Media 8.0 | Small screen takes big leap into the future

The Indian TV and film industries remained at the cusp of a large-scale, game-changing evolution in 2007. The year began with the roll-out of the conditional access system in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkata, amid confusion over availability of set-top boxes.

Digital technology and emerging distribution mediums such as direct to home (DTH), Internet and Internet protocol TV further accelerated the growth. With about 70 million households, India became the third largest cable and satellite market in the world. And Tata Sky notched the fastest first million reached by any DTH platform, after beginning the year with 0.3 million subscribers.

Grabbing Eyeballs (Graphic)

Media 8.0: Escalating audience fragmentation was matched by proliferating media options in 2007. While traditional media spaces such as print and television saw major shifts, radio in its FM avatar made a remarkable re-entry. But the most dramatic developments were in the virtual world of digital marketing. All this has set the stage for an eventful year ahead.

The burst of new channels continued on the television front, with 70-75 new launches this year. The number of channels in the Indian skies now adds up to 325-350. This crowding lent more urgency to the TRP (television rating points, which measure viewership) race as channels sought a larger share of the ad revenues.

One of the channels went too far. Janmat TV’s news channel Live India was banned for some time after its fake sting operation defaming a school teacher for running a sex racket.

To bring some order to viewership measurement, industry associations set up the Broadcast Audience Research Council to regulate the system and ensure transparency.

As the numbers grew, players began targeting niche segments such as news, fashion, sports, lifestyle, tourism and children. But GECs (general entertainment channels), too, were back in favour after a pause of a few years. While INX Media and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd launched 9X and Zee Next, respectively, Television India Eighteen Ltd, UTV Software Communications Ltd and New Delhi Television Ltd announced plans in the GEC genre. Needless to say, TV content providers benefited from this renewed interest. Thirty-six content providers listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange recorded a stupendous performance; one of every two such stocks yielded 100% returns. Newcomers, too, benefited from the boom.

Six new media stocks that made their debuts on the bourses this year collectively raised around Rs582 crore from the market.

The year also saw foreign media houses partnering Indian companies. Turner International, a unit of Time Warner Inc., forged a joint venture with Miditech Pvt. Ltd’s Alva Brothers to launch GECs, while Viacom Inc. tied up with the TV18 group. Walt Disney Co., too, picked up a minority stake in UTV Software Communications.

In the film entertainment space, more than 105 new Hindi film releases were released this year and together, these mopped up domestic revenues of around Rs506 crore. This was a tad lower than Rs510 crore generated by 109 films released last year.

The investments, however, provide a heavy silver lining. The Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-Adag), Network 18 and UTV Motion Pictures Plc. among others announced plans worth more than Rs4,000 crore involving 130-140 projects.

According to industry estimates, the television industry will grow 22% from current Rs191 billion to Rs519 billion by 2011, while film entertainment is expected to go up by 16% from Rs85 billion to Rs175 billion.

New players, new technology and new platforms for content delivery will be the driving factors for the broadcast and film industries in the coming year. Reining in the ever slippery audience will be the biggest challenge for both industries. Ronnie Screwvala, CEO, UTV Software Communications Ltd, lists the Top 10 trends in the broadcast and film space in 2008.

1.) Youth will be the theme for content creators in both the broadcast space as well as the films business.

2.) Regional languages will be a new growth opportunity for both film and broadcasters.

3.) General entertainment channels (GECs), which already got redefined as 35 years+womens’ channels due to the stagnation in programming, will get more fragmented than they did in 2007. Those entering the GEC space will bleed profusely.

4.) There will be an emergence of demography- region- and content-specific channels.

5.) Direct to home will open the television landscape. It will drive TV penetration in the non-metro markets, which will, ultimately, ensure better pay revenues for broadcasters.

6.) Pay revenues for both the broadcast and the film industry will grow as consumers, who started “paying” for content (pay TV revenues and multiplex tickets are a case in point) in 2007, will mature further. This will grow the overall broadcast and entertainment landscape in the country.

7.) Home entertainment will grow as more people will watch films within the confines of their homes, either on television or through DVDs.

8.) Digital technology in cinema will enlarge the footprint for movies to be consumed, though mining revenues out of it in a meaningful way will take a few more years.

9.) The mobile phone will be the new media to consume content, and pay for it on per-view basis.

10.) Indian content, both filmed as well as TV, will emerge as India’s best brand ambassador.