CII Big Picture Summit Curtain Raiser on Innovation in Media

www.ciibigpicture.comCII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 20131 pickle entertainment biz guide
BIG
PICTURE
SUMMIT
Towards $100 Billion Indian M&E Industry
September 13 - 14, 2013 New Delhi
It’s time to embrace innovation. Here’s how
top leaders think they can do it. A special
curtain raiser edition on the CII Big Picture
Summit in association with Pickle
A Curtain raiser
Innovation
IN MEDIA

www.ciibigpicture.com2 pickle entertainment biz guide CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2013 www.ciibigpicture.comCII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 20133 pickle entertainment biz guide
CII Big Picture summit Curtain raiser Issue
www.picklemag.in
August 2013
Innovation
IN MEDIA
Towards $100 Billion Indian M&E Industry
BIG PICTURE SUMMIT
September 13 - 14, 2013 New Delhi
Best minds, Best talent, Best content

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www.ciibigpicture.comCII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 20137 pickle entertainment biz guide
THE
MOMENTUM
for
CII
BIG PICTURE
SUMMIT
T
he Confederation of Indian Industry’s Big Picture Summit 2013
will deliberate the central theme of innovation to unleash the
growth potential of the Indian M&E sector. Top decision makers
of all major media and entertainment verticals will converge on Sep-
tember 13-14 in New Delhi for a reality check for two days on creat-
ing roadmap for a $100 billion Indian M&E industry via innovation.
We present you insights from the brightest minds of the featured
speakers and panelists as a curtain raiser to the second edition of
the Big Picture Summit. Indian M&E Companies have been driving
innovation in their businesses more than before now. It is very clear
that Indian Media CEOs are leading this change as they believe in
its potential for economic transformation. As summarised by one of
our thought leaders: This is the 21st century; all things flow; nothing
stays. Innovation is our lifeblood; adaptation is the journey...’

I
n recent times, we have witnessed a rapidly evolving me-
dia and entertainment landscape. We are in the midst of
media innovation that is fundamentally transforming
the way we consume content, use new digital products and
run our businesses.
The Confederation of Indian Industry launched The Big
Picture Summit last year. One of the key takeaways was the
discussion turning around innovation propelling growth.
The objective this year is to steer the gush of this innova-
tion renaissance towards creating a Roadmap for Indian
M&E Industry to achieve $100 billion in a decade. Treading
on the roadmap towards the set target, the second edition
of the summit is scheduled from 13 to 14 September at Taj
Palace in New Delhi.
CII’s vision is to bring together the best of the creative and
business minds to chalk out a roadmap that would take our
M&E sector to $100 billion with innovation as catalyst. The
government, regulator, academia and civil society will join
the discussion during this years’ summit.
India is currently ranked 14th in the global M&E value
chain and growing at annual growth of 17 per cent, but can
Indian M&E Sector achieve $100 billion in this decade? In-
dustry leaders are converging at the summit to deliberate
on the rapidly changing media landscape and road ahead for
the M&E vertical.
India has created perhaps one of the most liberal media re-
gimes in the world. India is top on the radar of the global
M&E boardrooms. In this curtain raiser report, media CEOs
and thought leaders have shared their perspective on em-
bracing innovation in media. We believe that embracing
innovation would generate economic value, create new jobs
and a culture of startup revolution. Looking forward to
meeting you all at this years’ summit.
Javed Akhtar
Chairman,
CII National M&E Committee
Noted Lyricist
Let us Embrace
Innovation
chairman note
We believe that embracing innovation would
generate economic value, create new jobs
and a culture of startup revolution

CII Director General
on Innovation Propelling
Growth for the Media Sector
T
he CII Theme for 2013-14 is Accelerating Eco-
nomic Growth through Innovation, Transforma-
tion, Inclusion and Governance. We believe that
deploying innovation in Media and Entertainment
(M&E) sector and supporting a startup ecosystem
would propel high M&E growth to achieve our dream
of taking the sector to $100 billion by the end of this
decade.
One of the primary objectives of The Big Picture Sum-
mit is to fire the spirit of creative and business minds
of the Indian M&E industry along with government,
regulator and civil society to chalk out a path that
could guide us in scaling this vibrant sector to new
heights. With that premise, we will bring together the
decision makers of the entire value chain of the M&E
sector for the second edition of the Summit and map
the progress that we have made.
We are extremely happy to present the curtain raiser
report on Embracing Innovation in Media. A close
reading on the observations made by media CEOs in
this report give us the optimism that the next wave of
M&E growth will be through Innovation. We are also
glad that the debate on this subject has begun a month
before the summit.
We believe that innovation - faster, better, more ef-
ficient, thinking out of the box (and within the box)
- would be one of the game changers in this space. Gov-
ernment of India’s National Innovation Council spear-
headed by Sam Pitroda (adviser to the Prime Minister
leader speak
by Chandrajit Banerjee
CII’s vision is to create
growth templates in all
M&E verticals and bring
the industry together to
speak in one voice on all
major issues. We believe
that innovation - faster,
better, more efficient, think-
ing out of the box (and
within the box) - would be
one of the game changers
in this space
Chandrajit Banerjee is
Director General,
Confederation of Indian
Industry
on public information, infrastructure
and innovation) is currently executing
various projects (for example National
Knowledge Network, broadband connec-
tivity to villages) and creating a back-
bone infrastructure for India’s knowl-
edge economy.
Empowering a large number of people
using mobile connectivity would make
them a part of the knowledge revolu-
tion, which would ultimately contribute
to the economic growth of the country.
For example, the rise of smartphone
and evolution of 4G would add 500 mil-
lion more Internet users in India. This
gives us an idea of where the M&E in-
dustry is headed and their future scope
of growth. Innovation would emerge as
a critical factor in sustaining economic
growth. The factors that would propel
growth through innovation in the M&E
sector have been brilliantly documented
by the Sectoral Innovation Council of
the Ministry of Information and Broad-
casting. The two-day Big Picture Sum-
mit would deliberate these recommen-
dations and strategize areas to focus for
high growth.
The summit will map and put together
an innovation plan of action for the Indi-
an M&E sector. While India is one of the
most liberal media markets in the world,
we feel that there is no defined policy for
innovation at the regulatory level.
A lot remains to be done in India on the
M&E innovation front. The challenges
are immense. We need to put together
innovative modules provide skills and
train our future media workforce. We
need to plug the leaks that we lose major-
ly in piracy. The Indian broadcast indus-
try is losing approximately US$ 5 billion
because of piracy. Filmed entertainment
loses over $2 billion each year. Indian en-
tertainment sector is still bracketed with
archaic laws of circus of the British Era.
Also, when it comes to taxation, M&E
sector is bracketed akin to liquor and
spirits. We need to rewrite our archaic
rules and laws to match today’s business
reality. Many states still levy 60 per cent
entertainment tax. The Direct to Home
(DTH) sector is taxed over 45 per cent.
The entertainment industry is fighting
a battle to be brought under the concur-
rent list of the Indian Constitution.
The ongoing digitization will bring
transparency and best practices in mon-
etization of content. Innovation and tech-
nology will bring new ways to reach out
to audience cutting piracy and fuel new
growth prospects. We have a session on
new era of innovations in broadcasting.
The need of the hour is creation of an
entrepreneurial ecosystem, targeted at
innovative solutions for the bottom of
the pyramid. Innovation in the west is
getting expensive and we need to pro-
mote home grown innovation modules.
There is massive growth on the Indian
digital media front. It is very interesting
to find that we have a large number of
entrepreneurs in the digital media space
in products and services.
Can we achieve $100 billion in this de-
cade for the Indian M&E Sector? The In-
dian M&E CEOs feel that it is the time to
switch the gear and work towards achiev-
ing this goal. CII’s vision is to create
growth templates in all M&E verticals
and bring the industry together to speak
in united voice for all major issues.
I would like to refer the recommenda-
tions of the Sectoral Innovation Council
to bring a National Media Policy reflect-
ing on the changing media landscape.
Lastly, India has many more challenges
to be sorted -- be it infrastructure, edu-
cation and poverty alleviation. It is the
entrepreneurial zeal that is driving the
M&E sector today. An innovative push
from the government in an enabling
regulatory infrastructure and policy re-
forms will create a world class knowledge
driven entertainment economy for India.
The factors that would propel
growth through innovation in the
M&E sector have been brilliantly
documented by the Sectoral
Innovation Council of the Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting

Innovation
& Disruptions
in Advertising
Keynote by
Media Futurist
Gerd Leonhard
Is Regional the
New National?
What backbone is to a strong
body, Regional Cinema is to
the National! Is the Metaphor
an understatement for the
“Regional” Cinema today?
Innovative
Investments &
Funding in the
M&E Sector
Thought leaders join
hands to chart out a
course for reducing
barriers to investment
in M&E
Newspaper - the
patron arm of M&E
Is the power of newspaper
unbeatable with its unparal-
leled subscriber base? Or
as digital media go viral, is it
inevitable for print media to
shrink?
Media, the
people’s
watchdog!
Media, de-Jure, in the back-
drop of Democracy is “of the
people, for the people and
by the people” Experts
will go into the dissec-
tion of the de-
facto”
CII Big Picture
Summit
September 13 - 14, 2013, Taj Palace, New Delhi
Delegates will access:
n Game changers & trends shaping the M&E sector
n Value added inputs on issues that will define the future
n Cutting edge ideas, discussions, workshop and B2B Meetings
n Media & Entertainment innovators & innovations
n New technology and services demos
n Networking with key industry professionals
Content
Everywhere:
Addressing Multi-
Screen Migration
Insights on how the emer-
gence of new technolo-
gies and platforms are
resetting the rules
of the game
Good Content makes
for Good Revenue
The new breed of talent will
explore unchartered territories
and redefine consumption
patterns. The panel dissects
the new discourse in content
creation and consumption
A
New Era
for Innovation in
Broadcasting
Keynotes by CEOs and
Thought leaders followed
by a panel discussion
on the future of
broadcasting
Indian
Cinema’s
Date with the
Red Carpet
Reaching the Global
Audience – How can
India make $ 100 million
films, Tête-à-Tête with
Ashok Amritraj, Indian
Hollywood Producer

Every Session is Laced With
Theme of Innovation
W
e are super excited to curate the
second edition of the CII Big Pic-
ture Summit. Our programme
has been designed with inputs from the
industry stakeholders across verticals.
The focus is to deliberate growth for the
M&E sector with innovation as catalyst.
Our goal is to do a reality check on the
Indian M&E sector and analyse how
long-term trends will shape media and
entertainment in the next three to five
years.
The CII Big Picture Summit is a plat-
form for the M&E CEOs to chalk out a
roadmap for the future as well as under-
stand the conditions that need to be kept
in view in order to meet success. We
have speaker confirmations from over 50
M&E CEOs to be on the panel and key-
notes at the Summit.
The Summit will bring expertise from
the M&E sector across verticals within
and outside India to discuss issues and
ways ahead for the industry to reach out
the $100 billion mark by the end of this
decade.
Active participation from the Minis-
try of Information & Broadcasting, the
broadcast regulator TRAI and the fi-
nance ministry officials top up the value
for media leaders to converge under one
roof.
We hope to infuse a new breath of life in
this sector whose soft power can bring
innumerable benefits to the Indian econ-
omy. We hope the India Big Picture sum-
mit would bring a fresh mindset specifi-
cally from the government in treating
the M&E sector at par with the Indian IT
sector a decade and a half back.
Here is a walkthrough of what’s on the
works for the Big Picture Summit 2013.
CII and the Summit’s Thought Leader
partner PwC will release the annual
“India Entertainment & Media Outlook
2013”.
Ashok Amritraj, Indian Hollywood pro-
ducer and chairman of Hyde Park Enter-
tainment, will launch his autobiography
Advantage Hollywood on September 13.
Hollywood actor Jean Claude Van Damme
is likely to be present on this occasion.
Every session is laced with the theme
of innovation propelling growth for the
M&E sector from broadcast to films and
print to digital media. We are constantly
updating confirmed speaker and ses-
sions at our website www.ciibigpicture.
com. As we move closer to the Summit,
We will open up questions that you can
Our objective at The Big
Picture Summit is to
analyse business and
policy making process with
deployment of innovation
and come out with insights
and solutions for a robust
the M&E sector, says
Amita Sarkar, Deputy
Director General, CII
Amita Sarkar
Deputy Director General, CII
CII Big Picture Summit
post on our website and the insights that
you would want from keynote speakers
and panelists. We want to make the pan-
els and sessions participative and inter-
active.
We have also planned an exclusive work-
shop on Innovation in Media to be con-
ducted by Prof S Raghunath, corporate
strategy, IIM Bangalore, on September
13. This workshop is restricted to 25 par-
ticipants and I am told that those who
intend to attend the workshop are sure
to get frustrated and analyse where they
stand and what they could do to their
products, services and drive revenues
deploying innovation. (More on Page 40).
The workshop is restricted to owners,
CEOs and people with decision making
roles in an organization. (For more infor-
mation on the workshop you can write to
nvidyasagar@picklemag.in).
We will also have an experience zone as
part of the exhibition to showcase inno-
vative products, services. This is a place
where you could engage and experience
digital devices and gaming.
We encourage participation from media
CEOs and showbiz professionals, espe-
cially if you have an agenda to sharpen
your industry knowledge, understand
emerging trends, find new business mod-
els, network with key decision-makers
in the Indian Media and entertainment
Industry. You can download takeaways
from the last years’ Summit from our
www.ciibigpicture.com.
The Indian Media and Entertainment
sector is less than 2 per cent of the global
M&E pie in a country of 1.2 billion peo-
ple. It produces over a 1,000 films each
year, there are 800 TV channels, 180 mil-
lion Internet users, 3 billion movie ticket
sales, 1 billion mobile phones and 730
million TV viewers and we could add on
to these numbers. The overall objective
of The Big Picture Summit is to analyse
our business and policy making process
with deployment of innovation and come
out with insights and solutions for a ro-
bust M&E sector.
Decide
which ideas
are worth
pursuing
Tweak new
ventures
along the way
using discov-
ery-driven
planning
Innovate
through the
front lines--
not just from
the top
Tailor your
efforts to
meet
customers’
most press-
ing needs
Adapt inno-
vations from
the develop-
ing world
to wealthier
markets
Avoid classic
pitfalls such
as stifling
innovation
with rigid
processes
From Harvard Business Reviews’ 10 Must Reads on Innovation. It provides insights and advice to
innovation practitioners.

Game changers from
Ronnie Screwvala
Ronnie Screwvala
Managing Director
Walt Disney India
KNOW CONSUMER
It is going to be very important
in this competitive environ-
ment to know your consumer.
And the more difficult one is
not only you need to know your
consumer -- who your real au-
dience is but what you think
they need three or five years
down the line
ROAD AHEAD
I have to say overall, that in
terms of creativity we do have
a long way to go. If you look
anywhere in the world where
growth triggering happens it
is really when the creativity
has gone to the absolute next
level of growth
Personally, I do believe
that today in India,
the combination of data,
bandwidth and content will be
more valuable than oil
Proactively disruptive
You have to be be `proactively dis-
ruptive’ - to be always on the look-
out for what is lacking and how
value can be created
Asian
innovation
Innovation is cur-
rently defined by
technology created
out of Silicon Valley
in the 1990s and in
new media. Asia will
drive a new defini-
tion of innovation
EXPERIMENTAL
ENTERTAINMENT
Events and ground
events have tremendous
amount of scope. I call it
experiential entertain-
ment. It is not advertis-
ing dependent and it is
not piracy dependent

We no longer term ourselves as mere
broadcasters, but purely as content
creators. Our strategic approach has
always been to offer relevant content
to relevant markets
Punit Goenka
MD & CEO
Zee Entertainment Enterprises
India-born Zee is a pioneer in global
broadcasting with amazing credits to
its two decades of being in the mar-
ket. How do you view innovation and
growth perse for the industry as well
as the company?
As rightly asserted by you, Zee has earned
a global recognition in the last 20 years,
and is a global media brand today, enter-
taining over 670 million viewers. These
20 years have been filled with numerous
awards and accolades, recognising the
trends set by Zee, leveraging its pioneer-
ing vision. The immense growth achieved
by Zee, in these two decades, would not
have been possible without the implemen-
tation of innovative solutions. Speaking
about the industry’s performance, Zee
has in fact grown with a double digit rate,
outperforming the overall TV industry’s
growth rate. Innovation is extremely es-
sential for any brand to excel in this com-
petitive market, and it is something which
is aggressively pursued at Zee.
How is innovation deployed in Zee En-
tertainment across verticals?
Innovation has always been at the crux
of Zee. The pioneering steps taken by
Zee in the last 20 years justify the same.
Amongst the many innovations, Ditto TV
– India’s First Over the Top Television
Platform launched by Zee, is something
which has been built on cutting edge
technology, and is surely geared to face
the ever changing ecosystem. In the pur-
view of digitisation, the niche channel
offerings at Zee, with a business objec-
tive of generating subscription revenues,
have implemented innovative content ap-
proaches in their respective genres. Es-
pecially the latest channel – Zee Q which
is targeted towards the kids genre, offers
innovative content solutions in order to
cater to the information based program-
ming market. Zee Khana Khazana and
Ten Golf are other such examples of
niche channels, offering premium con-
tent and are performing extremely well
in their respective genres. From a tech-
nology perspective, Zee has again been
at the forefront of innovation. To cite
an example, Digital Asset Management
(DAM) is one such tool, which has been
successfully implemented at Zee. DAM is
extremely important for Standard Defini-
tion and High Definition content repur-
posing, monetisation, market penetra-
tion and new media businesses.
If we look at innovation in the broad-
cast space, there is a very little dif-
ference between broadcasters except
sometimes in content creation. Ad
sales are also done in same way... How
do you view this challenge?
At Zee, we no longer term ourselves as
mere broadcasters, but purely as content
creators. Our strategic approach has al-
ways been to offer relevant content to
relevant markets, and for one to achieve
the same, innovation is the only key. One
has to be constantly innovating and of-
fering creative content solutions to the
audiences to enhance their engagement
levels, and also to generate loyalty. On
the advertisement sales front, market-
ers these days are extremely concerned
about reaching the consumers through
innovative routes. Our strategic associa-
Innovation Across
Verticals at Zee
Innovation is not just rewarded but also
personally recognised at Zee. We motivate our
people to continue aiming at higher milestones,
says Punit Goenka MD & CEO
Zee Entertainment Enterprises
innovation @ zee

www.ciibigpicture.com20 pickle entertainment biz guide CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2013
tion with MirriAd, enables us to offer the
same. The robust technology support of
MirriAd, allows brand / product place-
ments post production, giving the mar-
keters a chance to ensure that their prod-
ucts get a mileage during relevant times,
deriving maximum recall.
You have created one of the finest
digital verticals -- with Ditto TV. More
or less you have given freedom like a
startup to digital biz. Your view.
Ditto TV, which is India’s first Over the
Top Television Platform, surely is one
good example of Zee’s innovative steps
taken in the media industry. The prod-
uct aims at offering LIVE as well as On
Demand content to consumers on the go,
giving the entire ecosystem of content
consumption a whole new perspective.
Its robust technology and user-friendly
interface, should surely appeal the urban
mobile consumer, who wished to stay con-
nected to the entertainment and informa-
tion sources.
Experts believe that Innovation be-
gins at the top? What is your view on
innovation and leadership?
I second the opinion mentioned in the
question, that innovation begins at the
top, and which is why at Zee, I have al-
ways encouraged and recognised innova-
tion. To cite my view in simple words, I
would say that innovation leads to leader-
ship. To sustain at a leadership position
in this market, one has to be constantly
vigilant about the ever-changing needs
and demands of today’s audiences, and
has to ensure that the product is offered
in the most innovative format. To cite an
example, home grown content solutions
innovated at Zee, like Dance India Dance
have performed extremely well and have
achieved leadership positions.
Similar to the way companies look at
innovation, there is a need or innova-
tion in policy making process. As an
industry leader do you expect innova-
tion policy thinking from government
and regulator?
Government surely plays a crucial role
in giving a friendly environment to de-
rive innovation. The Information and
Broadcast Ministry has been extremely
efficient in ensuring the same. The suc-
cessful roll-out of digitisation is one re-
cent example of the same.
How do you reward innovation at Zee?
Innovation is not just rewarded but also
personally recognised at Zee. Our Chair-
man, Subhash Chandra, myself and the
core senior management team at Zee, has
always ensured that every innovation, is
personally recognised and the employee
is further motivated to continue aiming
at higher milestones.
To sustain a leadership
position in this market, one
must be constantly vigilant
about the ever-changing
needs and demands of today’s
audiences, and must ensure
that the product is offered in
the most innovative format
“
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After two decades at Uniliver you
have stepped into the media sector
as Group CEO of Viacom 18 Media.
Where do you see deployment of in-
novation/innovative practices -- in
FMCG or media sector?
Innovation is at the heart of every busi-
ness, even more so in the consumer ori-
ented businesses. Innovation has a role
to play in the entire value chain of the
business. We need innovative ideas, in-
novative programming styles, and in-
novative processes. In the boarder sense
of the word, “innovation means doing
things better”. And thus, innovation en-
tails new ideas, programs, thoughts and
“improved execution in programming
and processes”.
In FMCG, innovation has taken deep
roots and is deployed across the entire
spectrum of the business value chain.
Whereas in Media, innovation is primar-
ily focused on programming and plat-
forms (including digital). It still needs to
find its rightful place in processes.
In the last year’s CII Big Picture
Summit you made a point comparing
media content with laundry (prod-
uct variation). Why are we not able
to have that same spectrum of pric-
ing and products for media? What
is the need of the hour? How do we
change?
Pricing is a very important element of
any successful business model. It is criti-
cal that we allow more free and market
driven pricing models in the broadcast
media sector. This is needed to strengthen
the business models and in turn drive in-
novation, leading to enhanced consumer
experience. It is also true that we need to
provide entertainment to every Indian.
In my judgement, the way to tackle it is to
give base level of entertainment compris-
ing of free-to-air channels across genres
available to every Indian at a nominal
price. For all others there should be a free
and fair pricing mechanism deployed
through our pay TV channels across
genres. This is truly consistent with any
segment of goods or services across con-
sumer product categories in India start-
ing from apparel (shirts, trousers, saris),
shoes, groceries (toothpaste, laundry
detergents, soaps, skin creams etc), cars,
bikes, restaurants and hotels.
How do you view innovation trans-
forming M&E sector. It is happening
all over the world. Why do we see few-
er innovation in Indian M&E compa-
nies than what it happens globally? As
we stand, do you see innovation pro-
pelling growth for the M&E sector?
Innovation is at the core of M&E sector
and continues to propel it forward. We
see fewer innovations in Indian M&E
sector because of our business models.
The Broadcast industry is in its “teens”
in India. After having gone through an
initial investment phase we now need
to find more profitable and sustainable
business models that will allow adequate
investment in development of concepts,
research and dialling up of experimenta-
tion in the Indian M&E sector.
Innovation via Viacom
Innovation is in the
DNA of Viacom 18
It is critical that as leaders we build
organisations that strengthen more open and
learning culture, encourages dialogue, tolerates
failure and is receptive to new ideas says
Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO Viacom 18 Media
Sudhanshu Vats
Group CEO
Viacom 18 Media
We need innovative
ideas, innovative
programming styles,
and innovative processes

How is innovation deployed at Viacom
18 Media across verticals?
Innovation is in the DNA of Viacom 18.
Colors redefined the rules of the game
with its launch in 2008. Our programs
like Balika Vadhu brought in a fresh
perspective and a different point of
view when most others at that time were
stuck with the more conventional pro-
grammes. We premiered big films soon
after their domestic theatrical run. We
dialled up the non-fiction space. More
recently we are bringing ‘24’ to India.
MTV has been at the forefront of inno-
vation and experimentation with music
and youth oriented programmes. COKE
Studio, MTV unplugged, Sound trip-
ping in music at one end to the now very
famous MTV Roadies at the other are
some examples of the same. As a studio,
Viacom18 Motion pictures has rewritten
the code making “Good content is good
business” as its credo with films like
Kahanni , OMG- Oh My God , Special 26
and our latest Super hit Bhaag Milkha
Bhaag.
Experts believe that Innovation be-
gins at the top. What is your view on
innovation and leadership?
Innovation does begin at the top and
it needs a leadership and culture that
nurtures the spirit of experimentation,
thinking out-of-the box and an ability to
tolerate and learn from failures. It is criti-
cal that as leaders we build organisations
that strengthens more open and learning
culture, encourages dialogue, tolerates
failure and is receptive to new ideas.
Why are startups active and drive in-
novation than traditional companies?
Is this culture developed in India?
It is often seen that startups more actively
drive innovation as compared to their tra-
ditional counterparts. This is primarily
because at the start up stage most organi-
sations are willing to take risks and do
not fear failure. This is also aided by the
stakes being lower at that stage in their
journey. As organisations become big the
fear of failure tends to make them more
straight jacketed leading to lower innova-
tions and reduced ability to experiment.
Similar to the way companies look at
innovation, there is a need or innova-
tion in policy making process. As an
industry leader do you expect innova-
tion policy thinking from government
and regulator?
Once again if we define innovation in
its broadest sense (Doing things better)
there is a clear need for innovation on
policy thinking from government and
regulator. In keeping with the changing
times, we need to always ask the ques-
tions focusing on ‘What’ and the bigger
objective , while constantly revisiting /
innovating on the ‘How’. The problem is
that the government tends to get caught
up a lot on the ‘How’ and loses the req-
uisite focus on the ‘What’. This is even
more pronounced in a rapidly evolving
and dynamic M&E sector.
Innovation does begin
at the top and it needs a
leadership and culture
that nurtures the spirit of
experimentation, thinking
out-of-the box and an ability
to tolerate and learn from
failures
“
„
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innovation @ star
The theme of CII Big Picture Summit
this year is Embracing innovation in
media? How do you think innovation
can benefit M&E sector?
The Indian media and entertainment sec-
tor is at the cross roads not only with the
explosive growth but with the emergence
of new technologies, new platforms and,
above all, new business models. I comple-
ment CII for turning everyone’s attention
to the need for embracing innovation in
the media and entertainment sphere in
this year’s Summit. The only way to take
the Indian M&E sector beyond the 100 bil-
lion horizon is to envision a self-sustain-
ing marriage between innovation and cre-
ativity. We have seen how innovation has
informed transformational drives in oth-
er sectors, We believe that the potential of
innovation to usher in inclusive growth is
far more pronounced in the case of M&E
than any other sphere of activity. Infact it
is already happening as we speak. In re-
cent times we have witnessed a literal ex-
plosion of various forms of media in the
Indian mindscape. People of this country
are sampling information and entertain-
ment in a manner that was unthinkable
even two decades back. The industry to-
day has found the pulse for change and
now only intends to build on it.
Can innovation propel growth for the
M&E sector?
There is an urgent need to educate and
sensitise the stakeholders including the
government on how important it is to put
together an innovation plan of action for
the Indian media and entertainment sec-
tor. This year’s summit is a way of bring-
ing to the table some of the immediate
steps that we all should focus on. Path-
breaking recommendations have been
made by the Sectoral Innovation Coun-
cil of the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting. The Government and the
industry should work together to iden-
tify processes to implement the same and
also find other developmental areas that
are crying out for attention. Sectoral en-
gagement across the entire value chain
and sensitization of policy makers are
the needs of the hour to propel growth in
this space.
Star TV and innovation -- you are
one of the pioneers in programme
segmentation? How is innovation de-
ployed at Star TV?
We in STAR believe innovation in both
content and technology is a continuum
unto itself. STAR has pioneered the
growth of satellite television in this
country and provided millions of view-
ers in Asia with the latest, most popular
best in class entertainment. Similarly on
the technological front we were at the
driver’s seat in introducing HD chan-
nels, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
technology; Very recently we have for-
ayed into “STAR Content LIVE” which
is a digital solution that enables advertis-
ers to deliver their TV commercials for
telecast across the STAR Network. This
is a first of its kind initiative in India.
It’s an industry first tapeless end-to-end
workflow that is extremely safe and cost-
effective for HD and SD digital adver-
STAR Believes in
Challenging Status-quo
At STAR, we always encourage and urge our
people to question constancy. We realise that
stagnation of ideas is the death of creativity
– Deepak Jacob, President & General Counsel,
STAR India Pvt. Ltd.
Deepak Jacob
President &
General Counsel
STAR India
Our much
acclaimed
programmes
like “Satyamev
Jayate”, “Sach
Kaa Samnaa”
are living
testimonies to
programming
innovation

tisement distribution and, in addition,
supports the cause of reducing carbon
footprint. We have been telling stories
and connecting with our viewers not
only through our staple serials but also
through programs like Sach Kaa Samna
or Satyameva Jayate that have redefined
the GEC landscape in this country.
Has disruption innovation impacted
Indian M&E. As industry as a whole,
how do we manage the risk of disrup-
tive innovation?
Disruptive innovation is a double-edged
sword. It can work in your favour or go
terribly against you. But then, how you
take this depends on the philosophy, atti-
tude and culture of an organisation and
its management – do we wish to go by the
laid rules or want to rewrite the rules of
the game?
We, at Star, have always believed in chal-
lenging the status-quo. We have through
our programing innovation compelled
people to revisit the very manner in
which they have been perceiving the GEC
space all along. Our much acclaimed pro-
grammes like Satyamev Jayate, Sach Kaa
Samnaa are living testimonies to this
ground breaking approach. Our foray
into the mythological space has also been
a success with viewers appreciating the
novelty in which we have been telling
these stories. We have also reconnected
with the Indian woman at an empower-
ing plane that was inconceivable even a
decade back. We will continue to invest
in our commitment to ideation as we
sincerely believe that it is only innova-
tion that will help us to stay ahead of the
curve in these challenging times.
We always encourage and urge our people
to question constancy. We realise that stag-
nation of ideas is the death of creativity.
As an industry leader do you expect
innovation in policy making and reg-
ulatory decisions?
While a lot has been done by the regula-
tors in recent times , there is also mount-
ing expectations as well. With compul-
sory DAS and increases in FDI limits for
distribution , the government has been
taking steps towards the right direction,
however a lot more could be done to ac-
celerate innovation in the sector, one of
which could be to revisit existing regu-
lations on vertical integration , channel
pricing, uplinking news channels from
India and the mandatory requirement
to share signals of premium sporting
events. The existing regulations leave lit-
tle incentive for innovation and as such
require an urgent course correction.
Why are startups active and drive
innovation than traditional compa-
nies?
I do not fully agree that start-ups are
more active and primarily drive innova-
tions. On the other hand, one can say that
if startups are not proactive and do not
strive for innovation, they will have very
little chances of survival. And yes, we
must encourage them. Having said that, I
would also like to mention that it is a real
challenge to achieve and sustain a lead-
ing position in this business..
Innovation and leadership. Your
views...
Innovation calls for visionary leaders.
Those who are either able to better under-
stand customer requirements and exploit
new market opportunities, or access new
technologies to deliver successful new
products and services. That’s why STAR
India challenges itself at every opportu-
nity and regularly to deliver cutting-edge
innovative and clutter-breaking content
to deliver better and wholesome viewing
experiences. This truly demonstrates how
we are Inspiring a “Billion Imaginations”
through the stories we tell, the movies we
show and the ideas we inspire across the
length and breadth of this country.
Disruptive innovation is
a double-edged sword.
It can work in your favour
or go terribly against you
“
„
EUROPEAN
FILM MARKET
06–14
FEB
2014
8,100PARTICIPANTS
455EXHIBITORS
1,700BUYERS
800FILMS
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WWW.EFM-BERLINALE.DE
EFM2013_Pickle_RZ.indd 1 05.04.13 19:12

Keynote
Speaker at
CII Big Picture
Summit
MEDIA FUTURIST
My prediction would be that there are
quite some healthy windows for Print,
Radio and Television in India.
What does The Futures Agency do?
I work as a futurist and spend most of the time on media, en-
tertainment content and communications. I have 25 colleagues
at Future Agency. We are agents for the future. What we do is
preview the future forward. Media companies have to think
about five billion people connected to cheap devices using so-
cial media, cloud computing that is completely changing the
way that they do business, how they sell ads, what movies they
produce, how they distribute. Our work is to go to the future,
bring the experiences back and then shock the participants to
think about.
Do people really get frustrated when you say things?
Yes. The reality is people don’t change and companies don’t
change unless you have got a bit of a pain effect -- the threat
of potential death. For companies this does wonders because
it motivates them
Can we crystal gaze only five years?
Lot of the things that are happening are pointed towards the
immediate future -- three to five years. The immediate future
is quite obvious to see if you take the time to look. And my
work is not to tell the people what they don’t know but to bring
it back into their forefront of their mind.
Traditional media continues to dominate India and digi-
tal is evolving... Your take.
My prediction would be that there are quite some healthy
windows for print, radio and television. But media companies
looking at the future would have to create a double scenario.
Are companies bound to vanish if innovation is not put
into practice?
Absolutely. Digital default means a lot of different things for
companies. For example, the empowerment of the consumer,
the move to mobility, the consumer participation, peer-to-peer
reporting. I mean, these are great opportunities. But if you
GERD
LEONHARD

ignore most of them, it is very unlikely
you will be successful because you will
need significant control of the market
to keep people to keep happy.
Why are startups active compared to
legacy companies?
For startups it is an idea that they do
things better to replace something that
isn’t quite working. And they are undip-
lomatic, look for aggressive innovation
and a disruptor. Now, for a company that
has 100,000 employees is very hard to be
a disruptor unless they have an aggres-
sive CEO like Jeff Beezos of Amazon,
very fast moving and risk taking person.
Also, we have a very bad system with the
stock market that does not reward risk
taking and it rewards gradual risk tak-
ing. Startups have very little to lose.
I tell all my big clients – telecom and me-
dia companies – that they should have
a second place to where they can be a
startup and shoot down the mothership,
where you can replace yourselves before
somebody does it. This is important be-
cause speed of change is mindboggling.
You can see that in India. Every year, I go
there it is in other leap. If you don’t move
along with the speed and allow room for
innovation and risk and if you are too
slow eventually you will fall of the cliff
and nobody cares where you go.
Your thoughts on innovation execu-
tion and assumptions...
Once, you create the space, people come
forward. All you have to do is create that
space. We also have to question our as-
sumptions. For example, the movie in-
dustry and music industry have thought
for a long time, that if they can control
distribution and make sure that you
make no unauthorized copy that they
can make lots of money because people
are forced to buy the real copies. But it
was wrong. It is not possible to control
the copying. And, people didn’t buy the
expensive DVDs or downloads in iTunes
and they are streaming for free. So, we
have to question our assumptions – is it
really important to control or is it more
important to create a scenario where
people love my product. And that’s what
Amazon, Netflix and YouTube have cre-
ated. Now, they have to figure out how to
earn their revenues quicker.
Innovation doesn’t require big tech-
nology. Some create successful enter-
prise and many are unable to do so.
Why?
This is something like cooking. Basical-
ly, if you are trying to create a success-
ful enterprise, you don’t take fifty dif-
ferent items and throw it on a pot. You
don’t put everything in. And you have a
vision of where it goes. When you start
a company, you need to figure out what
exactly is it you are trying to do. This is
more like you are creating a vision that
is much more than a spreadsheet. And,
this is especially true in media because
it is a fragmented world. People like dif-
ferent things. There isn’t one solution
that fits everybody.
What are the major concerns and
questions global CEOs ask you today?
They look out for answers on data. Data
has in fact become the new oil and there
are anticipations that in the next five to
ten years, data economy will be larger
than the fossil fuel economy because it
drives society, it drives e-commerce and
it does all the things that create value.
That is a big question. The other thing
is about protecting ourselves from data.
The next question is the human com-
puter interface/human machine inter-
face. Technology is going to get so smart
that a day before it will tell you what
the stock market will look like for your
stocks tomorrow. And, it can tell you five
hours before that you are going to be late
for your next appointment. And you can
find all the financial information at the
click of a button. We are heading into a
science fiction world, even in develop-
ing countries. This technology will be
so cheap, that you will speak into your
phone and get an answer. And that will
really change the way people look at
culture, flow of information, those are
some of the key questions.
Where are the innovations happen-
ing today?
Innovation can happen anywhere.
Silicon Valley is still a hotbed for in-
novation because of their mindset. The
mindset of being essentially a cowboy
culture. A culture in which you just go
for it. And that’s American culture. And
what we need to do in other countries
is to be more adventurous, to take more
risk, think outside of a current thing.
In terms of technology and access to in-
formation, India has more graduates in
technology than all of the US combined
in ten years, per year. The resources are
there. But what we need to create is plat-
forms for risk taking and also the inspi-
ration to go out. This doesn’t have to do
with money. This has to do with the feel-
ing that what you do is appreciated.
As a futurist how do you see the cur-
rent big companies -- Google, Face-
book, Apple, Microsoft --- in the com-
ing years
They are clearly becoming fabric of our
life. Take the highway for example. If we don’t
have highways, we have to drive slower. Google
and the likes are the infrastructure. If they
don’t do the mistake of abusing the relation-
ship not protecting our data or expose us to bad
things, not creating standards, not being open,
not creating value, then we would leave them.
That is the only danger I see there.
And, other danger is if they become too much
like algorithms and machine and lose the human
part. Another danger is that -- we become part of
what they want to be. These companies are infra-
structure and they are going to do what we need
to justify their existence which I think, they will.
You can see the current debate about privacy and
data. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Ya-
hoo. If they don’t protect us from mass surveil-
lance , we will leave them. And, they know that.
What is the kind of people/companies that
you would like to meet in India when you
are here at the CII Big Picture Summit?
I would like to meet people who are ready to
change, who are facing a situation and say we are
looking to figure out what the next edition of our
company looks like. Because many people are
putting a bandage on a wound, fixing themselves
up a little big and that won’t be enough, I am in-
terested to meet people who are ready to trans-
form themselves and transform their companies.
I look at technology as a rocket curve now. And
adoptions are becoming much cheaper and prob-
ably become free in terms of devices and Inter-
net access. So, what that means is that the speed
of innovation and transform yourselves when
you are still ahead today is crucial. I want to meet
people who are taking that transformation that I
can talk to and also learn from.
Do you see life without Internet?
That’s a bit like life without water. My theory is
we are always connected and to be offline is the
new luxury. The idea of being in a constant flow
of information and communication is interest-
ing and powerful. But is not necessarily human
to always be part of that second universe or the
second brain as people call it. If offline is a lux-
ury, there is going to be another entire industry
as well because machines and technology are
exponential. In five years, it will be fifty times
powerful. Humans are not. We are not exponen-
tially growing our brain.
As a media futurist, do you take risk?
Of course. As a futurist, I try to live what I say
which is not to assume that what I say today will
be true tomorrow. There are couple of things that
you learn over the years. For example, the ability
to look at two different things at the same time.
Socrates had said that the ability to look at two
separate and divergent things at the same time
is where true intelligence comes in. That’s what
I look for. I am not looking at a bunch of data and
coming out with a projection. I am trying to cre-
ate wisdom that is inclusive of these factors.
I would like to meet
people who are ready
to change, who are
facing a situation and
say we are looking to
figure out what the
next edition of our
company looks like.
Because many people
are putting a bandage
on a wound, fixing
themselves up a little
big and that won’t be
enough, I am interest-
ed to meet people who
are ready to transform
themselves and trans-
form their companies
Onmeeting
MECompaniesat
CIIBigPictureSummit

Featured Speakers
Finalize your plans today to attend CII Big Picture Summit
2013 that brings together the best of the creative and
business minds. The focus will be on how innovation will
propel our ME growth to $100 billion.
CII BIG PICTURE SUMMIT 2013
Email: neetu.sikka@cii.in
JAVED AKHTAR
Chairman, CII ME Committee,
Noted Lyricist
amit khanna
Filmmaker, Writer, Media Expert
UDAY SHANKAR
CEO, Star India
Ronnie Screwvala
MD, Walt Disney India
Punit Goenka
MD CEO - Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Limited
Sudhanshu Vats
Group CEO, Viacom 18 Media
Ashok Amritraj
Chairman and CEO,
Hyde Park Entertainment Group
Gerd Leonhard
Futurist, Author, CEO of The
Futures Agency
Harit Nagpal
MD CEO, Tata Sky Ltd
R Balki
Chairman Chief Creative Officer,
Lowe Lintas
Sameer Manchanda
Chairman, DEN
Raj Biyani
Managing Director,
Microsoft IT (India)
Rajesh Sawhney
Founder
Global Superangels Forum
Prasoon Joshi
Writer-Poet
Tarun Katial
CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network
KABIR BEDI
Actor
Sanford Panitch
President, Fox International
Productions
FARHAN AKHTAR
Actor, Producer, Director
Siddharth Roy Kapur
Managing Director,
Studios – Disney-UTV
Prakash Jha
Filmmaker
Prof S Raghunath
Corporate Strategy and Policy,
IIM Bangalore
BHASKAR DAS
Group CEO, Zee News Cluster
sanjay wadhwa
Managing Director
A P International Group
Andreas Rudas
Executive Vice- President,
RTL Group
Manoj Bajpayee
Actor
Prahlad Kakar
Ad Guru
Sanjay Gupta
Chief Operating Officer,
STAR India
Partho Dasgupta
CEO, BARC
L V Krishnan
CEO, TAM
John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer, CASBAA
Ajay Bijli
Chairman Managing Director
PVR Limited
SABBAS JOSEPH
Director – Wizcraft International
Entertainment

thought leader
C
ommunication has since the dawn
of civilization been a catalyst of
human development. The media for
communicating has changed. From sim-
ple conversation to folk arts thousands
of years ago to anytime anywhere voice,
video and data, today billions are con-
stantly trying to reach out to one another
to propagate an idea, a dream, an ideol-
ogy, an experience or just goods and ser-
vices, to bond or simply to kill boredom.
Media is all pervasive (a weapon of Mass
Distraction is how an American actor
described the missile-by-missile telecast
of the war in Iraq). Today, it can aptly be
called a new global phenomenon which
colonizes the mind. The post-industrial
world has transited into under-arching
knowledge economy, and now finally it
is all about occupying mindspace. Geo-
graphical boundaries, cultural frontiers,
political alignments are all being rede-
fined in telescoped moments of unfolding
history.
The pace of social, economic and politi-
cal change is nerve shattering. Technol-
ogy obsolescence obscures intellectual
stagflation. Symbols of individuality,
kinsmanship, faith and nationhood; the
very semiotics of human existence have
mutated into a transgenic cornucopia. A
barrage of satellite images is the mush-
room cloud of our times where real life
bullets take prime time lives. Is it a meta-
phor of headline news that despots have
doubles and heads of state are etherized
in drawing room conversations? When
news becomes entertainment and en-
tertainment is news it is time to pause
and smirk at Macluhan’s prophecy. Now
the medium is truly well done but the
message is still rare. Every action has a
replay and for every rewind, there is a
fast-forward. The remote is there not to
detonate bombs but to zap you out of con-
sciousness. In cyberspace what is online
is just virtual reality and perceived real-
ity is more lethal.
There is always an alternative view from
a positional objectivity standpoint. The
right is the obverse of wrong if you com-
municate well enough. Who tells the truth
is not as important as who tells a compel-
ling tale. From movies to mayhem, you
need an audience, a customer who will
pay by the minute. In unwired handsets
or cable passed homes, digital downloads
take up too much memory and time.
Persuasive or subliminal the manner of
manipulating minds is the new art form;
Rhetoric the new lingua franca, Broad-
sheets or tabloids, bits or bytes, fact or
fiction, reality or games and movies ulti-
mately it comes down to ones and zeros.
All Digitally happening in a time-warped
space. The Fast–Moving-Consumer pays
for satiation. Go grab her.
Rookie reporters to electronic eavesdrop-
pers, applause junkies to page three par-
venus all are scavengers of the attention
deficit age. Hidden cameras and mike
strutting humanoids are in perpetual
motion to capture the fleeting moment.
Under purple haze and neon signs at co-
matose, crossroads vying for eyeballs.
The Soccer World Cup will do till the
next blockbuster disaster! Engage and
entangle as many as possible in whichev-
er way you like. SMS, MMS, SPAM, VOD,
each acronym is a new SOS. Someone is
Culture and
Innovation
in Digital Age
by Amit Khanna
The remote
is there not
to detonate
bombs but to
zap you out of
consciousness
Amit Khanna
Filmmaker, Writer,
Media Expert

screaming for help from channel space
and newspaper gutters. It is all about
share of mind and wallet. From soap
commercials to politics, sport to show-
biz, boardrooms to clubs, stock market to
evangelism, it is a performance out there-
always on. What do the ratings say? How
many eyeballs you grab? How many fort
facts you attract?
Where silos of information are as impor-
tant as food stocks, where look and feel
makes the difference between substan-
tial and substantive, where the matter
overwhelms mind, this is a world you
and I live in today. Who subverts what
is immaterial. Fame, ignominy, success
and failure are all instant and ephemer-
al. As much as soup or stardom or even
Nirvana. In transience lies immortality.
Its quest is a backbreaking triathlon run
over an obstacle course of information,
disinformation and opinion in spite of
the environment and not because of it.
Titillate, enrapture, ensnare, now and
everywhere is the motto. It is a global
jungle after all.
Multiple platform delivery is far more
enveloping than a clarion call.24x7.356
days. Filling every nanosecond, it is all
about choices. News and Information,
Books and Discs, Movies and Drama,
Songs and Dance, Parks and rides, Zoos
and Museums, Malls and Resorts, Stadia
and Clubs, Fun and Games, Buying and
selling, Informing, Communicating, En-
tertaining, an ICE onslaught. Relentless,
60 years ago a radio set was a luxury, TV
a fantasy and movies was something you
watched occasionally at the nearest talk-
ies. Entertainment was restricted to a
rare family outing or a pastime of truant
juveniles. Over the years the change has
been dramatic. We have seen the magic
of movies and movie stars dominate the
mindscape of millions. Then came the
age of Television and the idiot box has
become the new center of gravity of the
average household. Now that there is en-
tertainment online, Mobile TV, User Gen-
erated content, Blogs are the first mile-
stones of an ‘always on world’. Pan global
or neighborhood, the digital world allows
you to choose from a vast bouquet.
However, many sociologists agree that lo-
cal entertainment and information tends
to have more mass appeal than foreign.
There is a small section of the audience
though which is plugged to the world
scene. Multiple devices and platforms
are offering increased choice in media
to increasingly people today. The world
is turning digital. Like other businesses,
entertainment is also about market seg-
mentation. In the digital world it is be-
coming easy to address a single custom-
er. Now it is possible to pull content of
choice (Digital video research, I-Tunes,
YouTube). The difference between push
and pull, between broadcast and uncast is
the personalized segmentation of media.
There are very few films or TV shows or
Events which appeal to audiences across
geographies and psychographics. Most
media attempts to address large groups,
linguistic or ethnic. Now for the first time
in history it is possible to access films,
news, music and information, whatever
on demand anywhere anytime. This is
allowing a thousand diverse media to
bloom each with its own unique market.
In this new paradigm business can treat
consumers as individuals, offering mass
customization or even personalization as
an alternative to mass-market fare.
The advantages are spread widely. For
the entertainment industry itself the on-
demand, pay-per-use model is a remark-
ably efficient form of marketing, allow-
ing smaller films and less-mainstream
music and videos to find an audience. For
consumers, the improved choice and con-
venience that comes on-line encourages
exploration and can reawaken a passion
for music and film, potentially creating a
far larger entertainment market overall.
The largest music distribution company
in the world today is Apple. And the cul-
tural benefit of all of this is much more
diversity, reversing the blending effects
of a century of distribution scarcity and
ending the tyranny of the hit, says Chris
Anderson a media expert. Already social
networking websites like Facebook, have
billions of posts including songs and
films, personal videos and live report-
age.
While cinema will remain a popular me-
dia well into the next decade its manner
and form will change. Films will no lon-
ger be made on film. Hits like “AVTAAR”
have been shot on digital cameras. In the
next ten years almost all feature films
and TV shows will have large chunks
created on computers. There are over
10000 cinema theatres worldwide - 2000
in India, which actually do not screen
any “film” as such but project digital
images. In a few years, all films will be
projected digitally sourced from a secure
server. Often delivered by satellite or
served through optic fiber backbones or
even through Wireless Broadband. Each
stream psycho graphically customized to
suit different audience profiles. On the
one hand you have video-on-demand and
on the other there is a single worldwide
simulcast of the new blockbuster. Today
you could watch an old Satyajit Ray clas-
sic or the latest Brad Pitt hit sitting at
home accessing some archive through
your broadband device perhaps on your
wall-sized TV screen or the giant screen
of your next-door multiplex or if you
want on your mobile device.
Robert Dowling the former editor of Hol-
lywood Reporter writing on the entertain-
ment of the future said, “Time paradigms
will change. Advertisers will no longer
chafe under the restrictions of the 30-sec-
ond commercial and programmers of se-
rial entertainment will be freed from 22-
minute half-hours and 48-minute hours.
With the home-theaters standard issue
and cell phones, PDAs and other mobile
devices just about everywhere, audiences
will hunker down for full-season viewa-
thons just as readily as they’ll catch snip-
pies while waiting in lines. Programming
will be configured for every device and
all time frames at the viewer’s request.
Entertainment forms of five minutes
or less will facilitate a different style of
artist”.I believe we will consume multiple
streams of media simultaneously but not
one device. We will retrieve music, film,
news, games and whatever else we want
simply by tapping into the wireless ether
or plugging into a socket not unlike the
current electric wall socket. The theme-
park ride concept will translate first to
hotels, malls and other public gathering
places then migrate to the home, where
we will be able to feel the motion and
experience the activity. It is not that all
existing formats will disappear. Digital
age has exhibited 2 latent consumption
patterns: `ease of access’, and individual-
ized, customized consumption.
The Digital world has much less inequity
than the real world. Development patterns
are already being altered. Take India and
China; not only are they the two most pop-
ulous nations in the world but are the two
fastest growing economies. India has gone
from 0 to One Billion mobile phones in less
than 16 years. In South Asia and Africa
some of the poorest people are getting the
benefit of communication and concomi-
tant services including banking for the
first time. India has just embarked on the
world’s largest Unique Personal Identity
Project which in the next 5 years enable
each of its 1.2 billion people will become
an active participant in digital society.
Internet has evolved from web 1.0 (www)
to web 2.0(user interaction). Web 3.0 (se-
mantic web – intelligent agents, personal
assistants) will evolve further. While web
3.0 is a distant concept in working, we al-
ready have a sketch of web 4.0 – learning
web, real 3D, personal intelligent assis-
tants, and sensory capabilities. Storage,
networking, computing app technolo-
gies are continuously evolving – becom-
ing faster, speedier affordable. Simi-
larly, Communication technologies like
4G / 5G (Wireless Broadband) are around
the corner as our new devices. However,
Cultures shall remain referentially per-
petual as ever; a set of habits, knowledge,
traditions, art, etc. will evolve to creating
space for a new or a modified set, as ef-
fected by the digital culture!
India has just embarked on the
world’s largest Unique Personal
Identity Project which in the next
5 years will enable each of its 1.2
billion people to become an active
participant in digital society
“
„

Redefining Eros With
Innovation
Digitisation continues to be a key growth driver
for the Indian ME sector with more and more
audiences subscribing to the digital medium, says
Rishika Lulla, CEO, Eros Now
Eros Now is a visible digital platform
today for content consumption. You
have been a leader in digital space for
over six years? Can this medium pro-
pel growth for the ME sector?
We are on the threshold of a digital trans-
formation and our significant digitized
content library enables us to deliver opti-
mum customer experiences across media
spaces. We have succeeded in developing
a service that engages a new digital gen-
eration of South Asians globally - when,
where and how they want.
Digitization continues to be a key growth
driver for the Indian ME sector and with
more and more audiences subscribing to
the digital medium. Recent releases like
RaanjhanaaandGoGoaGonecrossedmore
than a million views within just 2-3 days of
its launch. Digital is the future and Eros-
Now aspires to be the leading South Asian
digital brand of choice for consumers, ad-
vertisers and global media partners.
We have witnessed Eros Intl signing
various multi-platform worldwide
deals with telecom, IPTV and broad-
casters. Do you see visible signs of
consumption pattern changing?
Definitely, more and more specialist chan-
nels are coming up with digital consump-
tion increasing. Recent trends indicate
YouTube is already perceived to be the
preferred choice for news and entertain-
ment viewing, especially for the youth.
Our recent collaborations with TalkTalk,
Yupp TV and a host of other film content
platforms point towards evident changes
in consumption patterns.
What is your take on movie watching
on tablets? Do you watch movies on
the go?
The smartphones and tablets have en-
tirely changed the measures of enter-
tainment. What started as an obsession
of playing games has now moved to con-
sumers being addicted to their smart
device to watch songs, movies, stream
live matches etc. This has further gained
momentum with high speed data either
at home or with advent of services like
3G/4G.
Watching movies on tablet is a great
source of entertainment while you are
commuting or even when at home if one
wants to enjoy his own space and his
favorite movies. Its compact and user-
friendly hence it’s not only entertaining
but also makes life simple. I absolutely
love watching movies on tablets. When-
ever I am commuting which is very often
with offices globally, I am either watch-
ing a movie or listening to my favorite
music track. Moreover, tablets are handy
and sleek and consume no extra space in
your bag. So it’s a must in my travel list.
Internationally especially, people are
more inclined to consume content on
the go.. Studies have shown that almost
a third of the time spent on a tablet is for
entertainment. In India, despite certain
technology and connectivity issues, we
are slowly but surely getting there.
From innovation perspective Eros
Now is a great case study? You have
created a visible brand in no time?
With Eros having all the ingredients
of a successful start up how does it
deploy innovation?
ErosNow is a one stop shop for Bollywood
entertainment. Apart from the vast li-
brary of over 1900 films, we also premier
many of our latest films on the platform
within 2 weeks to a month of its theatri-
cal release. We have been innovative with
our membership offerings too – prepaid
Innovation @ Eros Now
Change
is the
necessity
of the day
and digital
is the
future
Rishika Lulla
CEO, Eros Now

cards, a 48 hour movie rental window al-
lowing movie viewing unlimited amount
of times, instant steam of video etc. Ad-
ditionally all content is in HD and we are
also offering viewers a 14 day free trial
where they can check out movies of their
choice and finally subscribe to movies as
per their pick. ErosNow extends its ser-
vices beyond films and provides latest
music from not just the Eros catalogue
but also the entire T Series library for the
listening pleasure of anyone visiting the
platform.
How did you manage the challenge of
traditional company embrace innova-
tion for Eros Now?
Change is the necessity of the day and
digital is the future. The Indian enter-
tainment industry has undergone a para-
digm shift in the last decade and studios
like Eros have brought about corporati-
zation of the industry. The monetization
streams have also expanded. With a large
library of 1900 films, our aim is to exploit
the content across different formats and
stay connected with the audiences 24x7
(In the digital space through Eros Now).
At Eros we have always embraced tech-
nological advancements and with Eros
Now we provide access to all our films,
music videos, audio tracks and regional
programming. Our services cater both
premium and standard users. The key to
success in this space is constant innova-
tion and ease of content access.
From Eros perspective, where do you
see the potential in the digital domain
-- do you see growth in domestic or in-
ternational market? You have one of
the finest library content?
In the short run, the dollars are com-
ing in from the international markets,
mainly due to better user experience and
higher broadband penetration. India is
still a “Freemium” market although this
will change rapidly with the advent of 4G
and other technological advancement.
Has this growth reflected in moneti-
zation for Eros? How has been the
subscriber growth? Do you see a scal-
able model?
At Eros, our mantra clearly is maximi-
zation of the monetization. With a large
library of 1900 films, our aim is to exploit
the content across different formats and
stay connected with our audiences 24x7.
For instance we have witnessed a huge
growth on our YouTube channel from the
time we launched it a few years back, the
subscriber base has seen multifold in-
crease. Also very proud to announce we
recently crossed a million subscribers on
the ErosNow YouTube channel.
What is Eros strategy with regards
to digital piracy? Do you see piracy
levels coming down with the death of
DVD and increased digital consump-
tion via multiple screens?
Earlier we used to put up Eros content
(new releases) for digital fingerprinting
post the theatrical release of the film.
Now taking a step forward, we finger
print our content prior to the theatrical
releases, further curbing scope for digi-
tal piracy.
Also with shorter windowing of films,
from theatrical to online (we showcase
our films on Eros Now within two weeks
to a month of its theatrical release), these
initiatives do go some way in curbing the
urge to watch the pirated version of the
film.
Piracy also tends to happen because con-
tent isn’t readily available but with quali-
ty HD streaming, allowing users to access
content whenever and however they want,
erosnow.com aims to bridge that gap.
The key to success
in this space is constant
innovation and ease
of content access
“
„

Innovation
requires
top-down
as well as
bottom-up
participation
Prof S Raghunath,
Corporate Strategy
and Policy, IIM Bangalore
academic view
How do you define innovation?
What helps organisation achieve
innovation?
Innovation as a concept applied to
media and entertainment is all about
the process of creating and delivering
quantum improvement in customer
value .
The general view is to create a separate
organization for innovation.
But, in the media and entertainment
industry such separation could prevent
cross platform integration and conflict
between the existing and innovation
driven units of the organization. The
ability to think innovatively should
be a goal for every function in the
organization.
More often than not there is a general
inertia in recognizing and responding
to changes in customer preferences
once a company reaches a certain size
or growth in hierarchy. For example
general entertainment TV channels
have audience members who are active
participants who select programming to
meet particular needs.
Should innovation start top down
ideally? Is it a leadership issue? Do
innovation turn a company’s perfor-
mance?
Innovation requires top-down as well as
bottom-up participation. The leadership
at the top has to develop razor sharp
focus on business model innovation. The
challenge is to grow the pool of audience
and, therefore the revenues; this in turn
requires ability to create and capture
value when technology, delivery and
content are in a state of flux.
There are issues of when creative aspects
should take precedence over business
considerations and when business
considerations must be given central
importance in comparison to creative
aspects. Both business and creative
issues have to be explored and debated
before making decisions. The success of
media and entertainment offerings are
a function of combining creative genius
with business considerations.
The quality and calibre of those who
make these combined decisions evolve.
There are decisions involved in looking
at new ways to charge for the product or
service, there is innovation involved in
sponsorship as to who will pay for the
product or service, there is innovation
in considering new ways to expand
a content or brand value to different
consumer segments or different ways of
offering the content to the consumer.
More specifically, leaders at the top have
to reckon with audience fragmentation.
They have to achieve a fit between the
offerings of creative talent and changing
consumer expectations relating to
relevance, convenience and flexibility.
They must examine how to segment
customers so that the revenue model can
fit to those segments who will perceive
value from the offering and willing to
pay for it.
The current trend of increasing
communication, bandwidth, information
and processing power has not just
changed consumer behaviour and
expectations but has also provided the
media and entertainment industry
increased ability to gather information
about consumers. It is now possible to
make better segmentation based on the
analysis of the information and there
could be innovations relating to new
ways to charge for content.
Innovation is
Inevitable
Innovation is bound to increase the total volume of
activity in the media and entertainment sector says
Prof S Raghunath, Corporate Strategy
and Policy, IIM Bangalore

Owners and managers of media and en-
tertainment industry have the onerous
responsibility of championing and sus-
taining business growth.
They can utilize a path breaking ap-
proach to gain strategic advantage by
creating uncontested market spaces and
making competition irrelevant.
The workshop will be led by Dr S Raghu-
nath, Dean and Professor of Corporate
Strategy and Policy at IIM Bangalore. He
has done extensive research on media
and entertainment industry with spe-
cific focus on the subject of champion-
ing and sustaining high growth through
value innovation and is uniquely placed
to interpret the subject in the Indian
context. Professor Raghunath is an ex-
pert on strategy implementation in the
media and entertainment sector and is
on the boards of several companies.
In the workshop, participants will un-
derstand the business growth and in-
novation framework and learn to apply
it to the industry. The workshop will be
highly interactive and will involve a for-
mal presentation, analysis of participat-
ing companies in terms of their growth
agenda as well as planning a way for-
ward for developing value innovation
and implementing a high growth plan.
To obtain maximum benefit, cross func-
tional participation at the workshop will
be encouraged company wise.
For Workshop Registration Contact
kavita.saini@cii.in
Why are start-ups active and drive innovation
than traditional companies? Do digital platforms
offer more for innovation than traditional ones?
Startups are better of than traditional companies
as they do not have to deal with the question of
cannibalizing their current products and services.
Traditional companies have existing partner relations
and customer base and there is an apprehension that
customers may not move beyond a certain level of
willingness to pay.
Startups are better positioned to offer products and
services considering the changing dynamics of what
the consumers are preferring as content and mode of
consumption based on their age, gender and views
about society. While the traditional companies look
at the consumers through the singular lens of what
they are offering and what the current customer
base is preferring to consume. There is little effort in
segmenting consumers and markets.
Why do we see fewer innovation in Indian ME
companies than what it happens globally?
Changes in technology and utilization of the benefits
from technology has enabled large western firms
to increase the target consumers pool while the
same has not been fully utilized so far by the Indian
companies. The traditional consumer pool in our
country consisted of passive consumers of media and
entertainment who were hoping to be entertained in
their living rooms. They have very strong preferences
for program content. They are gradually accessing
the internet. They are also beginning to question
why they are paying for so many channels when they
are watching only few. The set top box connections
provide viewing information. Therefore the cable
providers can make a selection for their consumers
by identifying favourites for them and opt out of the
rest. This kind of an arrangement can help content
providing TV entertainment companies to maximize
distribution of their niche channels. The managers
of cable companies are resisting this mode of pricing.
There is an opportunity in our country to shift to
an arrangement that provides subscribers access
to content through any device such as television,
computers, pay-per-view via streaming.
It is not unusual
to expect
successful
innovating
firms to flourish
and failed non
innovating firms
to fade away
CII BIG PICTURE WORKSHOP: High Growth Through Innovation
The tendency towards bundling of the
channels and offering a price makes the
purchase less complicated or cheaper for
the consumers, while a pick and choose
model may fulfil a consumers desires
of choice and flexibility. However, the
cable operators prefer bundling option
for pricing which then opens the door
for new competition from streaming
services available on the net and on
demand content free startup like Box TV
which download content from traditional
TV, cable or internet.
Your thoughts on inculcating the cul-
ture of innovation in an organisation?
In the context of media and entertainment
industry, leadership is all about creating
and managing an environment for
innovation. Respecting individuality
and encouraging individual initiative
is a hallmark of a leader in media and
entertainment space. Leaders have to
make final content calls. In business it is
not just about coming up with ideas but
also how much should be spent on it. This
decision is based on how much revenue
and margins can be expected. The most
important contribution to creative success
is getting people to come up with great
ideas and having people support those
great ideas and support those creative
people, manage creativity with business
foresight.Thisrequiresmanagingsynergy
across all company offerings. Everybody
has to cooperate with everybody else
and no competition must be encouraged
between divisions. Many companies
underperform due to tensions and weak
relations at the top level. If innovation is
to be successful over the long term, it is
imperative that all divisions of a company
remain true to its espoused values of
delivering “entertainment”.
Are companies bound to vanish -- if
innovation is not put into practice --
there is a lot of disruption happening
across sectors?
Any media and entertainment product
or service that is not an imitation may
be treated as innovation. Innovation
is about those creative efforts that are
accepted by the market as unusually
different, satisfying or productive.
Innovation is bound to increase the
total volume of activity in the media
and entertainment sector. The potential
market for media and entertainment
products and services has grown in
India not just because the population
and national income have grown but
also the literacy rate has gone up
and people have begun to spend on
media and entertainment. Secondly
more intermediaries are available to
introduce artists to the market and more
artists struggle for creative success.
An enlarged ME market attracts
more would be innovators. Successful
innovations are highly diverse and
they illustrate important links between
the responsiveness of tastes and the
organization of creative activities.
It is not unusual to expect successful
innovating firms to flourish and failed
non innovating firms to fade away.
Companies with well established
distribution system can preserve their
position if they open their facilities to
innovation. On the other hand with no
control over distribution of content and
nocapacitytobearlargelossesinnovation
can cause enormous turnover among
companies. The turnover process is more
natural and continuous when firms are
small and without sunk or committed
resources.

Intellecutal Property
specialist Omar Kaczmarczyk
on The world of Trans-Media
E
verything is right with being profit-motivated
and for wanting to contribute to our community
as a consequence of our success -- assuming that
we share, as storytellers, a deep desire to co-create a bet-
ter world.
As Platforms and Data Sources proliferate our goal
might be to empower one another in the process, clos-
ing the gap between Trans Media Visioneers, funders,
and their distribution partners.
Here is a simplified distinction: Trans-Media proper-
ties offer new creative opportunities and diversity of
revenue streams greater than single platform media.
The new Trans-Media consumer world, consisting of
3.8 billion potential points of interest, demands new
methods of storytelling, as well as production and dis-
tribution strategies. It requires a new innovative breed
of Entertainment Company that is focused on develop-
ing properties with longevity, strong IP Management,
and a greater understanding of digital marketing and
distribution. This is how a company delivers success
in a 360 degree market.
The Innovation point is the singular moment when tal-
ented, motivated co -creators ACT on their ideas and
dreams.
thought leader
by Omar Kaczmarczyk
The Trans-Media con-
sumer world, consisting
of 3.8 billion potential
points of interest, de-
mands new methods of
storytelling, as well as
production and distri-
bution strategies. It re-
quires a new innovative
breed of Entertainment
Company
Omar Kaczmarczyk
is MD LongTale
International and
Partner, Wonder
Animation
Innovation is the answer to chaos, decon-
struction, and dissimulation: the current
state of affairs in the Global Motion Pic-
ture community. It’s all around us. Daily
the Internet provides an ever widening
cornucopia of new ideas, processes, and
solutions, and is now the singular Global
Platform. Forums exist for every aspect
of creation, finance, and distribution,
meaning the Platform itself will teach
us how best to use it.
Global information flow means 85% of
the world’s population is covered by com-
mercial wireless signals. For example:
200M+ farmers in India are receiving
government payments/subsidies via
mobile devices. These same devices can
be used to shape social
impact, display content
in all forms, and obvi-
ously create new rev-
enue streams for the
IP manager. In a recent
study by Ooyala, it was
determined that rough-
ly 1.5 billion people will
watch at least one on-
line video by 2016.
Being able to quantify
and measure the value
of your content, with
total transparency for
contributors and col-
laborators alike, is
fruit from the tree of
Digital Media. For the
first time in the histo-
ry of the world, the IP
Manager can control all aspects of distri-
bution from the source, and their income
ratios are far superior than that of previ-
ous distribution centers. Pay TV is now
going to the web. It is possible to own/
rent a piece of this multi-channel distri-
bution channel if you own/distribute a
library of feature, documentary, or ex-
tended story ( mini-series, etc.) content,
or simply partner with a multichannel
owner for a one-off project.
A basic design for a company working
within the new Paradigm looks like this:
There are 4 primary functions: Develop-
ment, IP Management/Finance, Produc-
tion, and Marketing/Distribution/Sales
-- the umbrella over all these parts. Each
works independently through the entire-
ty of production. At every stage, the goal
is to produce a story that can be adapted
to every possible sustainable medium, to
create its own franchise. How is this dif-
ferent from what you might be doing in
this moment?
Traditionally stories are envisioned for
a single medium. Trans-Media creates a
world for stories to live on all five screens,
various Print mediums, and what is now
called “The Sound Universe. “Incubating
your project using psychographics, new
marketing research opportunities, and
utilizing companies such as Fem, Inc.
is essential. Fem, Inc. is a content dis-
covery and recommendation platform
highlighting positive,
diverse, and empower-
ing stories of female
portrayals in popular
entertainment. Their
original research gives
the “why” behind the
current trends.
Our once fragmented
methods of distribu-
tion are now united
online to deliver every
type of story in its own
particular style.
The need to go deeply
into every creative en-
deavor is fundamental
to our business. We do
not have a marketplace
that will value just any
product brought to
the market, as perhaps was the case in
the later part of the 20 most highly de-
veloped, and enjoy the highest level of
production --no matter what platform is
used for its delivery. We’re a competitive
business with niches being reformed on
a regular basis. Regardless of the ap-
proach, to succeed it takes experience,
deep knowledge of cultures, story-to-mo-
tion-picture training, professional crafts
people, and a truly Global perspective.
This is the 21st century; all things flow;
nothing stays. Innovation is our life-
blood; adaptation is the journey....or as
Rudyard Kipling once said: “If you can
keep your head when all about you oth-
ers are losing their...”
This is the 21st
century; all things
flow; nothing stays.
Innovation is our
lifeblood; adaptation
is the journey...

I am looking
for founders
who are
passionate
and dreamers
with a vision
to change the
world
Rajesh Sawhney,
Founder
Global Superangels Forum
Speaker at
CII Big Picture
Summit ME
Investment
Panel
Technology is a key driver of
innovation, though not the only one.
In India, we see more of business
model innovation, which many people
refer to as frugal innovation. But the
combination of frugal innovation and
technology innovation is potentially
lethal. In fact that is the big Indian
opportunity, says Rajesh Sawhney,
founder of Global Superangels Forum
Rajesh is the founder of GSF Accelerator,
India’s first multi-city Tech Accelerator,
backed by 20 iconic digital founders and
5 leading venture funds from across the
world. Rajesh is also the founder of GSF
Superangels network and curator of the
Global Superangels Forum. He is the co-
host and curator of Founders Forum India.
Rajesh has made over 15 investments as an
active and engaged angel investor.
Why do you say your current re-
invention wave (Startup ecosystem)
is the biggest and the most exciting
challenge in your career?
Technology is setting a relentless pace
of change. Startups are driving this
change across the world. They are the
new frontiers of innovation. India has
a chance to play a big role, but faces
enormous challenges: Risk aversion to
failure, lack of capital and not think-
ing big. I am excited to accept this chal-
lenge. I am building a startup platform,
GSF, that gives opportunities to startups
that their counter-parts in the developed
world enjoy.
The key objective of Global Superan-
gels Forum (GSF) is to spur innova-
tion and entrepreneurship through
angel and seed investing. How has
this worked and do you see change
reflecting in reality? You have made
a major effort in bringing mentors in
single window?
GSF has funded 25 startups in the last one
year. In addition to that, 30 super-smart
EIRs (Entrepreneurs in Residence) have
also worked with GSF. 250 mentors from
across the world are associated with us,
out of which 200 are co-founders of VC
backed startups.
I am extremely happy with the rapid
progress GSF has made as a startup plat-
form. GSF Accelerator Programme is
not only the biggest, but also the widest
with presence in NCR, Mumbai, Banga-
lore and Chennai. I am humbled by the
response of the startup community and
support of my peers through this excit-
ing first year.
What is the blue sky difference be-
tween Indian start up culture and
what we see in Silicon Valley? Do you
see this bridge getting closer?
GSF has a global presence to work with
startups.
The biggest difference is the attitude
to failure. Most startups fail across the
world. Failure is celebrated in the Sili-
Sailing the re-invention wave

Startups have almost invari-
ably attacked the inefficiency,
the wrath, classification that
large behemoth corporates
breathe. Destruction is a con-
cept inherent in the concept
of renewal. We are destroy-
ing something to create new
things. When you don’t destroy
anything and become static
you don’t create opportunities
to create new things
Innovation is about a mindset
that understands destruction
creates opportunities. Think
of the destruction of Bell Labs.
It almost founded Silicon Val-
ley. Think of the destruction
of Blackberry. It is starting
the startup culture in Waterloo
again. Think of the destruc-
tion of Nokia. Destruction of
Nokia alone has given way to a
thousand startups in Finland
Destruction Innovation
con Valley. In India, our cultural norms don’t accept
failure easily. However, this attitude is changing
gradually. I’ve met many young and bright people of
late who have left their cushy jobs for a life in start-
ups. This suggests that some of these new young
founders are ready to take a plunge without worry-
ing too much about failing.
We have three global tie-ups so far; one with MIT,
the second with 500 startups in Silicon Valley and
the third with Seedcamp from Europe. These unique
tie-ups make us distinct as we are in a position to
provide global springboards to our startups.
You have said that there is no reason why Indian
entrepreneurs cannot create the next Instagram,
or the next Twitter. What makes you so optimis-
tic? For sure it has happened as idea of Twitter
stemmed out of a conference.
Absolutely. Internet democratizes the opportunity.
We have both the entrepreneurial and technology
talent, though we lack behind the world in Design.
Secondly, we don’t take enough chances and big
risks. This world belongs to people who take a differ-
ent path. There is no future for normal people and
normal companies. A spectacular failure is a better
option than an ordinary life.
Many also say innovation doesn’t require big
technology. Is it correct? What according to you
are basic ingredients of today’s startup in In-
dia?
Technology is a key driver of innovation, though
not the only one. In India, we see more of business
model innovation, which many people refer to as
frugal innovation. But the combination of frugal in-
novation and technology innovation is potentially
lethal. In fact that is the big Indian opportunity.
When I look at a startup for investment, I am look-
ing for founders who are passionate and dreamers
with a vision to change the world. I also respect and
backfounders who build great products and have an
eye for details. And yes, it helps if they are chasing
a big market opportunity.
Bangalore is
vibrant and has
a technology
edge, NCR
region around
Delhi is driving
e-commerce
and education
startups,
Mumbai is
slowly emerging
as the digital
media and Fin-
tech eco-system
We have a billion plus people on
mobile phones. In the next five
years, India will have 500 mil-
lion new mobile phone driven
Internet users in the market.
Perhaps, India will be on the
only market where 500 million
plus people will access Internet
only through the mobile. That
could create a hotbed of inno-
vation. That’s the biggest India
opportunity
This world belongs to
people who take a dif-
ferent path. There is
no future for normal
people and normal
companies. A spectac-
ular failure is a better
option than an ordi-
nary life
Opportunity Difference
MIT Technology Review has listed
Bangalore as among the top innova-
tion clusters. What is your view? You
operate in multi-cities of India and
also the world.
In India, we have three primary startup
eco-systems, each has a different char-
acteristic; Bangalore is vibrant and has
a technology edge, NCR region around
Delhi is driving so many e-commerce
and education startups, Mumbai is slow-
ly emerging as the digital media and Fin-
tech eco-system.
There hasn’t been too much disrup-
tions from Indian startups -- in the
digital space? Do you see it coming?
Mobile is the biggest disruptor in the
making. It has already changed the way
Indians communicate, consume content
and do shopping. I am super excited
about the rise of smart phones and evo-
lution of 3G and 4G networks. Together,
they will bring 500 million new Internet
users online in India. That’s huge.
You have pioneered the Time FM, In-
ternet culture, films space and now
building start up ecosystem in India.
How do you see this decade different
from the past decade?
I believe in disruptions. I like them. I
thrive on them. Change is the only con-
stant for me. Future is exciting and I see
many many disruptions in the making.
Some of them are extremely transforma-
tive and will provide huge opportunity
for innovation.
Last decade was equally exciting: it saw
the evolution of media industries from
small mom and pop businesses to well
run corporate entities; it saw the evo-
lution of mobile as a transformative
change in communication landscape,
and finally Indian youth and middle class
has changed and evolved as a powerful
force. But we ain’t seen nothing yet!
What is more ... availability of money
for startups or too many ideas from
startups?
Contrary to the popular belief, we don’t
have too many startups in India. China
has ten times more startups than India.
Even Israel has more startups than In-
dia. We need to pick up pace in startup
formation.
We also have shortage of Angel and seed
money in India. In the US, Angel and seed
financing equals venture financing…
each is about USD 23B a year. In India,
the quantum of seed financing is 1/20 of
venture financing. We need more capital
to spur innovation at an early stage.
GSF operates without the help of Gov-
ernment and has not sought any sup-
port. Is there anything that the gov-
ernment can do to propel growth in
startups?
Government has a big role to play in
building capacity and infrastructure
where startups can thrive. Governments
across the world, be it UK, Finland,
France, Germany, Israel, China or Singa-
pore have understood the need to build
startup cultures. They need startups
to rejuvenate their economies, spur in-
novation and create jobs. In India, Gov-
ernment has lagged behind in its under-
standing and efforts. I will be happy to
work with Governmental agencies.

The
purpose
of any
innovation
is to
improve
the
experience
of the user
Harit Nagpal
MD CEO Tata Sky
How innovation propels growth?
Ourmediaconsumptionhabitshavegone
through a sea change in the last couple
of decades, more so in the last 5 years.
The ever improving devices and new
mediums that we consume our media
through, as well as the kind of media
we consume and its interactive nature,
has taken media consumption out of
the ‘with family’ and ‘in living room’
habit and taken it to the ‘anywhere’ and
‘anyhow’ space. That’s what propelling
its growth.
How is innovation
deployed at Tata Sky?
Our strong desire to keep
our customers abreast
with the best has led
to pioneering work on
the HD, DVR, Video on
Demand, Catch up TV and
ever improving range of
interactive services.
There is a very little
difference between DTH
operators. Is Tata Sky
having an edge on its
interactive, educational
channels?
We listen to the voice of our customers
at all levels in the organisation. It helps
us figure out their needs for new services
and the ease with which they are able to
use the ones existing. Rest is easy.
Even after digitization, innovation is
not visible on ground. Why?
I think the first area that the operators,
new to the world of digitisation, will
innovate in is packages and service.
After they have learnt to grapple with
and tackle the basics will they move
towards services.
There is a need or innovation in
policy making process. What do you
feel as an industry leader?
The purpose of any innovation is to
improve the experience of the user.
Policies of the government impact the
way in which we can offer our services.
For example, the current taxes on DTH
were set when the subscriber base was
small as the platform was
niche. With the current
penetration and growth
there is room to reduce
taxes from 33 per cent of
top line. This will help
us lower prices, grow the
category even faster and
result in higher taxes
despite a lower rate of
tax.
What is your view
on innovation and
leadership?
Top management has only
to create an environment
that supports and encourages
innovation. The ideas come from people
who are closer to the customer.
How does Tata Sky rewards
innovation in the organisation?
It is done by quickly implementing
the ideas that are aimed at improving
customer experience. Nothing
encourages the owner of an idea than to
see it being implemented by the company
and adopted by the customers.
innovation on air
Innovation Direct
to Home
Top management has only to create an environment
that supports and encourages innovation. The ideas
come from people who are closer to the customer,
says Harit Nagpal, MD CEO Tata Sky
We listen to
the voice of our
customers at
all levels in the
organisation

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INFLUENTIAL
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MEDIA AND
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CII Big Picture Summit Curtain Raiser on Innovation in Media

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CII Big Picture Summit Curtain Raiser on Innovation in Media