OECD EXPERT MEETING Presentation by Supran Sen Secretary General Film Federation of India At the outset I express my sincere gratitude to OECD for affording this opportunity to be a Panel Member and to share to platform with some of the most outstanding personalities. I represent Indian Film Industry the largest film making country in the world and thus my basic emphasis is on the Indian Entertainment Industry. Overcoming the gloom that has set during the economic slowdown of 2008-09, the Indian entertainment industry bounced back in 2010 registering a growth rate of 11% compared to 1.4% in 2009. While most success witnessed double digit growth, the film industry witnessed a decline in revenue owing to content that failed to make a strong run at the box office. Television resumed a pace of growth as did Radio. Meanwhile with the growing popularity of digital platform content creators looked to build strong foundations to prepare themselves for the exciting role ahead. It was also a year that witnessed a shift in favor of digital technologies as DTH touched 28 million set subscribers and digital music sales surpassed that of physical format. Animation and VFX Company geared up for the huge opportunity in film restoration and 2D to 3D conversion. Audio Visual Media has seen tremendous change with the advert of new technologies and of course open markers. I would however like to concentrate on few items viz :- Films India is the largest film producing country in the world making more than 1000 films per year on an average in 26 languages. Three major segments Production, Distribution, Exhibition
The industry is labour intensive and provides direct and indirect employment to around 5 million people ( 1 million people directly and 4 million indirectly). Film is one of the most important mediums for mass communication for the country s population. Indian film industry is largely concentrated in the private sector and is characterised by sole proprietorship and partnership. The government mainly plays a peripheral role. Government does not provide any major subsidies or support programmes, as in the case of European film industry. In the past, government provided financial support for film production through National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). However, such financial supports are dwindling due to the lack of funds. Film Industry declared as an Industry for the purpose of availing bank finance. In the past, India had quantitative restrictions on film imports and the total number of titles imported was restricted to 100 per year. This restriction has now been removed. The current policy states. Although the foreign players have welcomed the liberalization measures, they still face certain barriers. MPAA has pointed out that its member companies have to pay a custom duty on remittances. Although import licenses are no longer required, Indian customs often impose various restrictions. Co production treaty with following countries in space 1) UK 2) Germany 3) Brazil 4) Italy
Convergence Convergence opened up Telecom as a new platform for Audio & Video to ride on. The challenge is monetization. As most business models look at revenue share to critical factors are : a) Ratio of rev share between the telecom operator and content owner b) Transparency of total income Content protection is a must or else there rev will leak from the system. New Media (a) Internet Internet is an open garden and is a global village. Here everything is expected free. Moreover content can be downloaded and thus it kills other modes of revenue. Social network sites and You Tube are platforms where content is freely available at times even before they are officially released. A key aspect of new media is the shift in focus from functional innovation to humanization of technology, bringing the ability to connect with consumers in more meaningful ways. The internet has had a profound effect on consumers viewing habits and the proliferation of devices is altering their media and entertainment consumption behavior. While the traditional media offered passive consumption, new media facilitates interactivity.
In the first digital decade, content is king was believed to be the key to success. As telecom operators and cable companies aggressively entered the digital value chain, the debate shifted to whether controlling distribution channels mattered more than owning content. In the second digital decade, the proliferation of devices created new channels of communication for personalized and localized content. The realization ahs sunk in that while content and distribution are important aspects of the digital business model, companies can provide value in many ways by providing context, coverage or convenience to the target audience. The cost of network access and handsets is falling, penetration of wireless networks is increasing and India s young population is demonstrating a huge appetite for digital content. With a rapidly expanding new media universe, companies are recognizing that new media technologies offer better engagement with consumers, and are increasing their investment in this space. With globalization laws of different nation comes into play making things extremely complicated. IPR is a big issue and is difficult to tackle as servers are sitting outside the country and not within the judicial jurisdiction of that particular nation where infringement has taken place. Trade bodies can play an active role in distribution chain. If piracy and misuse of content is not stopped we will soon see a major collapse in the Audio Video Industry.
(b) Mobile phones Globally, smartphones such as the iphone have revolutionized the market. Handset manufacturers, carriers and content developers are constantly innovating in order to stay competitive. Smartphone sales in India accounted for 5.2 percent of device sales in the first quarter of 2010. This share is expected to increase to 18 percent by 2014, driven by broadband technologies, customer aspirational value and peer acceptance. The mobile user base is an audience that companies cannot afford to ignore. Large brands from Adidas to Procter & Gamble are increasing their mobile marketing budgets. The launch of 3G Services is expected to further increase the number of mobile internet users. In the next five years, more internet users are expected to connect to the internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs Consumers in BRIC countries have leapfrogged to newer devices like tablets, as compared to consumers in more mature markets. The entry of affordable tablets for the price sensitive Indian consumer in time for the launch of 3G services is expected to boost growth in this segment. Tablets are expected to attract consumers looking to replace secondary PCs. Ten percent of Indian plan to purchase a tablet PC in 2011. In India, some forecastes suggest that there will be 1 million tablet devices in the market by 2011. Faster broadband speeds and high user demand in India will drive content to presented and consumed in different ways such as social media, videos and streaming of music and movies.
DTH growth The biggest growth story of 2010 come from the DTH platform which exceeded industry growth expectations to reach a net base of 28 million subscribers, clocking a 75 percent growth over its subscriber base of 2009. Contrary to popular belief, 2010 saw a large part of the growth coming from urban India. Bigger metro markets grew, specifically among the lower socio economic segments, as a result of subsidies offered such as reduced cost of STBs, free installation of STBs and free service, etc. In an attempt to rationalize pricing for customers, the year also saw ala-carte options being provided by DTH players. For example, Airtel and Tata Sky followed a TRAI directive to operators requiring them to allow customers to select and pay subscription for channels they choose to watch instead of offering only bundled packages. This practice is being adopted by other players as well. The amount of churn is still expected to be around 5 percent of the overall DTH subscriber base per month. The platform has reached a penetration of 26 percent of the total C&S homes in a market like India which has traditionally been an analog market. Companies have been currently focusing on high carriage fee markets, Bombay or Delhi, putting in boxes at subsidized costs to hold on to their subscribers in those markets. Investment will be needed by these companies to fund the use of STBs at the customer end and also to consolidate LCOs/MSOs through buyouts. As per industry estimates, for complete digitization the cable industry will be expected to make investments to the tune of INR8,000-10,000 crores on infrastructure, excluding the cost of subsidizing STBs for the consumers.
The major restrictions/ barriers on Indian movie industry Shooting Abroad 1) Fluctuation in Currency 2) Language barriers.. High cost of interpreters 3) Local union laws- hiring technicians.. shooting hours.. Local technicians not very experienced. Compared to Indian labor 4) Permissions and visas technicians on film.. Denied visas 5) Incentives only when local producers on board.. Which is rare 6) Local partners for co productions almost impossible. Whereas partners for co productions with India available. 7) Differences in technology and equipment. 8) Insurance coverage 9) Exorbitant cost of room rent in hotel/ food Export of Srvices/ Audio Visual Productions 1) Deductions of local Tax from country to where export takes place, set off takes long time 2) Trade Barriers Lower quality offers compared to other film producing nations 3) Trade Barriers Less offers compared to other film producing nations 4) No Equal opportunities to services from India.. Much lower rates 5) Pirates not checked 6) Copyright infringement Developing nations.. 7) Undue exploitation of Developing nations services at cheap rates.. Animation and others services Thank You,