Entertainment sector poised for explosive growth as segments gain momentum

How does one differentiate between technology and what is today, in general parlance, called digital? Ask Kiran Mani—the CEO of Viacom18 Digital Ventures—this question and he takes some time to gather his thoughts. “It’s crucial to make a distinction. Technology distributes content, while digital creates a marketplace for it,” he says. It is a succinct but accurate assessment, most people would say. Mani, who joined Viacom in late 2023 after 14 years at Google, through this conversation, constantly attempts to simplify what sounds esoteric. Viacom18’s OTT platform, JioCinema, has been a relatively new entrant in the space but, like in telecommunications, has disrupted the status quo. It left people shocked when it offered the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year free of cost to viewers—at a time when most experts are of the view that subscription is the way to grow the market. “India is undoubtedly a price-sensitive market, and offering the IPL for free was a big bet that we took. When consumers see value, they are willing to pay, as seen in many service industries,” says Mani. It is hard to disagree with him; a similar playbook has been followed in other industries as well, such as food delivery. The Indian entertainment industry is in a transformative phase right now; digital has stormed the bastion, questioning every existing business model and making it impossible to predict tomorrow. As the business gets redefined, it’s not just about films anymore. Mani goes as far as to say that digital solutions “will be as seamless and accessible as electricity is today”. Just at the click of a button, it seems. Sit back and enjoy Entertainment in a new India has taken several forms—films in a new look, sports, fantasy games, music, and live events, to name a few. A conversation on box-office collections runs the risk of becoming redundant. Now, it is about time on hand to consume media against the multiple available options. The consumer is spoilt for choice. While it is known that 1,800 films released across languages last year, or that more than 600 million watched the IPL on streaming, did you know that India had over 450 million gamers, of which Dream11 alone accounts for over 220 million? The number has grown from just 17 million in 2018. Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer of fantasy sports platform Dream11 thinks the ‘daily fantasy game’ format was a big breakthrough compared to the traditional season-long fantasy. “It was a consumer behaviour that revolved around limited time and the need for instant gratification. Plus, lower data prices meant a surge in users,” he says. Dream11 has been associated with the IP of online gaming for over a decade. “Fantasy sports has evoked high levels of interest by being at the cross-section of sports, gaming, technology, and entertainment. All of that in an app makes it a hugely interesting proposition,” says Mudaliar. Add to that, audiences are getting more segmented and demanding. “A live event could well be enjoyed in the comfort of one’s home. That kind of an immersive experience is very much a possibility with the advent of technology,” says Chandrashekar Mantha, Partner and Media Sector Leader at Deloitte India. He believes India could become the VFX, or visual effects factory to the world. C for choice Mainstream forms of entertainment have not always been accessible by the mass but over-the-top, or OTT, services have changed that. For instance, choosing a vernacular language for a cricket match or watching a movie when you want are just a couple of the multitude of choices available. Entertainment in a post-pandemic world is unrecognisable because of OTTs. Mani points out that there are three key levers in the OTT space—content, consumption, and monetisation. “Unlike most developed markets like the US that are largely homogeneous, in India and we at JioCinema, aim to provide content across screens, with personalisation being a big part of that strategy,” he says. The obvious challenge is from a user point of view and that is safety related to online payments, which he says, “must be addressed to build trust and drive broader adoption”. Not surprisingly, the future of cinema, entertainment’s pride and joy, is being closely tracked. “There is a clear space for it even as it competes for time and money against sports, eating out or content in other forms,” says Shobu Yarlagadda, Co-founder and CEO of Arka Media Works, a production and media company in the Telugu content space, which has produced the Baahubali films. Movie-watching is not limited to the big screen now, and OTTs have made that possible. “Themes driven by emotions make for OTT viewing, while [something like] a biopic or a drama is more suitable for collective viewing.” Devang Sampat, MD of Cinépolis India, a prominent player in the exhibition business with 449 screens, mentions the post-pandemic evolving consumer behaviour as a big tipping point. “India saw a steady number of annual moviegoers before that with consistent admits across regions. The disruption saw a 30% decline in admits in the first year followed by another 20% in the second,” he says. Since then, move-watching has returned to pre-pandemic levels. “Now, there is an opportunity for exhibitors to re-engage the audience, through innovative offerings and tailored experiences.” Even today, with more technology and data at one’s disposal, analytics models are very handy to determine, say, when and where to release a film or with how many prints or decide what kind of promotions need to be done. “There is no end to what one can possibly do—like choosing your favourite stars or deciding how a movie should end,” says Mantha. It is a point that Yarlagadda agrees with and he speaks of how pre-testing of a concept will get even sharper. He says data must be used smartly to understand segmentation better and what the difficult part for data to grasp is the gut factor. Not surprisingly, it all comes down to great content and a focus on screenplay. Pointing to the recent success of Stree 2, a horror comedy, Yarlagadda says that a strong script will always receive a good opening. Coming to sports, living in the present is often at one’s peril. For instance, cricket brings in the eyeballs and consequently, revenue. But, Deloitte’s Mantha believes, it will continue to be an expensive medium. “There will always be interest and with women’s cricket, the attempt is clearly to increase the audience base. That said, we are also seeing the emergence of other sports like football slowly getting popular.” All said and done, the focus is and will be on digital, similar to the situation we saw when the IPL rights were bought by Viacom18 for a whopping `23,578 crore. “India is in a prime digital phase, and we are the largest entertainment market globally, with over a billion devices connected through mobile and television. To us, entertainment in India remains an untapped value, presenting a significant opportunity,” says Mani. With technology and digital playing pivotal roles, how consumers open up their wallets to create a viable monetisation model will be key to watch. All in all, entertainment in India is scripting a new narrative and one can only hope for a happy ending. @krishnagopalan

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Entertainment sector poised for explosive growth as segments gain momentum

As segments within the entertainment sector start to gain scale, the game is well-poised for a big explosion