"The definition of mainstream has changed" - Siddharth Roy Kapur By Nikhil Ramsubramaniam, Mar 15, 2012 - 09:46 IST

It's that time of the year again when the creme de la creme of the Media and Entertainment industry converge under one roof at the FICCI- Frames convention. Among many sessions, Day 1 of FICCI-Frames 2012 also saw a session on Marketing, Distribution & Monetization of Films in the Multiplatform Era. The panel comprised of eminent personalities such as Vijay Singh (CEO, Fox Star Studios), Siddharth Roy Kapur (CEO, UTV Motion Pictures), Adam Davies (CEO, Sanona Pictures), Pranav Ashar (Founder Chairman, Enlighten), Jai Maroo (Director Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd) and Senthil Kumar (Director, Real Image Media Technologies). The panel spoke at length on the marketing and distribution of films, both theatrical and non-theatrical, has new acquired new meaning in this dizzying world of multiple platforms available for maximum monetization. Vijay Singh said, "Theatrical business still contributes about 40-50% of total revenues. The second big revenue component is Cable and Satellite. However, DTH as a revenue source has not yet picked up that much. However, there has been a great upswing in the movie business as far as Box Office is concerned. In 2009, we had just one film 3 Idiots crossing well over Rs.100 crore nett whereas last year (2011) we had as many as 8 films crossing the coveted Rs.100 crore nett mark." Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV added, "The definition of mainstream movies has undergone a change giving us a chance to look at cinema broadly. Last year itself you had hardcore masala films like Ready, Singham and Bodyguard do phenomenally well and so did off-beat films like Delhi Belly, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and The Dirty Picture. As a studio, we can now make all sorts of films." Siddharth also spoke about how new overseas markets such as Hong Kong, China etc. too have been lapping up Bollywood films like My Name Is Khan, 3 Idiots etc. Adam Davies, who heads Sanona Pictures, a new, general pay-per-view digital movie distribution business, spoke about the various opportunities and challenges that lie ahead when it comes to pay-perview. He also spoke about various models like Subscription model (adopted by Netflix), Pay-Per-view model and its pros and cons. Senthil Kumar of Real Image Media Technologies spoke about how digital cinema is the future. Real Image Media Technologies is one of the key players in this market covering as many as 2600 screens in India. Speaking about digital cinema, Senthil said, "Digital cinema helps in getting a widespread release for the film and also controls piracy to a large extent. In the unfortunate event of piracy, it is also easier to find out the source if the film has been distributed digitally." Jai Maroo of Shemaroo Entertainment said, "Shemaroo has constantly created new distribution and monetization opportunities for film owners. We were one of the first to introduce VHS / Video cassettes in the Home Video distribution market. Then we also had a partnership with Sony TV for telecasting some really popular movies and now with Internet being the future, we are using that platform as well for digital distribution of movies enabling people across the world to watch our titles online." Vijay Singh of FOX Studios had an interesting point when he said, "3 Idiots is the highest grosser in Indian cinema but do you know only 30 million Indians have watched 3 Idiots in the theatre. Even in the case of last year's hit Singham, appx. 15 million people watched the film in the theatre but over a 100 million watched it when it premiered on Star Gold. Hence, we cannot ignore the importance of nontheatrical revenue sources."

MPAA Chairman calls for alliance between U.S. & Indian film industries By Bollywood Hungama News Network ,Mar 15, 2012 - 10:07 hrs IST The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has kicked off its three day media and entertainment convention, FRAMES, which covers a wide range of media and entertainment sectors such as film, broadcast, digital entertainment, animation, gaming and visual effects. With over 2000 Indians and 800 foreign delegates, this yearly media convention is by far the largest media conventions in Asia. Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) delivered the keynote address at the 2012 FICCI FRAMES leg today, with an audience of Indian government officials, film and entertainment industry leaders at the Renaissance Hotel in Mumbai. The senator expressed his delight at the synergies being created between both communities and called for a greater alliance between the U.S and Indian film industries. Senator Dodd says, "Like America, India is a nation where movies matter and as in America, movies matter not only to the richness of your culture but to the vibrancy of your economy and the prosperity of the Indian middle class." The senator commended the rapid evolution of India's cinema industry, he added "Two years ago the Indian film industry was pegged at US$3.2 billion industry, in 2014 it is estimated to exceed US$5 billion, which is incredible. The industry contributes an estimated US$645 million to the Indian economy each year and supports an estimated 1.8 million jobs, as the trade body for the Hollywood entertainment industry MPAA could not be more delighted." Drawing attention to the threat of content theft to the industry he says, "According to a report by Ernst & Young, movie theft costs the Indian film industry nearly a billion dollars each year and threatens more than half million Indian jobs. I bring this up not to cast a shadow on your success but rather to invite you to join us in common purpose, content theft is a global problem and we must have a global commitment to solving it." With a broad consensus that the community must act to stop theft of intellectual property, sufficient initiations are required to be in place. LA India Film Council is one such step. "We encourage the Indian film industry to reject as we have, the false argument that you cannot be pro-technology and procopyright at the same time and we applaud India's aggressive plans for broadband and cable TV digitization. This is an important opportunity for the Indian government to move forward with stron protections against online theft." Senator Dodd said. "Technology evolves, economies change, but at the heart of what we do, is the timeless tradition of film, and that is why I am so proud to be a part of this industry and so pleased to share this occasion with you." Senator Dodd concluded.

FICCI Frames 2012: The print industry cannot exist as it always has In one of the discussions, the panellists brought out the challenges and future potential of the print medium, particularly in the face of digitalisation. It is not for the first time that the issue of print facing tough times has been raised at a platform like FICCI Frames. However, the same was widely discussed by experts and an eager audience raised its concerns on the topic as well.

A panel comprising of T N Ninan, chairman, Business Standard; Rajiv Varma, chief executive officer, HT Media; and Lynn De Souza, chairperson and chief executive officer, Lintas Media Group and chairperson, Readership Studies Council discussed the growth, future and challenges to expansion for the print medium in the coming decade of digitalisation and proliferation of the digital media. The discussion was moderated by columnist and veteran journalist Swapan Dasgupta. Dasgupta threw open the discussion by asking "Is the print industry dying?" He also referred to the very recent development of the Encyclopedia Britannica ending its print edition and continuing with digital versions available online. Varma revealed how, when he joined HT Media seven years ago, 100 per cent of the company's revenue came from print. The same has now gone down to 80 per cent, while the rest is accounted for by the group's other diversified interests such as radio and online. Representing the print industry, Varma admitted that the medium has opportunities to look forward to and a good future. However, he added that the industry has been on the decline in the Western countries, where the internet has impacted most newspapers in the last decade to bring down revenue to the levels last seen in 1950s. At the same time, Varma brought to attention how the situation is just the opposite in the East, where in countries such as Japan and Korea, newspapers are actually thriving. While the answer to this paradox is not clear yet, the safest strategy for the industry is to 'plan for the worst and hope for the best', remarked Varma. He insisted that the media companies have to diversify to make good any losses. While Varma seemed optimistic, Ninan took the other stance. He pointed out several trends in the Indian print market in his discourse. Ninan observed that the Indian print industry is showing contradictory trends as both proliferation and consolidation seem to be happening at the same time, which he found unusual. He said that while many believed that the advent of television news could replace print, a close observation of the bottomlines would reveal that the former is certainly in trouble. The real threat for print, according to Ninan, comes from entertainment television, where most of the advertising money is headed. Ninan said that print is showing signs of stress, as revealed by increasing circulation without proportionate increase in readership. Coupled with low transparency in metrics, this implies real bad news, he added. "Press does not have the cache as it used to. There is a problem of credibility and it will be foolhardy for us to ignore it," said Ninan. De Souza pointed out that advertising continues to be the primary source of income for print in India. As a media buyer, she revealed how ad spends of companies have gone up from Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last five years, while the allocation to print has been stable at 41 per cent. However, she said that there is buoyancy in the market and despite competition from other media, print has managed to hold its own in India.

De Souza said that when it comes to advertising, television is still dominated by FMCG brands, while print enjoys varied sectors such as education, social, automobile and real estate, among others. All of these are also 'e-commercible' ones, she cautioned. Citing the example of QR codes in print ads, she pointed out that newspapers are aware of the digitisation of readership and are welcoming the same. "We, on the buying side, see the print owners doing things to arrest losses," she said. De Souza noted how all major print companies have diversified into other interests, particularly radio, to leverage localisation and reach the consumer in deeper ways. Dasgupta then discussed with the panel the possibility of a viable and adequate revenue model for the industry. Varma went back in history to note how newspapers were built on a model which involved readers being engaged with stories and, in the process, to come across advertising. He said that the same model has continued for decades. On the digital medium, though, this model was disrupted and advertisers could target consumers directly without depending on stories. At the same time, he added that the online revolution is still young and upcoming models could allow for integrated newsrooms to exist. Ninan noted that all international editions have moved to the subscription model and it is about time that Indian publications followed suit. Towards the end, the panel discussed if magazines are on their way to a 'terminal decline'. While the members agreed that internationally, except for The Economist, most magazines are going through rather trying times, Dasgupta asked if there is still space for magazines in India - both niche and general. De Souza said that while magazines are showing a regular drop in growth every quarter, at the same time, almost every other day, a new magazine is being launched. "We do not have the right metric for magazines. They are not making money but from the advertising point of view, we are supporting them," she said. Ninan agreed and added that the hope remains only for niche magazines and ones with rich content. Closing the discussion, Dasgupta hinted that while there are optimists and sceptics, it can be agreed that the print industry cannot exist as it has over the years and there is a definite need to innovate. India Today brings Women's Health magazine to India The inaugural issue of the monthly title for women will hit the newsstands this April. The India Today Group is all set to launch Women's Health magazine in India. It has entered into a licensing agreement with US-based Rodale Inc. The inaugural issue of the India edition will hit the newsstands in April.

The magazine focuses on women's health, nutrition, fitness, sex and lifestyle. It has 12 international editions across the United States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Latin America, China, Germany, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey, reaching more than 8 million readers globally. It is published 10 times a year in the United States and has a circulation of 1.5 million readers there. Women's Health was introduced in the US by Rodale Inc. in 2005 as the sister publication of Men's Health magazine. The new entrant does not have a direct competition in India except its sister publication Prevention, which was introduced by the India Today Group in 2007. However, there are many other health and fitness magazines in the country including Complete Wellbeing, Life Positive and Health & Nutrition, among others. Targeted at Indian women aged 35 years or more, Prevention is also a product of Rodale Inc. and is a monthly magazine. Women's Health addresses the new generation of contemporary, confident and ambitious women in their 20s and 30s, who seek the knowledge and power to help improve not only their own lives but also the lives of those around them. The content mix of the magazine is broadly divided into two parts -- 'Healthier and Fitter life' that includes health, fitness, nutrition and weight loss, and 'Upgrading your Life', which includes beauty, style, sex, relationships and life skills. The cover stories of the magazine will talk about Bollywood celeb's fitness and diet regimes. The magazine has roped in Usha Sriram, endocrinologist; Zarine Watson, fitness expert, personal celebrity trainer and owner; Nishi Grover, dietician and fitness consultant; Shonali Sabharwal, practicing counsellor, chef and instructor in macrobiotics; Varkha Chulani, a clinical psychologist; Rod Anker, celebrity hair stylist; Dr Varun Katiyal, consultant dermatologist and cosmetologist; Anu Kowshik, celebrity make-up artist; Priyanka Misra, fashion director, Harper's Bazaar; Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research; Samit Basu, a writer of books, films and comics; Amrita Tripathi, news editor and health editor at CNN-IBN; and Jamal Sheikh, editor of Men's Health, India as the columnists for Women's Health magazine. To promote the magazine, the India Today Group will launch a slew of marketing and on-ground activations, reader outreach initiatives and other promotional strategies. FICCI Frames 2012: 'Online socialising' of business models could drive sales By Anindita Sarkar, afaqs!, Mumbai, March 15, 2012 Section: News Category: Digital Indians are increasingly becoming 'screenagers', jumping from one screen form to the other. Therefore, it is important to bring in innovations in the business model to help increase interaction and interactivity.

Who says online socialising is only restricted to sharing personal celebrations on a common platform, and creating a community of one's own?

While addressing the audience on the first day of the FICCI Frames 2012 in Mumbai, Sameer Nigam, head, Flipkart Digital Distribution, said, "The social networking platforms can also be used effectively to launch a new business model and receive instant feedbacks. These feedbacks can then be used efficiently to change and improve the given model." Citing the example of Flipkart's recent launch, Flyte, an online music download store, Nigam said that the latest foray was not officially announced but was promoted effectively on Twitter. The users' immediate feedbacks were then used effectively to correct the new business model and inject fresh learnings. The result? "Flyte is just a month old and there has already been one lakh music downloads in the last 14 days," he said. Nigam was speaking at the panel discussion titled 'Building essential connections in the online business world: Emerging business models and more'. The other speakers in the panel were Farshad Family, MD, Nielsen; and Albert Almeida, COO, Hungama Mobile. The panel was moderated by Ralph Simon, chairman, MEF, Americas. Agreeing to the above, Simon also noted that Indians are increasingly becoming 'screenagers', jumping from one screen form to the other. "Therefore, it is important to bring in innovations in the business model, which will help increase interaction and interactivity," added Simon. The innovations will also have to be introduced in the pricing models, which will induce people to buy the product. "The trigger to buy that online will also come when they get convenience, value and trust," said Almeida. Family informed that today, Indians are spending more than 2.5 hours on smartphones and only 20.25 per cent of that time is utilised in communication. The rest of the time is spent on various apps and content consumption. "But interestingly, this consumption across various screens does not cannibalise television consumption. The idea is more about owning a personal screen, while the family continues to consume content on television," Family said.