Media & Entertainment

WHEN NORMAL MEDIA ACTIVITY CAME TO A HALT, A NEW GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS AND CREATIVES TOOK OVER, BUT THE OPPORTUNITIES OF DIGITAL GROWTH COULD BE DESTROYED BY THOUGHTLESS REGULATION

The year 2020 was an unforgettable one. While memories of the pandemic will haunt a generation, it will also be remembered for the changes it triggered in our lives. It was a year when a lot “paused” and a lot got permanently reset. How people consume media is no exception. Media and entertainment entered 2020 in a bipolar setting—armed with technology, imagination and impatience, a group of media entrepreneurs and visionaries determined to disrupt it. The other, a much larger group of media owners and professionals, retreating further into their age-old silos and almost determined not to change anything. Suddenly in March, normal media activity came to an abrupt halt—theatres were the first to shut down. Almost all forms of content production—movies, TV, streaming—in most countries were suddenly paused. Advertising and the broader business were hugely disrupted. It was a strange dichotomy—home-bound as they were, people were hungrier than ever before for more content, but newspapers struggled to print and distribute; most TV channels and their executives struggled for a single new idea to stay relevant in this new world. All their lives they had only one proposition—a “new launch”. But no new launches were happening. The crisis of ideas in traditional media had never been exposed so dramatically. That’s when digital media and streaming services seamlessly stepped in to take over the screens. So, what happened? How is it that the old content on TV didn’t tick, but it almost exploded on digital platforms? The answer is simple—consumers don’t watch just a story. It’s the overall experience that matters— freedom of access, to move seamlessly from one screen to another, to watch how much they want and whenever they want. Media had morphed from being a creative-only enterprise to a tech-driven creative enterprise.

TO CONSUMERS, FREEDOM OF ACCESS MATTERS—TO WATCH WHATEVER THEY WANT, WHENEVER THEY WANT

This was a fundamental change and consumers were quick to see its value.

In India, of course, the challenges before the media industry were greater and more complex when Covid hit. Except for Hotstar (now Disney+ Hotstar), not only did the industry fall short of competing on technology, most Indian media owners and executives had been very short-sighted in investing in improving creative quality, talent and production values, and the range of stories had been lagging. The belief was ‘why improve what is selling anyway!’ Despite our deep roots in creativity and storytelling, our content has rarely risen to the levels of being truly the best in class. Newspaper owners and executives have, of course, taken the poverty of content to a whole different level. There seems to be a consensus in the newspaper industry that they are in the business of advertising and not content. So, while they have found innovative

ways to attract advertising, almost all of this has come at the cost of quality and integrity of editorial content. Sadly, newspaper editors seem to have been willing accomplices in the degradation.

Against this backdrop, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and took us all by surprise. When the supply of fresh content stopped suddenly, helplessness kicked in and hands were wringing all around. The pandemic brought the need for technological innovation to the spotlight and accelerated the changes going on in the entertainment ecosystem. Gone are the days of consumers being satisfied with the mere coverage of a cricket match or just a great movie; they seek a superior experience—one that is customised to their needs, which allows them to engage and interact with the content they are consuming, and which is not restricted by conventional boundaries of time or place. Since consumers are willing to pay for this superior experience, this change is irreversible. As a result, there are enormous challenges and uncertainties facing not just traditional media businesses, but also traditional ways of doing business. What is required to win, is a new way of doing business.

In my experience, generally, the incumbents have found it difficult to reinvent themselves. Disrupting yourself when you are successful can seem unimaginable and even unnecessary. Having led this change at India’s biggest media company, when we were building the erstwhile Hotstar, I have seen first-hand how incredibly challenging it is to transform an incumbent and prepare it for the future. The future of the media and entertainment industry will be scripted by a new generation of entrepreneurs and creative people. A few companies and executives may be able to evolve and survive in the new world, but many are in a perilous state. Those who want to grow solely by investing in the content will get disrupted by the ones investing in both content and technology.

Traditional media offices have been populated overwhelmingly by content and commercial people. However, any successful media company of the future will require an equal proportion of content, commercial and tech talent. They will have to be prepared to disrupt their existing streams of income to build future ones. That’s not easy, but that’s the only way forward.

In the business model of media, another fundamental change is taking place—all forms of media and content are going direct-to-consumer and consumers are willing to pay. But they want value for money. Media businesses will have to compete on content and consumer experience, not their ability to incentivise hawkers and cable operators. Our own experience in India with Disney+ Hotstar is evidence that people are willing to pay if they see the value. In less than a year, Disney+ Hotstar has become the biggest direct-to-consumer service in India.

Unfortunately, in India, the uphill task of reinventing traditional media has been made even more challenging by the regulatory environment. At a time when the industry should move fast and rapidly transform itself, regulators aren’t aligned on the vision or even the threats facing the sector. While the role of regulators is important to create a level playing field, bring about transparency in business behaviour and protect the larger social interest, the regulatory mindset needs to change. TV faces a grave threat from its lack of imagination and investment, but equally from the regulatory thoughtlessness. However, my bigger concern is that digital media might also struggle under the weight of too much thoughtless regulation.

Technological disruption is a natural progression of society. However, the time has come for everyone to look at the role being played by retrograde regulation hindering the evolution of the media industry. It has never been more important to remove artificial and unproductive hindrances. The time for a new regulatory order is now!

India now faces an unprecedented opportunity to create large and global media businesses. The ease of globalisation of distribution has ensured that geographical barriers can be easily overcome and capital is available in abundance. In India, we can easily tap into the large pool of our talent—both creative and technological. So Indian media enterprises can compete and win both in India and globally, provided there is a change in the mindset. We have to move from looking at media as a business of glamour, propaganda and influence to a business of creativity and technology that can create jobs and wealth and be a dominant contributor to the Indian economy and society. Without a national consensus around that, we might not be able to take advantage of this exciting inflection that global media is going through. ■

ANY SUCCESSFUL MEDIA COMPANY OF THE FUTURE WILL REQUIRE AN EQUAL PROPORTION OF CONTENT, COMMERCIAL, AND TECH TALENT