Cecily, you will read your Political Economy in my absence. The chapter on the Fall of the Rupee you may omit. It is somewhat too sensational
—From The importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
For me, the most difficult part was to decide whether this was a book or an industry report. It had too many facts, figures and tables for a book and yet it didn’t work as a report as most data was based on 2008 figures. I decided to settle for “text” or “reference book” for a mature reader — ideally someone who wants an overview of the Indian media business. It worried me that all the data was dated — especially since 2008 and 2009 have seen so much turbulence and change that mere extrapolation can lead you totally astray. Having said that, the text is definitely sensitised for what is happening now.
The historical perspectives are accurate and interesting. Here at least the numbers tell a story, one that gives a fair understanding of how we have grown and how we have grown differently from the rest of the developing world.
The layout of the chapters, overview, history, shape, metrics, regulatory environment and numbers work for me. The “caselets” are innovative and keep putting information in perspective.
The section on “print” is important, not just because we seem to be the only country where print is still on an upward climb, but also because, apart from straight growth, there have been innovations. The Times “Private Treaty” is like the creation of a new investment-banking product — one where media companies, not the Reserve Bank of India, generate currency. A totally new way to monetise media space has been invented.
What is missing from this section is the brilliant synthesis of film magazines, TV channels and event companies (read award nights). Again, it is a new way of creating value for all three players.
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The TV bit is really informative. The strength of advertisers and their impact on content jump out at you. The bit on the advertising code and regulatory environment fails to mention that rampant surrogate advertising has ensured that most regulation has been consigned to dusty files. What’s missing is some focus on the differential role that satellite plays vis-a-vis terrestrial and the disproportionate presence of news on our airwaves, massively in variance with the rest of the world.
The section on films surprised me. It starts off with “there has never been a better time to be in the movie business”. (However, Khandekar forgot to add, “if you are an actor”.) Looking back from FICCI FRAMES 2010 (and not FRAMES 2008 as Khandekar does), I can’t think of a worse time to have been in the movie business. I think the headiness of the success of two films covers the disastrous performance of hundreds, the erosion of large amounts of value by some of the corporate entrants and an overall drop in the film business for the first time in years.
There is a good piece about Hollywood entering India. It talks of studio plans and attempts to enter the country. It omits the massive increase in the business of Hollywood fare when dubbed in regional languages and the fact that, of the last three “biggest” films, two were international. A first for India and a precursor of times to come.
The music section is disappointing. There wasn’t much in it and for a moment I thought it may have moved to its correct slot — viz telecommunications, but a quick fast-forward showed that wasn’t the case. It almost feels that since the music business is down, it deserves less space. This, however, is misleading. The chapter is clear about the glory of music in the past and the role it played in revenue streams in the good years. What is not clear (either in this chapter or the one on telecom) is that even today the sale of music through subscription and download of CBTs (Caller Back Tunes on the mobile) is more than 50 per cent of the entire film business. The business hasn’t died — it’s just transformed and landed in the hands of different stakeholders.
I wish there was more on telecom. It is fast becoming the biggest source of media and entertainment, even in numbers, and interestingly, the only pirate-proof pipeline. It is speeding up the unification of delivery mechanisms and my prediction is that telecom will be the biggest chapter in Khandekar’s next edition.
The Internet piece rightly reflects that while the Internet may be a major source of entertainment and media content at present, it is still a minuscule source of revenues.
The two new chapters on out-of-home (OOH) advertising and events are a good start.
While Khandekar remains critically analytical, she stays clinically aloof from opinion. There’s information on the advertising code, yet nothing on its being brazenly flouted everyday. There’s enough on regulation, yet nothing on the blatant abuse of TV news. I could go on. It is for all these reasons that the book remains a reference text — and not a “book” or “report” — but it is far more comprehensive and accurate than anything else on the scene.
The reviewer is the founder and MD of Kaleidoscope Entertainment and has produced 10 feature films, including Bandit Queen
THE INDIAN MEDIA
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar
Sage Publications; Rs 495
