Pickle March 2014

MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM KAMAL HAASAN March 2014

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CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF

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MAY 14

- 23,

2014

+ Bronx (Paris) www.bronx.fr

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The iconic FICCI FRAMES 2014, in its 15th year, in keeping with the mood of India as she goes to polls, aims to celebrate the immense transformational potential of the Media & Entertainment Sector. A look at the rapid changes that are happening now...

16/01/14 15:21 10-03-2014 14:32:12

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MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM KAMAL HAASAN March 2014

70 7 11

ts n pa i ic t r pa

20 19 400

s er y bu www.picklemag.com

tors i b i exh

1 460 screenings

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF

AIM HIGH ER

MAY 14

- 23,

2014

+ Bronx (Paris) www.bronx.fr

om ne li lm.c n o fi r te hedu s c gi Re .mar w ww

MDF_2014_AP_PICKEL_130x250.indd 1 March_2014_Cover.indd 1

The iconic FICCI FRAMES 2014, in its 15th year, in keeping with the mood of India as she goes to polls, aims to celebrate the immense transformational potential of the Media & Entertainment Sector. A look at the rapid changes that are happening now...

16/01/14 15:21 10-03-2014 14:32:12

A F I M

dustry

film in n o i t a m i r the an

arket foiness m p o t ’s us e world ns into b

Th

reativity

Where c

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cy.org 11 - 13

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June 2014

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9-14 ANNEtiCvaYl J u n e s Fe Mifa 2014 ferences Con

elegates ǵ 7,100 d tries ǵ 80 coun ompanies ǵ 2,000 c ers, ǵ 340 buy rs and to u ib distr investors

10-03-2014 14:32:13

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

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e are delighted to present this latest issue of Pickle on the occasion of 15th anniversary of FICCI FRAMES. Undoubtedly, this is one of the finest Media & Entertainment conference and the best networking event in India. It is the best place to refresh and tune in to what is trending in the media business. You get clarity, solution and answers to anything on the media and entertainment landscape in India.

FICCI FRAMES is also one of the biggest influencers both in terms of regulatory interventions from the government’s side and to bring a process and structure to the chaotic M&E sector. FICCI has come out with a set of issues, which require the immediate attention of political parties.

During the three magical days of FRAMES, the venue of the event turns into a vibrant, pulsating and colourful marketplace showcasing products and services of leading media and entertainment companies. We have captured insights from some of the brightest of the media and entertainment minds in this issue of Pickle. As India heads up for general elections, Jehil

Thakar, Head, Media & Entertainment Sector, KPMG in India, in his interview says the industry looks forward to pick up growth in the next twelve months, but it may not be significant unless there is a surprise and a clear majority government.

Indian Institute of ManagementBangalore Professor for Corporate Strategy and Policy Dr S Raghunath, who tracks Kamal Haasan’s work closely, says the actor, screenwriter, director and producer is an important commercial force in Indian cinema and that his vision for the future of feature film business can demolish any opposition that gets into his innovative ways of creating, producing and distributing feature films, and professionalizing the entertainment industry. We also have deep insights from Ranjit Nair, CEO, Germin8 on the influence of analytics in decision making and how it can be effectively deployed by the Indian M&E sector.

Our forthcoming April issue is focused on MIPTV and NAB SHOW and May issue will be dedicated to Cannes Film Festival and Market. Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions.

n vidyasagar pickle media nvidyasagar@gmail.com, www.picklemag.com

Pickle Volume VII 8th edition Editorial Coordinators :

Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com ● Mumbai ● Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

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CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF

THE THEME OF 15TH ANNIVERSARY ING LIVES” IN KEEPING WITH CATALYST FOR SOCIAL

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FRAMES OF FICCI FRAMES IS “TRANSFORM THE M&E’S INTEGRAL ROLE AS A & ECONOMIC CHANGE

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FICCI FRAMES 2014

15 YEARS OF GROWTH

For one-and-a-half decades, FICCI has been championing M&E sector -- from the time it got “industry status” to this fast-growing sector, the flagship three-day annual conclave FICCI FRAMES has become a boardroom discussion for the industry on moving forward, says Sidharth Birla, President, FICCI

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he Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) Industry, as it crosses new frontiers, is poised to grow in an inimitable way: massive digital growth, quite unique, considering that alongside the new media, traditional media is also flourishing. However, for this transition process to be complete, an enabling regulatory infrastructure and forward-looking policy reforms that support financing, technological and skilling needs of the industry are the need of the hour.

For one-and-a-half decades, FICCI has been championing M&E sector -- from the time it got “industry status” to this fast-growing sector, the flagship threeday annual conclave FICCI FRAMES has become a boardroom discussion for the industry on moving forward.

The theme of FICCI FRAMES 2014, the landmark 15th chapter of the historic path-breaking convention is Media and Entertainment: Transforming Lives, highlighting the role of media and entertainment as the catalyst for social and economic change for a nation and the moral conscience of a democracy like ours.

Through the last fifteen years, FICCI has been instrumental in bringing about several policy changes through consistent dialogue with the policy-makers and the stakeholders.

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For an INR 920 billion M&E industry that epitomizes India’s soft power, the opportunity to spur its growth is now.

This is how the industry has almost a multiplier impact on the economy, ■ Massive Digitalization, which is underway, if implemented to the last mile, will fetch tax revenue to the tune of USD one billion per annum to the government coffers.

■ The M&E sector has the potential to engage a 1.2 billion consumers and create a value proposition that could be easily termed as new source of economic and social wealth.

■ An enabling regulatory infrastructure and policy reforms if implemented, would result in a world class entertainment economy for India which is estimated to generate 10 million new jobs. That too without much burden on the exchequer.

Stakes are high, no doubt, but doable. FICCI FRAMES has brought together different stakeholders and a consensus on specific steps in order to redefine and accelerate the strides taken by the Indian M&E Sector in the global arena, ■ Policy and regulatory initiatives top the list of prerequisites to sustain the growth of the M&E industry. Although, Indian M&E companies have shown an admirable commitment to LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Through the last fifteen years, FICCI has been instrumental in bringing about several policy changes through consistent dialogue with the policy-makers and the stakeholders Sidharth Birla, President, FICCI

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entertain the Indian audience as well as the Indian Diaspora with a compelling content, there is more to this industry than glamour and glitz. The M&E industry is keen to ensure that efforts do not stop at just securing industry status; the aspiration is to bring about a fundamental change in the mind-set so that industry is treated on par with other sectors be it for financing, taxation, mergers and acquisition, technology upgradation or skilling of the work-force it employs.

Both in business and creative terms, the Indian M&E sector remains smaller than it should be in a country of 1.2 billion people. India’s share is less than 2% of the global pie of the M&E sector which stands at around USD 2 trillion. Countries such as Canada, Korea, Philippines and Indonesia offer incentives and tax benefits to M&E industry. It does appear that Indian industry is disadvantaged viz-a-viz countries where such policy support is more forthcoming.

What the industry seeks, therefore, is an enabling and rationalized tax environment, especially in select subsegments of the M&E sector, such as slashing the high import duty on set-top boxes and trim entertainment tax.

Within the M&E sector, all stakeholders have to look for common ground, arrive at a consensus on formidable

challenges that confront the industry and present a united vision on way forward. Such engagement within the industry as well as with policy makers would go a long way in enabling the sector fulfill the potential to provide inclusive growth, employment and wealth generation.

Our young demographics provide an added advantage to innovate. Time has come to support the industry with right incentives, so that the industry could leverage not only the rapidly changing technology but continue to upgrade the capabilities of its workforce or even reskill the 10 million people it employs.

As per FICCI’s projections, M&E industry is capable of creating employment and wealth much faster than most other sectors. The industry has the ability to be a force multiplier and this is of particular significance to India. Here’s an industry that could be an employment generator without massive public investments. This is also where publicprivate partnership is the way forward, especially to train manpower to meet the growing skill demand in the fields of digitization, films, animation, gaming, visual effects, content developer, new technologies, lighting or scriptwriting.

The M&E industry is truly a global industry, targeting over a billion consumers and employing millions. Time has come to give this industry its due recognition.

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Uday Shankar Chairman FICCI Media & Entertainment Committee and CEO, Star India

We are into the 15th edition of FICCI FRAMES. It is time for us to remember Yashji who had played a pivotal role in building Media and Entertainment as a cohesive community with a clear identity, and made FICCI FRAMES its most distinguished platform.

My goal and objective will be to work with you all to further reinforce this community and accelerate the growth of the industry.

What FICCI FRAMES does to the industry is to voice its concerns, chart a route for the voyage ahead and give an inkling of what is to come tomorrow.

FICCI F

Kamal Hassan Chairman, FICCI MEBC, South

Vikram Chandra Group CEO, NDTV

FICCI has been a consistent partner for the broadcast industry in our efforts towards digitization to guarantee greater transparency and consolidation of the sector. FICCI FRAMES is one of the most effective platforms for the industry to come together and brainstorm on the way forward.

Thank you FICCI for having us here. It is great to be here in Mumbai. I and my wife (Deborra-Lee Furness) have longed to come to India so we are thrilled to be here.

Hugh Jackman It’s a great country. People Actor are incredible. The colours, the sounds, the history, the spirituality, everything that India is made of, inspire me and my wife.

I will definitely be coming back.

15 YEA

The Indian media and entertainment industry is in the cusp of FICCI FRAMES cona change just as FICCI FRAMES tinues to bring about relevant people, celebrates its fifteenth anniversary. have discussions on topics about FICCI FRAMES has evolved into a the change that is happening multi-faceted convention, covering around us. I feel that it’s a wonthe entire gamut of Media & Enterderful forum, and with each tainment and for the industry, it has year the forum keeps on growing. Yes, emerged as the most definitive platform FICCI FRAMES is getting better and better each year. to debate in and network at

Neeraj Roy

MD, Hungama Digital Entertainment

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We at FICCI would like to dedicate FICCI FRAMES 2014 to the memory of Yash Chopra, who was part of the founding team of FRAMES and our chairman for over a decade. Yash Chopra was the heart and soul of FICCI. Not just today, but he will be missed for years to come.

You were responsible for FICCI’s presence in the M&E sector, the policy changes that we have been able to steer for the industry have been due to your vision and immense commitment to the industry & FICCI.

RAMES

5 ARS

FICCI FRAMES grew along with the Indian Media & Entertainment sector and is now firmly entrenched as an event which is for, of and by the industry. It is Asia’s largest convention on the business of entertainment.

Amit Mitra Former Secretary General, FICCI

This wasn’t the first time I’ve been to India, or indeed FRAMES. It goes without saying that India is a terrific place to do business and is being recognised on a global scale for its innovation and fast paced industry growth. It is always a pleasure to speak at FRAMES. The festival is highly regarded and attended by an impressive array of delegates from across the world.

Tessa Jowell MP, Former Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sports, UK

I was honoured and most pleased to participate in your FRAMES business and entertainment conference, Hollywood and Bollywood share the Daniel Glickman same inspiration: we Former President, make the magic of the Motion Picture Association of movies. It was a real America (MPA) pleasure for me to speak about those challenges and opportunities and to learn about the strength of the Indian movie industry.

Late YASH CHOPRA Chairman FICCI Entertainment Committee

The popularity of FICCI FRAMES has been growing year on year. FRAMES has attracted a large number of delegates from around the world, stands testimony to the event’s increasing importance

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Karan Johar Chair, FICCI FRAMES

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Conferences like FRAMES are absolutely vital. They are like one Stop Shop, a GiAndy Bird ant Hyper President, Walt Disney Market International for Indian Entertainment Sector.... I’ll be back!!

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AGENDA FOR FUTURE SHABNAM

FICCI COPYRIGHT ISSUES As India moves into knowledge based economy; a strong Intellectual Property regime that provides adequate safeguards to the holder of copyright becomes increasingly important.

WISH LIST

BUSINESS FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT Creating a business friendly environment is vital for the stable growth of the industry and battle slowdown. Various tax issues need to be revisited. The mindset in the government (especially the finance ministry) has to change in looking media and entertainment sector as a growth sector and not just with glamour quotient.

SIMPLIFIED POLICY REGIME Entry norms need to be simplified by introducing a transparent and time bound process for registration and licensing of new channels. The Government should do away with their policy of fixing prices of channels. Market forces should determine channel pricing. People should be given the freedom to choose what they want to see and at the price they want to pay for the same.

RADIO REFORMS The industry has been looking forward for reforms in the radio space. The tenure of Phase II licenses should be increased to 15 years upon migration. Also, no Migration fees should be charged. The reserve Price for Phase III should be determined as an average of all bids in a particular category of city. Allow private news in FM radio channels.

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DIGITIZATION The ongoing Cable TV digitization has to be executed across the country. Effective implementation of DAS in the given timelines is critical for the industry; The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has declared December 31, 2014 as the sunset date for analogue cable TV. FDI should be brought under the “automatic route” both for content and distribution up to 100% (excluding news which may have security concerns). Also, steps should be taken towards reduction in Carriage Fees.

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Media & Entertainment should not be looked at as only glamour which needs to be taxed regressively but as a growth engine that needs nurturing INNOVATION An environment should be created which encourages new / independent players to come up with differentiated and segmented content. The Government should promote innovation in the area of content development. This shall provide lot of job opportunities to young and creative people, provide business opportunities, increase revenues for the Government and lead to stupendous growth.

ANTI-PIRACY INITIATIVES Pro-active policy initiatives are needed to do away with piracy. The size of the pirated content industry is approximately 38 % of the size of the Indian Media and Entertainment Industry and 55% of the size of the Indian film industry. Losses on account of piracy for the year 2012 have been estimated to cost the film industry around USD 1.1 billion which is equivalent to INR 6,050 crore.

Piracy continues to cripple the industry and thus effective anti-piracy laws and their enforcement should be imposed by the Government.

GST & DIRECT TAX CODE Introduce GST and the Direct Tax Code and simplify the existing clutter of taxes and tax administration thereby allowing industry to plan better knowing the system will remain stable for the foreseeable future. GST needs to be introduced quickly and all indirect taxes brought under its ambit so that input credit can be availed of and the cascading impact of indirect taxes mitigated. Steps should be taken to subsume all local body entertainment tax into the GST levy, so as to ensure seamless value chain till the consumers’ end.

DD KIDS’ CHANNEL To boost the demand for kids and animation content for TV broadcasting, the national broadcaster Doordarshan should start a 24x7 Kids channel. Also, each local DD Kendra should allocate a few slots everyday for kids content. This will create the demand for local kid’s content. And compulsorily 15% of the content produced for kids channel by broadcasters should be locally produced in India .

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ANIMATION AND VFX Even today there is a policy problem. If you make an animation film with domestic content and sell it in the domestic market you are taxed.

Whereas if you do it for somebody outside and send it as an export there is no tax. This is prevalent in other sectors also, but this need a relook. Government intervention is required to out-pace global competitors and overcome internal challenges like longer gestation, higher cost, lack of funding, higher import duties, lack of trained man power, attractive studio set-up offers from foreign countries.

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KPMG INSIGHTS

GEARING UP FOR

CHANGE

Jehil Thakar, Head, Media & Entertainment Sector, KPMG in India As India heads up for general elections, Jehil Thakar, Head, Media & Entertainment Sector, KPMG in India, says the industry looks forward to pick up growth in the next twelve months, but it may not be signiÀcant unless there is a surprise and a clear majority government

How has the Indian M&E Sector fared in the last twelve months?

India indeed had a tough 2013 with GDP growth plummeting below 5%. The Indian M&E sector performed slightly below the projected growth at about 12%. But given the state of the economy this was not bad. Spends on advertising were good for the first half of the year but lagged in the second half. Even the festive season did not provide much of a boost. The saving graces were regional print, circulation revenue, digital media and some increases in TV subscription revenue.

What’s the growth expected in the next twelve months for the M&E Sector?

In the next twelve months, we do expect growth to pick up slightly but not significantly unless there is a surprise and a clear majority government. A lot of spending had been held back because of political uncertainty and hopefully that will come back post elections. The elections and IPL will provide some buffer in the first half of the year for advertising but overall the economy is likely to remain soft.

If you can list four or five major game changers for the industry in recent times, what are they? Will these help the industry in medium term?

There were a few game changers and the digitisation of the cable industry was the biggest of them all. The seeding of set-top boxes has been largely completed in Phase I and II cities. However, the packaging of channels and the follow on ARPU increases are yet to take place. This

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What will Boost the M&E Industry ■ ■

■ ■

Revise the TV rate structure Implement Radio Phase III and associated regulations including news deregulation for radio Provide incentives for production and animation Relook at the wage board recommendations for the print sector

The film industry recorded a double digit growth in 2013, but slower than in 2012

The print media sector grew at a CAGR of 8.5 per cent this year to reach INR 243 billion

Internet user base grew to 214 million

Digital media advertising in India grew faster than any other advertising category If there is a weak coalition government, political uncertainly will persist and inhibit the growth of the M&E industry

Election spending will certainly give a boost to news companies , both in print and TV

130 million online users via mobile devices

Almost all the cinema theatre screens in the country are now digitized

In an increasingly digitized media world, the ability to create compelling and targeted content across multiple channels, will be the bedrock for creating differentiation in a cluttered market

TV and Print will continue to dominate as the #1 and #2 mediums

What the M&E Industry Still Needs to do Logistics and funding for successful digitization

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Viable digital monetization models and off deck solutions for print and new media

Robust measurement systems for radio and online platforms

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will happen in time. The other game changer over the last 2-3 years has been the spread of digital screens. Almost all the screens in the country are now digitized. Cost of physical prints is now history and this infrastructure also enables the release of movies in 3,000 plus screens or on select screens based on demographics. This has improved industry economics dramatically. Another one is the rise of digital media. Digital advertising has been growing north of 35% for 3-4 years and has now surpassed radio in terms of spend. The B2B revenue also is likely to be a driver for content owners now that the telcos are focused on driving revenue from data services. Of course, entertainment content is one of the key levers to drive data revenue.

Will there be gains in advertising profits for TV because of elections?

There is also IPL this summer?

There certainly will be gains. IPL, of course, is already built into media budgets and revenue projections. Election spending will certainly give a boost to news companies -- both in print and TV. The election spending that occurred in 4 states that held elections in the last few months has certainly helped the publications in those areas. We will see a similar boost across the country Last year, you listed five potential risks that can derail growth-- implementation risks in cable TV digitization, further delay in phase III rollout, unsuccessful implementation of 4G, lack of necessary incentives and policy support by government and continued low rate of economic growth. Except partial implementation in digitization, risks continue to exist. How will this impact the industry going forward?

Yes, these risks continue to exist. TV digitization is still a risk if the back ends at MSOs are not implemented and packaging does not translate to higher ARPUs. Phase III is still an issue and will obviously now only get looked at by the new government, the wide roll out of 4G is still awaited although better implementation of 3G and stress on data revenue by the telcos is helping, low economic growth is certainly a challenge as is political uncertainty. Low growth is proportional to ad spends and unless GDP growth picks up, we will see ad spends remain muted.

If there is a weak coalition government, political uncertainly will persist and inhibit the growth of the M&E industry.

Regulation – delayed too much, too little and too inconsistent in some cases remains an issue. What we need is a broad, overarching and long term policy that is adhered to.

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What are the immediate needs of the industry? Where does the challenge lie? Is it in taxes levied by government or lack of innovation/strategies by companies?

It’s both. Taxes like entertainment tax, issues around service tax, are certainly bigger issue. However, many companies have been too comfortable for too long doing business in a way that was inconsistent with an evolving and maturing market as well as consumer demands.

These companies, unless they change and implement processes, technology and best practices, will be consigned to the ‘has-been’ heap in a few years.

From an overall perspective, do you think the media and entertainment sector is over taxed compared to developing countries in the world?

It’s not about over taxation – of which there is some – but about inconsistent implementation of rules. If there was consistency and predictability across the country, the industry can plan and take long term decisions Between TV and films which is more exciting from the perspective of returns?

Both are exciting businesses in India. TV broadcasting is on a maturation journey with HD, niche channels, higher ARPUs and a wider range of channels. In films, bigger budgets, broader releases and the audience’s acceptance of a wider range of films are all good developments. India is also heavily under screened with a lot of headroom for growth, although in short-term screen additions will slow because of slow growth in commercial real estate development.

What actually brings growth to the overall film sector? Not more than 20 films succeed in 275 odd Hindi films that get released every year or 60 to 75 films from the 1,000 films that we produce. Should we make lesser number of films to achieve more growth?

Rather than fewer films we need more screens so that a broader audience can be addressed. Growth will come from more screens and broadening the revenue base.

India is still highly dependent on box office – almost 70% of the film industry’s revenue comes from domestic box office.

We need to develop more revenue sources like home video, merchandizing, other foreign markets and digital.

Do you think the gains in digital media are visible today for companies who have adapted to digital deployment?

They certainly are. Digital advertising is growing over 35%. The digital sector is LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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2013 was a year in which many parts of the M&E industry paused and took stock. Focus shifted from top line growth to bottom line growth with companies focusing on operations and efÀciency.

Inspite of a very challenging macro environment, the industry grew 12%, a far better performance than many other industries still dependent on advertising. Monetization of digital media is still an issue.

We will have to experiment and come up with some unique ‘India’ models that are innovative. So far, subscription revenue models have not caught on and the download model is only a small niche. Share of data revenue, B2B, etc are some of the others that are driving revenue Is it a setback that we have not gone in for Phase III radio auctioning of new stations as the government had been planning in recent years?

It indeed is. The industry has been awaiting Phase III for a while and has been disappointed repeatedly. In addition to the auctions, there are also regulations that need to be revised including the regulations on news, networking, ownership of multiple stations, etc.

Animation as a domestic industry is dead. Many companies have closed down. What do you think will boost the sector?

Animation has certainly been hit, but I would not say its dead. It has been increasingly fragmented. There are many small animation companies that have sprung up in small towns that are doing outsourced work for larger companies or locally. Production treaties will certainly help – we need many more and an incentive structure that allows Indian animation to compete with the likes of Malaysia and the Philippines. The talent pool is certainly there.

What would you prescribe for M&E companies to focus in the next six to eight months?

Completion of the digitization process by aggressively implementing packaging, etc; start looking at outbound opportunities as there are fast growing markets outside of India that Indian companies can do well in; effectively monetizing digital, cost efficiencies and process implementation; and look at whether you have the right talent in your organization to deal with an evolving industry.

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DESIRED

DISRUP The only disruption I would like is that we reduce the number of films we produce, the number of hours of TV programming and the number of TV channels we have by 30%. Like for a tree to bloom and grow we have to prune its branches we need a trimmer M&E Industry. This will remove a lot of the trashy stuff and make it healthier Industry. Everyone in the value chain will benefit. The purchasing power of the consumers does not warranty the present volumes. For exponential growth this disruption is most needed. And for this I am against any government intervention.

Amit Khanna Filmmaker, Writer, Media Industry Veteran

A holistic shift towards a consumer-based business model is the disruption that could fundamentally transform the Indian M&E sector. This would require 3 things to happen: 1. Freedom of choice for the consumer to choose from a wide array of content and platforms 2. Free-market that allows for pricing flexibility, fair competition and a level playing field 3. Transparency and sanctity of consumer data across media to aid decision making.

Sudhanshu Vats Group CEO, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd.

The major disruption that is driving growth in the Indian M&E segment is Distribution via Digitisation of content. This transformation of content from analog to digital is about to create exponential value for content owners and creators.

This emerging new dimension of digital disruption is driving content strategy as creators and IP owners create content specifically suited for digital platforms with ease of access, low cost of production and enhanced margins. The classic models that are emerging are the freemium/ service based products vs. the purchased ones such as home video, VOD/SVOD or theatricals.

We will see digitalized technologies deliver greater value with more effectiveness in the content ecosystem.

Tapaas Chakravarti Chairman & CEO, DQ Entertainment International

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TIONS

Pickle asked industry veterans on disruption(s) that they would want to happen in Indian M&E sector. This is what they said

Technology would be the biggest game changer in the M&E space. This would make many jobs in the industry redundant -set making, visuals etc -would be led by graphics, and introduce a new set of skill sets that would enable many even if they do not have the talent to participate in the industry particularly in the stunt, and singing category. Going forward the half-life of skills is going to reduce exponentially and therefore persons in this industry would need to be retrained periodically.

Dilip Chenoy CEO & MD National Skill Development Corporation

The digital transformation of the M&E industry should lead to more targeted and engaging content in the medium term. I also see an increased need to provide 360 degree solutions to advertisers and provide multiple platforms to reach out to consumers wherever they are. 4G-technology will enable greater uptake in services including Live TV, HD video/ audio streaming, real time online gaming, high speed data downloads and uploads and could enable introduction of new innovative offerings. I hope to see an aggressive rollout of this technology by the telcos. E-commerce players; content providers; tech companies and intermediaries will continue to disrupt and innovate to cater to opportunities offered by the (smart) mobile internet generation.

Dr S. Raghunath Dean (Admin) & Professor Corporate Strategy and Policy, IIM Bangalore

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In my view, 2014 election is going to change the perception of how the media will be consumed in this country. The people are not only going to experience the traditional forms of print and broadcasting medium, but also a personalized form of communication and opinion making through social mediums like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp. This will be the ďŹ rst time ever in the history of India that the power of accessibility of social media would play a decisive role. For sure the results of 2014 elections will have a great impact from social media power play. The online and mobile devices are redeďŹ ning the 24X7 media consumption patterns & are going to emerge as a game changer for future India from now on.

Ashish S K Co-Chairman, AVGC Forum, FICCI

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1) Modes & Means of Content Access: DAS coupled with the growing reach of the Digital media driven by technology, will throw wide open how, when and were content is accessed & consumed. On the go consumption is going to grow exponentially, and hence content formats itself will undergo a revolution. Customized content will start dominating the space and the media players which are prepared and up to speed with this phenomenon, will be able to successfully migrate to the next phase of industry growth.

2) Viewership Measurement in the country is set to undergo a complete overhaul. With the Cabinet now setting very clear norms for the TV ratings agencies and the measurement of viewership, and with BARC set to roll this year, the TV industry is hopefully set to witness an era of accurate representation of the actual viewership on ground. With an increased sample size, ( I hope they move to rural only when the current sample size crosses 25,000 households,) a more technically robust and a transparent system to be in place, the industry will hope for speed and accuracy. . While one would expect that the stacking of channels within the larger genres not to change drastically, the biggest gainers is expected to be the niche players who will now be better represented in the sample thus ensuring a much more stable representation of their viewership Raj Nayak CEO, Colors

Century of Disruption 21st century will be “a century of disruption”. “When I think of the newspaper industry today, and the transition that has taken place from Gutenberg to Google, I know the status quo is being disrupted yet again. This is the hard reality of living in a global economy.”

“The most revolutionary disruption in the last decade has been the stunning growth of mobile communications,” giving us “access to knowledge almost anywhere in the world -- instantly and at an affordable price.

“That is a huge leap for an industry that once had to rely on trucks and news agents alone to deliver news to readers,” he said of the changes that have shaped News Corp over more than five decades.

“The disruptive forces in the world economy today are as relentless as they are remorseless. But once we embrace that reality, we can make sure they are rewarding.”.

(Source: A lecture at Sydney’s Lowy Institute, Australia)

Rupert Murdoch Chairman and CEO of News Corp and 21st Century Fox

Google and its Glass Google Glass will change the world, just like Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press did What makes Google Glass such a potentially disruptive technology is its ability to capture, create and share vast amounts of content all the time.

Whatever you see, whatever you want to add to that - text, video, photos, live streaming - can instantly be uploaded and shared with the world immediately and free.

This is an incredibly powerful asset. Only a few years ago, for a TV network to send live pictures from, say, Ukraine, meant camera crews, satellite connections and enormous complexity and expense.

In the not-too-distant future there are going to be millions and millions of people all over the world wearing Glass. Right now there are more than 1.4 billion smartphones worldwide. Glass is sure to follow suit.

What will the world be like when a billion people can instantly stream live video and show the world what they are seeing at this very moment? It will be different, for sure. Nothing like this has ever happened before.

(Source: The Guardian (Blog))

Michael Rosenblum CEO, Rosenblum TV

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MAKE YOURSELF VISIBLE IN PICKLE APRIL 2014 MIPTV & NAB SHOW ISSUE.

INDIAN DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIAL

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.

INDIA AND BEYOND 48

pickle entertainment biz guide

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MAPPING SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATIONS

Tell us about the patent that you got in 2005 and how effectively it is being put to use today?

After my PhD, while I was working at Honeywell Labs, I worked on algorithms to help teams of autonomous agents come up with good ways of jointly performing tasks together. Most of the existing work in that area was too slow to deploy in real life situations. My patent related to exploiting the structure within teams of agents to enable them to come up with decent ways of working together in a relatively short time. The expected uses of this were in search and rescue operations, military scenarios with autonomous bots, and in video games where you compete against a swarm. At Germin8, we are not using the work done under this patent in any way.

We are in the era of Analytics 3.0.

Do you see visible signs of Big Data analytics bringing transformation in companies?

More and more, we are seeing companies using Big Data analytics across their entire organisation. The use cases vary based on the department and industry but they are becoming more and more com-

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mon. For instance, Big Data analytics is getting used by R&D teams to develop new products, by Marketing teams to plan and evaluate new products and campaigns, by Public Relations teams to identify potential crisis and monitor their mitigation,

by Sales teams to identify leads, by Customer Care to catch customer complaints and queries early for faster resolution,

by Customer Loyalty to understand how to retain customers and how to reward valuable customers, by Risk teams to detect fraud and non-compliance, etc. Every week we at Germin8, see new innovative uses of Big Data and the good news is that the use cases are coming from customers and not just from us.

What are the insights that a media and entertainment company beneďŹ t from Explic8?

A media company would use Explic8 to listen to what their audience is saying online in Social Media. These could be conversations the audience is having directly with the company on their own social media channels or among themselves. The company could then leverage these conversations to understand what new content their audience wants, what

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THE INFLUENCE OF ANALYTICS, GERMIN8 WAY Pickle chats with Ranjit Nair, CEO, Germin8 on the impact of Big Data analytics in the Media and Entertainment Sector and how the industry can benefit from engaging with Germin8 they think about the existing content, campaigns and competitors. This leads to actions like improving content and the marketing of this content.

What is the difference between companies who use data analytics and who don’t?

Analytics is only useful if it is actionable and the organisation is geared to react to the analytics. By inference, an organisation that uses analytics is one that is open to what their consumers are saying and nimble enough to react to it. So off the bat, they are already at an advantage over organisations that are closed to using analytics. The analytics itself gives the companies using them a huge advantage because their products and communications are more optimised and hence would perform better.

You have some of the top advertising agencies as clients. How do they make use of services provided from your end?

Our advertising agency clients use Explic8 in many creative ways. Depending on what they are contracted to do it could be to provide insights on how they

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can improve their product or service offering, insights on what would work on campaigns, insights for communication strategies, insights for rebranding strategies, providing online reputation management services, identifying promoters, detractors and key influencers, etc. That’s just the tip of the ice berg. Agencies are getting smarter on using Explic8 to deliver more and more actionable insights to their customers that can transform the company’s image and communication.

Tell specifically, how does a broadcaster benefit from using analytics?

What are the various insights that a broadcaster get about a programme from the social media interactions?

For a broadcaster, it starts with what content they should air. For a news show, this could mean content based on understanding what people feel about different current affairs topics like the upcoming General Elections, for a reality show it could mean more air time for contestants who are most talked about in social media, and for a soap, it could mean getting ideas relating to their plot and cast.

Next, such analytics can help the broadcaster decide on how to promote their

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Explic8 is Germin8’s product for actionable insights for product, marketing and sales teams across sectors based on what consumers write in social media show and to understand whether their campaigns are effective or not. For instance, if the audience seems to like particular aspects of the show, these can be highlighted in future promos.

Analytics will also help the broadcaster understand whether the viewing audience likes the content that is being aired.

Analytics from social media can help broadcasters and advertisers understand how shows are faring, including qualitative aspects like what about the show the audience segments liked and disliked.

It is said that Big Data can also be used to understand whether a movie or a TV series will be a hit before shooting it. Your comments.

Analytics based on the online reactions to promotions are a very good indicator of how well the movie or TV series is likely to perform. This is much like having a test audience for a movie. You get a sense of the expectations and impressions that have been built up, and can take various decisions like revising the promotions, changing the marketing communication, editing the show or movie, changing the distributions.

You can also understand whether the online advertising is reaching enough people and whether they have been engaged. This again allows the studio or broadcaster to take corrective actions if needed.

So, analytics is not just a predictive tool to determine success or failure of a release. Way before the show or movie is released, analytics can help provide insights on how to make it a success.

Netflix bought “House of Cards” based on thorough data analysis of their 33 million users. Will this become a practice over a period of time?

Netflix has always been among the vanguard when it comes to analytics for content recommendations. It is not a surprise that they would extend this to the selection of new shows. I think this will certainly become more and more common but a lot will depend on how much companies are willing to spend on data scientists and technology for such analytics.

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How can the film industry benefit from this?

A film producer or theatre chain could use predictions on box office response to decide on what the rights are worth and what the distribution plan should be. For instance, should it be a limited release or a wide release, should I buy rights for some states or all, etc.?

What according to you is the biggest influence of the medium to the media and entertainment sector?

The biggest influence of social media to the media and entertainment is definitely the reach that it affords to get the word out about the show or movie, or in the case of content that are available online to actually bring viewers to where the content is available. Analytics will play a role in evaluating whether the marketing is working, whether the content is working and what new content could potentially work.

Can this help in decision making?

Very often we have to rely on our gut to make a decision because of the absence of data or the amount of time and money conducting a survey would take. Use of Big Data analytics will eliminate the need of just going with your gut because now you will have access to analytics without slowing down your decision making process significantly. This won’t however replace human intuition and experience, which will still be necessary to interpret the analysis and decide on the best course of action based on the interpretation of the analysis.

How credible is the data crunched?

The data can be highly credible if done right because the views are largely unsolicited and the volume of data can be huge leading to high statistical significance. The biggest threat to the credibility of data is whether the audience being measured matches the audience for the show. This threat stems from three concerns, 1. There is a bias towards certain demographic segments in the audience measured online, 2. There are fake users in social media

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Social Media Conversations of Satyamev Jayate Season 2 ❑ We set up an Explic8 tracker to crawl and analyse conversations around the show Satyamev Jayate Season 2 starting from Mar 2, the launch date from across social media sites. ❑ Conversations around Satyamev Jayate have largely been on 2 platforms – ❑ Twitter – 69.13% ❑ Social networks – FB, G+ - 28.4% ❑ Men contributed to 66% of online conversations related to Satyamev Jayate, which is close to the average we see across sectors. However, given the topic of the first episode that aired on March 2nd, one would have expected a higher participation from the female audience. ❑ Social Media – Twitter and FB are fast becoming the second screen for channels, 64.4% mentions came between 11am -2 pm, i.e. during the show time of 11 am to 1 pm.

Social media buzz distribution on broadcast day

❑ Broadcast day saw 61.4% of all conversations during the week. The key takeaway from this graph for a channel can be how to ensure that they keep the audience en-

indulging in fake conversations, 3. The things people say in social media have a strong negative bias.

All 3 are valid concerns that can be addressed through proper scientific approaches like stratified sampling, bias sampling and pruning of fake profiles.

One must remember that traditional surveys also sometimes suffer from similar data credibility concerns like incorrect sample selection, interviewer bias and fake respondents.

Does data crunching and “influencing” help in monetization?

It helps both directly and indirectly. Directly because it can lead to ways of optimising the distribution of content and indirectly because it can result in improved content and improved marketing

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gaged even after the show. Also, this can be used to analyse the pre-show buzz about the episode

Weekly buzz distribution

❑ Sentiments – The sentiments about the show are mostly neutral and the conversations seemed to agree with the show.

A few negative comments about Aamir Khan charging too much and faking his emotions were a minor proportion of the overall conversations.

Indicative sentiment distribution based on sample data

❑ Top topics – rape, fighting rape, police apathy, justice, change etc.

leading to higher viewership.

Where are we heading?

In the coming days, we will see increased internet penetration and an increasing willingness for people across segments and geographies to share their opinions.

This will result in a huge increase in the volume of content for analysis and in the number of regional languages that these conversations will be in.

This will mean even greater applicability of the data analytics but it will also mean that tools need to be able to support regional languages and handle this increase in conversations.

With this, social media listening and analytics will then be highly applicable to regional content and GEC channels.

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THOUGHT LEADER

INDIAN CONTENT IS HEADING GLOBAL

Punit Goenka, Managing Director and CEO Zee Entertainment Enterprises Indian Content is heading the global way. This industry is blessed with such great talent and potential, that it has all the required elements to produce content, which can entertain not just the Indian, but the global audiences, said Zee Entertainment Enterprises Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka 22

Z

ee Entertainment Enterprises Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka delivered an insightful address at CASBAA India Forum 2014 recently, during which he touched upon various relevant topics.

“Indian Content is heading the global way. This industry is blessed with such great talent and potential, that it has all the required elements to produce content, which can entertain not just the Indian, but the global audiences.

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,” he said.

Global M & E Industry Trends:

Quoting the latest PwC report, Punit 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

pickle entertainment biz guide

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Going forward, we would also offer global products, which have the bandwidth and scale to entertain audiences across the world, irrespective of their geographic signiÀcance.

I take immense pride in citing this fact, that today ZEE as a Content Company, entertains over 700 million viewers across globe reaching 169 countries present at whichever time the consumer demands your content, on whichever screen he wishes to access. Also the mobile internet spend is estimated to exceed the fixed broadband spend in markets like US and South Korea, followed by UK,” he said.

Elaborating more, he said, “These reports further reinforce the major paradigm shift expected in the market. 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.

Our initiative in the OTT (Over the Top Television) space through Ditto TV aims at addressing this demand.”

ZEE’s successful approach in the Global Markets:

Talking about his own company, Punit said, “Way back in the year 1995, we at ZEE took our first steps in the global market, by offering our content to India Diaspora across the globe. The content was priced at a premium then, but the demand was so prominent, that within a very short time span we reached almost 60% of the said market. We then looked at further enhancing our reach, and started offering our content to the global audiences, by subtitling or dubbing it based on the international market’s language preferences. This approach again was extremely successful allowing us to penetrate our presence further more in the global markets. Soon did we realize, that our production capabilities are not just at par, but in fact much better than certain key markets like the Middle East, and hence we started producing content for such markets, which reflects in some of our products like Zee Alwan and Zee Aflam.”

Future plans:

said, “Going forward, we would also offer global products, which have the bandwidth and scale to entertain audiences across the world, irrespective of their geographic significance. I take immense pride in citing this fact, that today ZEE as a Content Company, entertains over 700 million viewers across globe reaching 169 countries.”

Futuristic message:

“Since the entire ZEE Family has always been extremely passionate, to consistently innovate and offer enhanced entertainment solutions, right since its inception, these numbers aren’t enough for us. We have set, yet higher goals for us in the near future. By the year 2020, ZEE aims to reach a billion viewers and also targets itself to be ranked amongst the top 10 global media brands,” he said.

“Now these numbers don’t just speak in leaps and bounds about ZEE’s growth achieved till date, but they also justify the very fact, that we have the potential to entertain the world. They signify our readiness to produce world class content. They resonate the dawn of a global industry being formed. So gone are the days, when we as Indian Broadcasters and Content Creators should question our ability to entertain the world. Gone are the days, when MNCs from the west can easily march towards us and attempt to set up their network,” he added.

No questions:

In his concluding note, Punit said, “as an industry, we are absolutely geared up to face the global consumers. No longer should we question our steps in this direction. No longer should we hesitate even the slightest bit. As the famous philosopher and writer, has beautifully summarized by saying, “Being fully present is the best guarantee for a bright future”.

Outlining his future plans, the Zee boss

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UNIVERSAL HERO

A still from Kamal Haasan’s forthcoming film ‘Uttama Villain’, produced by N Lingusamy’s Thirupathi Brothers and Raaj Kamal Films International

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MANAGEMENT

LESSONS FROM KAMAL IIM Bangalore Professor for Corporate Strategy and Policy Dr S Raghunath tracks actor-ďŹ lmmaker Kamal Haasan closely and runs into his mind to capture insights from the multifaceted maverick creative entrepreneur, who is a huge commercial force in Indian cinema and is active for over ďŹ ve decades 25

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I have had the opportunity on some occasions to converse with Kamal Haasan, a recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, about the Indian entertainment industry and I follow his work closely as I teach and research aspects relating to the business and organization of media and entertainment industry. To me, he is an astute entertainment entrepreneur (though he may vehemently deny it) and a consummate artiste. What’s indisputable is that his influence extends far beyond his movie credits.

Kamal Haasan is an important commercial force in South Indian cinema and his vision for the future of feature film business can demolish any opposition that gets into his innovative ways of creating producing and distributing feature films domestically and internationally, and professionalizing the entertainment industry. Kamal Haasan, who was at IIMB to inaugurate Vista 2013, an industry interaction festival of IIMB held in September 2013, is one of the few professionals in the Indian film industry who has been very keen on developing Centres of Excellence for Media and Entertainment. He believes that management education is a necessity for everyone in the film industry. He has even urged the Prasad Institute in Chennai to offer a film course to students in Management schools. He strongly believes that Management professionals in the Media and Entertainment business must learn the basics of film making.

Management professionals can make considerable difference to the strategic positioning of the media and entertainment companies and help them adapt to the economic and political changes happening in the country. There is work cut out for management professionals to create and manage entities that distribute, bank and own intel-

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lectual copyright. Angst, passion and urge are very vague words to him though he is an artiste par excellence. There are areas in the film industry that are mission critical like scheduling and budgeting that do not attract professional attention. In one of our conversations, I recall him saying: “What we currently have in the film industry is only chaos management and not real management.”

What is his vision?

Kamal Haasan wants the Indian feature film industry to learn to focus on cost advantage, resulting in the production of entertainment content at the lowest possible cost, and keep increasing returns so that it becomes a very attractive industry that pays for experimentation. He believes India is a great laboratory of feature film making and can be a trendsetter even for Hollywood. He is of the opinion that India is not far behind in concept -- it’s in the construct that our film industry fails. He is of the view that Hollywood benefited from the expertise of the World War II veterans. With the skills they possessed, they became mechanics, sound engineers, lighting experts, plumbing experts and the industry became professional thanks to the skills they brought into it. In Indian film industry, we need such skill sets. As we do not have them, we must create such skill sets, he feels.

Kamal Haasan once remarked: “Our industry makes me think that we are like great rice eaters with no paddy fields…Who will sow ?

We know cooking and we know eating but we have no crop! We often see an off-time autorickshaw driver coming in as a light man; a thug comes in as a stuntman. Beach boys who do some adventure stuff slowly come into the industry and become stuntmen.

There are no safety training measures or skill-imparting schools.”

He said he hopes to target all of them by setting up a centre that can impart the required capabilities.

Improving the know-how of the supporting industries can help develop the Indian feature film industry’s competitive advantage.

They are an integral part of the movie making industry: the talent agencies, the music and recording industry, trade industry, press,

Dr. S Raghunath is Dean (Admin) and a Professor of Corporate Strategy and Policy at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. At IIM Bangalore he offers an elective course on Strategic Management In Media and Entertainment Industry in the executive post graduate programme and general management programme for Media and Film and Television Industry Professionals. He offers an elective course on “E Business Models and Strategies”.

He has written case studies on topics that include leadership and management challenges of Media and Entertainment Business .

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specialized research firms, the creative class and the technicians.

Kamal Haasan believes an impressive level of industry know-how and talent developed through formal schools of relevant education and training should build and maintain the competitive advantage of the Indian movie industry as a whole.

He also believes that a quality film is always made with true talent and not just stars. “It is widely believed that K Balachander (director-producer) discovered me; I say he invented me,” Kamal Haasan once admitted in a conversation.

He believes that the Indian film industry must develop and nurture marketing capabilities. He rues the fact that the industry is so closed that stakeholders don’t want a DTH happening because they believe it is a diversionary tactic or a renegade attempt at nothing useful. Entertainment products like feature films have a shelf life including theatrical release, home entertainment, movie on demand, pay per view and pay TV. The exclusivity and the selection of each of these windows for delivery enable producers to practice price discrimination and capture a larger share of the value generated by their products. Feature films as products are expensive to produce but cheap to reproduce. The marketing costs of widely released feature films are almost equivalent to costs of producing the feature film. The window model of release of movies helps generate higher revenue per viewer to those that generate lower revenue per viewer. The release strategy that Kamal Haasan would like to follow is to capture larger and more diversified revenue streams as opposed to the risky business of relying on revenue generated from theatrical exhibitions. In Kamal Haasan’s mind the relevance of the revenue generated by the first week at the box office has not been the only path to solvency as the DTH exploitation of the properties under copyright have increased their importance. He recognizes that the television market has access to the advertising revenue and subscription revenue streams.

He does not think very highly of the Rs 100-crore club concept.

His argument: “We are a billion people and films are watched al-

“What we currently have in the Àlm industry is only chaos management and not real management.”

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most everywhere. At Rs 100 a ticket, what is Rs 100 crore? Is it a celebration?”

When we were discussing what Management education can do for the industry, he said to me that he hoped it would cure the industry of its “head in the clouds” weakness and its megalomania. “A director should realize that he is the captain only of his ship not of the entire fleet. The art and the applause are all fine but we need effective management. Even the light boy should know what the business is all about,” he said.

We spoke about the 50 years that he has spent in the film industry, and he quipped, “I spent 25 years fumbling… I was learning on the job.” When he did 200 films, he said he felt like he had just completed his schooling. His journey in the film industry has been one where he had to keep constantly updating. Most industry people hate workshops but Kamal Haasan would say, “If Shakespeare comes today he will have to learn screenplay writing. He may take only two days to learn what took me two years but even Shakespeare will have to take classes and workshops. That’s the only way one can stay relevant in this profession”.

A passionate artiste, he understands that skills need training and updating. He went to the US when he was 29 years old and started taking screenplay classes. He was already a success because he had successful films but in New York, he learnt to marshal his skills and learnt the importance of sharing knowledge. The first thing he did when he returned was to set an example by showing that there were no secrets in his skills. There was no magic wand; there was only technique.

He shifted to doing one film at a time. Now this implied that he wasn’t doing 6 films a year and his income would go down. It was a calculated leap of faith he took and it worked. He did one film and his remuneration shot up by 10 times. He became the change he was demanding.

“Our industry makes me think that we are like great rice eaters with no paddy Àelds! Who will sow? We know cooking and we know eating but we have no crop! ” 29

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LEADER SPEAK

Our strength is emotions and that’s what connects our audiences 30 entertainment biz guide to our pickle films

Avtar Panesar VP International Operations Yash Raj Films

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Taking Bollywood to World Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom 3 has become the biggest film in the history of Indian cinema domestically and internationally. We must be doing something right. It’s nice to be accepted by the audiences on our terms globally, says Avtar Panesar, YRF’s VP International Operations How does 2014 look for Yash Raj Films after phenomenal success of YRF’s Dhoom 3 in both international and domestic markets?

The year is looking very good, with a great mix of films. We have a mixed bag of big commercial films as well as smaller films like Dibakar Bannerji’s Titli, which is already getting attention in the festival circuits and of course we’re delighted that our US film Grace of Monaco will be the opening film at Cannes this year.

What is the response of Dhoom 3 in European territories? Give some insights. Has it built scale in its international reach?

The film has become the biggest movie of all time in all key markets and we’re delighted with that. The film has opened to a fantastic response both in Germany and France. We have opened it in Romania and getting great reviews and we are building this market with each film since Ek Tha Tiger and Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Russia is next.

We have been able to use this to crack new markets and the support it received from International press coverages has been a very important tool.

You have been an advocate of creating a brand identity for Indian films in the global market place…

Indian films have now certainly made a place for themselves on the global stage.

We still have a long way to go for us to start doing major business globally, beyond the diaspora. Dhoom 3 has done $27 million from the diaspora. The day we can start doing this or more from the non-diaspora is the day we can say with some degree of satisfaction that we have made a mark.

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What is unique about India?

India is known for its diversity and culture and the great thing is that we have so many stories to be told. The exciting thing is that not all these can be made in to big event films, and so it gives us opportunities to tell all kinds of stories at all levels. Titli is one such story which turns the family value system on its head and tells a very compelling tale.

Is Bollywood a genre by itself in the global footprint?

Yes indeed, the term Bollywood is certainly a genre and that’s why I feel when the non-traditional audiences see it for what it is, it starts to make sense - I believe we tell global stories but in our own unique way. I always say, we speak a very different cinematic language from the rest of the world and it’s a language that works for us. Fortunately, we have been able to attract some attention in the non-diaspora markets and our films are intriguing these audiences. The unique thing about India or Indian films is that by and large we tell human stories and very emotional stories – of course our emotions are over the top but we as people are loud and over the top, we don’t know how to whisper. We tend to speak loudly, that’s the case when we make movies too. Our strength is emotions and that’s what connects our audiences to our films, even an action film like Dhoom 3 had a very emotional track but packaged differently – at its core it wasn’t about the bikes, chases, sexy girls, it was about heart and the emotional ties between brothers. The fact that it has become the biggest film in the history of Indian cinema domestically and internationally makes me feel we must be doing something right. It’s nice to LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Nicole Kidman starrer GRACE OF MONACO, helmed by the French director Olivier Dahan will be the 多rst ever International 多lm by an Indian studio (YRF Entertainment) to open the Festival de Cannes 2014. Produced by Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Uday Chopra and Arash Amel, who also wrote the screenplay. The Weinstein Company will distribute the 多lm in the U.S www.picklemag.in 32 pickle entertainment biz guide LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

The unique thing about India or Indian Àlms is that by and large we tell human stories and very emotional stories – of course our emotions are over the top but we as people are loud and over the top, we don’t know how to whisper be accepted by the audiences on our terms globally. It’s set in a world you can identify with but still see a film that brings in all the ‘Bollywood’ elements.

Have digital platforms expanded the Indian film content globally? Or is it still dominated by theatrical releases?

For now, its hasn’t replenished the home video business for us and the thrust is still on the theatrical business. For us it’s a slow burn but we hope to see this change in the very near future as the windows shorten.

India is still less than 2% of the global entertainment pie? Although it produces the largest film releases yearafter-year? How do we break this ice of increasing it to 5%?

Well that is going to remain an issue as long as the Indian Rupee is valued at 60 to the US Dollar. Till that happens the revenues will remain a small percentage on the world stage. But we must also look at the admissions in India, which are just phenomenal and will continue to grow as more and more cinemas reach the rural areas. Also, it must be remembered that cinema is still one of the cheapest form of entertainment in India and the poor cannot afford to pay $8 – 12 for a ticket, and it needs to remain in the reach of the common man.

Film festivals like Berlinale, Toronto have played a key role in spearheading Indian cinema?

Yes indeed, and we’re very happy to have had this support from these very prestigious festivals.

Is that limited to particular kind of cinema?

I don’t agree that this is limited at all, I have screened Veer Zaara at Berlin which was classic Bollywood and I have also premiered Kabul Express at Toronto which was anything but Bollywood, so they take films on merit and these platforms have been a great way to showcase our cinema to the world.

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Can we go beyond that?

We can certainly go beyond this and we are. We are now ready to showcase our films earlier than usual so festivals can view them much in advance, we are ready to show our films at festivals and use this route to find a world audience for films that merit this approach. Titli is one such film, we have already started work on this.

Finally, What motivates you in export of Indian film content?

The short answer is the `Bucks`. No, seriously, money is the by product of the success we have seen through taking our films everywhere we can and entertained our audiences. I was part of a team to host a Chinese delegation not too long ago, and the Information Minister from China asked me what was our secret for such consistent success outside of India. I said, it’s really very simple, first we play to our strengths – our strength is the millions of South Asians living outside of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Our first goal is to reach them and entertain them.

If we achieve that goal and reach them even in small markets like, West Indies or East Timor, then we have done our job well. After that secondly we target the new markets and the non-diaspora. If we did it the other way around we might have few big story successes, but suffer with the vast majority of the films.

It’s a great feeling to be at the other end of the world and see your posters being displayed alongside all the mainstream or local films and have families come to see your films as they have been doing for generations. The biggest high for me is that we are spreading Indian culture and language to kids who may never have been to India yet and may not speak the language properly, but are connected with their ancestral motherland through cinema. Having been raised in the UK, I learnt to speak Hindi only by watching Hindi films and listening to Hindi songs – so now it’s my turn to ‘pay it forward’.

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AVGC SECTOR

WHERE IS ANIMATION HEADING?

Ashish S K, Co-Chairman, FICCI – Animation, VFX, Gaming & Comics Forum Animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) as an industry has the potential to provide valuable career options to talented Indian students; the need of the hour is to alter basic education to make it more artist-friendly and design and promote professional courses in animation and gaming by universities, opines Ashish S K, Co-Chairman, FICCI AVGC Forum

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A

nimation in India began about 15-20 years ago with the production of a commercial 2D cell animation. Since then, India has evolved into one of the most coveted global animation destinations. To ensure sustainable growth, animation education and artistic education on the whole should be restructured in India since this is a creative industry.

Scaling up and nurturing talent has so far been an uphill task as most of the career options in India are targeted towards science and commerce streams. Even today we do not have artistic and performing arts as subjects in school curricula. Students and parents find it difficult to choose artistic, creative and performing arts as mainstream career options because of the lack of adequate opportunities in these fields.

Even the universities at large found animation difficult to understand and they have always tried to place it among engineering and technical subjects whereas its true place is in the arts, storytelling and film-making divisions.

Animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) as an industry has the potential to provide valuable career options to talented Indian students; the need of the hour is to alter basic education to make it more artist-friendly and design and promote professional courses in animation and gaming by universities.

Even from a policy perspective, AVGC as a sector has been placed under the IT and ITeS.

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The new era of digital content economy is a reality, our policies have to be in sync with the evolving needs and culture of this digital eco-system. Original Intellectual property creation in Animation, Gaming & Comics in India is the proving to be the stabilizing factor and consolidating the industry way forward.

Emerging modules and understanding of focused Asian Co-production alongside the other European & North American coproductions in Animation is a welcome sign and an eye opener for most of the stake holders in the Animation, Gaming & Comics sector Hence, India has been positioned as one of the most sought after service providers in animation, gaming and visual effects categories by some of the major American and European studios. Moreover, this sector has been covered under STPI and continues to enjoy benefits under the scheme for outsourced work.

In the present environment, original IP creation has not received any support either from policymakers or the industry per say in terms of global marketing and distribution. India’s animation content buying price points by broadcasters are also not encouraging enough to create original IP. It is important to understand that original IP creation would lend a distinct character to India’s animation industry and put India on the globe besides stabilising the animation ecosystem. We need to sincerely address the challenges around building sustainability and workable business models with respect to original IP creation in the country to make the Indian content relevant for the global audience. The lack of co-production treaties with countries that produce animation also serves a roadblock in promoting Indian content and the overall animation industry globally. The signing of the Indo-Canadian audio-visual co-production treaty on 24 February 2014 may mark the beginning of a promising era.

To add to the challenge in a live actiondominated country, animation content

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has a default position in India as kid’s genre, which hampers the building of distribution systems and revenue streams.

Moreover, India does not have TAM rating for audience below 4 years, which is a popular pre-school genre worldwide. If we have an opportunity to include this category, we can explore a huge opportunity of cutting edge TV shows, building preschool character brands, licensing and merchandise.

Despite these challenges, we have been able to make significant progress in the past decade by providing university programs and creating a vocational skills assessment and certification process by establishing national occupational standards (NOS) under FICCI Media and Entertainment Skills Council which is under the National Skills Development Corporation.

Though a majority of revenue today comes from outsourcing services in the AVGC sector, we have witnessed significant growth in the original IP in the past four years, especially through television broadcasting and mobile gaming. While feature films and console gaming are yet to mature, proper marketing and distribution support and strong national and state-level policies would go a long way toward ensuring growth of the Indian animation industry in outsourcing and original content creation domains.

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HOW MUCH MONEY GLOBAL COMPANIES PROFIT Apple makes nearly half a million dollars for each of its media and tech sector, with 175,000 employees.

Apple

$460,772 Revenue per employee

80,300 Total employees

$37 billion NET INCOME

21st Century Fox

$171 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$277,344 Revenue per employee

25,600 Total employees

$7 billion NET INCOME

Google

$28 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$270,123 Revenue per employee

47,756 Total employees

$13 billion NET INCOME

Facebook

$60 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$236,705 Revenue per employee

6,337 Total employees

$2 billion NET INCOME

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MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY PER EMPLOYEE 80,300 employees. Disney has one of the largest workforces in the Here’s a recent BUZZFEED research found

Viacom

$230,000 Revenue per employee

10,000 Total employees

$2 billion NET INCOME

Microsoft

$14 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$221,212 Revenue per employee

99,000 Total employees

$22 billion NET INCOME

Discovery Communications

$78 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$188,597 Revenue per employee

5,700 Total employees

$1 billion NET INCOME

Time Warner

$6 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$108,824 Revenue per employee

34,000 Total employees

$4 billion NET INCOME

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$30 billion ANNUAL REVENUE LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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CBS

$96,460 Revenue per employee

19,490 Total employees

$2 billion NET INCOME

Netﾃ（x

$15 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$55,589 Revenue per employee

2,022 Total employees

$4 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$112 million NET INCOME

Comcast

$50,000 Revenue per employee

136,000 Total employees

$7 billion NET INCOME

Disney

$65 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$34,857 Revenue per employee

175,000 Total employees

$6 billion NET INCOME

Dreamworks Animation

$45 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$25,045 Revenue per employee

2,200 Total employees

$55 million NET INCOME 38

pickle entertainment biz guide

$707 million ANNUAL REVENUE LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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News Corp

$21,083 Revenue per employee

24,000 Total employees

$506 million NET INCOME

The New York Times Company

$9 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$18,447 Revenue per employee

3529 Total employees

$65 million NET INCOME

AOL

$1.68 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$18,118 Revenue per employee

4,600 Total employees

$92 million NET INCOME

Gannett Co

$2 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$12,310 Revenue per employee

31,600 Total employees

$389 million NET INCOME

LinkedIn

$5 billion ANNUAL REVENUE

$5,312 Revenue per employee

5,045 Total employees

$27 million NET INCOME

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Santiago Corrada.Commissioner Al Higginbotham, Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Pritam, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Consul General Peter Haas, Mayor Bob Buckhorn

America gears up for the 15th The IIFA Weekend 2014 is set to include multiple star-studded events including the IIFA Rocks the IIFA Magic of the Movies & Technical Awards, and the crown jewel Tata Motors IIFA Awards.

It’s that time of the year again. The 15th Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend and the Tata Motors IIFA Awards will be held from the 23 to 26 April. Actors Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Bipasha Basu and music director Pritam were on hand to announce the details of the IIFA Weekend.

Peter Haas, U.S. Consul General in Mumbai said, “I’m excited by IIFA’s decision to hold this year’s awards ceremony in Tampa, Florida.

Bollywood fans across the United States will be thrilled that India’s biggest film stars are coming. We look forward to other Indian companies choosing the United States as their travel destination and stand ready to assist.”

Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International & IIFA said, “In our 15th year, IIFA continues to build bridges through cinema across com-

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munities throughout the world. We are determined to bring the magic and magnitude of Indian culture as Tampa Bay is set to witness the spectacle that is Indian cinema, when IIFA comes to the US, this April.”

The IIFA Weekend 2014 is set to include multiple star-studded events including the IIFA Rocks (a fashion and music spectacular), the IIFA Magic of the Movies & Technical Awards, and the crown jewel Tata Motors IIFA Awards.

The event will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar. The first set of star performers include Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha Basu, Pritam and Vir Dasamong others. The performances would be choreographed by the internationally-renowned Shiamak Davar. More stars would be announced in the next few weeks.

Business events include the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum which focuses on business opportunities across the two geographies, the Global Leadership Honours and a Media and Entertainment Strategy Summit led by Ernst & Young and FICCI’s Entertainment division.

The FICCI IIFA Global Business Forum will take place over two days (24th & 25th April) at the Tampa Convention Center. Hosted by the University of South Florida College of Business, the business forum will be addressed by several

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IIFA Awards 2014 in Tampa Bay leading visionaries and business leaders including Indian IT visionary, founder and Executive Chairman of Infosys, Narayana Murthy and FICCI President Siddharth Birla.

Anil Kapoor said “There is nothing as unique as Bollywood, and Tampa is in for a treat this year!

The IIFAs are a great platform for us to showcase our work to the world. This April, IIFA will bring the magic of Indian Cinema to America.”

Madhuri Dixit Nene said, “Very few know that I lived in Florida for a while. I have been to Tampa Bay and I can tell you honestly it is a beautiful city and the people there are warm and welcoming.

Thank you for hosting us. We are gonna rock.”

Saif Ali Khan commented saying, “It’s always amazing to give our Indian and international audience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness one of the finest celebrations of Indian culture and cinema..”

Kareena Kapoor Khan said, “There is a great pride when representing your country and the Indian film industry, and IIFA makes that possible for all us. I am excited to reach out to our fans and Indian Cinema aficionados in the USA and across the world. I’m sure IIFA 2014 is going to be a phenomenal success as it ventures into USA.” Bipasha Basu said, “Over the years, I have been privileged to have been a part of and performed at several IIFAs and have watched them grow from strength to strength. It is commendable that IIFA continues to be a magnificent celebration of

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Hollywood actor, Kevin Spacey to Join IIFA Master Class Kevin Spacey will join Indian actor, Vidya Balan, on behalf of Bollywood, to discuss trends in Hollywood and the Indian Film Industry. Andre Timmins, Director – Wizcraft International & IIFA said, “IIFA has always been viewed as a platform to bridge the gap between the Indian film industry and the international audience.

It has been our dream to be able to do this with the participation of Hollywood artists being featured within our events and this year as we debut in America we are proud to have achieved this with a Master Class Panel that features Vidya Balan. This panel will be an enthralling event that will create a great platform for knowledge exchange in the world of film and media.”

Indian Cinema and IIFA’s efforts to promote Indian Cinema on a global scale are really praiseworthy.”

Gaurav Banerjee, General Manager, Star Plus said, “We are proud to partner Wizcraft for over the last ten years in the biggest celebration of Indian Cinema with the IIFA weekend. This year with Tampa Bay as the host, a fantastic line up of talent and support from the industry, we promise to create a blockbuster evening reaching IIFA to millions of households worldwide through Star Plus.”

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NAB SHOW 2014

Grab Opportunities at NAB SHOW

NAB SHOW’s focus to look at solutions from the content creation and delivery perspective is a game changer in today’s fast changing media landscape. Here’s a curtain raiser on NABSHOW April 5-10, 2014, Las Vegas

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And here comes 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. From creation to consumption, across multiple platforms, the NAB Show is home to the solutions that transcend traditional broadcasting and embrace content delivery to new screens in new ways.

All under one roof More than 200 companies will exhibit for the first time at the 2014 NAB Show, home to the world’s largest gathering of vendors driving the future of media and entertainment. These companies will offer a first-look at new products and next-generation technologies through interactive exhibits, live demonstrations and technologyfocused pavilions. NAB Show, held April 5-10 (exhibits open April 7-10) in Las Vegas, is the annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage and distribute entertainment across all platforms.

The 2014 NAB Show’s 204 first-time exhibitors will join a wide variety of NAB Show exhibiting veterans on the 850,000+ square feet of space that make up the NAB Show exhibit floor. The debuting NAB Show exhibitors include AMD-Advanced Micro Devices, Clearleap, Fujitsu Semiconductor America, Giga Entertainment Media, Siemens Convergence Creators GmbH, This Technology and Ustream. There are also several new exhibitors within Intel’s new Partner Pavilion.

“These are transformative times for professionals who employ audio and video technology to communicate, educate and entertain. Nowhere will that be more evident

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than at NAB Show,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown. “The multitude of first-time exhibitors this year is reflective of NAB Show’s ability to adapt and deliver fresh perspectives on the industry’s most innovative companies and cutting-edge technologies.”

The 2014 NAB Show exposition will comprise 1,550+ companies, including 550+ international exhibitors and some of the world’s leading brands and companies, including Accenture, Amazon Web Services, AVID, Canon U.S.A., Cisco, Clear Channel Satellite, Deluxe, Dolby Laboratories, Dome Productions, Ericsson, Evertz, FUJIFILM, General Dynamics, Grass Valley, Harmonic, Harris Broadcast, Hitachi, HP Enterprise Services, IBM, JVC, Microsoft Corporation, Panasonic, Piksel, Ross Video Limited, Sony Electronics, Technicolor, Toshiba, Verizon and The Vitec Group. Some of the finest solution providers from India will be at NAB -- Qube Cinema, Tata Communications, Prime Focus.

On Chair Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler will address the NAB Show April 8. The address is expected to provide insight into the Chairman’s views on broadcasting and what his expectations are on the regulatory front in the coming years.

Tom Green & Broadcast Minds NAB Show, the world’s largest annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage, and distribute entertainment across all platforms, is bringing back last year’s highest-rated session NewTek Presents: Broadcast Minds. This year’s session, moderated by actor, comedian and host Tom Green on April 9 in Las Vegas, will take a deep and entertaining look at how some of the top creators of digital content are forging new trails and drawing a profit online.

Budding businesses NAB Show has announced the first round of startups selected to participate in SPROCKIT 2014. These startup companies will collaborate with and present before influencers and decision-makers in media and entertainment at the 2014 NAB Show.

■ AudioAir creates captivating entertainment, advertising and engagement for patrons of establishments with TV screens allowing users to listen, watch and interact on their mobile device on or off premise.

■ Cognitive Networks is a provider of real-time services that power Enhanced TV on Smart TVs, enabling viewers to receive increased engagement and interactions with TV content through their Smart TV. ■ ExciteM’s self-serve platform enables broadcast stations to create custom interactive mobile and social experiences for their audiences in realtime.

■ theloop is a social marketplace website, allowing individuals and brands to showcase and deliver services, as well as monetize their online content.

■ MAZ is a mobile publishing platform that empowers brands to create better user experiences by transforming their media properties into “mini” social networks.

■ Penthera is a provider of intelligent portable video software solutions for TV networks and content distributors.

■ ShareRocket is a social media ratings and audience solution that helps media companies and broadcasters quantify their social media equity, benchmark against peers and turn that social market intelligence into actionable insights to drive success.

■ Tomorrowish is a social media DVR that syncs and curates a live social media TV experience for viewers where they can participate in real-time conversations about a show whether it’s live or after it’s already aired.

■ Wayin provides real-time intelligence into how viewers engage with TV programming and gives producers creative freedom to easily display social content within their own broadcast production workflow.

■ WebTuner brings Broadband to television, and with its next generation hardware, innovative content guide, addressable and interactive advertising platform, it creates a unique consumer experience advancing industry growth and creativity.

Everything you need as a film professional is here, re-introduce yourself to cinando.com Powered by the Festival de Cannes with the support of:

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MIPTV 2014

MEET THE ENTIRE TV ECOSYSTEM UNDER ONE ROOF

The 51st MIPTV dubbed as the world’s most-established TV and digital content market and the biggest gathering of entertainment professionals will bring top industry execs and creative talent from 100 countries from April 7-10, 2014 in Cannes, France. MIPTV 2014 will have Israel as spotlight country this year

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Spotlight on Israel To focus on the growing international success of Israeli TV content, MIPTV is hosting a “Focus on Israel” as part of its upcoming market. On Saturday, April 5, as part of MIPDoc, “Co-Production Marketplace: Success Stories from Israel” will offer insights into the Israeli factual and documentary market, and hear a series of case studies of successful international co-productions with Israel. The next day, as part of MIPFormats, the session “Business Opportunities in Israel” will set out how to work with one of the fastest growing content markets, with a special focus on major production and distribution companies from Israel. The main event, “Focus on Israel” at MIPTV, takes place on Tuesday, April 8, in the Palais des Festivals.

It features a screening session, “Fresh TV From Israel,” showcasing the hottest content from Israel, presented by Virginia Mouseler, CEO of The Wit. MIPTV Screening Maggie Gyllenhaal (Dark Knight, Secretary) and Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch) are to make their MIPTV debut next month to attend BBC Worldwide’s global launch of The Honourable Woman. The new drama, from writer/director Hugo Blick (The Shadow Line) will have its global premiere on the opening day of MIPTV. The eight-part drama is an Eight Rooks and Drama Republic production for BBC co-produced with Sundance TV. The screening, which will take place at 3 p.m. in Auditorium A, will be followed by a Q&A with Gyllenhaal, Buchan, Blick and executive producer Greg Brenman (Ripper Street).

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Future of Kids The first Future of Kids TV Summit, bringing together 80 creative strategists from the children’s entertainment sector.

The Summit takes place on April 8 and the event is sponsored by Shaw Rocket Fund, a Canadian investment fund dedicated to youth-oriented production. The Future of Kids TV Summit, will address key issues facing the industry and attempt to map out its future direction.

Yoni Bloch, CEO and co-founder of Interlude, a digital media company that designs, develops, markets and enables the creation of interactive videos, is the first keynote speaker. Interlude has helped global leading entertainment and corporate brands such as Shell, MAC, Subaru, Disney Music Group, Intel and Sony Music Nashville leverage interactive video and has built a rich history of interactive video storytelling.

Comments Laurine Garaude, Reed MIDEM’s Television Director: “Given MIPTV’s track record of organising thought-leadership events, it was an obvious move to kids’ TV. The sector has to be really forward-thinking to keep up with the tastes and habits of children, who are natural early adopters. The Summit will be a valuable complement to MIPTV which attracts over 2,500 kids’ entertainment executives from over 100 countries.”

STUDIOCANAL Chairman Keynote Olivier Courson, the chairman and CEO of STUDIOCANAL, and Rola Bauer, the president and partner of TANDEM Communications, are to present a joint keynote address at MIPTV on Tuesday, April 8. The keynote, entitled TANDEM/STUDIOCANAL: European Sensibility--Global Appeal, will touch on the companies’ international productions and announcements of new productions for prime-time programming worldwide.

Twitter Keynote Deb Roy, Twitter’s chief media scientist, is set to deliver a keynote at MipTV, the Cannes-set confab. In his keynote, Roy will highlight Twitter’s impact on TV viewing, networks, advertisers and creatives. “Studies show that a majority of mobile and tablet users talk about what they’re watching on television with others in real time. This results in unprecedented waves of synchronous conversations about culture and events that Deb Roy calls ‘the social soundtrack for TV,’ stated MipTV. Roy is also a tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2008 he co-founded Bluefin Labs, a social TV analytics company, which was acquired by Twitter in 2013.

YouTube Keynote Alex Carloss YouTube’s Head of Enter-

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MAKE MIPTV WORK FOR YOU TO: Not only is MIPTV the place to source and sell the freshest content globally, it is teeming with opportunities to help you create new business, green-light partnerships and lift-off to co-production projects at the earliest stages of development.

■ Get your new shows in front of key buyers:launch, promote and sell your shows ■ Kick-start your projects: connect with producers and co-production partners to early-stage finance, cement deals and partnerships ■ Explore fresh content across all genres and platforms with screenings, showcases and conferences ■ Meet the new decision-makers leading the way in online media, original content creators, tech companies and start-ups ■ Discover new recipes for success: business models, trends and monetisation ■ Get a first look at the latest trends: worldclass conferences and keynotes with creators, thought leaders, tech and visionaries tainment, is set to keynote at this year’s MIPTV in Cannes. Carloss is responsible for managing all facets of YouTube’s entertainment strategy, content partnerships and transactional businesses globally. YouTube is also the first founding partner of the MIP Digital Fronts, the new international screenings for original online video on Wednesday, April 9 and Thursday, April 10. Launching this April with Founding Partner YouTube, the MIP Digital Fronts is the new international screenings for original online video. YouTube will present a 45-minute showcase of new channels and content partners in front of an audience of international buyers, producers, distributors, digital strategists, agencies, brands, advertisers and media from the global TV and video entertainment ecosystem.

Publicis Chairman Keynote Maurice Lévy, the chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, is lined up to deliver a keynote address on Tuesday, April 8, as part of MIPTV’s Media Mastermind Keynote series. Publicis Groupe is the world’s third largest advertising and communications group. Lévy is widely recognized as one of the leading figures in the communications industry. During his keynote address, entitled The Future of Content Is Digital, Lévy will discuss how TV and advertising are increasingly facing common challenges, from how to create great content to retain viewer attention, to building and monetizing an audience.

Lévy’s keynote takes place on the eve of MIPTV’s first MIP Digital Fronts.

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UTTAR PRADESH

RAJASTHAN

GOA

MUMBAI

GUJARAT

KERALA

VARANASI

KASHMIR

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Pickle May 2014 Cannes Film Festival/Market Edition We will list out lively locales and service companies that you can trust

KARNATAKA

JOHNA FALL

LADAKH

HIMACHAL PRADESH

FILM LOCATION AND SERVICES SPECIAL INDIA AND BEYOND

We also help you find co-production partners, offshore with best of the Indian film service companies Pickle Annual Print Issues include ---Toronto International Film Festival/Market (September), MIPCOM (October), MAMI (October), American Film Market (November), IFFI Goa (November), ATF, Singapore (December), Dubai International Film Festival/Market (December), Pickle (New Year Special), European Film Market and Berlinale (Jan-Feb), Kidscreen Summit (Feb ), FICCI FRAMES (March), MIPTV (April), Nab Show (April) Cannes Film Festival and Market (May) and Annecy (June).

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