Experts converge to chart the course for media and entertainment future

Kevin Vaz, Chair of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee and CEO of Broadcast Entertainment at Viacom18, emphasised that limiting the reach of sports content behind a paywall isn't ideal when there's a massive audience willing to consume it for free. He highlighted the value advertisers place on the reach of sports content and their readiness to invest in it.

Vaz made these remarks during a panel discussion on the first day of the three-day M&E event 'FICCI Frames' being held between March 5-7, 2024.

In the same discussion, Sandhya Devanathan, Co-Chair of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee and Vice-President and Head of Meta India, shared insights into the significant growth drivers for Meta platforms, including artificial intelligence, Reels, and messaging.

Devanathan explained how AI contributes to user safety on the platform and shared statistics indicating the increasing popularity and shareability of Reels. Additionally, she highlighted the growing trend of messaging with businesses.

She said, “We use AI to keep the platform user-safe. 25% of content recommended on Meta is by AI. An early test reveals that advertisers save around five hours using Gen AI tools on our platform. In terms of growth of Reels, its shareability is only growing as per our survey. During the ICC World Cup, 18 billion Reels were shared around the cricket tournament. When it comes to Messaging, our research shows that 60% of people send messages to businesses and that’s a growing number.”

Arjun Nohwar, Co-Chair of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee and Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Warner Bros. Discovery for India and South Asia, stressed the importance of focusing on the "when" aspect in addition to the traditional considerations of "who," "what," and "where" in media platforms.

Nohwar elaborated on the potential for media companies to capitalise on consumption moments in various contexts, such as waiting for flights or picking up children from school, by creating relevant content tailored to those moments.

He said, “It's going to be important for networks to think of making derivatives out of their traditional content and figuring out how to create moments of truth with consumers that are increasingly watching content on different platforms and make content that's relevant to them in those bite-sized, snackable moments.”

Sushant Sreeram, Country Head of Amazon Prime Video, discussed the company's strategy of offering a range of monetisation models to cater to diverse consumer preferences.

He said, “Consumers sit across the spectrum of accessibility, affordability, language and content preferences. Our SVOD model is Prime Video’s frontrunner across the globe. Mini TV service has been seeing 4X growth in watchtime. Movie rentals and channels partnering with us are also seeing phenomenal growth.”

Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO of Prasar Bharati, expressed his belief in the growth potential of DD Freedish and emphasised the enduring significance of set-top boxes in media consumption.

He believes the adoption of DD Freedish to grow from the current estimates of 40-45 million to 50-60 million in the next 4-5 years.

“Despite growth in other media, set-top boxes are holding their ground and showing steady growth. Set-top boxes are well-established, actively engaged, and likely to continue growing in the foreseeable future,” he added.

Shripad Ashtekar, Chairman and Managing Director of Signpost India, highlighted the growth of out-of-home (OOH) advertising and the increasing adoption of digital technologies in the medium, such as QR codes and data analytics.

He said, “It’s an obligation for authorities and private players to create value for the commuters and brands on OOH. When it comes to digital adoption in OOH, we are seeing an increased usage of QR codes, data and image analytics. Investments in DOOH are only growing.”

When the moderator Ashish Pherwani, Partner, Ernst and Young, asked Vaz about investment decisions between digital and TV, he emphasised Viacom18's equal focus on both platforms and its approach of creating content for multiple screens.

He added, “While it’s important for a media company to keep a tab on what content the consumer wants, but most important is how they want it, where they want it, and when they want it. For example, Bigg Boss is one of the biggest reality shows that we have and it is played across TV and digital. At least, around about 30% of our viewership comes on the digital platform. Another big learning is that nearly 60-70% of viewership comes on JioCinema at the same time it plays on TV at 10 o'clock in the night.”

Sharing another consumption trend from a research Meta did with BCG, Devanathan said that almost 60% of people research content before they decide what to watch. And 80% of that research is happening online.”

Nohwar discussed Warner Bros. Discovery's strategy of leveraging first-party data and user-generated content to enhance content distribution and better understand consumer preferences.

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