Future of Television

in India
Key trends
The
The Indian television industry is undergoing a

trends seismic shift. The pace of technological change

is accelerating so quickly that finding the right
balance between addressing today’s daily
that will drive the future operational challenges and planning for the next
big thing can be a struggle. Many executives are
so focussed on the critical issues that they need
to address today that looking forward is nearly
impossible. And yet, looking forward is what
executives need to do if they want to innovate,
prosper and survive.
1 Unbundling of content will
drive new revenue models
6Increased content cost will shift
power to the content producer

2 Technology will enable

omniplatform consumption
7Digitization will increase
importance of niche channels

3 “On-tap” content will lead to

time-shifted bingeing
8Transparency will lead to per-
viewer carriage models

4 Increased materialism will move

TV consumption from the living
room to the bedroom 9Unicasting will lead to result-
based ad models

5 Increased broadband will result

in increased piracy
10 Social dynamics will lead to
more real-time feedback
Here are ten emerging trends that
we see as having the biggest impact
on the future of television in India
1
Unbundling of content will
drive new revenue models
2
Technology will enable
omniplatform consumption
3
“On-tap” content will lead to
time-shifted bingeing
4
Increased materialism will move
TV consumption from the living
room to the bedroom
5
Increased broadband will result
in increased piracy
Trend
As seen in both music and books, with the
advent of good-quality broadband and
increasing per-capita income, TV content
will get unbundled. There will be a shift
from channel loyalty and TV loyalty to
program loyalty and device disloyalty
Consumption will move from one
location to many, as viewers’ desire
to be entertained across locations
will become possible with the aid
of technology like wifi. They will
consume content across various
formats and devices.
As there is no need for immediacy
of viewing (except in sports and
breaking news), viewers will access
most content at their ease, and
indulge in bingeing (consuming
many episodes at once).
Increased materialism and lower TV,
broadband and PC costs will enable
families to split their viewing patterns
from the “common” or living room, to
the “individual” or bedroom
Broadband growth = Piracy
growth. Specially when
broadband rates reduce and
come on par with cable rates.
Implications
1. Need for sachet pricing models -
Pricing by episode, series, day, etc will
be required
2. Loss of traditional subscription
revenues
3. Threat that high individual pricing
could be hampered by piracy
1. Content will need to move seamlessly
across devices and locales; story-
telling will need to evolve
2. Measurement of viewership will be
individualized, and be based on large
volumes of actual data
3. Increased adoption of digital supply
chain to reduce cost and time
1. Digital asset management would
need to be strengthened to
enable subscription revenues
2. New pricing and packaging
models would emerge
3. Growth of Multi Channel Networks
1. Lower share for GECs and increased
importance of niche channels
2. Ability for advertisers to target
audiences one-on-one
1. Need for industry-level
initiatives to curb piracy
2. Flexible & fair content pricing models

6
Increased content cost will shift
power to the content producer
7
Digitization will increase
importance of niche channels
8
Transparency will lead to per-
viewer carriage models
9
Unicasting will lead to result-
based ad models
10
Social dynamics will lead to
more real-time feedback
Trend
IP will begin to be co-owned by
production houses, and not just
broadcasters, as increasing content
costs will result in increased risk
sharing
India will digitize its distribution
across Phases I to III, and increased
collections from subscribers will
trickle to broadcasters. Phase
IV will remain a fragmented or
HITS play, with LCOs retaining
their last-mile relationships.
Carriage is a distribution cost and will
be recognized as such, till such time
as MSOs begin to collect a larger
share of subscription revenues
Ad service will change to unicast
models, targeting individual
viewers, like the internet
Apart from viewership measurement,
trends from social media like Facebook,
Twitter, etc. will provide inputs to
marketing, pricing and story-telling
Implications
1. New models of content licensing
2. Need for robust content use
monitoring systems
3. Premium artists start to share the risk
1. Increased revenues for niche channels
2. Fragmentation of the “GEC” into “sub-
GECs” with focused target audiences
3. Possibility of massive viewership
measurement at the household level
4. Marketing will need to support
Phase III viewership
1. Per-viewer carriage models will
come into being; split across 50
large and medium distributors
1. Advertisers will begin to pay per ad
served and viewed, and increased
measurement will be the norm
2. Value of a served customer vs. a
mass customer will be determined
3. Use of return path (where
possible) to drive interactivity
1. Need to implement social media
crawlers and big data analytics
2. Content supply chain
needs to be flexible
The future of TV will have implications for every component of
a media company
We believe tomorrow’s “TV broadcaster” will transform into “omniplatform
content company”.
We expect the business to look like:

Strategy and monetization

Front office Middle office Back office

►► Customer experience ►► Support operations ►► Supply chain and distribution

management
►► Customer and channel
segmentation
►► Digital IP: products and
services
►► Pricing and bundling
►► Sales, service and marketing
transformation
►► Social media strategy
►► Technology enablement:
lead to service, web, contact
centers, customer resource
management (CRM)
optimization: Marketing, sales,
►► Finance transformation
service
►► Enterprise resource planning
►► Enterprise cost reduction
(ERP)
►► Operating model and
►► Shared services optimization
governance
►► Intellectual property
►► Content monetization
management: rights, royalties,
►► Digital/media asset participations
management
►► IT Services Management:
►► Technology enablement: disaster recovery, business
non-core IT, next-gen sales, continuity, digital content
operations and engineering security, cloud

Business intelligence and advanced analytics

Organizational design, change management and governance
Technology selection and program management
Privacy, security and risk management

A new reality
M&E companies need to do more than react to today’s
trends – they need to be able to see emerging trends
that will dictate the future of television and how it will
impact established business models.
The B2C front-end
At a foundation level, the trends we have described
will require M&E companies and content providers to
develop much richer relationships with viewers. To
cultivate these relationships, affected M&E players will
need to invest in the technologies that will enable them
to analyse audience data, deliver deeper engagement
with advertising and prove incremental value to
brands.
The digital backend
Most importantly, they will need to offer deeper
engagement with the content experience itself in
such a way that viewers will choose to directly pay for
content streaming services or ownership. They will also
need to plan and execute strategies that adapt their
supply chains, customer experiences, and analytics
platforms to address these trends.
The mantra for success
Ultimately, we see the future of television as a carefully
crafted omniscreen experience that combines great
content with equally compelling social and gamification
techniques tailored to individual viewer’s stated and
implicit preferences. This, we believe, is the key to
winning the future of television in a world where
consumers are in control.
What’s next?
M&E companies preparing today for the television
experience of the future should ask the following
questions:
►► Which trends dictating the future of television will have
the greatest impact on my company?
►► Do I have the systems, processes, and organisational
structure to meet these trends head on? Have I thought
through the supply chain, customer experience, and
data needs?
►► How will they disrupt the well-established business
models?
►► What will I need to adapt my strategies to prepare for
a media consumption future that doesn’t look anything
like the models of the past
►► How do I reimagine a viewing experience where the
television complements the tablet experience, and not
vice-versa?
►► What tools or technologies do I need to measure
engagement in an omniplatform, multiscreen
environment?
►► What will it take to drive relationships with content
franchises and deliver value to advertisers that are
DVR-proof?
►► How do I measure bingeing? How do I monetise it?
How do I use it to boost the value I can deliver to
advertisers?
►► What is my risk tolerance when it comes to creative
innovation?
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