Pickle Nab Show April 2014 Issue

I NDIA AT NAB SHOW, LAS V EG AS , AP RIL 2 0 1 4

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PRIME FOCUS TECHNOLOGIES & DAX AT NAB Our vision is to build the best enterprise platform for virtualizing the content production supply chain and with DAX acquisition we are taking a giant step in that direction Ramki Sankaranarayanan Founder and CEO, Prime Focus Technologies

South Lower Hall Booth # 9605

what’s really driving

PFT & DAX

stop in toronto and start something big.

In 2013, 4743 industry delegates from over 80 countries attended the Toronto International Film Festival, resulting in over 45 ďŹ lm sales.

This year, make it happen in Toronto.

Registration opens May 1.

Visit tiff.net/industry to learn about the services and programming that we provide.

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We can take sector to $ Monetization in Media will be Our Focus

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New Delhi

• • • • • • •

We welcome business delegation from all over the world Meet top India M&E leaders Focused B2B meetings Facilitate studio visits across India Meet M&E offshore companies Meet with Indian buyers Meet with DTH, VOD and digital platform providers

September 19-20 2014

Indian M&E 100 billion at India – The Big Picture Summit 2014

Get in touch Kavita Saini Ph: +91-11 - 45771016 Email: kavita.saini@cii.in Website: www.ciibigpicture.com

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from the editor’s desk

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e are delighted to present the latest issue of Pickle on this special occasion of the NAB Show at Las Vegas. Inside the NAB SHOW, you get clarity, solution and answers to anything on the digital media and filmed entertainment landscape.

The NAB Show is the world’s largest exhibition of broadcast and media equipment, so any piece of technology necessary to implement a digital switch will be on display.

Today, India has 161 million TV households, 800 + TV Channels,, 900 million mobile users, 9000 theatre screens, 214 million internet users out of which 130 million are mobile internet users – all these platforms are driving change and transforming the sector. And Indian delegates at NAB will immensely benefit from the services at NAB. We have a lead feature on The Marriage of Prime Focus Technologies and DAX. No one could have predicted that it would happen this way: two companies from distant points on the compass, two leaders emerging from widely different

backgrounds to shift the industry paradigm together. PFT and DAX are at NAB with new solutions.

We have also captured Digital Media insights from FICCI-KPMG Media & Industry Report 2014. Here you will get a clear idea of a reality picture of the emerging Indian media ecosystem.

The big hope for the future of the M&E industry continues to be digital. With a fast growing internet user base of over 200 million internet users, KPMG M&E report has maintained that the potential of the industry to enhance engagement with customers and generate revenue from digital media is indeed vast.

The Indian entertainment industry has all the pointers of achieving the same global success that the Indian IT industry has achieved. To be a gamechanger, all that India needs are few policy reforms and we look forward to rapid changes and new directions post elections when the new government takes office by the end of May 2014.

Our next is a special issue for the Cannes Film Festival/Market. Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions.

n vidyasagar

pickle media nvidyasagar@gmail.com, www.picklemag.com Pickle Volume VII 7th edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com l Mumbai l Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

Printed by Bon Graphics New #7, Arumugam Nagar, Dayalan Garden, Chinna Porur, Chennai – 600 116 Mobile: +91 9884816263 Email: bon_graphics@yahoo.co.in

Editorial Coordinators : M Sai Email: natvid@gmail.com

For advertising: natvid@gmail.com

C

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Pickle Handbook 2013 Copyright 2013 by Pickle Media Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the filmed entertainment business in India. This is a curtain raiser issue for CII Big Picture Summit 2013.

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Layout Design: M Agnes Julie Consulting Photo Editor: K K Laskar

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The advances at play in media and entertainment have created unprecedented opportunity for you to deliver innovation to the connected consumer. The digital insight you need to accomplish your goals — and play to win — is here.

Global to mobile, live to archive, sound and picture — from previs to post, big data or small market, NAB Show® is your channel. And this is your opportunity.

Conferences: April 5–10, 2014 | Exhibits: April 7–10 Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Join Us! #nabshow | www.nabshow.com

FREE

Exhibits-only Pass code PA02.

NAB SHOW 2014 shabnam

Must Visit Exhibits at NAB With more than 90,000 attendees from 151 countries and 1,500+ exhibitors, NAB Show is the ultimate marketplace for digital media and entertainment. Here’s what some of the companies plan to do at NABSHOW 2014

Delegates gather to have a glimpse of new products and innovations at NAB Show (File photo)

Autodesk

Tata Communications

Booth: SL3319

Booth: Wynn Salon - G

Autodesk’s Media and Entertainment solutions empower digital artists to realize their ideas, tell more compelling stories, and transform their most evocative and ambitious visions into reality.Its awardwinning products are designed for digital media creation, management, and delivery across all disciplines, from film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing to animation, game development, and design visualization.

Tata Communications is a leading Tier 1 carrier providing media optimised services and applications for global media movement and management, especially in arena of sports broadcasting and OU. Leveraging our global network infrastructure and technology partnerships with leading media and service providers we offer solutions and services for media movement and media management.

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Qube Cinema Inc. Booth: SL7426 Qube Cinema is an international manufacturer of Digital Cinema technology and mastering solutions. A sub of India-based Real Image Media Technologies, QUBE is committed to creating a seamless Digital Cinema environment for exhibitors, filmmakers and post-production companies with technologies that are innovative, flexible and cost-effective. QUBE products include: DCI certified Qube XP-I & Qube Xi 2K/4K IMB, our QubeMaster family of DCP mastering software and Qube KeySmith for KDM Logistics.

Intel Booth: SU621D1 Thunderbolt technology from Intel is changing the way media professionals approach data-intensive workflows. The latest version is Thunderbolt™ 2, a transformational interconnect for the media industry that delivers the highest level of performance across a large range of media creation devices and storage products. Thunderbolt 2 delivers up to 20Gbps of data and video over a single cable with a small, compact connector, enabling 4K video workflows like never before.

NVIDIA Booth: SL6825 NVIDIA professional GPUs are widely accepted as the most advanced platform for graphics & parallel processing, powering innovative solutions from more than 150 industry-leading companies including Adobe, Autodesk, Chyron, Cinnafilm, GenArts, Vizrt & more. For on-air broadcast, NVIDIA GPUs enable real-time digital content, touch displays, & virtual sets. In film, Quadro GPUs were behind all of the “Best Visual Effects” Oscar nominees for the past five years.

NHK Booths: N231 NHK, Japan’s sole nationwide public broadcaster, is presenting 8K Super Hi-Vision (SHV) including the 22.2 multichannel 3D sound. The 350-inch SHV

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pickle entertainment biz guide

theater will screen the brand-new contents including the highlights from the Sochi Olympics. In other exhibits, we will showcase the SHV Cube camera weighing just 2kg, the 8K HEVC real time encoder, the SHV over-the-air transmission, the display-integrated frame loudspeakers for 3D sound, and the hybrid broadcast-broadband system called Hybridcast.

Dolby Laboratories Booths: S215LMR, SU1702 Dolby Laboratories creates audio, video, and voice technologies that transform entertainment and communications in mobile devices, at the cinema, at home, and at work. For nearly 50 years, sight and sound experiences have become more vibrant, clear, and meaningful in Dolby.

Sony Electronics Booth: C11001 At NAB 2014, Sony is taking its theme “Beyond Definition” to new levels, highlighting new and enhanced professional A/V technologies that deliver the highest quality and performance in HD, 4K and beyond. Sony’s line-up of innovative solutions are ideal for broadcast, production and a diverse range of B2B markets, demonstrating Sony’s unique ability to deliver the right tools in every category, for any application and at every budget level.

From 4K content creation with the F65, F55 and F5 cameras for motion pictures, TV and sports to solutions for 4K “Live” production, 4K Multi View and 4K screen blending, Sony technologies are creating incredible display and viewing experiences.

Ground-breaking innovations like “Ci” from Sony’s Media Cloud Services and the next-generation Optical Disc Archive storage system continue to evolve into practical solutions for professionals. Sony’s solutions business continues to re-define itself as a one-stop resource for any commercial application. Sony will also feature a full line of products for news, digital cinematography, live production, display and presentation and more.

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Indian Digital Media is getting to critical mass

Digital Media to dominate future Digital Media is continuing its growth trajectory. 37.8% growth is witnessed in Advertising Display and Search advertising constitutes 67% of total online advertising market in India. Internet connectivity and device accessibility gets better, as 214 million internet users and 130 million mobile internet users are there.

Social media witnesses an increase of 38% in user base. Here are nuggets from FICCI-KPMG M&E Industry report 2014 on the new media 10

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Digital Media

Internet growth IN India The total internet user base in India grew to approximately 214 million by end of the year, with almost 130 million going online using mobile devices. Mobile Internet users dominated the total internet user base capturing an overall share of 61 per cent.

The number of internet users, in India are seen to have grown at 40 per cent in 2013 to reach 214 million users and is expected to reach 239 million by end of the year 2014.3 Industry experts portend that India can surpass USA in terms of total number of internet users in 2014.

It is estimated that the total internet user base will reach 494 million by the end of 2018 as against 938 million TV viewers in the same year.3This means that the Inter-

net user population will be approximately 53 per cent of the total number of TV viewers in the country in 2018 compared to 27 per cent in 2013. The digital media presents an opportunity to engage specific target segments in a more cost effective way as opposed to the mass outreach afforded by traditional TV. India became the world’s third largest internet user base in 2013, overtaking Japan Following USA and China, India became the third largest internet user base in the world by unique visitors. It overtook Japan in March 2013 and registered a YoY increase of 31 per cent.40 This is a harbinger of great potential that the internet medium brings with it.

Mobile continues to be the preferred choice of access The total internet user base in India grew to approximately 214 million by end of the year, with almost 130 million going online using mobile devices. Mobile Internet users dominated the total internet user base capturing an overall share of 61 per cent. The growth is expected to continue and the mobile internet user base is projected to reach to more than 350 million by the end of 2018. While urban users are steering the growth, rural India is not left far behind.

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The mobile internet user base in rural areas has grown by 28 per cent since June 2013 and is estimated at 27 million, as against 103 million urban internet users, at the end of 2013.

It is estimated that, in 2013, 61 per cent of the total Internet devices in India were mobile devices and that the share is expected to increase to 71 per cent by 2018. The personal computer (PC) may no longer be the primary or exclusive means to provide the first user experience of the internet.

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Digital Media

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India, now more comfortable with online and mobile payments A few years back, for many Indians, booking railway tickets online was their introduction to internet shopping.

The government railway ticket booking portal IRCTC and few travel sites revolutionised the eCommerce industry in India and consequently the concept of online payments.

Indians are now becoming comfortable with electronic as well as mobile payments. More and more consumers are opting for online and mobile platform payments that provide extra convenience.

Digital ad spend and the landscape in India Digital advertising in India grew by approximately 38.7 per cent and touched INR30.1 billion, in 2013. Indian mobile advertising is expected to grow at 50 per cent and reach INR5.1 billion in revenue by end of 2014. Digital marketers are recognising this trend and are now considering to or are already on their way to execute ‘Mobile-first’ branding and customer engagement strategies. The ad

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spend in digital media is set to grow at 37 per cent to reach INR41.2 billion in 2014.

Google and Facebook account for close to half of the advertising revenue 36 spent online in Asia, and the dominance can be attributed to their massive user base.

50% of the online advertising revenues are garnered by Google in India and Facebook has now become a force to reckon with.

The only thing holding back Digital media is the data speeds and coverage, in spite of which online and mobile viewership has shown impressive growth. On digital media, unique and exclusive content will always get value, while me-too content will not. There is tremendous scope for sports viewership online, given its exclusive nature. However, for monetisation beyond advertising on digital media to pick up, payment mechanisms and piracy issues needs to be resolved.

Uday Shankar, Chief Executive Officer, Star India Private Limited

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Jehil Thakkar

Partner, Head – Media & Entertainment KPMG in India

Expansion of digital distribution... n Successful roll out of digital set top boxes (STBs) in Phase I and II cities – 90% C&S households seeded in Phase II cities n DTH subscriber base 37mn n Film industry achieved 90-95% digitization of screens - enabling penetration in tier II and III cities n Growth in mobiles, in particular smartphones, contributing significantly to increased consumption of music ‘on-the-go’ n Wireless internet connections reached 150mn, internet user base 214 mn, mobile internet users 130 mn 13

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Digital Media India standing tall as the second largest mobile phone user base and third largest smartphone market in the world

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Globally, the number of mobile phone users is expected to reach 4.55 billion and mobile phone internet user base would be 2.23 billion by the end of 2014. Smartphone adoption will also continue its fast paced trajectory with the total smartphone user base expected to reach 1.75 billion by the end of 2014.

The growth is being led primarily by the developing regions of Asia Pacific, notably India and China. The overall Indian mobile handset market grew at 21 per cent YoY. By the end of 2013, India is estimated to have gained a mobile phone user base of more than 900 million. While the worldwide smartphone shipments have surpassed 1 billion units in 2013, India became the third largest smartphone market in the world in terms of shipments of 44 million units.

Smartphone shipments in India are expected to grow steadily over the next 5 years. While Samsung maintains the lead in the smartphone market in India, other major players are Nokia, Micromax and Karbonn. The Android smartphone market continues to be dominated by low cost smartphones. By the end of 2013, India had approximately 66 million internet enabled smartphones and the number is expected to reach 334 million by the year 2018. This growth presents a good market base for digital advertisers, mobile gaming developers, VoD and digital music companies.

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Facebook Facebook, in 2013, evidently shifted its priorities to focus on mobile and on native apps for all the major mobile operating systems. With almost 81 per cent of its monthly active users in India coming from mobile, it is a move in the right direction. The company put in efforts to make the product accessible irrespective of the platform - iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, and even on classic feature phones.

In 2013, Facebook worked with telephone provider Nokia in the Indian market to

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introduce handsets with Facebook preinstalled on the devices.

These mobile devices are called Nokia Asha series phones and have been designed to deliver a smartphone-like experience even on low cost handsets. The shift in focus has delivered results for the company in India with Facebook’s mobile usage in India growing from 62 million monthly active users in Q2’2013 to 75 million in Q4’2013.

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Digital Media

The vernacular wave in the Indian App Economy India’s geographical diversity creates a need for innovative regional language apps. This presents an opportunity for the Indian businesses to tap into the potential afforded by the growing demand for apps in local and regional languages.

Google launched a Hindi handwriting tool for search and Mozilla Firefox rolled out a fully localised Tamil version of its free open source Internet browser in 2013. In August 2013, Samsung announced the launch of regional language user interface and applications for its Indian customers which would enable Samsung smartphone users to choose from any of the nine Indian languages including Hindi, Punjabi,

Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Gujarati.

The sizable mobile user base residing in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, who limit their mobile usage to only voice calls, given the limited number of mobile apps catering to content in local languages present an opportunity for content providers. Multiple companies such as Plustxt, Hazel Media, Mad Rat Games and Newshunt, are vying for a share of this growing market. In 2014, it is expected that there will be an increased number of regional and localised content and apps developed as content consumption on mobile devices outpaces other mediums.

YouTube offers a compelling proposition 2013 saw YouTube follow the parent Google in rolling out its movie rental and purchase program in India. Users can now browse through both paid and free movies across various genres and languages. YouTube offers movie rentals starting as low as INR 25.56 Upon purchase, users have 30 days to start watching the content and once started, 48 hours of viewing time. Pricing is dependent on resolution, popularity and recency of

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release. Regional content forms a significant part of the inventory.

YouTube already very strong for Video content:

YouTube is the number one destination by traffic for videos in India and is already becoming a meaningful monetisation platform for content owners. YouTube, in 2013, constituted for approximately 58 per cent of all online video views in India.

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Digital Media India offers third largest download user base for Google Play – free apps favourite India ranks third in terms of number of app downloads from Google Play in 2013.

However, it does not figure in the list of top-5 countries contributing to overall revenues of Google Play.

It may point towards the fact that Android users in India, as has been the trend globally, are still more fascinated with free apps and could take some time before maturing to paying for content. App platforms and content developers may need to consider pricing the content within the affordable range for Indians, for upfront

Gaming

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paid downloads and in-app purchases, to growat the impressive triple digit growth rates as seen for countries such as China, Russia and South Korea.

The Indian market is yet to crack the freemium model as the model works efficiently only with higher volumes. This market, at present, is largely characterised by either up-front download purchases or by ad-driven models. Whilemost Indian apps are available free of cost, the content developers hope to earn from in-app purchases and paidupgrades.

The gaming industry is gaining traction at a steady rate in India. The growth is driven by a rising younger population, higher disposable incomes, introduction of new gaming genres, and the increasing number of smartphone and tablet users. The proliferation of gaming developers and publishers has also contributed to the growth of the gaming industry. The gaming industry in India was estimated at about INR 19.2 billion in 2013 and is poised for continuous growth.79 However, the year gone by witnessed flat volume growth in the console segment specifically and this impacted the overall industry growth rate. Industry players are optimistic about 2014. The industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent and touch INR 40.6 billion by the end of 2018.79

The filmed entertainment space is in rapid change mode, the success of movies, other than a superb content, has now lot to do with a detailed marketing and distribution strategy, which is more systematic and continuously evolving. Other than traditional marketing, digital marketing is becoming a key element of the overall strategy. There has been an increase in the digital marketing spends for movies in the year 2013. The number of YouTube hits at the launch of movie trailer is now used as a barometer of success for the marketing of the film.

Kamal Jain, Group Chief Financial Officer, Eros International

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Digital Media

Waiting fOR 4G The arrival of 4G is expected to promote the growth of VOD services, especially in the long format segment.

However, players in this sphere do not expect 4G roll-out before 2015. Currently, an estimated 15-20 per cent86 of traffic is driven through mobile but this is expected to rise considerably with 4G. Akin to the digital music industry, subscription video

on demand services are yet to take off appreciably in the country with most users preferring the free, ad based service. Most video content providers cater to Bollywood tastes with up to 50 per cent of content from Bollywood with the rest composed of English and Local Language content. As mentioned earlier, internet speeds are a concern in the video streaming sector.

EBooks

Underpenetrated but growing The eBooks market in India is expected to be around ~INR1.2 billion which is 1 per cent of the total book market size, well below penetration rates in developed markets. The market is expected to grow at 20-25 per cent and this growth is expected to be fuelled by the education sector (K-12 and above) with the majority of the content in English. In contrast, the published book market is dominated by the Hindi language.

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In terms of consumption, it is expected that bulk of digital book content in the future would be consumed through smartphones and tablets. However, this hasn’t deterred eBook reader manufactures with Amazon debuting its Kindle in 2012 and Kobo launching their devices in 2013. Ebook are consistently discounted

by Amazon and Flipkart when compared to the paper-back version. The discount levels remain similar for the large part to 2012 levels of 15 to 30 per cent.

Kids are early adopters of technology and to cater to the ‘Screenagers’, kids’ entertainers are ensuring that they are served their daily dose of entertainment at a time, place and screen convenient to them. To keep this wired generation engaged across screens, entertainers are customising content across platforms, be it - video games, VOD, streaming content on the mobile and tablets, etc.

Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Executive Vice President and Business Head Kids Cluster, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd

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regulator speak

What’s Common Between India and US

Ajit Pai

FCC, COMMISSIONER

I know what I like as a consumer. But as a regulator, I don’t believe that it is my place to impose my preferences upon others. Everyone has different tastes, particularly in countries as diverse as the United States and India, said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) COMMISSIONER Ajit Pai, in his keynote address at FICCI Frames 2014 Excerpts of his speech

I

have given many speeches during my time as a Commissioner at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, or FCC. But this one is truly special to me. I was born and brought up in the United States, but my family’s roots are here in India. My mother grew up in Bangalore, and my father was raised in Hyderabad. In 1971, they came to the United States with just a radio and ten dollars in their pockets.

Now, forty-three years later, here I am, in the country of my forefathers, speaking to you as the first Indian-American

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to serve on the FCC. The credit for this goes to my parents, who, like many immigrants, sacrificed to give me opportunities not available to them as children.

It goes to my grandparents, who instilled in my parents the value of hard work and the vision to dream big. And it represents one small aspect of an enduring link between India and the United States.

The theme of this year’s FICCI Frames is “Media and Entertainment: Transforming Lives.”

When it comes to content, I know what I like as a consumer. But as a regulator, I

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don’t believe that it is my place to impose my preferences upon others. Everyone has different tastes, particularly in countries as diverse as the United States and India. So I firmly believe that the marketplace, not government, should sort out success from failure. The proper role of regulators, in my view, is to create a framework that fosters innovation and allows content to be broadly disseminated.

And that means encouraging investment in the networks that connect those who create content to those who consume it.

The ubiquity of broadband has opened up huge opportunities in Internet video. These range from original, awardwinning programs featuring Hollywood movie stars to the less acclaimed, but still loved, uploaded home videos featuring our children and pets. Americans also now enjoy watching old episodes of broadcast and cable programs at their convenience over the Internet.

Rather than owning companies or directing capital spending, the United States Government has sought to create a regulatory framework that gives companies the right incentives to make these investments.

And this morning, I’d like to briefly highlight three successful strategies we have employed in this regard.

First, we have removed regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment. Second, we have created a free market for spectrum. And third, we have embraced free trade and foreign direct investment as a way to promote capital formation. Each has played an important role in fostering the innovation we see in America today.

And I believe each serves as a valuable lesson for regulators going forward.

For the last twenty years, it has been the policy of the United States that the Internet be unfettered by government regulation. In other words, instead of micromanaging networks or the content that rides over those networks, we have focused on removing obstacles to infrastructure investment wherever we find them. That ultimately gives consumers easy access to the content they want, when and how

they want it.

This was a conscious decision by regulators. At the beginning of this century, the United States faced a fundamental choice.

Would we apply to the Internet the heavyhanded economic regulations designed for telephone monopolies? Or instead, would we adopt a modern approach that would give the private sector more flexibility to innovate? Thankfully, we chose the latter path.

The federal government isn’t the only one looking to make it easier for the private sector to build and improve networks.

Back home, we have an expression: “Not in my backyard.” Its abbreviation is NIMBY, and it refers to a common attitude throughout the world. Everyone wants the benefits that come with progress, but few want to have something built right

In 2015, we aim to hold the world’s first broadcast incentive auction.

This will be a two-sided auction where broadcast television stations will have the option of selling their spectrum and wireless carriers will have the opportunity to buy it

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next to their house.

We are looking for ways to promote the physical infrastructure needed for broadband while still preserving environmental and cultural interests. One idea is to tailor government oversight to the size of the deployment.

Under this approach, what are called small cells—equipment for wireless networks that in some cases is the size of a Parle-G biscuit—wouldn’t need the same level of regulatory review as the construction of thousand-foot towers. Another idea is for government to streamline requirements for permits and provide cheaper and easier access to the rights-of-way, poles, and underground ducts necessary to build and upgrade wired networks.

So that’s our first strategy: infrastructure.

Our second strategy is a free market for

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spectrum. Here, the United States made some key decisions that set the stage for explosive growth in mobile broadband.

For one thing, we adopted what we call a flexible use policy.

Instead of prescribing how wireless carriers must use spectrum, we left those choices to the private sector, which is much more attuned to consumer demand.

That has enabled networks to evolve with technology without the need for government sign-off at each step.

Second, the United States pioneered the use of competitive auctions to distribute spectrum licenses. This market mecha-

consumers the benefits of innovative new services. In short, the government should establish a level playing field when it comes to auction rules rather than trying to micromanage who wins and who loses.

Our last strategy has been to send a loud and clear message that we welcome investment in our telecommunications sector from around the globe. The FCC has found that “foreign investment has been . . . an important source of financing for U.S. telecommunications companies, fostering technical innovation, economic growth and job creation.” If foreign companies want to spend capital building and upgrading networks in the United States, we think that’s a good thing for American consumers. That’s why last Technology means connection across counyear we approved a Japanese tries and cultures. It transforms lives everycompany’s purchase of over 70 percent of Sprint, our nawhere. So just as my kids’ YouTube videos tion’s third-largest wireless link my family near and far, an open comcarrier. And now, two of our munications sector can maintain and deepen four national wireless carriers are run by foreign corpothe relationship between two of the world’s rations. largest and most diverse democracies, two Historically, however, the United States has been more allies, two friends. cautious when it comes to foreign investment in broadcast stations. In fact, it had been nism has allowed us to put spectrum to virtually impossible for foreign compaits highest value use. nies to own more than 25 percent of a U.S. We continue to make more spectrum broadcaster. That policy was outdated available for mobile broadband. Last and harmful to our country’s television month, we raised over $1.5 billion in our and radio broadcast industry. As a result, first spectrum auction since 2008, and we the FCC last November voted to change intend to hold another auction later this that approach. year. Then, in 2015, we aim to hold the I hope that other nations too will liberalworld’s first broadcast incentive auction. ize their own foreign investment policies.

This will be a two-sided auction where Restrictions on investment in communibroadcast television stations will have cations ultimately limit cultural interthe option of selling their spectrum and action. After all, one of the great things wireless carriers will have the opportuabout the digital era is that there is “ek nity to buy it. technology, ek duniya.” Technology I believe that our experience with aucmeans connection across countries and tions, which now spans about two decultures. It transforms lives everywhere. cades, offers valuable insights to the rest So just as my kids’ YouTube videos link of the world. For example, auctions are my family near and far, an open commumore successful when they are kept simnications sector can maintain and deepple, transparent, and market-driven. That en the relationship between two of the means setting clear rules in advance and world’s largest and most diverse democsticking with them. That means avoiding racies, two allies, two friends. onerous conditions on particular specIn conclusion, I am deeply grateful for trum. That means giving everyone a fair the invitation to speak this morning. And opportunity to bid. These are the best my commitment to a strong relationship ways to promote network construction, to between the United States and India isn’t raise money for the treasury, and to give just professional.

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Make yourself visible in PICKLE may 2014 cannes film market issue.

Pickle reaches out to audio visual companies in over 50 countries; Targets global buyers and distributors; Film Festivals and markets; Animation production companies; Global companies looking at offshoring from India; Co-production seekers and location service providers. Pickle business guide tracks the entertainment business in India.

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indiacast nab Show @ 2014 mipcom

India, Your Offshore Destination Tech-giants like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and more have cleverly utilised the low cost Indian manpower to keep the bottomline high and floating. Now it is the turn of the media companies to do the same. And what could be a better platform than NAB to explore the possibilities, asks Arul Moorthy Arul Moorthy, MD, Digital MD, Digital Magic Visuals Magic Visuals

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orld has become global village’ is heard for more than a decade.

Now it is time to add ‘Media’ to the phrase, to make it as ‘World has become a global media village’. It is true, as content creators and consumers are embracing towards a situation, where life is depending on each other for ‘neighbouring’ countries like US and India more and more.

It is very obvious that tech-giants like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and more have cleverly utilised the low cost Indian manpower to keep the bottom-line high and floating.

Now it is the turn of the media companies to do the same. Particularly when it comes to Animation, Visual Effects and Gaming sectors, where the dependence on Skilled and Semi-Skilled jobs are plenty, it is prudent that the companies should adapt to the out-sourcing model to remain relevant in the respective sector. This is clearly seen from companies like Technicolor, Deluxe and DreamWorks, which have set their studios in India. Similarly, many TV Productions from Walt-Disney

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and others are happening by joining hands with companies like Piranha, DQ Entertainment in India.

The cost benefit for U.S and European companies in this region is 60 to 70%, which is huge. This will not give a 70% benefit for the entire production, as not all the work can be outsourced to India, but a good chunk of work can happen here. So the overall cost saving could be anywhere in the range of 30%, which will be tempting to anyone. Of course the concerns about loss of job market in U.S will be heard loud and clear, but it is better for the companies to remain profitable, to have strength to fight another war another day. ‘Do what you can do the best, and outsource the rest’ is the mantra of the day.

The cost of outsourcing work to India has gone up, in spite of Indian Rupee getting devalued nearly 20% in the recent few years. But on the contrary, U.S studios prefer Indian studios who are giving quality, more than the cheaper rate. They have realised, only these studios will be

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able to sustain in business longer time, which will make the working relation easier than searching for a new studio for every project. Also in term of controlling the cost-arbitrage, both the sides have learned their lessons, and have put mechanisms in place to protect the cost variations due to factors that are not under their control.

Big and small studios in India have started adapting to the MPAA and CDSA standards to protect the IP security. When it is followed, it is only through someone’s memory they can take out the footage off the studio, which is the best possible solution necessary. So overseas studios need not worry about their IP security, but find partners who follow the standards set.

And business benefits need not be one way traffic. As most of the top Hollywood movies, with a very minimal incremental cost, speak in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, which gives them an additional revenue.

Not only the direct revenue, but the characters make in-road in to the rural India, giving a long term benefit in the form of TV Shows, Merchandise, Comic Book etc. So U.S companies which have not explored this route should jump the bandwagon and get the benefit.

And what could be a better platform than NAB to explore the possibilities in the media space. This is my 22nd Year at NAB, almost non-stop. I have immensely enjoyed this Media Festival every year. It has helped me stay ahead, and do innovations like India’s First 3D Stereoscopic Graphics, India’s First Digital Movie production and many more. I am looking at the opportunity that has become more for both U.S and Indian companies in the last couple of years and will become lot more in the coming years, due to change in the mind-set and technology, and of course the cost and time constraints.

The following are the areas the companies should look forward to collaborate.

• Animation Pre-production Works (very

small amount of work happening at the moment) • Pre-Visualisation (For Movies, News items, Architecture) • Rapid Prototyping (3D Modelling and 3D Printing) • Remote Colour Grading (For TV Shows and Movies) • Remote On-Line Editing (For Packaging, Montages where multi-layering and Effects are intense) • BW to Colour (for Movies, Documentaries and News Footage) • Tools development (based on India’s ICT expertise) • TV News - Outsourcing U.S companies also look for joint development of IP with Indian studios in the Animation Production, Movies and Games segment. Surely the small and medium U.S and European studios can find a willing co-production partner, to make the projects come to reality. While the overseas companies can bring their international expertise in script, character design, Voice, marketing etc., Indian studios can take care of the production part and create a cost-effective output, thus benefitting both the parties. When I visited NAB in 1992, I could hardly had seen any collaboration possibilities at that time.

But now there is a dramatic shift in the way how both the industries have become inter-dependent, and will become more deeper in the years to come.

Life is like how far you can see while driving in a dark night with head-lights on.

This is what we can see at the moment, as we move forward more things will appear inside the spotlight.

Arul Moorthy M, Managing Director of Digital Magic Visuals, has three decades of expertise in Animation, Post-Production and Visual Effects with 350 movies and 3500 ad films to his credit. He owns and operates Digital Magic, a state-of-the-art post-production, animation facility which offers DI, VFX and other postproduction services.

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Ultra HD / 4K

Get ready for

Media and entertainment industry is poised to e Besides just higher resolution, deeper realistic col changes in tone as seen in the real world, providi end consumer on Ultra HD devices. Ravindra V Corporation, gives more details.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

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2k 1080p 720p DVD VCD

4K experience

embrace 4k (UltraHD) at NAB Show this year. lors will show more hues and shades, smooth ing the true life like viewing experience for Velhal, Global Content Policy Strategist, Intel 27

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future now

Will UltraHD Change the Game?

Ravindra Velhal

Global Content Policy Strategist, Intel Corporation

C

EA, Consumer Electronics of America defines 4k, or “Ultra HighDefinition TV “ or “Ultra HD” to identify four times the resolution of 1080i HDTV. The minimum resolution for Ultra HD displays was set at 3840x2160 pixel resolution. The experience is coming to a living room near you.

Higher than 1080i HD resolution work started in Japan in 1995 with an NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation project. The researchers found that with higher resolutions, viewers could sit closer to display to experience wider view, more immersive experience without seeing “artifacts”. Currently version “Super Hi- Vision” by NHK is massive 7680x4320 resolution viewing experience sometimes referred to as SHV or 8K. Since partly because commercial movie theater resolution was already determined to be at 4K level, industry could not just go from Full HD to SHV/8K directly giving way for the CE industry to adopt 4K standard.

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During CES 2012, Ultra HD era really started with major TV manufacturers showcasing Ultra HD TV monitors. In October 2012, CEA selected name “Ultra High-Definition or (“Ultra HD”) for defining 4k resolution to distinguish its superiority over HDTV. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has standardized production and program exchange 4K format as UHDTV Level 1 and 8K as UHDTV Level 2. More industry standard bodies around the world are working on standardizing and embracing Ultra HD 4K format at various levels.

More and more consumer devices from media servers to Ultrabooks and phones to tablets are embracing 4K format to enrich media experience.

Besides just higher resolution, deeper realistic colors will show more hues and shades, smooth changes in tone as seen in the real world, providing the true life like viewing experience for end consumer on Ultra HD devices. As industry gainLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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ing more traction with Ultra HD, higher resolution is clearly enhancing viewing experience with increased sense of realness. Factors such as Higher Frame Rate (HFR), supporting 60 fps can be a real viewing pleasure for sports content or action scene.

Factors driving 4K adoption Ultra HD content is 4xincrease from Full HD resolution, representing a massive 8.3 pixels and colors represented in 10-bit or 12-bit depth instead of 8-bit fields can lead 1.25x to 1.5x factor growth. Higher resolution and color depth combined increase the uncompressed video size of Ultra HD by almost six times over Full HD resolution causing huge challenges for workflow process as well as digital distribution of Ultra HD content. Software companies like Apple, Adobe, and others already have 4K capable desktop tools that allow 4K processing with Intel’s 4th generation Haswell CPUs based platforms.

MPEG-2 compression standard is widely used in DTV, Digital Cable, Satellite and DVD. MPEG-4 video adoption is broad

which generally result in similar quality at 50% or less bit rate over MPEG-2.

Released by ITU-T, H.265 known as HEVC (“High Efficiency Video Coding”) is the successor to MPEG-4 that has shown 50% bit rate reduction over MPEG-4. HEVC manages the significant file reduction without compromising image quality for exploring affordable means of transmitting UltraHD content. While mature H.264 is currently being used widely, HEVC infrastructure adoption will help accelerate the deployment of UltraHD .

OTT based UltraHD delivery will require higher network speed about 12 to 21 Mbps for streaming content. With growing number of US households speed exceeding 10 Mbps, study shows that live streaming of Ultra HD content will become more and more feasible in many US homes.

Affordable UHD TV sets, more availability of UHD content announcement by leading content and service providers and user generated content will drive consumer adoption of Ultra HD.

“Four times the resolution of HDTV, 4K/Ultra HD technology brings immense prospects for fully immersive viewing experience and exciting opportunities for broadcasters/ content providers, service providers and the CE industry. Balanced improvements over higher frame rate and bit depth will significantly enhance video quality. For Ultra HD to be true successor to HD, more content availability, affordable displays/devices, latest compression scheme, interfaces and more bandwidth needs to be available for Ultra HD content delivery. Harmonizing coordination between global 4K/Ultra HD standard bodies will ensure wider 4K awareness and adoption to benefit end consumer.”

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nab show 2014

The Marriage of PFT and DAX

No one could have predicted that it would happen this way: two companies from distant points on the compass, two leaders emerging from widely different backgrounds to shift the industry paradigm together, says veteran journalist and tech business consultant Rex Weiner

F

uture historians charting the media industry’s analog-to-digital transformation may well mark the March 2014 announcement that Prime Focus Technologies signed a definitive agreement to acquire DAX as a tipping point—and NAB 2014 as the place where it all came together.

“This is our first major show along with DAX,” said Ramki Sankaranarayanan, Founder and CEO, Prime Focus Technologies. “We are now offering CLEAR™, our award-winning Hybrid Cloud technologyenabled Media ERP platform with DAX’s Digital Dailies® as the entry point to help broadcasters, studios, brands, sports and digital businesses drive creative enablement, enhance ecosystem efficiencies and sustainability, reduce cost and realize new monetization opportunities.”

“PFT has tremendous resources at its disposal,” said Patrick Macdonald-King, CEO, DAX who will assume the role of PFT President and join PFT’s executive team overseeing North America. Citing PFT’s 250-person-strong R&D and product development team, Macdonald-King added, “This marriage allows DAX to fulfill its vision and extends DAX’s support

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of file-based workflows across the enterprise. PFT’s awesome arsenal of technology tools will drive the DAX product offering to a new level.”

No one could have predicted that it would happen this way: two companies from distant points on the compass, two leaders emerging from widely different backgrounds to shift the industry paradigm together. Yet, in finding common ground, they have taken up a common commitment to achieve their mutual mission.

DAX grew up in Hollywood over the past decade, from a handful of employees to an expanding dynamo based in Culver City as well as serving Canada’s media industry, and its clientele shooting in Canada, from its Toronto office, delivering cloudbased workflow tools and services to most major studios and network/cable channels. Winning the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for its Digital Dailies®, DAX has become the de facto industry standard for television production, powering toprated shows such as “Mad Men,” “Glee,” “Homeland,” “NCIS,” “CSI,” “Big Bang Theory” and “The Mentalist.”

PFT started in a Bangalore garage, mushLIKE PICKLE intoIN FACEBOOK a multi-million dollar subwww.picklemag.in guiderooming

Our team at NAB this year will be demonstrating a powerful array of Media ERP solutions for the production industry

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Ramki Sankaranarayanan, Founder and CEO, LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK Prime Focus Technologies www.picklemag.in

sidiary of the publicly-held global powerhouse Prime Focus. PFT works with major content owners like Bloomberg, Disney, Warner Bros., STAR TV, ZEE TV, EROS International, SONY Music, Viacom 18, SONY MSM, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), IPL (Indian Premiere League), Hindustan Unilever Limited, The Associated Press, A&E TV Network and Schawk!. PFT offers its customers solutions that help them virtualize the content supply chain and manage not just content but the business of content.Sankaranarayanan, 44, is from Tamil Nadu, South India and earned his engineering

technologies to him from Tata Elxsi. A decade later, Ramki was starting over with a new company in Bangalore when he called Namit to congratulate him on the birth of his first son. The ensuing conversation led to Prime Focus funding Ramki’s pursuit of his vision for the digital media continuum. Along with BITS Pilani classmate Ganesh Sankaran, Ramki founded Prime Focus Technologies in 2007 in a small garage in Bangalore. One year later, they landed their landmark deal with BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).

Canada-born Patrick Macdonald-King, 42, is based in Los Angeles and assumed the role of CEO of DAX when Sample Media Services, Digital Dailies®, and his own company, DAX Solutions, merged operations in 2007. Prior to DAX, Macdonald-King had stints in branding, marketing and production for companies such as Mamisi Digital Media, Au Bon Pain, BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather. A leading authority on digital asset management and file-based workflow solutions,MacdonaldKing was a featured speaker at the 1st Annual Media & Entertainment Industry Summit in Tianjin, China, delivered a keynote address at the 2013 NAB Cloud Computing Conference, and will be a speaker at this year’s NAB addressing Content Creation in the Cloud on a panel sponsored by the University of Southern California’s Entertainment Technology Center.

PFT’s CLEAR™ hosts and manages more than 350,000 hours of content and manages 200 new TV shows daily. DAX and Digital Dailies® have more than 28,000 registered users degree from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani. After earning his MBA from S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai, he rejoined Tata Elxsi after an earlier stint, this time serving as industry manager for film, video, and broadcasting. He launched Tata Elxsi’s US operations in 1998; in four years the company’s revenues topped US$40M. Returning to India at the age of 30, Ramki became the youngest person in the Tata world to be named General Manager and head of Worldwide Sales and Marketing.

During this period he developed his innovative conceptualization of the digital media continuum –from content creation to consumer consumption.

When Namit Malhotra started Prime Focus in 1997, Ramki sold one of the first

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Both Sankaranarayanan and MacdonaldKing have strong viewpoints on the future of TV production technology. They call it Production on the Cloud and TV Everywhere.

“Our vision is to build the best enterprise platform for virtualizing the content production supply chain and with DAX we are taking a giant step in that direction,” said Sankaranarayanan. “Our team at

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Patrick Macdonald-King CEO, DAX

who will assume the role of PFT President and join PFT’s executive team overseeing North America

This marriage allows DAX to fulfill its vision and extends DAX’s support of filebased workflows across the enterprise. PFT’s awesome arsenal of technology tools will drive the DAX product offering to a new level 33

pickle entertainment biz guide

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NEW PFT PRODUCTS AT NAB 2014

PFT will also be unveiling these new products:

South Lower Hall Booth # 9605

• DAX Mobile® for viewing iDailies® on iPhone

PFT will be showing CLEAR™, the world’s first hybrid cloud-enabled Media ERP platform that virtualizes the content supply chain and manages “not just content but the business of content,” says RamkiSankaranarayanan. New features added to CLEAR™ configurable modules include a newly-added rating dashboard and enhanced BPM engine with 30 workflow primitivesand an enhanced publish engine extended up to 400 robots— Playlist and Media Management, Sizzle Reel/Storyboard features and Vendor and compliance submission, Concurrent Reviews with chat window.

• DAX BOX™, a set-top allowing users to stream HD content at home, office or screening room, includingDigital Dailies® service and full workflow and DAM capabilities In addition, PFT is offering a sneak preview of its visionary Production Hub Application.

To be introduced later this year, this app will deliver camera-to-archive services in an unparalleled digital media continuum.

For more information visit: www.primefocustechnologies.com

NAB this year will be demonstrating a powerful array of Media ERP solutions for the production industry.”

“PFT’s CLEAR™ platform is the most scalable and feature-rich application I have seen in the market and their laser-like focus on servicing the media industry is unique,” said Macdonald-King. “Most of the competition is focused on single-point solutions that further cement the siloed approach which is detrimental to longterm agility and sustainability of media businesses.”

For DAX customers, Macdonald-King emphasizes that all tech support, client services, product design and account management will remain in Los Angeles, but also expand to the PFT offices in New York and London to better service the East Coast and Europe.

The global market for media asset management, workflow management, collaboration and media processing services is pegged at approximately US$10 billion, according to an Ernst & Young survey. With content enterprises like broadcast net-

works faced with flat top lines and rising operating costs, companies are increasingly looking to solutions like those offered

by PFT and DAX to enhance profitability by realizing New Media monetization opportunities in the multi-screen world.

PFT’s CLEAR™ hosts and manages more than 350,000 hours of content and manages 200 new TV shows daily. DAX and Digital Dailies® have more than 28,000 registered users.

“Leveraging PFT’s CLEAR™ Media ERP, we can go beyond Digital Dailies®, offering end-to-end production workflow, a camera-to-archive service and cloud applications that foster true automation of the studio pipeline,” said Macdonald-King “At NAB we will be launching DAX Mobile for viewing iDailies on iPhone, and DAX BOX, our new set-top DVR-like device that allows users to stream 1080p frame-accurate content on their big screen. I’m happy to say that DAX BOX is our first collaborative effort with PFT and we’re looking forward to even more exciting developments in the future.”

Rex Weiner has been a speaker at FICCI Frames and led a screenwriting workshop at the International Film Festival at Goa organized by the CII. A member of the Writers Guild of America since 1982, Weiner’s screen credits include The Adventures of Ford Fairlane directed by Renny Harlin for 20th Century Fox and the TV series Miami Vice. As a staff reporter for Variety, he covered international film, film finance and entertainment technology. His articles have appeared in many magazines including Rolling Stone and The Paris Review. Through his company MediaTek, he serves as a business consultant for several high-tech companies.

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thought leader

Indian M&E Sector, the Wealth Maker

Uday Shankar CEO, Star India

Indian media and entertainment sector is capable of creating employment and wealth much faster than most other sectors and with the ability to be a force multiplier, like it is in most countries, says Uday Shankar, CEO Star India and Chairman of FICCI M&E Committee, in his address at FICCI FRAMES 2014

M

edia and entertainment remains central to defining the direction of India’s social and economic path, said Uday Shankar, Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, and CEO, Star India In his opening remarks at FICCI Frames 2014, the head of Star India, which is a fully owned subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, said, “Amidst an environment of gloom and doom, the media and entertainment industry registered an impressive growth of 12% last year. The fact that

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we have been able to deliver this in light of an overall economic growth of 4% and a major resetting of exchange rates is a testament to the tenacity of the industry’s leaders and stakeholders.”

However, he said, adding: “While delivering a growth rate three times that of the country at large is cause for satisfaction, the truth is that in dollar terms, we have barely made a dent this year. And, even more importantly, we remain at a great distance from the goal of growing the sector to 100 billion dollars.”

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The next government should recognize that it matters what the agenda of the I&B Ministry is. It matters what the Ministry sees as its dominant priority. Do you see media as a tool for transforming lives thereby using it in the interest of serving the population or as something so powerful that it needs to be controlled?

“But, this is not a sector whose value is measured just by the size of its financial contribution. Media and entertainment remains central to defining the direction of India’s social and economic path; its work remains key to the imagination and inspiration of a billion Indians every day; and its health will be central to the ethos and values of the society we collectively shape,” Uday Shankar said.

Stating that it is hugely important that we are gathered here in the days and weeks leading up to the national elections – one which comes at a particularly important time in our post-independence history, Uday Shankar added: “We have run the course on exploiting the momentum of the first set of economic reforms unleashed in 1991. We have created enormous opportunities and wealth for many. And, now, we are faced with a far more complex set of economic and social choices, including on the ideal role of the government, its relationship with industry and, in fact, the relationship of the private sector with the overall society at large.”

He said no relationship is more important than the one between the government and the media. In many ways - and not uniquely to India - this is a relationship which by the very nature of its constituents is conditioned to be adversarial. Governments and political leaders are deeply aware of the power of shaping the message. “The natural instinct of the state is

to control the message. And, where it can, to control the messenger. The natural instinct of the media, whether the news media or the creative community, is to resist control, is to question authority. There is, therefore, tension inherent in the conflicting instincts of the two constituents,” he said.

Star India head said in India, that relationship has often moved from being just adversarial to flirting on the boundaries of dysfunctionality. Used to only a compliant state media, successive central governments have often used policy to limit free expression.And, increasingly, state governments have crossed the boundary to actually own and run private media enterprises. Why just run channels when you can integrate across the whole value chain, and run entire businesses from delivery to content?

“It is surprising indeed that irrespective of the political party or government, the expectation from the media is that they will always be flag bearers for the party line. So, there is no complaint when the media builds up the image of a clean, technocratic Prime Minister. Nor is there any problem when the media trumpets the idea of a youth leader or champions the development achievements of state leaders. But dare they cross the line into seeking accountability or evidence ofperformance, they are dubbed as incompetent, or worse,corrupt,” he said.

He further said: “What truly outraged

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me was the recent turn of events. It was the media that had created rock stars out of a bunch of street artists and protesters.

It was the relentless 24 by 7 coverage of fasts and high decibel theatrics that created a political party from thin air and installed them in the government. You would have thought these leaders would have been grateful to the media for nurturing them. And, yet, even they resorted to accusations of corruption the minute the conversation turned to accountability for their choices and performance!”

Uday Shankar stressed: “Of course, the media has been more than just a silent victim in creating this environment. Too often, the news media has focused on what is sensational rather than what is important. Too often, the point of news seems to be to reduce the extraordinary diversity of the country to the most banal, a contest between extremes that can only

and importance has meant the industry perennially stays on a back foot, defending itself against every new wave of regulation aimed only at further curtailing its wings. In return, the government has not been able to leverage either the impact that mass media can have in India or harness the power of media as an economic engine that can create jobs and wealth,” he added.

Stating that it is therefore appropriate that the weeks before the elections is the right time to call for a new contract between the government and the media. One that reaffirms both stakeholders to the theme of this year’s FICCI Frames: Transforming Lives, he said the central principle of this contract should be the recognition that this industry is a unique and powerfuleconomic enterprise. It is capable of creating employment and wealth much faster than most other sectors and

The regulatory agenda is one of the most crucial parameters that will shape how this industry will look like in the next 5, 10 and 15 years, and after some progress in the last few years, this agenda has now completely stalled be resolved through a shouting match on live television. With singular dominant narratives, the trend seems to be of creating heroes on a particular day only to be labelled as thugs and crooks the next.”

Going down the memory lane, he said, “Legend has it that, in the early years of independence, Prime Minister Nehru used to write criticisms of his own government under pseudonyms published in leading newspapers. So concerned was he about a press that was not free and was not fiercely independent. It is ironic that today,it is perhaps easier to get articles published for a fee in newspapers than to place an honest criticism of the government. Nehru’s successors, both in politics and in the media, have strayed a long way away from that aspirational vision of the role of media in Indian society.”

“Instead, it is now a broken relationship, and one that has dire consequences for both the industry as well as the government. The failure to establish credibility

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with the ability to be a force multiplier, like it is in most countries. It is particularly relevant in India because it can be an employment generator without sizable public investments and without being hampered by the deficiencies of public infrastructure.

“Why would you not nourish an industry which has the potential to become a huge employer? Why would you not fuel an industry that can grow with more policy support than resource support?” he asked.

He said the regulatory agenda is one of the most crucial parameters that will shape how this industry will look like in the next 5, 10 and 15 years, and after some progress in the last few years, this agenda has now completely stalled. Whether in accelerating the digitization of television delivery, or creating progressive frameworks on consumer pricing, this agenda is waiting the arrival of a transformational government.

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global vision

India can Entertain Whole World

Punit Goenka CEO & MD, ZEEL

Punit Goenka, MD, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd says that India can produce content which is of international standards and has the ability and potential to entertain and engage the global audience. He said this in his address at FICCI FRAMES 2014.

“

Media and entertainment as an industry has played a vital role in enhancing the lifestyle patterns across the nation”, said Punit Goenka, CEO & MD, Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

Speaking at FICCI Frames, he said.

“From the moment I noted the theme of this year, which is based on the role that Media and Entertainment industry has played in Transforming Lives, I was extremely excited to share my perspectives on the same, since I have been fortunate to witness, the role that Television has played in the societal upliftment for the past two decades.”

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Stating that M&E industry has played a crucial role in enhancing lifestyle patterns across India, right from the language, to one’s social conduct, to even one’s clothing patterns, Punit said media has also been a key driver of certain critical social messages, which have generated the desired levels of awareness amongst people.

“And most above, the Industry has played a crucial role in enhancing our economy by generating immense employment opportunities. As per the latest reports, this industry employs over 6 million people, clearing justifying its substantial contriLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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bution to the overall economy. Gone are the days when this industry was purely looked at, as a medium of glamour. It is now recognized as a medium of employment, and betterment of society, and I consider myself to be privileged to be a part of this industry,” he said.

Pointing out a KPMG report, Punit said the industry has shown a healthy 12% growth to Rs. 92,800 Cr in the year 2013, largely backed with the roll out of digitization. “It has reached at a juncture which is filled with opportunities and challenges,” he said, adding: ”The year 2013 certainly has been an important year for the industry, witnessing impactful changes in the overall paradigm. From a Television Industry perspective, whether it was the roll out of digitization phases, or the implementation of 12 minites advertising cap, or even the concrete initiatives taken

by Broadcast Audience Research Council in the overall audience measurement ecosystem, the year has seen it all.”

He added: “Even from the Film Industry perspective, there has been a double digit growth, with many titles scoring brilliantly on box office collections. The print sector, on the other hand grew at a CAGR of 8.5 % percent this year to reach Rs. 24,300 crore. It is now time to capitalize the opportunities and march ahead to achieve higher milestones. It is time to unleash the required levels of innovation and creativity, which would open up newer avenues of growth. It is now time to repay back to the industry, what it has given us till date.”

The Zee boss said it is no longer a rapidly growing Indian Media & Entertainment Industry. “What I firmly believe is that, this Industry has all that it takes to have global aspirations. This industry is blessed with such great talent and potential, that it has all the required elements to produce content which is of international standards, to device world class content distribution platforms, and most

above the ability and potential to entertain and engage the global audience. In fact the global media and entertainment ecosystem is poised at an extremely interesting juncture, which is filled with opportunities. It is extremely essential for us to prepare ourselves to face the changing dynamics of this global industry.”

Pointing to a latest PWC report, he said the global media and entertainment market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% over the next five years, generating a revenue of US $ 2.2 trillion. “What is interesting to note is that consumer spend on access of content will rise upto 30% in the year 2017, from 24% which was in the year 2012. This connotes that the consumers are ready to pay that extra rupee for accessing content based on their preferred time, place and screen. Content Creators need to address this demand by ensuring that they are present at whichever time the consumer demands your content, on whichever screen he wishes to access,” he said.

Stating that the mobile internet spend is estimated to exceed the fixed broadband spend in markets like US and South Korea, followed by UK, he said these reports further reinforce the major paradigm shift expected in these markets. “So on a global distribution front, content creators will have to adapt the new-age distribution platforms as well, apart from the primary platforms like television.”

Concluding his address, he said: “So the point which I would like to drive home this morning, while summarizing this keynote, is that as an industry, we are absolutely geared up to face the global consumers. So till date, if we have transformed the lives of the Indian audiences, our aim should be to transform the lives of the global audiences. I firmly believe that we as an industry certainly possess the potential to entertain the world, and we should march towards achieving the same.”

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innovation from zeel

Around th wi

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he World ith Ditto TV of Zee New Media, ZEEL’s digital business arm, has witnessed a remarkable growth garnering over 3.25 lakh subscribers and over 2 million + registered users in 251 countries including the UK, the UAE, New Zealand, Australia and the US. An insight into this entertainment revolution

Bikini TV is now available LIVE on Ditto TV

Ditto TV has tied up with mobile payment provider Fortumo to introduce a new mobile payment option to simplify the overall consumer experience

Ditto TV is the first over-the-top (OTT) TV distribution platform, created by Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL). It is available in all the international markets across the globe and has created a digital revolution in the entertainment space, transforming the way content is consumed today.

Essentially, Ditto TV offers a more flexible, customized way of enjoying TV and VOD content, offering LIVE TV Channels and Video-on-Demand content to consumers while on the go. The LIVE TV channels empower you to truly be mobile and access live entertainment at your fingertips instead of being confined to the television screen and bound by the original telecast time. Further, Video-on-Demand content offered by the platform is tailored to meet your demanding needs when you want

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to catch up on your favourite programmes, as per your convenience. This means that TV shows can be watched in real-time, on-the-go, at the simple click of a button. Ditto TV has access to the largest collection of premium content, spread across leading content genres like GEC, Sports, Lifestyle, Regional and News, along with rich on-demand video capabilities and also offers unique and compelling experience, delivering a seamless video viewing experience on a range of Internetenabled devices. Currently hosting over 70 LIVE TV channels, Ditto TV has partnered for content with India Cast Media Distribution, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., BIG Magic TV, BIG RTL Thrill, Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment Television), TAJ TV Limited, Sri Adhikari Brothers, TV Today Network, BBC and ZEE. LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Ditto TV has a huge network spanning across 251 countries

Ditto TV powers the complete backend of the Dishonline app aimed at providing TV, Movies, TV Shows and VOD on the move

To place your content call Anshul on +91 9820216972 or Email:

aparna.acharekar @zee.esselgroup.com

How has been Ditto TV’s growth in recent months?

Since its inception, Ditto TV has witnessed a remarkable growth garnering over 3.25 lakh paid subscribers, two million users and over a half a million downloads till date. Ditto TV has a huge network spanning across 251 countries including the UK, the UAE, New Zealand, Australia and the US. It has also strengthened its position in the APAC region with viewers from 17 countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand and Taiwan have access to Live ZEE content using the Ditto TV app.

One strategic development in the recent months was the tie–up with Fortumo to introduce a new payment option for consumers wherein they can pay through their mobile operator. In addition, we have also partnered with ‘Payment Solution Providers’ like Oxigen, itzcash, Pay-

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world and Pay1 which offers Ditto TV users the convenience to make payments at these solution provider kiosks or even at the nearest retail outlets. On the content offering, Ditto TV has added three channels from the Times Television Network (TNN) - ET Now, Times Now and Zoom to its bouquet and the 24 hour international channel, Bikini TV is also now available LIVE on the app. Ditto TV also launched a new campaign ‘Jab BhiKare Indian TV Shows Ka Mood’ in the UK market.

Today, Ditto TV offers over 70 LIVE TV channels and access to premium Video on Demand content through its strategic alliance with India Cast Media Distribution, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., BIG Magic TV, BIG RTL Thrill, Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment Television), TAJ TV Limited, Sri Adhikari Brothers, TV Today Network, BBC, and ZEE.

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What do people like to see on the move - on the tablet or phone? What is it that they would like to order and watch?

The changing lifestyle and preferences among consumers has led to a paradigm shift in content consumption patterns. Increasingly, people are opting for alternate avenues to consume content and television is no more the first screen option.

A recent survey from Ditto TV threw up some interesting statistics and trivia on user habits: iOS users are heavy viewers of news channels along with GECs while Android users prefer to watch GECs and regional channels. Furthermore, An-

our consumers. Ditto TV will also have exclusive content tailored for the platform catering to both Indian and international audiences. We have also introduced new payment options to further enhance the user experience. Ditto TV is now gearing up to introduce new payment models, offer social media integration, and explore strategic partnerships with international content owners to have access to ondemand content from global channels & networks

OTT has become a trendsetter and here to stay. How does Ditto TV look at this trend?

Over the last decade, there has been a paraThe changing consumer lifestyle and preferences has led digm shift in content consumption habits to emergence of new avenues for content consumption. among consumers.

With the growing adoption of smartphones and tablets, Increasingly, they Television and mobile screens are converging to offer a new are opting for new alway for content consumption while on the go. We now are ternate avenues for content consumption seeing content developers trying to tailor make content for which led to the emermobiles consumption which is testimonial to the immense gence of the OTT secpotential that this category holds for the media and entertor. Today, with the growing adoption of tainment industry ahead smartphones, better Debashish Gosh internet services and Chief Knowledge officer – Essel Group demand for ‘content on the go’, the OTT segment is enjoying a strong affability among droid is the most popular OS on Ditto TV consumers. One key aspect that will drive in terms of number of users while PC this burgeoning OTT segment will be users consume the maximum playtime content and the user experience. Players (31%) followed by Android users (28%). like Ditto TV are well poised to garner a The News genre has grown from an averlion’s share of viewers because of the vaage 18-19% share of total viewership to riety and the rich premium quality connearly 30% post Dec due to the pre-electent they offer. In addition, Ditto TV also tions coverage. Apart from this, regional looks at innovative means to enhance the language channels and sports are also consumer mobile viewing experience highly popular. But in general, the trend through ‘mobisodes’. Ditto TV has also of consuming GECs is highest followed introduced new payments options such by sports, news and then movies / VOD. as payment through mobile operator or through payment solution providers, to What are your goals for DITTO TV in further enhance the consumer experience. the next one year?

Even leading DTH players in the country Since its launch, Ditto TV has grown to are launching their OTT app which is a become one of the leading players in the clear indication of the immense potential OTT space. During our launch phase, the and future for the OTT segment. idea was to offer a ‘TV viewing experience’ to our consumers and hence the foWhat are the three new things that cus was on the interface. Now our second you have built in to Ditto TV platform phase will focus on ‘enhancing user expein recent times? rience’. Hence we will explore strategic New payment option: One strategic develpartnerships with international studios opment at Ditto TV in recent times is the to bring rich premium content bouquet to tie up with mobile payment provider For-

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tumo to introduce a new mobile payment option to further simplify the overall consumer experience. With this partnership, Ditto TV users can now subscribe to their favourite content on Ditto TV and make payments directly through their mobile operator, and without the need of a credit card, cash on delivery (COD), or net banking options. This payment model is available for both post- paid and pre- paid mobile users.

New website: In addition, we have also content can now be consumed online on the newly launched website – www. dittotv.com. The website is specially designed with complete ease-of-use to give you the best streaming and surfing experience and it includes added features and new modes of payment.

Ditto TV powers Dishonline: Ditto TV also powers the complete backend of the Dishonline app, an offering from India’s leading DTH Company aimed at providing TV, Movies, TV Shows and VOD on the move. The launch of DishOnline (powered by Ditto TV) gives Dish TV a huge competitive advantage as it is the only service provider in the cable TV and DTH industry to offer this one-of-a-kind facility.

On the content front, Ditto TV has added three new channels- ET Now, Times Now and Zoom to its bouquet and the 24 hour international channel, Bikini TV is also now available LIVE on Ditto TV!

were consumed through mobile devices and with a number of applications and websites now coming up, mobile television has become an independent medium in itself, with a very loyal audience base.

Hence a strategic partnership with large catalogued movie companies is bound to be a win-win situation for all. We are already in talks with some prominent movie distribution and production houses at the moment. Going forward our key focus will continue to be to explore partnership international content owners / production houses to bring rich premium content for our consumers and enhance their viewing experience.

MIPTV and NAB SHOW bring the best of the content creators from across the world? What content do look for?

Getting the right content mix to the viewer is very essential. And hence to feel the pulse of our viewers, we studied their usage patterns across categories such as GEC, movies, news, sports and music besides Video-On-demand available in the OTT format on devices. A varied mix of preferences was shown by the users with 41% of the total time consumed on GECs, while The News genre has grown from an average 18-19% share of total viewership to nearly 30% post December due to the pre elections coverage. These are quite interesting findings for us as they act as markers when we search for fresh con-

We at Ditto TV are committed to making the user experiWhat are your expectations from ence as seamless, convenient and memorable as possible. large catalogued We want to offer viewers the largest collection of premium movie companies? content, spread across diverse genres and also offer the How would you convenience of paying subscriptions through variety of like to engage with them? payment options in order to enhance their viewing experiPlatforms such as ence. We are confident that our efforts to offer a seamless Ditto TV present video viewing experience will allow consumers to enjoy our good value to aggrevaried content on Ditto TV gators of content like production houses Manoj Padmanabhan and movie companies Business Head, Ditto TV that own blockbusters and other critically acclaimed works since they are able to tap tent; we now know what our preferences a wider viewership and cover a greater should be when we engage with content section of audience, all through one meproducers and sales agents. Consequentdium. According to market statistics ly, Comedy, Action and Kids content are close to 42 per cent of the movie trailers some of the genres which offer immense 45

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Ditto TV’s association with Siemens Ditto TV has partnered with Siemens to develop a strong OTT technology platform that offers adaptive streaming that allow for Content Delivery via Content Delivery Networks. This technology ensures an optimal feed basis the available bandwidth strength and allows users to select the feed based on their data connection which includes 3G, Wi-Fi and Fixed line broadband connections. It guarantees in-time delivery of assets to users in the best possible quality. The Ditto TV system consists of fully scalable components (Ingest, CMS, DRM and Subscriber Management) based on standard COTS technology to avoid limitations with respect to the number of content assets and subscriber base. The High Performance streaming servers guarantee low footprint/energy consumption. potential. We already have made a foray into the kids genre by adding Pogo and Cartoon Network to our bouquet of channels. We are also interested in international premium content, which has hitherto not been exposed to Indian Television.

We have several platforms today. Is Ditto TV present on all of them?

Ditto TV is the first operator-agnostic service of its kind and it is present across all Operating Systems such as Android, iOS, Symbian, Windows, Windows PC, Windows phone, Windows MAC as well as on Connected TVs. Each platform is unique in its features and capabilities and hence the challenge here was to develop the best cross-formatted app, rather than for just couple of platforms. Ditto TV uses Central Content Distribution System to share content across multiple platforms for a seamless viewing experience. Ditto TV was ranked #1 on the AppleApp Store within a week of its launch, and listed in ‘Featured Apps’ on the BlackBerry App World & Windows Store ‘Spotlight’.

How is Ditto TV’s engagement with Content owners and aggregator?

What’s the transparency you have set

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in the engagement?

The OTT segment has witnessed significant growth in recent times and one key element driving this growth has been the evolving ecosystem. We have better internet services, growing adoption for smart phones and reduction in internet tariffs by telecom players which has led to increasing the consumer engagement in the OTT space. Our engagement with content owners is more of a partnership than transactional. We want to co-exist with our partners in the eco system rather than function in isolation. We have implemented a big data solution that gives us the capability to source complete information on the demographics of the consumer: nature of content consumed, duration of viewing, devices used, geographical spread, etc. In addition we can also offer subscription pattern, viewership details, most viewed content etc. all of which is valuable insight for content owners. This information helps them to streamline the content as per user preference and offers scope for content localization. The priceless information on consumer analysis helps the content owners to be benefitted in sourcing partnership with us.

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