Curtains go up on entertainment summit today

Over 2,500 delegates from 20 countries expected to attend FICCI-FRAMES convention in Mumbai.

The curtains go up on Tuesday for FICCI-FRAMES 2008, slated to be the biggest global convention in Asia on the entertainment business.

Over 2,500 delegates from India and 20 other countries, will attend the three-day event in Mumbai, at which they will discuss the changing face of television news, the resurgence of the language media, the new arena of mobile entertainment, and how to cope with the talent crunch. 

THE BIG STAGE The entertainment industry is growing fast according to a recent study by FICCI-PricewaterhouseCoopers
Size in Rs cr	2007	2012*	CAGR 2008-12 (%)
Overall	51,300	115,700	18
Television	22,600	60,000	22
Filmed entertainment	9,600	17,600	13
Print media	14,900	28,100	14
Radio	620	1,800	24
Music	730	800	2
Animation, gaming & VFX	1,300	4,000	25
Out-of-home advertising	1,250	2,400	14
Online advertising	270	1,100	32
* Projected Source: FICCI-PWC Report 2008

The Indian entertainment and media industry was estimated at Rs 51,300 crore in 2007, a growth of 17 per cent over the Rs 43,800 crore in the year before, and it is projected to touch Rs 115,000 crore by 2011.

According to a FICCI-PricewaterhouseCoopers report, the industry registered a cummulative growth of 19 per cent between 2004 and 2007.

"Growth in 2007 has indeed been robust. We can proudly say that our networking with the government and industry segments is paying rich dividends," says Amit Mitra, secretary general, FICCI. "It is now for the industry to fan out and have a global outreach."

The delegates from such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France Germany, the US and the UK, Italy, Switzerland, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, neighbouring Pakistan and the UAE will also confer on the scope of international co-productions, revenue streams in multiplexes, radio for the masses and developing animation content.

Switzerland is the partner country for the event.

Advertising growth
Advertising, which is driving this expansion, has grown substantially to Rs 19,600 crore in 2007, up 22 per cent from the Rs 16,100 crore in 2006, making up about 38 per cent of the entertainment industry revenues.

The report points to a paradigm shift in the advertising industry through digital platforms that are enabling it to reach a critical mass.

This has resulted in consumers shifting from passive mediums to digital interactive mediums like the internet and mobile. Internet advertising, which is estimated at Rs 420 crore in 2008, is said to be growing at 32 per cent CAGR and is expected to touch Rs 1,100 crore in 2012.

Small screen
The television business which was at Rs 22,600 crore in 2007 and is projected to grow to Rs 60,000 crore by 2012, is being transformed with digitalisation of distribution. Direct-to-home subscription is expected to grow at 44 per cent over the next five years.

CAS was made mandatory from January 1, 2007, but has had a lukewarm response. High growth in advertising revenues and the emergence of alternate revenue streams, especially SMS, is driving the launch of many new channels.

Fine print
New magazine launches dominated the print industry in 2007 on account of favorable FDI policies with growth potential manifested in high-end niche genres.

But there has been a resurgence in regional publications that saw the print media grow to Rs 14,900 crore in 2007. This segment is projected to grow at 14 per cent between 2008 and 2012 to Rs 28,100 crore.

Film story
The emergence of various revenue streams beyond the traditional box office is changing the face of the filmed entertainment industry that includes TV, mobile, internet, home video, merchandise, music, re-make rights and several branded entertainment opportunties.

Hollywood studios like Sony Pictures, Viacom and Fox have begun to show an interest in India, while Moser Baer is changing the Indian model for home video from rental to a sell-through.

Radio talk
Over 150 radio channels have been operationalised till 2007, expanding the spread of radio.

An additional 560 radio stations expected to be set up in the next five years, which should be possible with higher FDI and varied news content recommended by the regulator.

Outlook
Globally, the migration to digital formats is accelerating and this trend is likely to emerge in India too.

Digitalisation is the future for most segments and companies will have to adopt this change. The pace of adoption will determine the industry dynamics, says Timmy Kandhari, executive director and leader TICE (Technology, Infocomm and Entertainment & Media) Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers in India.

Digitisation will also reduce the cost of content and delivery, shifting the emphasis to quality content, he says.