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<ul><li><keyword id="4722871" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="megha-tata" source="Orion">Megha Tata</keyword> to continue her second term as IAA's President. </li><li>Pradeep Dwivedi (Group CEO &amp; Executive Director, Eros International Media Ltd) was elected Vice President. </li></ul>Megha Tata, Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery Communications India was unanimously elected President of the <keyword id="12167505" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Chapter-of-the-International-Advertising" source="Orion">India Chapter of the International Advertising</keyword> Association (IAA) for the second term at its AGM held on 24th September 2021 in Mumbai. Pradeep Dwivedi (Group CEO &amp; Executive Director, Eros International Media Ltd) was elected Vice President and the other office bearers include Nandini Dias (Chief Executive Officer, Lodestar UM) as Hon. Secretary, Abhishek Karnani, Director-The Free Press Journal as Hon. Treasurer. Punit Goenka, Managing Director &amp; CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd will continue to guide the new team as Immediate Past President. The Members of the Managing Committee elected include Jaideep Gandhi (Founder -Another Idea), Anant Goenka (Executive Director The Indian Express (P) Ltd), Avinash Pandey (CEO, ABP Network), Janak Sarda (Managing Director, Deshdoot Media Group) and Prasanth Kumar (CEO-South Asia GroupM- A WPP Company). The co-opted members are Rana Barua (CEO, Havas Group India), Ashish Bhasin (CEO, APAC and Chairman India, Dentsu Aegis Network), Rajiv Kental (President – Marketing Amar Ujala Publications Ltd), Rani Reddy (Director, Indira Television Ltd) &amp; Srinivasan K Swamy (Chairman R K SWAMY Hansa &amp; IAA Presidents' Council and Immediate Past Chairman &amp; World President, IAA Global) The members invited to the Managing Committee will be shortly announced. Speaking on her second term as the <keyword id="12167504" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="president-of-iaa" source="Orion">President of IAA</keyword>, Ms. Tata said, “It is an honour and a privilege to be leading the India Chapter of IAA for the second term. Along with the wonderful Mancom I hope to continue to strengthen the India chapter and help build a strong ecosystem for the common good of the industry. Inspite of a challenging year we did many successful events and am sure the coming year will be even bigger and better!”

The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association elects Megha Tata as its President for a second term

<ul><li>A study released by <keyword id="56000" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="UNICEF">UNICEF</keyword> and the <keyword id="11129455" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="geena-davis-institute">Geena Davis Institute</keyword> on Gender in Media (GDI) on <keyword id="30293" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gender-Bias">Gender Bias</keyword> and Inclusion In Advertising In India has found that Indian ads have highly streotypical female characters.</li><li>The study explores how popular Indian advertisements can replace such harmful typecasts with balanced portrayals to inspire girls and boys of their possibilities, unrestrained by gender stereotypes.</li></ul>Although female characters are prominent in ads in India, they are still highly stereotyped. Women are less likely to be shown in public spaces and in paid employment; more likely to be selling domestic products and food to other women as well as responsible for childcare and shopping. Female characters in ads also tend to be thin, unlike men who are portrayed as different body types. These are some of the findings of a study released today by UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDI) on Gender Bias and Inclusion In Advertising In India. The study explores how popular Indian advertisements can replace such harmful typecasts with balanced portrayals to inspire girls and boys of their possibilities, unrestrained by gender stereotypes. “Gender socialization is a learned behaviour from childhood," says Dr. <keyword id="6262621" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="yasmin-ali-haque">Yasmin Ali Haque</keyword>, UNICEF India Representative. "Children observe and learn social cues from parents, family, and the society around them, including the advertising they see around themselves. UNICEF is committed towards ensuring gender equity and girls' empowerment, which forms the core of our gender responsive programming. This report will help us challenge biases and advocate more effectively with the Indian advertising community, and across South Asia with all businesses, to support our goal of achieving gender equality for the benefit of all children." Geena Davis, Academy Award Winning Actor, Founder and Chair of the Institute says “Misrepresentation and harmful stereotypes of women in advertising have a significant impact on women - and young girls - and how they view themselves and their value to society. While we do see female representation dominate in Indian ads, they are still marginalized by colorism, hyper-sexualization, and without careers or aspirations outside of the home. The stark inequality evident in portrayals of females in these advertisements must be addressed to ensure an equitable society. This collaborative study with UNICEF and its partners sets the foundation for improvement in India and across the globe.” Conventional gender norms constantly devalue women and girls, making it difficult to secure their rights and reach their full potential. From a declining sex ratio, girls dropping out of schools, marrying before 18 years, and not being supported to work outside the home: these all reflect a significant gap in investments in her future pathways beyond marriage. Media can help shift the narrative and provide diverse and powerful templates to fuel her aspirations and simultaneously shift people's perceptions around her. The research measures over 1,000 television and YouTube advertisements aired across India in 2019. The ads were provided and translated by the International Advertising Association (<keyword id="1546917" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IAA">IAA</keyword>), which is also committed to translating the recommendations into action, beginning with a round-table discussion to be organized by the IAA with leading business representatives. IAA will also work with members to launch campaigns to deconstruct harmful stereotypes, in support of UNICEF's priorities. <keyword id="4722871" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="megha-tata">Megha Tata</keyword> President - IAA-India Chapter/ MD, <keyword id="249330" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Discovery-Communications">Discovery Communications</keyword> -South Asia said, "Advertising and marketing play a powerful role in the process of gender socialization and women and girls' empowerment, and the India Chapter of the IAA has been at the forefront of many initiatives concerning creative nuances in communicating gender issues. Being a strategic partner to this effort has not just been exciting but also very satisfying. The Association has supported the sample base for the study and will lead the dissemination of findings in India on the importance of modelling equitable gender norms. We hope this will become a benchmark for similar meaningful studies to be conducted in different parts of the world.” The study has been undertaken with the support of UNICEF's partners, including the advisory board members from UN Women, Population First, the Centre for Women's Development Studies, and Jamia Millia Islamia University.

Indian ads have prominent female characters but they are still highly stereotyped: Study

<ul><li>2020 has almost come to an end, and what a year it has been!</li><li>As we enter 2021, <keyword id="4722871" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="megha-tata">Megha Tata</keyword>, Managing Director – South Asia, <keyword id="249330" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Discovery-Communications">Discovery Communications</keyword> takes a look at the year gone by and how the Media &amp; <keyword id="34938" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="entertainment-industry">Entertainment industry</keyword> has managed to keep its balance during a tumultuous year.</li></ul>As the year comes to an end, business leaders will engage in crystal gazing to try and predict trends for 2021. While it is important to try and predict trends so one can be prepared for what’s to come, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s this: No matter how well you plan for the future, sometimes, the future has something else planned for you! All you can do, is roll with the punches. And that is exactly what 2020 felt like. As a company, as an industry we have had to deal with one unplanned event after another. We have had to recalibrate every move, every plan and in some cases, evolve faster than we ever imagined we could. So, before we jump into predicting the future, I believe it would do us well to sit back and take a look at the year gone by and how we as the Media &amp; Entertainment industry have managed to keep our balance. The Media &amp; Entertainment industry has been in a state of evolution for the last few years. As someone who has been in the industry for over 30 years, the one thing I have noticed time and again, is that every time a new platform, a new medium emerges, media pundits pronounce the death of the previous one. The reality, however, is very different. The fact is that all mediums have stayed strong and are growing, whether it’s print, radio, television and now <keyword id="50691" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital">digital</keyword>. What we have learnt, and especially over the last one year, is that the <keyword id="94534" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-media">Indian Media</keyword> &amp; Entertainment industry does not need to be an either/ or industry. We can be an AND industry where every medium can have a piece of the pie. We’re living in a world where the rules of the game are changing continuously. There are countries where television has ceased to exist, but India is different. We’ve bucked the trend here. In India, TV has shown a huge amount of growth, even during the pandemic. And interestingly, at the same time, the OTT sector has also grown by leaps and bounds! It’s time we understand that in a country like India where the appetite for content is massive, both linear and digital need to co-exist. Our launch of discovery+ right in the beginning of the lockdown is a true testament of the fact that if there is good content, the audience will come for it. So, the question for broadcasters like us who also have a digital play really is how does one perform this balancing act? We have to protect our business which funds the digital business as the digital business is yet to become profitable. TV has to play a key role in that. For us, both are as important: one is the business of today and one is the business of tomorrow that how you balance the today and tomorrow is a question we ask every day. The core of any platform is content: that, in my view, is the starting point. How you optimize and monetize the content is the integral part of anybody’s decision-making process. The way we look at it is that there’s a short-term and a long term view every organization has. So do we, here at Discovery. The ownership of content and the ownership of customer are the two key pillars of a long-term strategy and in that analysis and data will play an integral role in arriving at a monetisation proposition which makes a digital business a viable, sustainable business. But what should the business leader do until then? The show must go on and for that we need to keep this intricate balance between linear and digital to ensure we make the best of both worlds!

2020: The Great Indian Balancing Act

<ul><li><keyword id="7444876" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Discovery-Plus">Discovery Plus</keyword> will offer premium shows in 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Food, Lifestyle.</li><li>Rajinikanth’s TV debut show – ‘Into The Wild With Bear Grylls’ will be launched first on Discovery Plus.</li><li>Priced at Rs 299 p.a., Discovery Plus will reach out to core infotainment consumers in the initial phase.</li></ul>Discovery has announced the launch of its streaming app, Discovery Plus. Priced competitively with an introductory offer of Rs 299 per annum, the app has been developed and curated specifically for India. In the initial phase, the company will reach out to 25 million strong base of core TV infotainment consumers across Tier I and Tier II towns (defined as those who watch over 3 hours of infotainment every month). Furthermore, in order to drive engagement, Discovery Plus is launching with one-of-a-kind rewards with Google Pay. Google Pay users who tune-in to the premiere of Into the Wild with Bear Grylls featuring Rajinikanth on March 23rd at 8:00 PM on Discovery can match the audio for the first four minutes of the show or the promos leading up to the show with Google Pay’s ‘On-Air’ feature, and get a reward upto 100% off on Discovery Plus annual subscription price*. The newly launched OTT service will offer thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres, including Science, Adventure, Food and Lifestyle, in 8 languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali &amp; Marathi. Discovery Plus will offer Premium subscribers a large selection of never-seen-before Premium Discovery titles, must-watch documentaries, India originals and exclusive acquisitions. Free users of the app will have access to all-time favorites from the Discovery library. Additionally, a unique destination titled ‘Shorts’ will feature hundreds of free short-form videos that will satisfy the new and emerging Indian mobile user looking for infotainment on the go. The much-anticipated Superstar Rajinikanth’s TV debut show –‘Into The Wild With Bear Grylls’ will be launched first on Discovery Plus on March 23 much before the television premiere. Discovery Plus will also exclusive videos including Behind The Scenes for Thalaiva’ s fans. The content will be curated from content brands such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, ID, Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Motortrend and VICE. Speaking on the occasion, <keyword id="1409320" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Simon-Robinson">Simon Robinson</keyword>, President APAC &amp; CFO International, Discovery, Inc., said, “Globally, we are observing healthy trends from direct-to-consumer businesses and Discovery Plus, with its India focused strategy, is a valued addition. The launch of Discovery Plus is a significant development for our business in India and reflects our commitment to this critical market.” “The consumer is spoilt for choice in the scripted content space but doesn’t have a dedicated offering in the unscripted space – a place we intend to fill with the launch of Discovery Plus,” said, <keyword id="4722871" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="megha-tata">Megha Tata</keyword>, Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery, “Our large global library of 300,000 hours of premium content and expertise in owning passionate communities will give us a huge competitive advantage in the digital domain.” “In a digital world that’s laden with hours and hours of scripted content, Discovery Plus offers a unique and untapped opportunity for us to build on the trust of the flagship brand and offer content that truly powers people’s passions across verticals as varied as Adventure, Science and Lifestyle to name a few,” said, Issac John, Business Head – Digital (South Asia), Discovery, “Over the next 12 months, the lineup includes premium content across all our key genres such as Into the Wild with <keyword id="16227" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajnikanth">Rajnikanth</keyword>, Expedition Unknown, Coronavirus: The Silent Killer, Food Factory, Mythbusters, Wild Karnataka and Project Runway among many others.” Developed, curated and priced for India market <keyword id="645898" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Discovery-India">Discovery India</keyword> has conducted multiple consumer researches to find cues to develop a truly diffrentiated product. In a nationwide research conducted across 10 cities, 62% of consumers indicated that they are keen to subscribe to a product that will offer interesting knowledge about the world. Additionally, research from Vidooly, indicated that interest in core categories of factual and lifestyle entertainment on YT, the world’s largest streaming platform went up by 36% contributing to an overall 70 bn views in 2020. This growth and increase in infotainment consumption has been proven in the consumption pattern of the Discovery Plus destination on Daily Hunt App where over the last 12 months, over 40 million consumers have viewed Discovery short-form videos. It’s interesting to be rare but rare to be interesting Discovery’s research clearly shows that even though consumers are happy with their current entertainment products, there is still a need for a trusted product that helps them stand out among their peers and that will teach them interesting things about the world. They expressed the need that in various situations in life, knowing something interesting about the world makes them seem smarter and helps them progress in life. This specific need combined with the trust of the Discovery was a strong reason for consumers to prefer Discovery Plus as an app of choice on their mobiles. App Interesting toh AAP interesting Discovery has launched a targeted marketing campaign ‘App Interesting toh AAP interesting’ to connect with consumers across the country. Discovery’s network of channels including Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC, DSPORT, Discovery Kids DTamil, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery ID reaches 164** million consumers on a monthly basis and all will promote the newly launched service. In addition, Discovery has planned a strong and targeted digital campaign to reach out to infotainment genre seekers. *About Google Pay’s On-Air feature: On-Air is a feature on Google Pay which lets users scan audio within GPay and earn rewards if their scan matches a target audio. New to Google Pay users can simply download the app to enjoy different types of rewards.

Discovery launches entertainment streaming app Discovery Plus

<ul><li>"An industry known to be a flag-bearer of out-of-the-box thinking seemed to be turning a blind eye to something as pertinent as <keyword id="6372584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gender-equality" source="Orion">gender equality</keyword>," says Raj Nair, CEO &amp; Chief Creative Officer, Madison BMB. </li><li><keyword id="1546917" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IAA" source="Orion">IAA</keyword> launches a new campaign to bring change. </li></ul>The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) is driving a campaign aimed at the marcom industry, urging it to be more aware and sensitive to gender related issues in all its communication. <div type="image" title="post R5-03" msid="86360063" hostid="261"></div> <keyword id="4722871" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="megha-tata" source="Orion">Megha Tata</keyword>, President IAA India &amp; Managing Director – South Asia Discovery Communications India says IAA President Megha Tata," The unique survey we helped UNICEF and the Geena Davis Foundation conduct on the portrayal of women in Indian advertising threw up several interesting findings. We felt that a creative campaign that highlighted these findings could help our content creators focus on such points in a very positive way and collectively become what we call the Voice of Change." Raj Nair, CEO &amp; Chief Creative Officer, Madison BMB, whose team consisting of Rohan Joseph and Vallabh Yeolekar created the campaign, says, "It’s amazing that even in the 21st century, we continue to address bias related to gender, skin tone, male dominated settings when we are simultaneously discovering space tourism, breakthroughs in cancer cures and the like. Just goes to show that even in our seemingly more aware world of communication, these cliched tropes are very much in play." A study of gender representations in ads in India threw up some startling facts. An industry known to be a flag-bearer of out-of-the-box thinking seemed to be turning a blind eye to something as pertinent as gender equality. This campaign puts forward some uncomfortable truths and aims to be an eye-opener for the Indian advertising and media industry to be more aware and sensitive in their thought process. We leaped at the opportunity to hold a mirror to ourselves. And to help IAA continue to be the Voice Of Change."

IAA launches a new campaign to urge the marcom industry to be more aware and sensitive to gender-related issues in all its communication

<ul><li>The documentary will provide a rare glimpse into all the key steps being taken across the country to battle the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. </li><li>It will follow both, the global and the Indian timeline, of how the virus spread and will shine light on important developments that have taken place ever since country's first coronavirus victim was detected in Kerala in January. </li><li>The film will also highlight the way technology is being used to combat the virus. </li></ul>Actor <keyword id="7637" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manoj-Bajpayee">Manoj Bajpayee</keyword> will narrate the documentary "COVID-19: India's War Against the Virus" in Hindi on Discovery Plus. The documentary will provide a rare glimpse into all the key steps being taken across the country to battle the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It will follow both, the global and the Indian timeline, of how the virus spread and will shine light on important developments that have taken place ever since country's first coronavirus victim was detected in Kerala in January. Shot extensively during the period of lockdown, the documentary maps across the country to tell the story through interviews with subject matter experts, front line workers, patients, migrant workers, and others working tirelessly behind the scenes to arrest the spread of this deadly disease. The film will also highlight the way technology is being used to combat the virus. While Bajpayee will provide the Hindi voiceover for the documentary, writer-director Gautham Vasudev Menon will do the Tamil voiceover. "Meaningful cinema, meaningful projects have always endeared me, and I believe specials like 'COVID-19: India's War Against The Virus' are relevant not just for today but will continue to engage our future generations as well," said Bajpayee. "This is an important story and needs to be told in an impactful manner. I am proud to be part of this monumental project and target to bring all my experience into play for the narration in Hindi language," the actor added. Menon said working on the documentary felt familiar as the pandemic has affected everyone. "It is a valiant effort. I could not have asked for a better debut as a narrator, especially in my mother tongue Tamil, and coincidentally this marks my first documentary ever. I urge everyone to watch it along with your family," he said. The documentary, also available in English, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali, will drop exclusively on the Discovery Plus app on July 16. It will also air on Discovery Channel and Discovery Channel HD on July 20. Megha Tata, managing director-South Asia, Discovery, said the documentary is a way to help Indian audiences understand deeper perspectives on the pandemic. "There's more at work than what meets the eye as new challenges unfold every day with pandemic raging fire; our attempt is to bring it all together with a line-up of prominent experts and officials to provide a comprehensive view for our discerning audiences," Tata added. Discovery Plus has explored stories related to the pandemic in three other documentaries - "Invisible Killer", "Pandemic Covid-19" and "The Zoo: Covid-19 &amp; Animals". BK RDS RDS

Manoj Bajpayee to narrate Discovery Plus documentary 'COVID-19: India's War Against the Virus' in Hindi

<ul><li>On January 1, 2020, TRAI issued a few amendments to the New Tariff Order and Interconnection Regulations for the Broadcast industry. </li><li>After broadcasters spent over Rs 1000 crore to implement the NTO passed in Feb’ 19 and lost more than 13 to 15 million subscribers, the key stakeholders of the industry gathered in Mumbai today to challenge the latest TRAI amends. </li><li>Television experts think the New Tariff Order pan out to be counterproductive as it would affect the content quality, take away the choices consumers have now, hit revenues, employment and take away the fundamental right to monetise their content in the manner they choose. </li></ul>Key broadcasters united on January 10 in Mumbai, under the aegis of Indian Broadcasting Federation, to discuss the consequences of new Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) order that restricts pay-TV charges and could impact employment, economic growth, profitability of broadcasters and the quality of content that the industry produces. Senior executives such as The Walt Disney’s Uday Shankar, ZEEL’s Punit Goenka, Discovery’s Megha Tata, Viacom18’s Sudhanshu Vats, TV Today’s Aroon Purie, and Star and Disney’s K. Madhavan came together to highlight how the regulator’s intervention at the fundamental level could prove detrimental for the entire economy. To implement the NTO passed in February 2019, the collective cost that broadcasters bore was more than Rs 1000 crore. They also lost more than 12 to 15 million subscribers in the process. While the consumers and the industry were still grappling with the shift, NTO 2.0 could worsen the situation, leading to smaller channels shutting down. <div type="Video" msid="73196599" hostid="261" title="NP Singh explains how capping the prices under TRAI's latest amendments will impact broadcasters and consumers in the long-run" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=73196599"></div>

 “As broadcasters, we expect a stable regulatory regime, which is necessary to enable long-term business planning and a strategic approach towards investments. This is absolutely critical to enable us to provide the best of content to our consumers, more so in these times of rapid technological change,” said NP Singh, MD &amp; CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India and President - IBF. Lack of Insights He thinks that a 40% reduction from Rs 19 to Rs 12 for creating bouquets, has no backing of consumer insights and serves no ‘logical rationale.’ This could directly affect the quality and cost of content that is offered to the consumers. In a competitive market like broadcast, channel pricing should be determined through open market forces “IBF believes the latest amendments will severely impair broadcasters’ ability to compete with other unregulated platforms and adversely affect the viability of the pay TV industry,” added Singh. TRAI’s decision will come in force from March 1. Hampers Freedom TV Today’s Purie said, “A regulator’s job is to facilitate, enable and encourage growth, not strangulate. They are killing the golden goose which lays the egg.” He further said that content is not an essential commodity. Therefore, the market forces should be free to run it according to their will. Drawing an analogy, he added, “These regulations are like tying our feet and asking us to swim.” Too Soon to Meddle; Proves NTO 1.0 Missed Depth Uday Shankar said that the implications are so disruptive, that it has forced all of the broadcasters to come together. He thus questioned the very need of implementing another NTO in such a short span of time. He also questioned if there was a need for another regulation, which implies that the previous tariff lacked depth and planning. The broadcasters also pointed out the dichotomy of NTO; while on one side it aims to bring the prices down for consumers, on the other, it restricts discounting completely. On top of that, 60% of the cut goes to distributors, as they charge Rs 106 as Network Capacity Fee (NCF). What is the Agenda? Viacom18’s Sudhanshu Vats, highlighting the success of previous NTO, said that 70% of the consumers bought a bouquet from DPOs, a crore and a half of the audience opted for NTO, month-on-month churn showed how consumers are making choices, 94% of the audience were aware about the shift, and transparency was achieved. Vats, therefore, questioned the fundamental need for another NTO. “Micro-managing in a diverse country like India is impossible. Why is there a desire to serve a standard thalli to our sector? In every other sector, there are wide options; there is a shirt from Rs 100 rupee to Rs 10,000 and above. India is a very heterogeneous country and that plays out even more in media with the complexities, genres, languages and events. Therefore, there will be different choices made by different people, so this entire thing of keeping it consistent is not in the interest of the industry,” said Vats. No Feedback from the Stakeholders Questioning the fact that TRAI had taken enough feedback from the industry stakeholders and also the need to further reduce the prices in our country, Megha Tata said, "India is already the cheapest market in the world. There are 100s of channels and there is no evidence of market failure or high channels price compared to other developed economies that warrants TRAI fixing a cap on prices, discounting and the number of bouquets one can form.” The new amendment also begs the question -- has TRAI taken considerable feedback from all the broadcasters before coming up with this amendment order? A progressive policy framework must be impartial to all stakeholders in the ecosystem. The new change will impact the equilibrium of stakeholders," concludes Tata.

Why India's top broadcasters believe the latest TRAI amendments will severely impair the industry

<ul><li>As we enter a new year, we wanted to understand what to expect from the Over-the-top (<keyword id="1245953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott" source="Orion">OTT</keyword>) industry in 2022.</li><li>In today's feature, we speak to industry experts who share their thoughts on what this year has in store for us.</li></ul>After 2020 we had hoped that 2021 would bring us some respite from the pandemic. However, things were challenging for a large part of the year. With many of us stuck within the four walls of our house for the most part of the year, OTT platforms sometimes became the only source of entertainment in our lives. Not only did 2021 see the launch of a lot of big-budget originals on various OTT platforms, a lot of movies like Sardar Udham Singh, Mimi and Shershaah launched on these platforms. Content producing companies put their best foot forward and created award-winning shows that won both commercial and critical acclaim. There has been a visible increase in investments in content production, a trend that is here to stay in 2022 as well. A recent joint report by industry body CII and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) stated that the Indian OTT sector is currently in the scaling stage with strong subscription growth and high investment in premium as well as original content. The Indian OTT sector is one of the most competitive amongst emerging markets with over 40 players. While there have been debates about more and more people moving away from TV, Mandeep Kohli, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group India states that we are still some time away from that happening at a large scale in India. “The share of traditional media is slowly declining with increased digital adoption but there is still high headroom for penetration with only 54% of Indian households having a pay TV connection compared to more than 70% in China. For many households, TV continues to be the center of the home and a significant part of family time,” said Kohli, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group India. The report further stated that the industry is at a scaling stage currently and has the potential to become a $13-15 billion industry by 2030. To understand what the new year has in store for us, we spoke to a few of the most important voices from India’s OTT industry, along with some of the biggest content production houses. Here is what they had to say about what lies ahead: Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, <keyword id="6245082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee5" source="Orion">ZEE5</keyword> India The already-growing online media and entertainment business received a major boost with the black swan event that the Covid-19 pandemic was, setting a new growth trajectory in the last year. The audience adopted a more digitally advanced way of entertainment, something that went beyond the conventional mediums, leading to mass adoption of OTT platforms which resulted in a surge in both viewership and watch-time. This pandemic-induced growth in demand for quality content led to an increased focus on storytelling across languages leading to the creation of extensive and expansive content libraries. People also became more open to sampling diverse content from different languages and were keener to opt for the living room experience thanks to the increased adoption of connected devices. This growth of the connected devices ecosystem has made OTT a preferred choice not only for personal but also for family consumption. At ZEE5, we have seen a 3X growth in the viewership on connected devices. The rise in power-packed dynamic storytelling and the rise of connected devices has led to the advent of the ‘Home Box Office’ which is a trend that is here to stay. While we grew 200% this year at the back of an aggressive slate of content line-up and hyper-personalization, we aim to make deeper inroads into Indian homes going into 2022. Sameer Nair, CEO, <keyword id="1322450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="applause-entertainment" source="Orion">Applause Entertainment</keyword> <div type="image" title="IMG_8153 (1)" msid="88694220" hostid="261"></div> I believe the biggest emerging trend for the streaming industry in 2022 and beyond is the increasing flattening of the Earth, with both geographical borders and language barriers breaking down as internet connectivity reaches the remotest audiences. Our audiences, both local and global, have become smarter, more perceptive and way more critical; this requires us as Content Creators and Distributors to significantly improve the quality of our storytelling, of our productions and of the consumer experience we offer. Authentic, rooted stories that have a universal appeal can and will breakout to reach audiences globally. The more we collaborate with talent from diverse cultures and geographies, the richer we will become as storytellers. The ‘One Planet One Species Shared Cultures’ is an idea whose time is truly upon us. Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing &amp; Revenue, <keyword id="4241922" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="altbalaji" source="Orion">ALTBalaji</keyword> With the traditional marketing budgets on a decline and digital and influencer marketing taking center stage, there are many trends, however interrelated, that we will see emerging in 2022. The digital audiovisual industry will explode; according to Bain and Company, India's online video user base has increased to more than 350 million people, growing 24% in the last three years. Influencer marketing will rapidly move to include micro-influencers and not just be dependent on Celebrity influencers, thereby also promoting UGC. Video marketing, live streaming will give rise to Social commerce and tier 2 and 3 cities will claim the growth chart curve. With all these interrelated events/trends triggering off, Users will expect personalized experiences which will be offset by deeper integration of ML, which will give rise to AI usage; however, the world of marketers will also see a more focused emerging curve towards Organic retention – CRM, surveys, retention tools, recommendation cycles, SEO, UI/UX as Google continues the stance of stopping 3rd party cookies by end of 2023. Manjit Sachdev- Head – Originals, Voot and Voot Select, Viacom18 Digital Ventures <div type="image" title="Manjit Sachdev _Head Content at VOOT AND VOOT Select" msid="88694240" hostid="261"></div> After an unprecedented 2020, with an acceleration in the growth of OTT platforms, 2021 was a year for creating milestones in curating unique and enthralling stories for the audience. Now as we step into 2022 with hope and resilience, the OTT sector will witness an increase in the demand for personalized and purpose-driven content. Given the increasing competition in the OTT space, staying relevant and purposeful is most critical. Considering the changing realities in today's times, having a purpose-driven story telling approach is the way to go. Content with purpose has the power to travel beyond boundaries, spread values, knowledge and positivity and build deeper engagement with subscribers. This trend will act as a key differentiator in changing behaviours. Megha Tata, Managing Director, South Asia, Discovery, Inc As SVOD continues to grow aggressively, we are seeing an increasing number of audiences now willing to pay for good content. I believe a right combination of compelling content and pricing would be the key in attracting a bigger share of consumers into the SVOD world next year. Also, differentiated programming will add to a player’s competitive advantage in the midst of most mainstream players offering similar content. This is a trend familiar to what we saw even broadcast channels go through. I believe some players will be able to carve out a niche for themselves, while most streaming catalogs will end up resembling each other. Rishi Negi, COO, Banijay Asia 2020 was a game changer for the whole world, we strategized a smooth transition to the streaming era and the year 2021 was about sustaining the positive change and envisioning the prospects of growth. With changing narratives and experimental content taking a lead, along with the fact that the data &amp; streaming charges have dropped, has resulted in the content reaching a much bigger audience. I anticipate the year 2022 to be vibrant with original productions, compelling storytelling and some path-breaking performances. Fighting the content inflation with a wide variety of exceptional chronicles intertwined with existing catalog shows in this post-pandemic world, viewers are streaming more than ever. With nominal data plan and streaming charges, content is reaching even the darkest corner of the world. Considering the pace of content transmission, at Banijay Asia, we have become more aggressive towards producing content that delights the heartland of India. We see a hike in demand for stories which are untold, female centric and with CTV on the rise, we anticipate growing interest in regional unscripted content in 2022. While we have seen this trend kickstart already with our Tamil unscripted show The Survivors as it received unparalleled response from the audience and our hinterland drama Matsya Kaand recently crossed a 100M views on <keyword id="2214311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mx-player" source="Orion">MX Player</keyword> within a month. These numbers affirm that the trendsmap that we're following leads to a sustainable future. Given these past two years have been a real tester, we have pushed through every possible challenge posed by the virus this year and successfully produced shows for the streaming giants and kept the show running. While we have covered grounds with our scripted, non-scripted, international format adaptation, book adaptations, in the upcoming year, we aim to keep up with our pace and keep reinventing our ways. To sum it up, we are thoroughly looking forward to 2022 to be a year full of exciting and enthralling projects to keep our audiences engaged and invested. Rohit Jain, Managing Director, <keyword id="193261" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lionsgate" source="Orion">Lionsgate</keyword> South Asia and Networks, Emerging Markets Asia 2022 is going to be an exciting year for OTT players as the content pipeline will be stronger than ever. While the pandemic has leapfrogged growth in terms of viewers and subscription we expect 2022 to further amplify the reach and will witness growth not only in the metros but also in tier II &amp; tier III cities. Today’s viewers are constantly looking for edgy and unique stories. We have always said premium content is the ultimate winner. The OTT industry will have to concentrate on quality content over quantity of content. Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media The media and entertainment industry has been making rapid strides in the interior of India. Regional markets are becoming the industry’s point of convergence as the digital infrastructure expands across the length and breadth of the country. Content houses and creators are going vocal through local, thereby, making homegrown, high-quality content available at the click of a button. Going further, consumption of entertainment, in addition to audio and video, will be extended to varied mediums, such as gaming. As the Indian online gaming sector is witnessing tremendous growth in 2020 it sets a tone that gaming will be the next big thing. The industry will witness a rapid rise in the use of AI and ML to create a customised and personalised experience for audiences. This makes industry consumer friendly; not just that, it helps in massive consumption and double consumer engagement. Hiren Gada, CEO-Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd <div type="image" title="Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd." msid="88726664" hostid="261"></div> With regional internet penetration growing at a rapid pace, localization of content and OTT apps are going to be one of the emerging trends to look out for. Content that was earlier restricted to just Bollywood and Hollywood is getting extended to other native languages and it is going to play a key role in attracting new consumers and in supporting other industries such as dubbing and subtitling that will further boost the content bank. Other than localization, we will also see content being offered across other segments that include devotional, and kids’ categories. As we see new OTT apps being launched almost every month with multiple paying models, the consumers will have more flexibility and power to make their own choices. With increased smartphone adoption along with affordable data, mobile penetration of the OTT will see more focus. Mobile-centric plans have been introduced by most OTTs today to cater to the Millennials and GenZs who have the hunger to consume content but not the deep pockets to pay. This space will continue to grow with the increased bundling of OTT by telecos. Additionally, the arrival of 5G which is most likely to take off this year will be a game-changer not just for the OTTs but also for the consumers. It will enable faster connectivity, accessibility to content and further enhance the viewing experience with reduced buffering issues, and an uninterrupted real-time streaming experience. Shailesh Kapoor, The Founder &amp; CEO, Ormax Media The last two years have been exceptional for the OTT market in India, aided in no small measure by the lockdowns. As things begin to get back to normal, the question that we will hear a lot more in 2022 is: Where is the next level of OTT growth in India going to come from? The category has grown at an estimated 30-35% in its user base and more than 50% in paid subscriptions over the last two years. But these growth rates are not sustainable in the long run. Platforms will have to look for offerings that are both compelling and distinctive, to get new subscribers in a category that will continue to grow, but at more modest levels of 15-20% per annum. Crossover content, be it Indian (such as Jai Bhim) or foreign (such as Squid Game or Money Heist), will play an important role in this regard. The language barrier has been broken considerably by the OTT medium, and with dubbing and subtitles available in many languages for all major shows and films now, platforms cannot stick to single-language, homogenous offerings anymore. We can expect more language-led experimentation, both in content acquisition and presentation."

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