Content is key

FREEZE FRAME

In triple play, the highest increase in revenue per user has come from video

It is just a matter of how and when. As we get better networked, wired or wireless, with one another and the rest of the world we will begin to share more than just voice, messages (sms, e-mail) or swap songs and movies.

Though the days of plain old telephony or the neighbourhood cablewala are not yet over, convergence will help deliver voice, video and data through one connection soon. The all-pervasive connectivity will increase the usage of telephone, Internet and the television. Going forward, one dominant usage has to emerge. What is the value proposition which will drive the triple play?

As far as the consumer is concerned he wants more for less. Wherever triple play has been introduced, the highest increase in revenue per user has come from video. The much-abused term "content" is finally becoming the critical differentiator.

Even today it is the value-added services (VAS) which drive the ARPUS of all service providers - telcos, ISPs, cable operators and DTH platforms. Who would have thought that ring tones would be a $4 billion business?

Pod casting is changing the very notion of listening (and buying) music. Similarly several different technologies are being tried to deliver live TV on the mobile phones. Soon you will have video pods and so on. In the multi-platform, multiple device era, players all along the content value chain have an opportunity to reach a greater number of users.

Conventional wisdom tells us that most of the existing content "" films, music, TV shows can be repackaged for use through different formats. This requires constant repackaging and upgradation. The first step, of course, is to convert all archival material from analogue to digital mode.

If true value has to be generated from content then proper and secure Digital Rights management (DRM) is fundamental. This begins with defining different format and territorial rights in all contracts. Rights owners, whether content creators, distributors or aggregators must have clear and enforceable Intellectual Property Rights. The service providers, on the other hand, must ensure proper monetistion and protection of these rights.

According to David Jamieson, head of content services at BT Broadcast Services, the main challenge of re-purposing and reformatting for multi-platform play starts at the beginning of the value chain with rights management.

"Content owners are keen to maintain revenue streams and develop exclusive content that commands a high premium, so convincing a content owner that access can be controlled and their content protected, is very important," he says. Almost all involved in the digital space will tell you that the rights issues can cause problems.

"It's a whole new world, especially when it comes to music in a programme. Who owns the rights?" asks a prominent filmmaker, pointing out that performing rights societies claim their share even as the original copyright owner sits fretting and fuming about piracy.

In a networked society content "" TV, movies, books, video games "" is the brand driver. That's what all large integrated media companies are about. Look at Disney, Sony, Time-Warner, Viacom, NewsCorp, ZEE, Bennett, Coleman & Co, or even independents from Spielberg to Yash Chopra "" they are concentrating on creating products which can be distributed across platforms.

There will be broadband-specific content at some stage. For now, it will be the main content players, independent producers and Hollywood majors that will push things forward. Broadband lends itself to the idea of extra material on live shows and soaps.

It has happened in the special editions of DVDs or the curtain raisers for big film or events. The benefits of product placement and advertising are also realised well in a multiple platform environment. We are now actually beginning to experience 360 degrees marketing.

Digital platforms will push interactivity as a value-addition. Some feel it attracts people and will become increasingly important. Cronin, however, suggests that there is still a big market for 'sit-back'TV consumption. In India, if audience participation via SMS polls is any indication interactivity is going to play a major role in our entertainment.

"From a broadcasters' perspective it can be very important," claims Jamieson. It promotes the revenue-generating voting system and for an advertiser, it's nirvana in terms of measuring the effectiveness of ad campaigns and time spent with a brand. We have seen it in India during "Indian Idol" and should see more with KBC II.

Newer content, formats and applications will emerge with technology. However, as they say, the final beneficiary must be the consumer otherwise everything will come a cropper.

Amit Khanna is chairman
of Reliance Entertainment
and the views expressed
here are his own