The CII-BCG Knowledge Report on future of the Indian Media & Entertainment industry, which was released at the recently concluded 2019 edition of CII Big Picture Summit, outlines some of the critical areas based on an extensive research, which can spark action as the industry looks to outpace its past success in the challenging times ahead

As Indian Media and Entertainment Industry has set the bar high on generating compelling content, creating new experiences for both their viewers and advertisers, it has led to the growth of trillion touchpoints along with the advertising dollars. But to ensure a steady rise in the Industry’s growth trajectory in future, the stakeholders will have to keep on raising the bar to meet the ever growing expectations and brace for challenges ahead, says a report prepared by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Confederation of Indian Industry.

Released at the recently held Big Picture Summit from November 14 to 15, the report titled ‘The Trillion (and Growing) Touchpoint Story-Recognizing the Monetization Conundrum says: “The coming year is truly pivotal for the industry as they seek to raise the bar once again in possibly challenging times ahead.”

The authors of the report applaud the achievements of the industry. “We are proud & delighted to say that the industry has come out with flying colors on the consumption front to maintain the growth momentum with our trillion touchpoints increasing steadily. The increasing monetization levels and growth of advertisement dollars are also strong testaments to the high levels of engagement between the industry and its stakeholders, the value being created,” they say.

However, they also caution that “we do need to be cognizant of the possible uncertainty up ahead in the coming days”. They go on to outline some of the critical areas “which can enhance the value disproportionately”. The report hopes that the insights provided by it would help “structure the imperatives and sparks action as we move towards a new tomorrow which is better than today

The report has been divided into four sections, giving useful insights into: consumption patterns, consumer engagement drivers and trends, advertising trends and key recommendations to take the industry forward.

According to the report, the consumption pattern present a positive picture as video continues to gain share within the digital pie; a favourable macro environment providing tailwinds that has been leveraged by the industry to fuel growth; steady growth of the trillion touchpoints especially with share of digital increasing; and a highly engaged set of consumers being witnessed.

“While traditional media is growing at a steady pace, digital media is driving overall growth with at a 16% CAGR over the past 2 years,” it says. Digital video consumption has increased from 11mins/day to 24mins/ day over the past 2 years. Over 2018, this has been driven by: 10-15% increase in numbers of sessions; 15-25% increase in average time per session, according to the report

AVERAGE DIGITAL VIDEO CONSUMPTION IN THE COUNTRY HAS INCREASED OVER TWO FOLD IN THE PAST TWO YEARS TO 24 MINUTES PER DAY FROM 11 MINUTES PER DAY. AN INCREASE OF 10-15 PER CENT IN THE NUMBER OF SESSIONS (HOURS PER DAY). CONSUMPTION GROW

Steps taken by industry, such as offering affordable plans, forging partnership to provide free content, large breadth of “relevant” content, and creating interesting ads on different platforms have also played a crucial role in increasing content consumption.

“The high levels of engagement are starting to address the issue of monetization which traditionally has been the proverbial elephant in the room. Consumers are increasingly looking to move beyond trials but the funnel flow is still small compared to the large scale investments being made by players to both acquire and retain consumers,” says the report.

However, the report goes on to add that the consumer research suggests that “the path being taken is the right one as users proclaim high stickiness and tendency to pay with the spend on media expected to follow the “lipstick effect” even in challenged environments”.

“Video viewing seems to be largely economy agnostic, and consumers are expected to increase spending in the near future,” the report notes.

When it comes to advertisers, the report says that they “understand and appreciate the manifold advantages – better targeting, lesser wastage, ability to drive brand building through interactive experiences, among others”.

But the report also points out that questions on effectiveness and efficacy still remain in the absence of transparent and verifiable data, as concerns are getting louder. “The advertisers do want to the industry to quickly fix some of the inherent issues like transparent measurement of ROMI (return on marketing investment).” Psychometric approach of targeting needs a deeper understanding of consumer behavior, which is facilitated through digital, it says. “Possible challenging environment ahead may impact status quo and lead to tough decisions,” the authors of the report caution.

The report calls for “deep introspection and high levels of innovation”, as the coming year will be a pivotal one for the industry which looks to balance the imperative of growth and helping translate the trillion (and growing) touchpoints into a more sustainable & value accretive proposition for all the stakeholders.

The M&E growth till now has been made possible by the embracement of disruptions like digital and increased internet usage and turning it to an advantage. “There has been a common agenda and cohesion of imperatives across all the stakeholders– broadcasters, publishers, media agencies, advertisers, regulators, government agencies, among others, to make this possible,” the report notes, adding that if the past is anything to go by then the industry will not only rise to the expectations but turn the adversity into an advantage.

INDIA HAS THE SECOND LARGEST BASE OF SMARTPHONES IN THE WORLD, SETTING UP A MASSIVE PLATFORM FOR DIGITAL VIDEO CONSUMPTION. MOREOVER, INDIA HAS WITNESSED A DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN DATA COST OVER THE PAST 2-3 YEARS. THIS IS LEADING TO HIGHER DATA USAGE — INDIA HAS THE HIGHEST PER-CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF DATA AT 9.8 GIGABYTES PER MONTH