FICCI Frames 2008 ended with a valedictory session that saw speakers like Ron Somers, President, US Business Council (USIBC); Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary-General, FICCI; actor Ranbir Kapoor; Bobby Bedi, MD, Kaleidoscope; and Yash Chopra, Chairman, FICCI Frames, discuss the importance of intellectual property.
IPL. ICL, cricket and some more cricket dominated the session on ‘Sports: The big entertainment options’. First came Kerry Packer’s so-called ‘Pyjama Cricket’, then day and night matches, and now the Twenty20 format. From a serious game, cricket is increasingly assuming an entertainment format. The sparring by Ajay Jadeja and Lalit Modi further enlivened a lively discussion.
What’s holding back the domestic film and entertainment industry from competing with the best in the word when it comes to post-production aspects like visual effects, 3D content, animation, etc? Is it the lack of talent pool or is it the lack of saleable content? Whatever be the reasons, the fact is that post-production is an area that the domestic industry needs some catching up, if it is compete with the West.
Staggering figures these and should jolt the industry and the Government into fighting piracy in a big way. A study carried out by Ernst & Young India for USIBC has some alarming figures to highlight how much piracy is harming the industry. According to the study, piracy is costing India to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore every year.
Out-of-Home advertising has been a poor cousin in terms of ad spends for years as compared to television and print. However, fevelopments in the digital arena have heralded a new revolution in these ‘traditional’ mediums. OOH advertising has been getting its share of benefits from the digital revolution in the form of newer display options and even some tracking tools.
Multiplexes have to be multi-purpose when it comes to revenue generation, this was how the session titled ‘Multiplexes: Multi-revenue streams’ can be summed up. Films are just one of the ways to earn revenues for a multiplex company. With the changing times and the radically changing nature of consumers, multiplexes have been forced to explore innovative ways to make more money.
The rapid growth of mobile phones has impacted traditional media in a big way, with both print and television media shifting to digital modes and increasingly using mobile phones and the Internet. This phenomenon is, in fact, resulting in the emergence of a whole new behaviour, called social broadcasting. <b><i>Robin Thomas</i></b> reports.
Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi, who had acted together in Yash Chopra’s ‘Chandni’ years ago, were conferred with the FICCI Living Legend in Entertainment Industry Award 2008 for their excellent contribution to Bollywood on the concluding day of the Convention.
With the faster penetration of mobile telephony and growth of FM radio stations, the business of music is growing as well as changing, providing a whole world of options for listeners too. The session on ‘Changing trends in music’ on the concluding day of FICCI Frames 2008 had industry leaders and other stakeholders discussing the impact of changing listeners’ choice on the industry.
Running a business has never been easy. With the multiple rules and regulations involved, co-productions have been tougher. The panel on ‘The Business of Animation: A global team effort’, shared their experiences on setting up and going forward with their business models in the animation industry, including television production and feature length theatrical animation films.
The curtains came down on one more edition of FICCI Frames on Thursday evening. It was three days of hectic talk sessions, frenetic networking, and generally being a part of the great M&E jamboree in this part of the continent. The I&B Minister was conspicuous by his absence this year – which meant policy announcements were missing.
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Spending on alternative media hit $73.43 billion in 2007, a 22% increase over the previous year, and will continue to grow, according to PQ Media's Alternative Media Forecast: 2008-2012, released today. The research firm tracked 18 digital and nontraditional segments, with a combined 16.1% of total advertising and marketing dollars in 2007, up from 7.9% in 2002, yielding a compound annual growth rate of 21.7%.
Maruti Suzuki India has expanded its portfolio of sedans with the launch of the Swift DZire on March 26. Like the earlier Maruti Suzuki models, Swift and SX4, DZire too is set to redefine the market and stir excitement in the entry-level sedan segment. It is priced between Rs 4.50 lakh and Rs 6.70 lakh.
Rediffusion DYR has appointed Arun Mahajan as National Business Head for the LG Electronics business. Mahajan will look after all the verticals of LGEIL, including the brand portfolio. He moves from Bates David Enterprise, where he was Vice-President, Account Management, and was looking after the Nokia business.
Sahara News has entered into an agreement with Naman Communication to outsource the marketing of its regional news channel in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Naman Communication is an SPV in which Prabhatam Advertising and Kamaljit Singh Ahluwalia, a businessman with interests in mining, have a 50:50 stake.
The Asia Pacific Advertising Festival or AdFest, the annual advertising festival aimed at celebrating creativity in Asia pacific region, officially kicked off on March 26 in Pattaya, Thailand, with the concurrent screenings of 761 TV award entries and an exhibition of numerous works.
At a time when Rakhi Sawant’s antics get equal news footage, perhaps sometimes even more, than the farmers’ suicides in Vidarbha, credibility of news goes out of the window. In order to take stock of what is wrong (or right) with journalism and news reporting today, Lokmat Times is organising a Media Conclave on March 27. The Conclave also marks the English daily’s 21st anniversary.
BAG Films & Media Ltd is launching its second channel, E24, touted as the country’s first entertainment news channel, on March 27. BAG Films’ media division Broadcast24 had earlier launched the News24 channel. E24 is targeted at all avid Bollywood fans, which makes it non-specific to a particular age group.
Today, the airwaves are alive with more than the sound of music. In the session enthusiastically titled ‘Radio Rocks’, panelists at FICCI Frames 2008 were gaga over the medium, calling it cost-effective, easy to access, delivering content on a local basis, etc. Radio honchos had a lot of relevant points to make at the session.
Licensing and merchandising of animated characters have become the norm today, and with the industry reaching a worth of a few billion dollars in a market like the US, possibilities have opened up, and everyone wants a piece of the pie. It has become important to ensure that revenue streams don’t dry up felt speakers at FICCI Frames 2008.
Intellectual Property is a valuable asset for content owners and distributors alike. However, confusing rules and regulations governing this aspect of animation in India have marred its progress. FICCI Frames 2008, through its session on ‘Animation IP Creation, Protection and Life Cycle’, tried to give some clarity on the topic.
Day 2 of the ongoing FICCI Frames 2008 in Mumbai concluded with the BAF Awards. The Awards honour excellence in animation, visual effects and gaming segments of the entertainment industry. This year, the popular ‘Return of Hanuman’ bagged the BAF Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Day 2 at FICCI Frames 2008 began with an interesting panel discussion on ‘What, Where & How: Media choices in the expanding universe’. With the exit of analog and entry of digital TV options like IPTV, HDTV, DTH, digital video recorders, etc., new challenges and opportunities have emerged in the broadcast sector.