Mumbai: Speaking at the first session of the 24th edition of FICCI Frames the convention for the business of media and entertainment Sandhya Devanathan, Co-Chair FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, and Vice President and Head – Meta India said that AI, reels and messaging are the three key priorities for Meta.
“The time spent on our platform translates into three key priorities for us: 1. Using AI to actually give better returns for advertisers who use our platform and also for people to have more engaging experiences on our platform. This is a big driver for growth. 2. How reels and videos are becoming big growth drivers both for user engagement and how businesses are using it. 3. How has messaging taken off on our platforms. India is a very huge priority for Meta. We spend a lot of time building products for India, thinking about what appeals to the hundreds of millions of people who use our platform. We have also spent a lot of time building for businesses who find our platform useful.” she explains.
The first session was called Reinvent: Navigating the Future of Media and Entertainment Industry. The other panellists werec Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharati, Kevin Vaz, Chair, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, and Chief Executive Officer – Broadcast Entertainment, Viacom 18, Arjun Nohwar, Co-Chair, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, Senior Vice President and General Manager – India & South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sushant Sreeram, Country Head, Amazon Prime Video and Shripad Ashtekar, Chairman & Managing Director, Signpost India. The moderator was Ashish Pherwani, Partner, Ernst and Young
Devanathan noted that the company started AI sometime back when newsfeeds started to look different for different people. “You could see a big change where your newsfeed looked different from mine. That was powered by AI. It has been the fabric of what has held our platforms together and has helped grow our platform. We use AI on our platform to keep people safe and to show more engaging content. More than 25 per cent of content that you see on Instagram today is recommended by AI. We now also use it to power advertising returns.
“Nearly every business uses at least one AI-powered advertising product. This is something that we have seen take off.” She also noted that Large Language Models have been launched like Purple Llama. Generative AI is also important for Meta and people can use it to do background changes for example. Advertisers who use AI tools on Meta increase their productivity by one month. She said that media and entertainment should think about what this means. Reels have become the dominant form of consumption on Meta she explains. One can see how trends are being formed around Reels. Business messaging is growing rapidly, especially on WhatsApp. That also has implications. Businesses can think about both reels and messaging to see how they can best engage with their audience.
She added that the media and entertainment industry is not using Meta enough to get their content seen by consumers. It did a study with BCG. A lot of searching by consumers for what to view happens digitally. So media companies can use digital to enhance reach. She gave the example of the work done with the movie Fighter. “They used our platform super well. They got to 40 per cent of their target audience through just trailers on Reels. Media and entertainment companies need to think of a holistic way to reach consumers across all platforms. They shouldn’t use just one platform. Also companies need to think about interactivity. It is not enough to create passive content.”
She gave the example of Hritik Roshan doing a chat on Whatsapp to promote ‘Fighter’. Event reminders were also done and a lot of people clicked to buy a ticket as a result of this. Her mantra for 2024 is urgency given that India is at a huge inflection point.
Nohwar said that WBD has to think about when people consume content. That is the new area of focus. “We have to have a deep understanding of the ecosystem.” Earlier linear TV only thought about who, what and where people consume content. Now one has to look at a time like when a consumer is in an elevator or waiting in an airport for a flight to board or picking up one’s child from school. Those moments which can range from 30 seconds to six minutes will be very important. You have to make content derivatives on digital media from traditional content and create moments of truth, content that is bite-sized that leave a breadcrumb trail that enables consumers to return to linear TV to watch 40-50-minute episodic shows.
So platforms like YouTube, and Fast are important. It makes sense to be where the consumer’s attention is. But he noted that it is important not to create friction between this content and content being distributed on traditional platforms as that is where the money comes from. “That is what keeps the lights on.”
He noted that success in the kids and factual entertainment space like other genres will come from having a deep understanding of changing consumer preferences. Then you have to tailor or make IPs, content, and story arcs that are relevant to consumers and delight and inspire them. They should find content endearing. His mantra for 2024 is consolidation and playing on strengths.
Sreeram noted that phenomenal growth is being seen. Video streaming has become a dominant use case for Internet users. A large part is coming from outside the Metros. Customers he noted sit across the spectrum of accessibility, affordability, what languages they want to watch content in, what their entertainment needs are. There is no one single customer. So the company focuses on building solutions not forcing the consumer to make a choice between this or that. Prime Video is doing incredibly well. India is a top market for Prime Video adoption. The channels business he said has grown phenomenally and there are now over 20 partners like The BBC, Hoichoi, and Discovery. Movie rentals have been huge. Mini TV its free ad-supported service has seen a 40 per cent jump.
It is all about driving value. When asked about the prospects for free television Dwivedi said that while there is continuing debate that the cord cutters is increasing Freedish has been growing continuously and consistently. In 2003 when it started the industry was in a nascent stage. It set the context for the industry to grow. It called broadcasters to bid for slots. Revenues were Rs. 800 crores and it was looking at ways to grow that. A tweak was done in the methodology and in one year the revenue jumped by 45 per cent. The same trend has been maintained this year as well. “Set-top boxes are here to stay. They are very settled, well entrenched and at lease for the foreseeable future they are going to grow as well.” he maintains.
When asked about opportunities and challenges Vaz noted that Viacom18 is a content company. It is platform agnostic. It is not about focussing on traditional or digital. The goal is to create content that cuts across screens. He agreed with Nohwar that the when is important. “Most successful media companies keep a very close tab on consumers.” The key is to understand what consumers want, where they want it and when they want it. He gave the example of BiggBoss reality show. It plays across TV and digital. 30 per cent of viewership comes from digital. A lot of viewership comes from JioCinema as the same airs on TV. The question is what does the broadcaster give the digital consumers of BiggBoss? Offer special content before the airing of the episode? His mantra for 2024 is agility and flexibility.
When asked about the high cost of content in terms of things like film acquisitions Sreeram noted that the investment is based on the goal of building this category over a very long period of time. Also, the aim is to create great cinematic storytelling that customers value. That ecosystem should be created across the board and this is an investment that is well worth it. Tentpoles matter. Investments are looked at how customers can be brought in to enjoy Prime. This changes how customers evaluate what is value for money. “This gives us the impetus to continue to make investments. Finally, I want to say that we realise that there are only so many stories that we can make. So we are always excited about the partnerships that we can forge with creators, and channel partners to build a true media and entertainment marketplace.” The aim is to make Prime Video the preferred entertainment destination regardless of whether the company is itself making the content or somebody else is doing it. 100 projects are in various stages of development. His mantra for 2024 is dynamism.
