NEW DELHI: The media and entertainment industry has to keep pace with newer technologies and adapt to changing social mores and the Government has to recognise the importance of this sector if it has to touch the $100 billion mark by the end of this decade.

This was the general consensus of speakers in various sessions at the "India-Big Picture" CII-Media and Entertainment Summit.

The CII-PwC‘s latest report titled ‘India Entertainment & Media Outlook 2012‘ released at the meet said India is expected to exceed Rs 1.75 trillion as growing at a CAGR of 17 per cent over the next five years.

Various experts agreed that M&E should emerge as a $100 billion industry in the conceivable future and for this stakeholders have a major role to play.

While the government has to lay a proactive policy framework, the industry should work towards enriching the content, innovation and strict observance to IPR rules.

The industry felt that for the long term growth of the industry, business models should undergo a drastic change. The present business model is dependent on B2B, thereby meaning that the revenues have to be realised from advertisements. More stress has to be laid on B2C concept, which would mean that subscription income should form an important component in the overall revenue flows.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar said digitisation of cable television in the country will mean more scope for programming and content in more languages. But he said that infrastructure in terms of studio space in Mumbai was inadequate and programmers will have to move out.

Similarly, he said access to good talent is difficult since there is no institutionalised way of finding new talent. Clearly, there was need for governmental support in this field.

He said broadcasters were still not clear about the actual picture after 31 October with regard to digitisation, though broadcasters were backing this move.

He said it was unfortunate that the government only saw glitz and glamour in the entertainment industry and did not realise the potential available for social transformation. Social and institutional support was necessary to reach the goals that the industry was setting for itself.

He said the government also failed to realise that if the industry did bring in $ 00 billion as forecast, then it could meet the costs of all the key programmes of the government for rural and urban development and creating employment.

Sony Pictures Television Worldwide Network President Andy Kaplan said game changing is the best insurance against irrelevancy. He said there was a need to adapt and adopt.

India had the third largest television market after China and the United States, and there was diverse consumption of content in every household.

But the ratio of advertising was very minimal in India and there was a huge potential in that sector.

For this purpose, he said the key was innovation and this could be achieved through content, digitisation, distribution, and platforms. Content could also be exported to other countries, and digitization was traversing geographic boundaries. India at present had only 35 per cent digitisation at present. Distribution has already evolved in various ways and newer platforms had come up for this. It is therefore necessary to build newer business models.

Walt Disney India managing director Ronnie Screwvala said Indian M&E was 30 per cent below the target at present. There was no sense of unanimity in this field, and 20 years of broadcasting had led to a growth of television channels but the revenue was still dependent on advertisements ? a shackle that had to be broken. Digitisation would not help too much unless people begin paying. He also said there was no respect for intellectual property and this resulted in rampant piracy. The film industry is at present a Rs 100 billion industry whereas it should have been around Rs 400 billion but for piracy.

But he felt that the country had adequate laws and there was need for better implementation. He also said broadband would become a major game changer and would augment broadcasting. He said rural India offered a lot of untapped opportunities.

CII National Committee on M & E Chairman Amit Khanna regretted that the stars took away a sizeable chunk of the budget of every film.

IMI President Vijay Lazarus regretted that though the consumption of music had increased manifold, only seven per cent was being monetised because of rampant piracy.

MUMBAI: Star India CEO Uday Shankar and Aamir Khan will be honoured by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Government of India, in recognition of their efforts to create awareness against social discrimination through `Satyamev Jayate.?

The commission will felicitate Shankar and Khan at an award function being organised to mark the International Valmiki Day in New Delhi on 18 October.

Shankar said, "Satyamev Jayate was a natural evolution of content, given Star?s steadfast and widening focus on socially relevant issues. This recognition will spur us to advance in this path of leveraging the power of TV to act as a change agent."

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Social, Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit and other political and civil society leaders who have worked for the cause of social equality will attend the awards function.

Star said in a short span, the show questioned social mores, helped shape mindsets and transcended borders to top popularity charts across the globe. It left an imprint on the minds of people with compelling tales from everyday life.

Satyamev Jayate was a narrative of real stories from across India that touched and inspired millions of people.

MUMBAI: In view of the 31 October 2012 deadline for implementation of the first phase of digitisation in four metros, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has decided to reschedule the dates for the inaugural Indian TV Fest. ITF?12 was earlier scheduled to be held in Goa from 2-3 November, 2012.

Digitisation of cable TV is the next step forward for the Indian TV industry. Measures have been taken so that no further delays happen in the implementation with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the broadcast industry taking keen interest in the same. IBF, an association of broadcasters, has decided to channelize all its focus and all its might towards ensuring a successful rollout of digitization in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. 

Announcing the rescheduling, IBF persident Uday Shankar said, "We at IBF are committed towards the successful implementation of digitisation. At this stage our priority is to ensure that we put in all the industry might behind digitization so that it is successfully completed by the sunset date of November 1, 2012. We understand the importance of this date for the television broadcasting industry; hence IBF has deferred ITF ?12 to a new date."

"I would also like to add that from the time we announced the Indian TV Fest?12, we have received encouraging support from industry peers, sponsors, media and from delegates who have registered with us. This overwhelming response is an indication to the enthusiasm and interest for the festival. The ITF?12 has been rescheduled to a later date and will be conducted as planned," he said.

IBF adds that it has received encouraging support from industry peers,sponsors, media and from delegates who had registered for the event.Rescheduled dates for the festival will be announced shortly.

While the industry is bracing itself to usher in an all new era, many members of the broadcasting industry, its allied industry and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) are likely to be busy with last minute execution and operational details. Indian Broadcasting Foundation received many requests to reschedule the dates of the festival. Being a representative body of the industry, IBF has decided to take the decision that is going to be appreciated by all beneficiaries.

MUMBAI: Star Plus will be airing a special episode of Satyamev Jayate on Independence Day titled ?Satyamev Jayate ka Safar?.

Aamir Khan will return to anchor the episode, which records accounts of how the television series whipped up winds of change over the course of 13 weeks.

?Satyamev Jayate ka Safar? will trace the journey of the 13 episodes, the impact it has had and revisit progress on each of the issues. It will be aired on 15 August at 11 am on Star Plus, Star Pravah, Star World, Star Jalsha and Doordarshan while on Star Vijay, Asianet and ETV it will telecast on 19 August.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, "Satyamev Jayate was all about compelling stories that raised the bar for television programming and creating an experience for our viewers. Such content is consistent with the philosophy of our network entertainment that?s also food for thought. A steady stream of forward-looking content on Star is going a long way in making TV as a powerful medium that enables change."

"We will continue to unwaveringly focus on delivering programming that matches people?s expectations from us," he added.

In the episode, Khan will share stories of change from all over the country. He will share India?s response to the various questions posed at the end of each episode with viewers as well as give details of all the donations collected for the various NGOs.

Mumbai: Star Plus that had opened the Sunday morning slot with Amir Khan?s Satyamev Jayate is replacing the big-budget show with another show that focuses on issues of social consequence, ?Lakhon Mein Ek?.

Starting 5 August the show will air every Sunday at 11 am. Satyamev Jayate, which went off air on 29 July, rated an average of 2-2.5 TVR.

?Lakhon Mein Ek? will feature stories of real life people who rose above the ordinary through choices they made - be it a young girl helping her widowed mother find marital bliss yet again or a father, who lost his son to ragging, start a sustained campaign against such abuse or a mother lend her womb to bear her daughter?s child. The person behind the story would be introduced at the end of each episode. The show will feature inspiring tales of courage that has the potential to change entrenched mindsets, the channel said.

Produced by Big Synergy, the show will be hosted by Pooja Gor who plays lead in Star Plus? fiction property ?Mann Ki Awaaz Pratigya?. Being the ?Sutradhar? of Lakhon Mein Ek, she will be introducing each story and guiding viewers with the key message from each episode.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, "Excellence and distinctiveness are values that are very often ignored. Satyamev Jayate reinforced what we knew about our viewers. They have an appetite for compelling stories that are built around the communities that we live in and that have a material impact on the kind of country we want to build and live in. Lakhon Mein Ek is consistent with that philosophy. The show itself is part of Star?s efforts to use TV?s reach and power to shape society?s outlook and mindset by making examples out of individuals who influence change."

Star Plus head Nachiket Pantvaidya added, "It?s Star doing its best to deliver content that helps transform mindsets through programmes that are sensitively made. Lakhon Mein Ek showcases people who are real heroes and who have dealt with difficult circumstances. Star Plus is committed to talking to masses and hence we are coming up with another show that relates to them. This is a new slot we are investing in and we want to create an area where we tackle issues that will touch people?s lives in multiple ways."