Future of Video India discusses nitty gritties of video markets in the world

Delhi: The Future of Video India conference welcomed over  130 senior government and industry leaders in Mumbai for a day of discussions centered around video markets in the world. 

Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Sanjay Jaju, Secretary,  Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), opened the conference with optimism about the industry.  The MIB hopes to see the current $30bn industry grow to $100bn in the next 4-5 years. Both senior  officials talked of the need to create a level playing field and balance the interests of the different sectors  of the industry to encourage growth and investment. 

For Kiran Mani, CEO - Digital, Viacom18, technology was enabling as many Indians as possible to access  content. 

“People are doing more with content than ever before. It's not doing more content,” said Mani. 

Similarly, Sajith Sivanandan, Head, Disney+ Hotstar, India, shared, “The best businesses happen at the  intersection of people and technology. Finding and operating in that intersection is the gold mine right  there.”

Sivanandan added, “Serving the consumers remained critical for a consumer-first company like Disney, and  that was through telling great stories that were both relevant as well as personalized for the consumer,  and serving the right content at the right point in time.”

“Beyond reaching and engaging consumers, content too had the power to influence and change  perceptions,” shared Aparna Purohit, Head of Originals, India and SEA, Prime Video India, during her  session on ‘Inspiring and Empowering the Next Generation of Women Leaders.’

She shared that diversity was key to  greenlighting any projects at Amazon Prime Video, and that there must be a woman in every writer’s room. Sanjog Gupta, Head - Sports, Disney Star, too shared that sports over the last 5 years had seen  women more visible than ever before. 

“With Indian content more accessible than ever, India was becoming less exotic and more real in western  minds, resulting in greater success and recognition,” said Sai Abishek, Head of Factual and Lifestyle Cluster,  South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery. 

“However, it was important to focus first on an Indian market and get  an audience there, to build the chances of international success,” added Rishi Negi, Group Chief Operating Officer, Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India. “But with many more stories to be mined, India was barely  scratching the surface in its journey to making its mark globally,” concluded Abishek. 

Future of Video India was sponsored by Gold Sponsors Akamai and MEASAT.