Ficci Frames: Consumers must pay for content, says Disney's Uday Shankar

Says media industry is set to take a huge hit on account of the reliance on advertising

Media businesses have prioritised advertising over content and the industry is set to take a huge hit because of its reliance on advertising, Uday Shankar (pictured), president of The Walt Disney Company (Asia-Pacific) and chairman, Star and Disney, said on Tuesday during the FICCI Frames virtual summit. 

Held annually in March, Frames was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The summit started on Tuesday and would continue till Saturday.

Shankar said the media industry’s short- sightedness was responsible for the “disproportionate dependence” on advertising and that consumers must pay for content. 

“The biggest bane of this industry — especially for print, television and