MUMBAI: Data is king and it will drive the revenues of the entertainment industry, said Accenture managing partner, communications and high tech Ashish Khanna.

Khanna went on to add that data has become very dynamic and the challenge before the industry is to get it all together. ?Today, data should be an enabler to provide real time content for great consumer experience.?

Khanna was speaking at Ficci Frames 2013 on ?Unleashing the power of data.? The other names who participated in the panel discussion included Lousie Chater (audience research consultant and former head of research, Walt Disney Studios), Atul Phadnis (founder CEO, WhatsonIndia), Anandshiv Paramatma (EVP, consumer rights, Star India), Nick Burfitt (head, Global Business, Kantar Media,UK), Rajesh Rai (partner and India Smarter Commerce Leader, IBM GBS) and L V Krishnan (CEO TAM) who was the moderator for the session.

Krishnan added that we are living in a digital world, surrounded by data - be it phone, television, radio, movie, internet. In real life we live with data and are surrounded by this data matrix. He added that data has become the integral part of our livelihood.

During the session, the discussion was around the increasing importance of data collation and market research in the media and entertainment space. ?Data has become very critical in film making and marketing to make the movie a box office blockbuster,?? said Chater.

Today, movies are scripted and produced based on the researched data available, which makes the film projects viable and profitable, she added further.

The panel also discussed the perspective of data in today?s scenario where there is an explosion of technology. Phadnis said, ?Today content is very critical and available across platforms, be it television, movies, social media, mobile content and other available mediums.??

With the increasing number of channels in India, almost touching 700, audiences are becoming more cautious of watching the relevant content. ?With the increasing number of channels, the need for enhancing the diversity of content is becoming more and more important,? Phadnis added.

The session further went on to showcase the importance of data, fascinating ways in which both online and offline research and data can be harnessed to understand audience preferences and behaviour so that the country can witness a real media revolution.

Paramatma said that today the challenge is the magnitude of the entertainment industry and online data is making a lot of difference in understanding the likes and dislikes of the so called `viewer.? He said that the future of the entertainment industry lies clearly on the data, since the viewer is the king and it is viewer?s choice of content which would make content viewing interesting on all the mediums, be it online or offline.

Kantar Media, UK head- global business Nick Burfitt spoke on digitisation and the revolution of telecommunication that has fragmented industry and data at large, which can be addressed collectively with the digital device.

?Working alongside Peoplemeters, it will be possible to gain a holistic view of TV viewing habits regardless of the time and place of access. RPD efficiency and effectiveness will move industry beyond demographics,?? Burfitt added.

IBM GBS partner and India smarter commerce leader Rajesh Rai added that today the technological revolution has made a lot of difference to viewing content, be it on any medium. ?It is time that we understand what our viewers consume and make content richer and interesting,?? he said.