news packages were sponsored and which were not. “Mint, for example and NDTV too, clearly mention to viewers if there is a conflict of interest in their stories either in a box or a scroll,” she informed. It was upto the audiences then to make a choice in believing what stories were true or were planted.

     

    Agreeing with her, Amroliwala opined that if indeed audiences knew what they were reading and watching, then they would be able to pin point closely what the news factor was in a story. “The BBC is all about trust and we don’t deviate from it, which is our USP,” he remarked.

     

    Seth at this point said that increasingly today TV editors were writing newspaper columns and newspaper editors vice versa appeared on television. “These editors appear on television because they can’t write. They are supposed to inform people through their writing about strong opinions of current events,” he said. He then went on to attack the Badal family of Punjab. “The Badals own the biggest channel in Punjab and also control the distribution system,” he added.

     

    Spanswick queried if people trusted these channels, to which Seth implored, “What else will people watch? They don’t have a choice.”

     

    As the talk revolved around journalistic ethics, Sippy commented that unparliamentary language was become parliamentary language across the world and everyone was in a race to grab eyeballs. Raikwar felt that the edit page of a newspaper was largely important as it is today becoming the main news page. “There is space for opinion but it has to be clearly narrated and spaced,” she voiced. She also noted that there would be times when journalists would commit unintentional errors in their stories. In such a scenario, the best way forward was to issue to apology and move on. “It is all about trust,” she stressed upon.  

     

    Spanswick then quizzed the panel if the media in India was able to reflect society well enough through their creative products? Seth was of the opinion that every film reflected a certain section of society. “While the film Haider was dedicated to Kashmiri pundits, the narrative of the film had nothing to do with them. We have to evolve through self-restraint. It’s also sad to note how religion today is being used as a political weapon whereas people of feeble intellect are running the censor board,” he said.

     

    “How can one counter this?” asked Spanswick. Seth said that Sippy and Inc. could come up with movies that spoke of such phenomenons without going overboard. Sippy replied that in recent times two films, Oh My God and PK touched upon religion. “They were using restraint through humour,” the filmmaker highlighted. Raikwar said that the attitude of ‘sab kuch chalta hai’ (anything goes) should stop and the consumer being the key would be the ultimate judge of a news item.

     

    Amroliwala in conclusion stated that the pictures the BBC used for a particular story, the content and the language used was very important to the pubcaster. “This is absolutely crucial in our news reporting,” he highlighted.

  • Live events in India need huge impetus from government

    Live events in India need huge impetus from government

    MUMBAI: In order to discuss the long road ahead in making India a productive profit centre in the global live event landscape, a session dedicated to the same was conducted on the final day of FICCI Frames 2015 held in Mumbai.

     

    With a vision to wash away the red tape and enable business environment, the discussion was led by a panel comprising entrepreneurs like Cineyug director Mohammad Morani, OML CEO and founder Vijay Nair, Ice Global owner Sushma Gaekwad, Viacom18 INS Jaideep Singh, Coca Cola India VP – marketing Debu Mukherjee and Percept joint MD Shailendra Singh. The session was moderated by anchor Mini Mathur.

     

    Gaekwad kick-started the discussion by saying that issues relating to licensing norms and taxation policies amongst others needed to be sorted out. “We have to sort out these issues. There is a lot of work ahead of us but yet the industry has the potential to grow,” she said.

     

    Gaekwad believes that the industry has taken the first step in sorting everything out and like-minded bunch of entrepreneurs have started coming together as an association. “Earlier each business was of its own, but now as an association, we can sort issues that each of us bring to the table.”

     

    Percept’s Singh went on to add that almost 58 per cent of India’s population was below the age of 25 years and the young population is extremely restless and has tremendous amount of energy. “What young people need in today’s time is entertainment. Live entertainment is a very serious business, but the government has never understood the industry and has not taken it seriously. One can’t even imagine that how much business the industry can bring, how many job opportunities it can create and how well it can entertain. We are deprived as a country for live entertainment just because the Government doesn’t believe that this industry should be taken seriously,” he opined.

     

    For Festival curator Nikhil Chinappa, making the sense of 1.25 million population in the country is the biggest concern. He believes that in the space, the numbers are vast and so are the opportunities. “Even though we are talking about the opportunities, but we need to know whether there are more people buying tickets or are the same people trying to buy different tickets again and again?”

     

    Answering his own question, he replied saying that research indicated that there are no new people, who buy tickets but the same ones who are interested in buying always.

     

    Agreeing with Chinappa, Singh continued to say that in this sector, it has not been able to harness new members in the industry. “We can only grab eyeballs of the newbies by our strong business models and that is going to lead the success path,” he said.

     

    Picking up to what Gaekwad pinpointed on the licensing part, Nair feels that Maharashtra has been left behind when it comes to licensing policies. “If an artist is performing at the same venue for 10 times in a year, he has to apply for licenses all the time, which is not needed. Moreover, the situation is going to get worse with the new laws coming in. For example, 14 per cent of service tax has been added to buy tickets.”

     

    Percept’s Singh believes that everything in the society happens from top down. “If there is a ministry sitting at the top to look at these issues at the forefront, then why are we begging in front of them? They have to understand that this is the need of the new Indian. Young India wants entertainment. Why should we pay the price or suffer?” he questioned.

     

    He further said that it is impossible to make money in live entertainment today. “The opportunity that live events provide is massive. When will the government understand this?” he further lamented.

     

    On the other hand, Viacom18’s Singh believes that the government alone cannot be blamed alone because the onus lies on the entrepreneurs, who are working in this space too. “I believe that this should come from top, but we are also equally responsible for it maybe because we are not pushing it or fighting enough for it. We need to put our business propositions together and fight for it right up there. We need to prove our might with numbers, which they are not seeing right now.”

     

    Mathur questions, “Are we doing enough as an industry?” To which, Gaekwad responded that the fraternity has taken the first step by coming together and working towards it and is confident that by next year it will be talking a different language. But she also believed that currently there is a lack of vision, which needs to be improved. “It is not only about the local spender but also about the international spender.”

     

    Talking about the industry’s future, Chinappa stated that to him vision is accessibility. “If you want the music and dance industry to grow, one needs to ensure that it is easily accessible for people and that can happen best through social media platforms. Digital platforms are the best mediums where people can share and exchange ideas,” he said.

     

    Viacom18’s Singh further revealed that brands too have been taking the industry very seriously. Where there is reach, there are brands. According to him, in the first year it got close to 10 – 12 brands on board, whereas the second year saw some improvement with close to 25 brands. What’s more, the third year saw a fantastic response with about 60 brands coming on-board.

     

    Throwing light on the solutions to make the industry more profitable, Percept’s Singh said that the market will grow where there is a sense of security. To top it all, the three E-formulas will always work wonders – educate the market, empower and entertain the consumers.

     

    The session concluded with each of them focusing on issues like making music more available and accessible to people, strong compelling business to generate numbers, collaborate and work together as an association for faster progress and yet be competitive by focusing on the consumer’s need.

  • Digital is the next big medium for news telling & selling: Raghav Bahl

    Digital is the next big medium for news telling & selling: Raghav Bahl

    MUMBAI: The media and entertainment sector is one of the most dynamic sectors prone to rapid change. In order to survive, one must simply re-invent and adapt to the landscape. Raghav Bahl is unarguably one such man, who knows how to build himself from scratch, as he moved from the television space to the digital environment.

     

    After selling the Network 18 Group for a tidy sum to Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries, Bahl did not stop there. Through his digital venture The Quint, he has now launched a mobile focussed digital news website. Speaking at an interactive session at the ongoing FICCI Frames 2015, Bahl touched upon the key points as an entrepreneur in the digital domain.

     

    “The smartphone has revolutionised the media ecosystem,” Bahl’s voice booms in the packed auditorium as he begins sharing his thoughts.

     

    Consumer Habits

    Bahl says that consumers today are increasingly looking out for content that is personalised, “I, Me, Mine” as he called it. Consumers are always looking for content that leads to instant gratification as audiences resort to uploading, sharing, finding and following data points on their smartphones. Increasingly, users also want data sans baggage.

     

    Content

    Content in the digital space, according to the media baron, is moving from exclusive and breaking news to news pieces that are re-purposed with stronger in-depth analysis. “Now it’s also about the creation of content versus the packaging of content,” he adds. There is also an emerging section in the digital news media segment called the “Light-Fun-Weird,” which is the new news category where news is narrated far different from the traditional form. People increasingly are also looking out for ‘nearby’ content where local information, news and content is being sought. In the social media space, content is also about discovering news, as people used various platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. “Close to 1.8 billion photos are uploaded and shared everyday on Instagram, while around 50 billion messages are sent via Whatsapp each day,” Bahl informs.

     

    Impact on the Landscape

    As massive content is bombarded on the cyberspace, Bahl says that “except for community news and large scale entertainment format on the static screen, it will completely change the landscape. Language will now have to become edgier and it will have to become the language of the young because the audience today has a point of view. Quicker, shorter and strong opinions,” Bahl sums up.

     

    Content in the next three years will move more exclusively to hand held devices.

     

    Quint’s Approach to News Telling

    As a digital product, Bahl informs that he doesn’t need to send a reporter on field. Providing an example on how he would approach a plane crash story, he informs that he would prepare “multiple smaller packets” of news than one lengthy story that will not buy the audience’s attention. He would come up with stories like the age of the aircraft, the mindset of the airplane pilot and so on. “I am investing more in the technology than a TV channel network spends on ground reporting,” he stated.

     

    Financing and Costs

    When he started with his news channel CNBC TV18, it drew in a revenue of Rs 2 crore. However, today the channel draws in revenue to the tune of Rs 300 crore. “As audiences come in, buyers will come in too. If the content is receiving traction, advertisers would come in too.”

     

    According to Bahl, three kinds of advertising models will be hot selling properties in the digital domain: 1) Complete programmatic advertising, 2) Native advertising and 3) Display ads. “However, display ads will have to be modified for mobile screens,” he said.

     

    Assessment of Indian media and leaving Network 18

    “I am an optimist and I believe the sheer plurality of the Indian media would ensure cards are not stacked in one direction,” Bahl assessed. He went on to reveal that he was in no way ready to become a paid employee. “Today the Network 18 group is in strong competitive hands. If I was not a majority stakeholder anymore, I would have to re-invent myself,” he said.

     

    Conclusion

    In his concluding remarks, Bahl highlighted a few points. For instance, he said that primetime is dead as audiences today are always connected via their multiple screens to receive content. The very short lifespan of news was taken over by “curated explainers,” who would summarise a story with in-depth analysis. “Journalists today will have to be expert in their field. You cannot cover financial markets or terrorism,” he remarked.

  • Maharashtra govt proposes tax exemption for AVGC sector in state

    Maharashtra govt proposes tax exemption for AVGC sector in state

    MUMBAI: The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector in Maharashtra is in for some treat. The sector, which so far has gone unnoticed in the state, has finally got itself a space in the fourth IT Policy, which will be sent to the Cabinet soon.

     

    “I agree that the state has so far not focussed on the Media & Entertainment (M&E) sector,” said Government of Maharashtra principal secretary-industries Apurva Chandra at FICCI Frames 2015.

     

    According to Chandra, AVGC is a part of the IT sector and hence has been included as a sub-section in the soon to be submitted IT Policy. “The perception is that the state is not friendly to the sector and we aim at shedding that with this policy,” said Chandra.

     

    Chandra agreed that the AVGC sector, which was once strong in Maharashtra has been overtaken by Bangalore, where the government is taking several initiatives. “We would like to bring more AVGC centres into the state,” he added.

     

    Maharashtra has the right ecosystem, the creative people and robust IT set up, which can give a boost to the AVGC sector.

     

    One of the major points, which have been covered in the proposed policy is that of entertainment tax. The policy provides doing away with three kinds of taxes:

     

    · Entertainment tax exemption for movies 100 per cent made in Maharashtra.

    · Giving 100 per cent exemption from entertainment tax to animated movies, which have been converted from 2D to 3D in the state.

    · 100 per cent tax exemption to live action movies, which minus the opening credits and end credits, has 50 per cent visual effects during the running time of the movie.

     

    The AVGC policy also contains the provision for AVGC parks. “As part of this, all the incentives given to IT Parks will be made available to AVGC Parks. One such is the integrated IT Township, which will also become an integrated AVGC Township. Under this any land, whether it is private or public, above 10 hectare can be cleared as IT or AVGC Township. In this township, 60 per cent of the land will be for industrial moves like setting up studios and 40 per cent will be open to all. Above all a higher FSI (floor space index) would also be given. This can bring a lot of discipline not only in IT but the AVGC sector as well,” informed Chandra.  

     

    AVGC centres will also be promoted in cities of Maharashtra through several incentives. “We will be providing financial support and are proposing a corpus fund of Rs 50 crore through the state government. In terms of clearance also, the state government is ready to support,” he added.

     

    The policy also proposes a certification charge refund from the agencies. “Capital subsidy for larger AVGC centres will also be given,” he informed.  

     

    The National Centre of Excellence, which was announced by the Finance Minister in Delhi has also been proposed to the Maharashtra government. The Media and Entertainment Council is currently working closely with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and other state governments to facilitate this for Maharashtra.   

     

  • From ‘Red Tape’ to ‘Red Carpet’: Maharashtra govt’s vision for M&E sector

    From ‘Red Tape’ to ‘Red Carpet’: Maharashtra govt’s vision for M&E sector

    MUMBAI: The demand for single window clearance for the film sector is nothing new, but the good news now is that the newly appointed state government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is looking into it, and seriously.

     

    Government of Maharashtra Tourism & Culture secretary Valsa Nair Singh told the gathering on the concluding day of FICCI Frames 2015, that the process for single window clearance has begun. “The problem is that no one is aware how many clearances are needed to be able to produce a movie in Maharashtra. While someone says 70, others say 60 or 50. It has been a month and I have been trying to collect all the data regarding clearances that are currently needed. I still don’t have a clear picture,” she informed.

     

    The government, after collecting the required data, will start analysing the clearances which are actually needed. “I am sure almost half of it would either be repetitive or redundant. We will then see how many of the clearances can be clubbed. We will also appoint a nodal officer, who would be handling everything, thus ensuring that the producer doesn’t have to go to each department,” informed Singh.

     

    Once the process is completed for films, the government will look at coming up with single window clearance even for live events. “What we have seen is that people are moving away from the state for live events and the reason they cite is the long process of approvals. So we have to make the system more conducive,” she added.

    The single window clearance has been set in motion, said Singh adding that the Chief Minister who had attended the Pune Film Festival had also suggested that the procedure will be in place before the next film festival.

    Considering that the film industry contributed almost Rs 50 billion to the GDP in 2013 and an employment of 7.75 lakhs in just one year, the Maharashtra government is looking at ensuring that more films are shot in the state. “We need to make the process simpler and provide the infrastructure,” she said.

     

    Singh raised concerns over the multiple authority clearance, which according to her leads to red tapism. “We want to move from red tape to red carpet, this is the intention of the Maharashtra government,” announced Singh.  

     

    In a meeting held on 25 March, the government has already taken the decision to start moving towards single window clearance and reduce the number of approvals.

    The Maharashtra government also wants to create awareness about the locations in the state, which can be used for shooting. “We would be doing it through a ready reckoner for locations. It will have the photographs, the connectivity, the location and the helpline numbers for the location. We will be compiling everything and uploading the same on the website,” she said.

     

    The government wants to move to the online regime, “but that will take time and so the single windowing process will start manually first as a pilot project and then move to online,” informed Singh. The nodal officer for the entire project will be the managing director of Film City located in Goregaon in Mumbai. “We are trying it on pilot basis from the next month and the announcement for the same will be made soon.”

    Singh also agreed that the industry needed to be incentivised. “The more movies that are shot here, the government stands to benefit and that will happen with incentives. We would like to take it up soon,” she said.

    This is a new beginning for the film industry. “The M&E has so far not got its due. We will look at it closely,” concluded Singh.