MUMBAI: "Distraction is a one night stand, attraction is a marriage," said Star Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair.
This rather strange turn of phrase was what Nair chose as part of his presentation at Ficc Frames 'Attraction in the age of distraction.' Nair stressed on the fact that creating compelling content for an audience constantly on the move and having multiple choices available was of utmost importance.
"Content will continue to remain king. A new generation of media consumers has risen who want and demand content delivered to them when they want it, how they want and where they want it. Power is moving away from the old elite in our industry," Nair said.
"The number of television channels in the country has also grown tremendously in the last few years. Almost a 100 channels were launched in the last four years," Nair said. He also threw light on the different delivery platforms namely IPTV, DTH, broadband, mobile SMS, multiplexes, gaming, internet that more and more consumers were accessing increasingly.
Nair stressed on the fact that what was required was for broadcasters to create high impact content to unite audiences and then monetise the fragments over time, space and applications.
Examples of these are: The Simpsons, which gained popularity with the television series and also diversified into various areas like merchandising, T-Shirts, which were a rage in the US. The Walt Disney Television International with various divisions like theme parks, merchandising, publishing, licensing, television, theatre, television production and distribution, was another example that Nair gave.
Some formats that have worked well for the Star India network are Kaun Banega Crorepati, Nach Baliye and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC). Star launched mobisodes around TGILC, went online with the KBC game on their website and garnered a huge response from the audiences around the shows.
"The important thing is to use 360 degree communication in order to reach unified audiences in a fragmenting environment," Nair said.
