MUMBAI: The LA India Film Council, in association with the Center for Content Protection (CCP), hosted a panel discussion on The Long Tail Of Film Distribution and The Role Of Technological Protection Measures (TPMS) in conjunction with FICCI’s 4th MEBC in Chennai, India.
Motion Picture Dist. Association (MPDA) India managing director Uday Singh said, "The long tail is really happening. It‘s facilitated and enabled by digital technology. However it‘s essential that policy makers understand the need to create a proper infrastructure, which includes protection and security, transparent market access, and weeding out content theft."
Films make most of their financial returns during the initial weeks of their release. However, theatrical is not the only return-on-investment for films given the emergence of Pay TV and other business models on platforms such as IPTV, mobile, packaged media and internet.
India’s National Telecom Policy 2011 envisions providing high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through optical fiber by the year 2014. The government intends to provide affordable and reliable broadband on demand by the year 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed. This paves the way for emerging business models and the need for content protection measures that are critical for the feasibility of these new delivery channels.
A special Council publication commissioned by Ernst & Young titled ‘Monetizing Your Content In A Digital World’ was unveiled on this occasion. The report focuses on the changing nature of media and entertainment consumption and the impact that these trends are having on Media and Entertainment companies’ digital strategies and how these companies are tailoring their products and service strategies to meet the increasing consumer demands for content anywhere, anytime and in any form.
“As distribution gets digitised, content choice for the consumer increases manifold leading to fragmented media landscape. Successful digital monetization, in a fragmented landscape, depends on sharp customer targeting, providing enhanced value in entertainment experiences and seamless integration of targeted advertising micropayment mechanisms. Media owners who rework their business models based on these parameters will be valued in the future,” commented Ernst & Young Segment Champion Digital Media Raghav Anand.
The panel further discussed the role of TPMS in the above scenario and went on to chart the road ahead for India. "There is so much potential for Indian films worldwide. With technologies many more communities worldwide can enjoy Indian movies after their theatrical release. We explored the most current aspects of digital distribution and technologies in our panel,” said Isa Seow, Managing Director, CCP.
Technology and accompanying digital rights are central in enabling new business models that meet consumer needs. Joining the panel were industry experts such as Krishnan Rajagopalan, Head of Technology, Group Digital Life, Singtel, Ankan Biswas, Chairman, Digital Broadcast Council, Consumer Electronics Appliances Manufacturers Association, Paul Jackson, Chief Engineer, NDS, Dr. Nagendra .S, Head -Sales and Strategy, Ignis Technology Solutions.
