Newsletter of the CII Media & Entertainment Division. The newsletter highlights CII initiatives including CEOs Roundtable on Broadcast and India at European Film Market, Berlin.

1. Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division
march 2014
november 2012
CII CEOs Round Table On Broadcast
Consumers an Integral Part
of the Digitization Process
Chandrajit Banerjee
Director General, CII
POLICY NOTES
The 5th CEO’s Round Table on Broadcast organised by Confederation of Indian
Industry discussed next steps for Phase III and Phase IV cable TV digitization. It was
attended, among others, by top broadcasters, MSOs, DTH operators among others
India at Vantage Point
T
he New Year has set the ball rolling
for the CII Media and Entertainment
division. We have had a successful 5th
CII CEOs Roundtable on Broadcast and a
fruitful association with the Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting in managing the India Pavilion at the European
Film Market, Berlin.
The CEOs Roundtable gave an opportunity for broadcast CEOs and other
stakeholders to get a clear perspective
of Phase III and Phase IV Cable TV
digitization process. Whereas the CII
participation at Berlin opened doors on
the emerging opportunities in the filmed
entertainment space.
India is at a vantage point in both broadcast and filmed entertainment space and
CII would want a united media and entertainment sector to make a headway to
achieve our dream of $100 billion media
and entertainment sector.
That’s why we have chosen Monetization
Strategies in Media as theme for the CII
Big Picture Summit (September 19-20,
New Delhi). CII Big Picture Summit 2014
will capture monetizization strategies
in M&E for the present and where it
is heading. It will bring top minds to
deliberate home grown monetization
strategies that will help us towards $100
billion M&E sector by 2020. The emerging monetization models will be deliberated and workable action plan initiated
at the Summit.
CII also looks forward to participation at
Cannes Film Market with a clear focus
on handholding regional films and participation of Indian states projecting film
locales to global filmmakers. Send your
views to our media and entertainment
division head amita.sarkar@cii.in
T
he Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Manish Tewari has said the
digitization process during Phase-III and
IV would have to focus on the interest of
the consumers in order to ensure that they
were partners in the process rather than
adversaries. For this purpose, the industry
would have to run a focussed consumer
awareness campaign, whereby the consumer would have to be sensitized about
the benefits accruing from this process. The
Minister stated this while speaking at 5th
CEO’s Round Table on Broadcast organised
by Confederation of Indian Industry The
.
roundtable discussed next steps for Phase III
and Phase IV cable TV digitization.
Mr Bimal Julka, Secretary Ministry of
,
Information & Broadcasting, gave an overview of the various policy initiatives of the
Ministry and maintained that they have not
slowed down in their decisions.
Dr Rahul Khullar, Chairman, TRAI maintained that the industry is going through
a transition phase and all the stakeholders
should resolve their differences amicably for
the betterment of the industry
.
The tone for the meet was set by Sudhanshu
Vats, CEO Viacom18 Group, Uday Shankar,
CEO Star India in their initial remarks.
India @ Berlin
(L-R) Raghvendra Singh, Joint Secretary, MIB; Actress Huma Qureshi; Bimal Julka, Secretary, MIB; Acting Ambassador
Ajit Gupte & Amita Sarkar, DDG, CII at the inauguration of ‘Exhibition on Indian Cinema’ at Indian embassy, Berlin on the
sidelines of 64th Berlin International Film Festival, 6th February 2014
Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division
1

2. INDIA
AT BERLIN
best moments
india at berlin
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in association with Confederation of Indian Industry participated in the European Film Market, Berlin from (February 6-14, 2014) to project Indian cinema
and facilitate to syndicate and market Indian films. India made a visible presence at the recently
concluded Berlinale. Indian film Killa (The Fort) directed by Avinash Arun won the Crystal Bear for
best film in the Generation Kplus for children’s films at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival
EUROPEAN FILM MARKET,
FEBRUARY 6-14, 2014
Ten Indian films were screened in the 64th
Berlin International Film Festival and it is a great
beginning for Indian Cinema in 2014. Berlinale
in recent years have been spotting talent and
giving them a global footprint.
Mr Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in his address at the
interactive session on Co-Production said that
all existing Co-Production treaties must be
revisited, as they are not being utilized by the
filmmakers.
India’s prospects as a shooting and post-production hub was the talking point at the market.
The trending topic at the India Pavilon were the
queries on Single Window Clearance for film
shooting and post production facilities in India.
2
The official Indian films that were screened
at Berlinale included Imtiaz Ali’s Highway
(Panorama), Jayan Cherian’s Papilio Buddha (Panorama) Pushpenra Singh’s Lajwanti
(Forum), Jessica Sadana and Samarth Dixit’s
Prabhat Pheri (Forum), Avinash Arun’s Killa
(Generation), Gaurav Saxena’s Rangrez (NATive)
and two films Mount Song and Blood Earth
(Forum Expanded). Iconic film of Satyajit Ray’s
Nayak (Berlinale Classics) and Mani Kaul’s
Gashiram Kotwal (Forum) were screened at
Berlin in restored prints. In addition Overdose
Art was in the Co-Production Market and three
people were in the Berlinale Talent section. The
India Pavilion projected film selections from
India at Berlinale.
Indian film Killa (The Fort) directed by Avinash
Arun won the Crystal Bear for best film in the
Generation Kplus for children’s films at the 64th
Berlin International Film Festival. This is a great
honour for India at Berlin.
India Film Guide, brought out by the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting was released on
this occasion which has catalogued information
on film policies, movies for sales and distribution at EFM and the guide is a primer on Indian
cinema.
A large number of film producers from UK, Australia, Poland, Spain, Belgium, France, Germany
are looking to work with Indian producers.
The objective of the India Pavilion is to boost
the profile of Indian films, facilitate business to
business meetings, production services and Indian locales to the world. The Indian Panaroma
films selected at IFFI Goa 2013 were projected
at the Pavilion for sales and syndication.
Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division
Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division
3

3. CII CEOs Round Table On Broadcast
TRP Guidelines to Establish
Transparency: Mr Manish Tewari
The campaign for Phase III and Phase IV would have to focus on improved
quality of viewing and related qualitative benefits accruing to the consumer
Voices from the CII CEOs
Roundtable on Broadcast
The digitization process during Phase-III and IV would
have to focus on the interest of the consumers in order
to ensure that they were partners in the process rather
than adversaries. For this purpose, the industry would
have to run a focused consumer awareness campaign,
whereby the consumer would have to be sensitized
about the benefits accruing from this process.
Mr Manish Tewari
Minister for Information & Broadcasting (Independent Charge),
Government of India
Indian consumers are not used to paying for quality
services like digital cable, but that must change. The
industry is going through a transition phase and it
is important for all the stakeholders to resolve their
differences amicably for the betterment of the industry.
The industry has to find its answers for all the issues
that exist today.
Dr Rahul Khullar
Chairman, TRAI
The requirement for set-top-boxes for digitization in
phase III and phase IV is estimated to be 14 crore. There
is an immense opportunity for the Indian indigenous
industry. Why do we need to import set-top-boxes from
Taiwan, China, South Korea and other countries(?).
We should undertake this exercise in-house. We have
initiated dialogue with MSME department to indigenise.
This will open up huge employment for local population.
We want to resolve this before moving to phase III and
phase IV.
Mr Bimal Julka
Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
S
peaking at the 5th CII CEO’s Roundtable on Broadcast , Mr Manish Tewari, Minister for Information Information & Broadcasting, said in Phase I and II, the consumer was told that if he doesn’t
buy a set-top box, his TV signal would be switched off but it would
not work in the next phases.
phases. For digitization to succeed, the industry would have to make
efforts to ensure that the consumer was an integral component in
the digitization value chain. At the same time, the comprehensive
approach would also ensure the emergence of viable business model
for the industry
.
“It was my way or the highway It may have worked in Phase I and
.
Phase II but it is not going to work in Phase III and IV Mr Tewari
,”
said. He said he had told I&B Ministry officials that in Phase III
and IV they “have to convince the consumer that digitization is in
his interest rather than running those advertisements which say if
by 31st October you don’t buy a box, your television screen will be
blanked out”.
On the issue of Television Rating Points (TRPs) the Minister said
that this initiative was an attempt to make the process transparent, credible and accountable. At the same time, the endeavor was
to address aberrations in the existing rating system. The Minister
added that this initiative was based on the past recommendations of
the Standing Committee, TRAI, and Dr. Amit Mitra Committee. The
Government had also been approached in the past by the industry
stakeholders to rectify the existing flaws. The long term objective
was an attempt to usher a system with defined rules within an existing framework.
Mr Bimal Julka, Secretary Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
,
and Dr Rahul Khullar, Chairman, TRAI addressed the broadcast
CEOs. The roundtable was attended, among others, by top broadcasters, MSOs, DTH operators among others. The tone for the meet was
set by Sudhanshu Vats, CEO Viacom18 Group, Uday Shankar, CEO
Star India in their initial remarks.
Elaborating further, Mr Tewari stated that the campaign for Phase
III and Phase IV would have to focus on improved quality of viewing
and related qualitative benefits accruing to the consumer as a result
of the implementation process. The learnings of the implementation
during Phase-I and Phase-II would also have to be taken into account
while outlining the implementation roadmap for the remaining
4
On the issue of monopolies in the Cable TV sector, Mr Tewari said
that regulator had already made its recommendation and the issues
involved were being examined by the Inter Ministerial Committee
(IMC). The Minister also mentioned that for the broadcasting sector
to grow the regulatory framework ought to be stable and transparent
for all stakeholders. This would ensure orderly growth for the sector
in the long run.
I wanted to emphasize here that media and entertainment
is a consumer focused industry. It is market dynamics
that should be allowed to play -- for example in pricing.
You cannot cap costs and assume that consumers will
thrive. Transparency, clarity, consistency, freedom and
foresight are very important for M&E sector. In recent
times, a lot of deliberations are data based and that is
good news. The quicker we bring clarity, the faster we
build wings to this industry. In any industry for consumers
to flourish, there should be consistence.
Sudhanshu Vats
CEO, Viacom 18 Group
Digitization was probably the most fundamental
intervention that the government and regulator made
towards transforming the landscape of the media
and content industry in this country. However, the
transformation in business practices is yet to happen.
It is not fully complete. Cable digitization in Phase I and
Phase II have gone well. In phase III and IV the scale of
the digitization task is far more complex. We need to
address and solve the problems.
Almost 90 per cent of the broadcasting sector in India
was built in the last ten years. Like other sectors,
Broadcasting is seeing problems -- there is some
stagnation. There is resilience in the Indian market.
The Prime Minister has advocated a free market, free
entrepreneurship and free media in the country. These
three things will take India to where we all want it to be.
Uday Shankar
CEO, Star India
Pankaj Pachauri
Communications Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office
We let the regulation decide the digitization agenda instead of the consumers or stakeholders. We never took it as a
business model. We took it as a regulatory decision. It is not about digitization. It is about addressable digitization.
Harit Nagpal
CEO, Tata Sky
Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division
Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division
5

4. New Delhi
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
We welcome business delegation from all over the world
Meet top India M&E leaders
Focused B2B meetings
Facilitate studio visits across India
Meet M&E offshore companies
Meet with Indian buyers
Meet with DTH, VOD and digital platform providers
We can take Indian M&E
sector to $100 billion
September 19-20 2014
Monetization Strategies in Media will be Our Focus at India – The Big Picture Summit 2014
Get in touch
Kavita Saini
Ph: +91-11 - 45771016
Email: kavita.saini@cii.in
Website: www.ciibigpicture.com

5. Glamour, Glitz,
Networking & Biz deals
Canne Film Festival and Market is a harvest feast for the new crop of auteur films
from five continents. Email:neetu.sikka@cii.in for participation at Cannes Film
Market 2014 at Palais (May 14 – 23)
G
et the best out of Cannes. For twelve days only hours pass by No
.
one counts the date at Cannes, which is a global breeding ground
for independent cinema sector-- small and medium size production,
sales and distribution companies. This sector turns out movies which
are lower in star power, thinner on formula, richer on character and
mood. The independent films are a lot cheaper to make and represent
the majority of the competition films that are selected at Cannes.
Film Screenings: Cannes Film Festival has an opening and a closing
movie. Nineteen movies are selected in the competition section. The
other slots in the festival include Un Certain Regard, feature films out
of competition, midnight screenings, special screenings, Cannes Classics, Short films in competition, and Cine foundation. Over 100 films
selected from various sections are screened from 9 am to midnight
during the festival period.
Instant Worldwide Attention: A world premiere at Cannes is an
elegant and high profile way of kicking off a picture’s global release.
The stars get to walk to the red carpet, lending a film a cinematic
pedigree-- that it may or may not deserve and ensure instant global
coverage on TV networks. It is a decent marketing boost to an established brand. The festival, its name, logo and location (French Riveria
across the beach) enjoy instant world wide attention.
The festival is an annual tribute for international films, where all
styles, schools and genres have their place, and whose enduring goal
is to serve the growth of cinema, whether it be through the screening
of films or the many cultural and artistic activities that enrich the
event: symposiums, tributes, Master class, concerts, exhibitions, etc.
8
Cannes Film Market
It is the biggest film market in the world. The aim of the market is
to make a difference in the interconnected economy of film financing, marketing and distribution. The film business is increasingly
dependent on the global market place to deliver significant return on
investment.
Market Screenings: Cannes is the only festival in the world, where
outside the much published selections (competition movies selected
by the Jury), more than 300 movies compete for buyers’ chequebooks
in the market screenings, packed into a mere 12 days.
Producers Network: The Producers Network pools together 550
producers from over 50 countries. Daily breakfasts during the market
enable film professionals to meet personalities of film industry share
,
expertise of production and increase the knowledge of international
financing and packaging.
Outside the Market: Established entertainment brands set up shops
in five-star-hotels such as Carlton, Marriot... to buy sell, finance and
,
get distribution deals for their products.
Exhibitors: Over a thousand exhibitors congregate at Palais and
Riviera exhibition space to market films, services, technology distri,
bution and financing.
Country Pavilions at the Village International: Around 30
countries are offered space to project cinema of respective countries.
The best ranked pavilions are UK, Canada and America. India got
pavilion space this year.
It is the most special place for film industry professionals to meet.
Newsletter from the CII Media & Entertainment Division