JULY 9, 2010

WHITE PAPER

INDIA’S SOFT POWER – “THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY”

Abstract
The Entertainment Industry in India is on the verge of emerging as a potential market globally. By attracting a large mass of International audience, it has earned for itself a global interest which is expected to fuel the growth of the Industry.
This report presents an analysis of the recent development, both international and domestic, in the Industry which have come as a result of intensive adaptation to the latest technologies and the care it has taken to ensure that it always move towards globalization and corporatization .It also experiences the entry of major corporate companies, thus expanding the current size.
INTRODUCTION
The Indian Entertainment Industry has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the country’s economy. Over the past decade, India has been the second fastest growing economy in the world. The major global corporations opine that it will become a key market in the years to come, sweeping the global Entertainment world with its unlimited potential.
As the Indian economy continues to perform strongly, the Indian middle class will also expand significantly. It is the growing consumer class with an increasing affinity to Entertainment that drives the Industry. This has resulted in an increase in the expenditures on entertainment. As a result of which the advertising revenues have also been on the rise. India is witnessing the growth of multiplexes that offer better viewing experience to the customers. The advent of many eminent players such as PVR, INOX, Satyam Cineplexes, and Shringar Films into the Industry has almost the changed the customer preferences for entertainment. It is worth mentioning that most of them have been setup in association with many shopping centres and malls in order to grab the attention of the customers and visitors. Since the younger generation is more likely to spend more on entertainment, the industry has the potential to grow explosively in the future.

The size of E&M in India in 2005 was estimated at INR 353 billion and was expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 19 percent by 2010 by looking at the pervious growth trends.

The television industry dominated the E&M industry by garnering a share of over 42 percent, which has reached to 51 percent. The share of the film industry, which currently stands at 19 percent, has not changed much. Print media, which stands at over 31 percent, is projected to lose some of its share in favour of the emerging segments. We can clearly follow the decrease as it is expected to stand with a share of 23percent.

LATEST TECHNOLOGIES
The Entertainment Industry in India comprises of many components viz. Film, Television, Advertising, Print Media and Music. Most of these components were performing sub-optimally and not able to utilize the potential available. However, now the skilled acting is being supplemented by advanced technologies since the Industry is adapting to the high-end digital technology to produce quality picture and sound effects. Some of fundamental technological breakthroughs like the introduction of DTH (Direct-to-home) and IP-TV (Internet Protocol Television) have spread the use of inexpensive and stable storage media among the Television audience. They will also give broadcasters direct access to consumers by enabling them with the ability to provide customised value-added services, such as video on demand. This improvement was actually driven by the lack of transparency in the declaration of subscribers by the middle men such as Local Cable Operators to the pay television broadcaster.

LATEST ADVANCEMENTS

State-of-the-art studios and extremely thoughtful post-production editing and screening are one of the latest enhancements to this Industry. Advancements in technology facilitate the Industry in almost all spheres – film production, film exhibition and marketing
The industry is increasingly getting more corporatized.
Several film production and distribution companies are coming out with public issues. They have started giving a message to the audience addressing several issues in a typical Indian society, through this medium. Many theatres across the country are getting upgraded to multiplexes and initiatives to set up more digital cinema halls across the country are already underway. This will not only improve the quality of prints and thereby make film viewing a more pleasurable experience, but also reduce piracy of prints.
ENTRY OF NEW PLAYERS
The most prominent entry was that of the Reliance Group into the Film Industry and segment of Radio. In 2005, it had bought a majority stake in Adlabs which enabled it to stand out from the others, in the various stages ranging from Production, exhibition and distribution. It also entered the Radio segment for over 50 FM radio stations.
The other significant entry into the Industry was that of the Tata group, through its subsidiary Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL). VSNL tied up with the Paris-based Thomson Group in 2005 with the motive of identifying “market” in managing and delivering content for third parties, including broadcasters and content providers. Thomson Group has entered into partnership with Tata Sky Limited for manufacturing set-top-boxes and providing sales service and support network for their DTH customers.
PRODUCTION HOUSES
Most of the companies specialize in Movies, Television, and Home Entertainment etc. Posters, and other advertising materials are published and the film is advertised.

DTH: The reception of satellite programmes with a personal dish in an individual home.
IPTV: Television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional cables, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.
The production team usually releases a film with launch parties, press releases, interviews with the press, and film festival screenings. The much awaited launch of the film is promoted through various media like the magazines based on films, on the Internet etc. This is all taken care by the Production House.
Below is list of some of the best entertainment companies in India. These mainly focus on Film and TV Channel production. Many of them have begun to work in other Indian languages other than Hindi after earning a name for them.
• Sony Pictures
• Zee Televisions
• Star TV
• Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd.
• UTV Software Ltd.
• Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd
PROSPECTIVE GROWTH The continuous growth of the Film Industry in India is can be related to the efforts it has put into establish a place for itself in the globalized world. However, the sluggishness of the growth is mainly due to the lack of effective regulatory initiatives and corporate investments. The digital lifestyle that the people have adopted and the drive from the economy can possibly make this component the dominant part of the Industry in the near future. This is can also be further improvised with the initiative by the government to confront the barriers that the Industry is facing.

The fast and steady growth of the Indian television industry is attributed to the subscription rates that the broadcaster is charging. They are projected to be the key drivers of the Industry. Further the power of the Indian economy will drive the rural population to buy televisions and subscribe for the pay services. The latest distribution platforms like the DTH and IPTV will only increase the subscriber base and increase the subscription revenues.
GLOBAL AUDIENCE
We, Indians have a cultural affinity for Entertainment. This fact highlights the contribution of the India Entertainment Industry in exhibiting the true culture and heritage of India beyond its geographical boundaries through various means. Nowadays the Entertainment Industry is known to be reviving the “glorious” Indian culture through the medium of Television channels and Films.
Indian films and the Indian television channels are viewed and enjoyed all across the world. In Indian movies women are modestly dressed, men and women rarely kiss, and there is no nudity, thus Indian movies are said to "have culture" that Hollywood films lack. Indian movies also have something in store for the new youth culture to follow without such ideological trends of “Westernizing”. It has audience from many parts of Asia, Middle East and Africa. The people from these parts of the world make sure that Indian films and the television serials are broadcast along with the regional entertainment programs and include them in their daily routine. In UK and North America (USA and Canada), the Indian Cinema and TV channels are gaining a lot of importance as the people there have begun to know a lot about the Indian culture and enjoy it. This must be one of the valid reasons for the remarkable growth of the Television Industry in the past decade. The Industry gained immense global recognition when the renowned musician, A R Rehman and sound designer Resul Pookutty won Oscars for their amazing work in Slum Dog Millionaire.
Many artists from India are making a career-shift into the Hollywood. For instance, Aishwarya Rai has been the most popular face in the Indian Cinema internationally. She has worked all her way to the Hollywood with movies of good acclaim.
Moreover the Indians living abroad prefer to opt for the Indian-oriented Entertainment as there are platforms which help them easily accessible to the content. Previously, most of the independent filmmakers had to rely on film festival to promote their films. Thanks to the Internet, that has facilitated the inexpensive distribution of films. The filmmakers who have not able to get good deals with the distribution of films are now able to reach the global audience at minimal cost.
Indian films are also projected at Cannes Film Festival where a team of renowned International artists form the jury and finally judge to pick will films that will receive a Cannes award. International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), whose advisory board consists of famous personalities of the Indian cinema like Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador, David Dhawan, Karan Johar, Jaya Bachchan etc., is involved in projecting and promoting Indian cinema globally to showcase the Indian culture to the world. This ensures that the films based on Indian themes are receiving wide visibility and recognition. We even have film societies working towards the development of children’s films. Take for instance, Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI), is chaired by the Actress Nandita Das, is very successful in its constant endeavours to produce quality films for the entertainment of the children. They make it a point to attract innovative ideas from the field of films, writing and animation. Their jury also has eminent dignitaries in the field from various parts of the world to make it a point to inspect every part of the film and thus regulate its contents.

FILM FUNDING
There are banks which help in funding for film production. They provide the funding for various stages ranging from film production, distribution and exhibition in overseas markets etc. They also grant loans for fixed asset finance and export market development.
REGULATORY BODIES
One of the most important regulations that can be established in the Industry in India is the Censorship. This is mainly to communal harmony and peace within the society. The Central Board of Film Certification regularly orders directors to remove anything it declares offensive or subjects considered politically unhealthy. It is also responsible for certifying the films as "U" for unrestricted public exhibition, "A" for public exhibition restricted to adults only, "UA" for unrestricted public exhibition with parental guidance for children below the age of 12 and "S" for exhibition to restricted audience such as doctors etc. It is very important to have a body that acts a content regulator. It would benefit the Industry to a large extent if it could be an autonomous organization to avoid the intervention of external factors.
EMPLOYMENT ASPECTS
Many people in India make their living out of the Industry. The popularity of the cinema artists in the Industry has not only made them recipients of awards both locally and globally, but also helped them procure the brand ambassadorship of certain leading brands of products in both domestic and international markets. Priyanka Chopra is associated with Nokia, a premier mobile company, Aishwarya with L’Oreal, an international leader in cosmetic products and so on. This endorsement helps both the company whose product is being endorsed and the helps make the promotion of the films easier globally by helping them gain popularity.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Looking at the way that the Indian films and the serials on Indian television channels are portraying Indian culture with their scripts, screenplay and direction, it seems quite obvious that the Entertainment Industry will arouse global interest in India’s rich culture and heritage. However, the shortest route to this would be found only when the Industry starts redressing its structure and gets rid of the most serious issues faced by it. Over about a decade, the television sector has emerged as both the largest and the fastest growing component in the entertainment industry. Moreover, several propelling steps like the introduction of efficient and alternative platforms (DTH and IP-TV) have been taken to accelerate the rate of growth.

There is a greater scope for the inflow of investments if certain barriers are addressed appropriately. One of the problems that plague the Industry is Piracy. Most of the efforts to combat piracy have been initiated by the industry. There is a strong need for establishing the anti-piracy laws from the government’s side.
In summary, the government and the regulators have to play their part in propelling the Industry forward. The Government should intervene into the affairs of the Industry with the idea of facilitating an investment friendly environment, provide policy/ regulatory clarity.
In another few years, it is bound to grow rapidly and become one of the greatest contributors to the GDP of the country.

REFERENCES
1. http://www.iifa.com/web07/cntnt/aboutiifa-advisoryboard.htm

2. http://www.cfsindia.org/

3. http://www.planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/9th/vol2/v2c7-4.htm

4. Growth figures extracted from “INDIAN ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY - FOCUS 2010: DREAMS TO REALITY”

5. http://www.mib.nic.in/
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING, INDIA