Pickle May 2021 Edition

www.pickle.co.in May | 2021

P Jayakumar CEO, Toonz Animation Group

ANIMATION MASTERS SUMMIT 2021 4-8 MAY

Spreading Positivity Expanding Toonz’s global footprint and transforming it for new age viewing and learning in its 21st year, P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Animation Group, tells Pickle that how the Indian animation pioneer is spreading positivity through MyToonz OTT platform, online animation education arm Ri8Brain and partnership with studios globally www.pickle.co.in 1 India’s Only Media BIZ magazine for the world

Ketan Mehta

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Nina Sabnani

Ketan Mehta, Nina Sabnani To Be Honoured At Animation Masters Summit 2021

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M K Stalin As CM: What DMK’s Victory Means To Tamil Cinema

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Roberto Benigni To Get Golden Lion At Venice For Lifetime Achievement

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Dr S. Raghunath

Chairperson, Centre For Corporate Governance and Citizenship Professor of Strategy IIM Bangalore

26 16

E-Sports A Blockbuster Opportunity

Toonz Animation Group: Pandemic Compelled Us To Think Global

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FICCI EY M&E Report: New Rules Of Engagement www.pickle.co.in India’s Only Media BIZ magazine for the world

Picture taken from the short film Alison, CITIA & GOBELINS, l’école de l’image – Graphic design: fullstory.fr

THE INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL

14 TH -19TH JUNE 2021 MIFA

15 TH -18TH JUNE 2021

WWW.ANNECY.ORG 4

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from t he e d ito r

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ndia is going through the toughest of the COVID-19 battle across the length and breath of the country. Almost the entire cinema centers of India are impacted. The impact is more severe than what was experienced at the same time last year. The number of COVID cases is rising and the film, TV, digital media and virtual production companies and studios are affected. We are optimistic that things will get better in the next fortnight as measures to break the chain of transmission are on full swing. It is becoming very clear that the film industry will be impacted for the next 12 to 18 months and reality is likely to dawn sometime by October-November 2022. We will do the state of industry report in our subsequent issues.

We are running a detailed interview we did recently with Indian animation pioneer P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Animation Group who in the pandemic times has found new opportunities through the integration of digital platforms and remote collaboration for the studio.

Expanding Toonz’s global footprint and transforming it for new age viewing and learning in its 21st year, Jayakumar tells Pickle that how the studio is spreading positivity through MyToonz OTT platform, online animation education arm Ri8Brain and partnership with studios globally. Toonz has transformed from a small startup into a major studio with 1000 artists and staff working directly and around 2000 indirectly through associate partners. In the toughest

times of the last one year, Toonz Animation produced 5,000 minutes of 2D and 3,000 minutes of 3D animation content.

Toonz Animation Studio is also sticking to its schedule to organise its annual Animation Masters Summit 2021 in virtual format (May 4-8). Two industry veterans will be felicitated with legendary awards. Veteran filmmaker, media entrepreneur and Indian animation industry pioneer Ketan Mehta and artist, filmmaker and art academic Prof. Nina Sabnani will be honoured at the 2021 edition of Animation Masters Summit.

In addition to that, Screenwriter Meg LeFauve, Music composer Vidjay Beerepoot, Licensing and Merchandising expert Jigy George, Advertising veteran Rahul daCunha and Writer, director and creative producer Vani Saraswathi Balgam are the five ‘masters’ who will present their vision talk for the 2021 edition.

We have also presented the FICCIEY Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2020 with nuggets from industry leaders on their insights on where we are going next.

We have some exciting issues in the pipeline over the next few weeks presenting a reality check on the changing Indian media and entertainment sector.

n vidyasagar pickle media nat@pickle.co.in, www.pickle.co.in

Pickle Volume XV 6th Edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com l Mumbai l Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

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Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the filmed entertainment business in India.

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M K Stalin as CM

What DMK’s Victory Means to Tamil Cinema The relationship between the DMK and Tamil film industry dates back to the days of the party’s founder and former Chief Minister C N Annadurai, who was a famed script writer

M K Stalin

S

oon after the DMK posted a spectacular victory in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2021, greetings from Tamil film industry were among the first to pour in on the party’s president M K Stalin, who will assume charge as the Chief Minister in a few days.

The reasons are many, with the prime being the party’s proximity with the film industry and the incumbent government ignoring the long-pending demands of Tamil cinema.

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The relationship between the DMK and Tamil film industry dates back to the days of the party’s founder and former Chief Minister C N Annadurai, who was a famed script writer. So was his successor M Karunanidhi, who, besides penning scripts till his last years, was an active patron of Tamil cinema. The party’s present youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin is an actorproducer, with films such as Oru Kal Oru Kannadi, Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal, Nanbenda and Manithan to his credit. He is entering Tamil Nadu Assembly for the first time from Chepauk-Triplicane constituency, which was his grandfather Karunanidhi’s bastion.

Son of the new Chief Minister, he has been in this field (he is still an active actor and producer- Red Giant Movies) and knows the pulse of the sector -- especially the pains of the producer. This give hope they will be listened to.

Industry leaders believe DMK’s victory will benefit the Tamil film industry. It will also benefit the production, distribution and exhibition value chain.

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Udayanidhi Stalin, son of the new Tamilnadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has been in the showbiz (he is still an active actor and producerRed Giant Movies) and knows the pulse of the sector -- especially the pains of the producer. This give hope to the Tamil film Industry representatives that they will be listened to

Especially in COVID times when theatres are closed and production has come to a halt, industry leaders expect their voice to be heard better

by DMK than by the AIADMK when Covid hit first phase. While Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh film fraternity got more benefits and local sops than what were offered to tamil film industry is the general feeling among stakeholders.

Kalignar TV, the DMK’s official television channel, is already looking at a makeover and revival can see visible changes in the next few months. Remember Kalaignar TV was known for buying films for good price when the DMK was in the power a decade ago.

Tamil, the second biggest film and TV market after Hindi is likely to see a flurry of OTT platforms focusing and targeting Tamil audiences -- Amazon Prime Tamil, Netflix Tamil, Sony LIV Tamil, Aha Tamil, rolled out soon.

ZEE5 and SunNxt are already active content aggregators for their OTT platform. This space is likely to get a shot in the arm.

While Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala have drafted AVGC and AR/VR policy (Animation VFX, Gaming Comics ), Tamil Nadu has an opportunity in the virtual production space and room for growth in the AVGC sector with a chalked out policy.

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Udayanidhi Stalin

There are over 100 animation and VFX companies in Tamil Nadu and there is a huge opportunity to look at an AVGC sector and create a cluster for AVGC sector in Tamil Nadu. If the opportunity is tapped well, around 10,000 new jobs can be created in the State.

Interestingly, it was Tamil Nadu the frontrunner in animation sector.

Pentamedia set the ball rolling in this field in the mid-90s itself and many top guns of today’s leading AVGC companies have their roots in Pentamedia.

As Tamil Nadu stands as a top cinema production centre of India, a state-ofthe-art AVGC cluster will bring in top animation, VFX, gaming and virtual production studios to expand in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil cinema produces 300 plus films, 1100 theatres are functioning and it is a Rs 5000 crore industry. Tamil TV and film industry provide talent and skill sets across Indian film and TV sector.

Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry put together has around 23 million TV households (all India 210 million) With film industry bodies congratulating Stalin for the victory, hopes are high on the DMK government. Let them get fulfilled.

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78th Venice International Film Festival

Roberto Benigni

to Get Golden Lion

at Venice

For Lifetime Achievement

Right from his debut, marked by his innovative and irreverent approach to rules and traditions, Roberto Benigni stands out in the panorama of the Italian performing arts

Roberto Benigni Actor, Filmmaker

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ouble Oscar winner Roberto Benigni, a renowned actorfilmmaker, will receive this year’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 78th Venice International Film Festival. The festival in physical format will take place from September 1-11, 2021.

Right from his debut, marked by his innovative and irreverent approach to rules and traditions, Roberto Benigni stands out in the panorama of the Italian performing arts.

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The decision was made by the board of La Biennale di Venezia, which embraced the proposal of the Festival’s Director, Alberto Barbera.

Alberto Barbera said, “Right from his debut, marked by his innovative and irreverent approach to rules and traditions, Roberto Benigni stands out in the panorama of the Italian performing arts as an unprecedented and unequaled figure of reference.

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My heart is full of joy and gratitude. It is an immense honor to receive such an important recognition of my work from the Venice International Film Festival

Juggling his appearances on theatrical stages, movie sets, and television studios, each time with surprising results, he shines in all of them thanks to his exuberance and impetuosity, his generous way with the public, and the passionate joyfulness that is perhaps the most original hallmark of his opus.”

He added: “With admirable eclecticism, and always true to form, he is one of the most extraordinary comedy actors in an admittedly rich gallery of Italian performers; a memorable director who makes enormously popular movies; and, his most recent transformation, one of the most esteemed performers and popularizers of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’.

Few artists have equaled his ability to combine explosive comic timing, which is often accompanied by irreverent satire, with his admirable talent as an actor – at the service of great directors such as Federico Fellini, Matteo Garrone, and Jim Jarmusch – and as an engaging and sophisticated literary exegete.”

Accepting the honour, Benigni said, “My heart is full of joy and gratitude.

It is an immense honor to receive such an important recognition of my work from the Venice International Film Festival.”

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Roberto Benigni Actor, Filmmaker

Benigni was born in Misericordia (Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo) on October 27, 1952. He began his career in the early 1970s and soon became one of Italy’s most beloved and popular actors, directors, and screenwriters, well-known and appreciated throughout the world.

His film La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful, 1997), which he wrote and directed, received the 1998 Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and in 1999, of the seven Oscar nominations the movie received, it won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor (as well as Best Music, awarded to Nicola Piovani). With the same film in 1999 he won the Screen Actor Guild and Bafta award as Best Actor.

La vita è bella is Italian cinema’s most popular movie: 9.7 million spectators.

And it goes down in the history of Italian cinema as the Italian movie that has totaled the highest number of spectators worldwide.

Roberto Benigni stands out in the panorama of the Italian performing arts as an unprecedented and unequaled figure of reference

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TV VIEWERSHIP IN INDIA

Indian TV Universe Expanding: BARC Study There is an increase in TV households of nearly 3.2 million in Urban India and 10.3 million in Rural India; TV sets in rural India took over urban India, while Hindi-speaking markets grew the highest in the country, says Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC’s) TV Universe Estimates (UEs) 2020 study According to the TV Universe Estimates (UEs) 2020, TV Homes in India increased by 6.9% to 210 million from previous 197 million in 2018. TV viewing Individuals grew by 6.7%, effectively an increase of 56 million since the last study was conducted two years back.

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rowth in TV viewership corresponds to the pattern of regional growth of the population, says a new study conducted by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India suggesting higher growth in TV viewership in the Hindi-speaking markets when compared to southern states.

BARC is 60% owned by Indian Broadcasting Foundation, 20% by The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and 20% by The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA). Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is a unified representative body of the television broadcasters in India. BARC is the only rating currency in India that enables advertisers to decide on buying ads and broadcasters to design and curate programmes.

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The report adds that the growth of ownership of TV sets in rural India took over urban India, with rural TV markets growing at 9% compared to 4% in the urban markets.

“In absolute terms, there is an increase in TV households of nearly 3.2 Mn in Urban India and 10.3 Mn in Rural India. TV households grew in all town classes of Urban markets with megacities growing by 6%,” the study points out.

In terms of regional growth, the study finds out that TV households have increased in all reporting states/ state groups in 2020. “The growth in overall HSM states is relatively higher than the South states due to an already high TV penetration. Bihar/ Jharkhand, Assam/NE and Odisha have seen double digit growth in TV households,” it adds.

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Female

187.1

248.3

435.4

4%

10%

7%

Male

196.7

259.9

456.6

3%

9%

6%

Total

383.8

508.2

892

3%

9%

7%

Individuals by Age Groups (in Millions) Table 4. Individuals by Age Groups (in Millions)

All India

TV Individuals in Millions

% Change over 2018

Age Groups

Urban

Rural

Total (U+R)

Urban

Rural

Total (U+R)

2 to 14

87.8

141.8

229.6

3%

13%

9%

15 to 21

55

73

128

4%

6%

5%

22 to 30

71.3

86.9

158.3

5%

10%

7%

31 to 40

63.8

76.1

139.9

3%

10%

7%

41 to 50

47.3

56.2

103.5

2%

7%

4%

51 to 60

30.6

37

67.7

3%

8%

6%

61+

27.9

37.1

65

2%

7%

5%

Total

383.8

508.2

892

3%

9%

7%

Simulation of the New UEs on TV Viewership Data The increase in the TVthe population an overall growth in TV viewership.

In line Among individual markets, report has resulted TVinHomes in India increased indicates with that Hindi-speaking the the pattern of regional growth of the population, TV viewership has grown more in by5).6.9% to 210 million from markets grew by 8%, the Assam/NE highest inand theOdisha (Table Bihar/Jharkhand, Similarly, TV viewership of upper NCCS (A country. TV viewership indue southern previous in has and B) has increased to increase in population while lower197 NCCSmillion profile (NCCS CDE) states, in comparison, grew by 5%. seen a drop of around 12% at all India level. 2018.

(Table 6). TV viewing Individuals This growth pattern has been found to grew by 6.7%, effectively TOTAL TV Viewership (AMA’000s) be in line with the pattern of regional an increase of 56 million growth ofTable the5 -population.

“Similarly, TOTAL TV Viewership (AMA’000s) by State/State Groups TV viewership of upper NCCS Regions (Ind 2+)(A and OLD NEW Index since the last study was India 89061 93797 105 B) has increased due to increase in conducted two years back 54733 58300 107 populationHSM while lower NCCS profile Assam/North East/Sikkim 2234 2653 119 (NCCS CDE) has seen a drop of around Bihar/Jharkhand 3430 4168 122 12% at all India level.”

“The share of DD Free Delhi 2863 platforms.

2973 104 In terms of genres, few genres such as Dish has increased to 19% from 13% Guj/D&D/DNH 5295 5509 104 Hindi News, Sports, English Movies and Har/HP/J&K 2619 in 2018, and 2634the share 101 of Cable TV has Devotional/Spiritual show a doubleto 48%,” says Mah/Goa 11381 decreased 12089 106 the study. digit growth. “Viewership of Bhojpuri, MP/Chhattisgarh 6080 The 6389 report also105 suggests that Assamese and Oriya channels have Odisha 2739 the socio-economic 3094 113 profile of the grown significantly higher than other Pun/Cha 2688 TV viewers 2818 has105improved over genres,” says the study.

Rajasthan 2610 the years 2810with households 108 in the Since the TV UP/Uttarakhand population increase is 6785 highest 6879 101 socio-economic strata — lower in the South market compared West Bengal 6010 A and B6284 105 — increasing to 27% and to HSM, viewership increase of 31% respectively, while TV UEs 2020 is the intellectual property of BARC India, and all copyrights are reserved.

P athose g e | 5 in the Southern genres is also comparatively lower strata contracting to 9% of TV lower. Kannada Movies has dropped households in India. marginally, it adds.

“In the recent years, a limited number The number of female TV owners of media studies have been conducted increased by 7%, beating the male (e.g., Indian Readership Survey population by one percent. This trend IRS). These studies have indicated was mainly driven by Rural India. On that the NCCS profile of the Indian the other hand, the highest growth in population is changing as people have numbers was seen in the population been moving up on the socioeconomic of kids (i.e., 2 to 14 years), where TV pyramid. BARC India has also viewership grew at 9%, while 22 to observed this change in the NCCS 40-year-old TV viewers in rural India profile of TV panel households,” said were found to be higher than other age BARC in a press statement. groups.

“TV Universe Estimates (UEs) play an The study also finds that HD important role in the structuring of viewership has grown by 15% BARC India’s sample design, ensuring at all India level with relatively the panel reflects a true microcosm higher growth observed in Bihar/ of India. Updated TV UEs ensure that Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra the weighting and calibration systems and Rajasthan. Also, TV viewership properly, and accurately, project has grown on free and pay platforms audience estimates to the population with higher growth observed on pay and are free of any bias,” BARC added.

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ANIMATION MASTERS SUMMIT 2021

Masters

to Speak Out

at summit Screenwriter Meg LeFauve, Music composer Vidjay Beerepoot, Licensing and Merchandising expert Jigy George, Advertising veteran Rahul daCunha and Writer, director and creative producer Vani Saraswathi Balgam are the five ‘masters’ for the Animation Masters Summit 2021 edition organised by Toonz Media Group

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asters of animation industry will share their thoughts and speak their mind out at the 2021 edition of Animation Masters Summit.

Screenwriter Meg LeFauve, Music composer Vidjay Beerepoot, Licensing and Merchandising expert Jigy George, Advertising veteran Rahul daCunha and Writer, director and creative producer Vani Saraswathi Balgam are the five ‘masters’ for the 2021 edition.

Oscar nominated, Annie Awardwinning screenplay writer Meg LeFauve holds the writing credits for some of the most popular animation features of our times. Marvel’s blockbuster Captain Marvel, Pixar hits Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur to name just a few.

Meg began her film career as a producer and President of Egg Pictures, where she produced Emmy and Golden Globe nominated films.

A storyteller par excellence, Meg has taught at the American Film Institute and served as co-chair of the Graduate Producers Program at University of California’s School of Film and Television, where she taught master level story and development classes for several years.

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Vidjay Beerpoot is the man behind the soulful score of the new animation feature Ainbo and the edgy soundscape of Netflix’s The Little Vampire 3D. Adopted from India and brought up in the Netherlands, Vidjay has gone through an interesting creative journey through different cultures all the way to Hollywood. Today, based in Los Angeles, he composes music for movies, TV shows and video games all over the world, including for Disney, Netflix, Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, Sony and Nickelodeon.

Jiggy George began his career as a designer and then went on to work with some of the top media and entertainment brands, right from MTV and Pogo to Viacom and Times of India.

From award-winning commercials to the country’s longest running ad campaign, ad man Rahul daCunha’s portfolio is formidable, to say the least.

Working with some of the biggest and oldest brands in India, Rahul mastered the art of snugly positioning brands in the public psyche through immensely relatable, riveting campaigns.

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Most notable being the campaign for Amul, widely adored for its subtle, superbly-timed social commentary.

But advertising is only one side of this creative genius. As a theatre artist, Rahul has worked on some avantgarde productions as a director and playwright. His plays have travelled across the world from Australia to USA. Vani Saraswathi Balgam started associating with the animation industry at a time when the rest of us would have just started watching animation. Thanks to her dad, who started an independent 2D animation studio out of their home, Vani grew up in an exhilarating creative environment throughout her childhood.

Starting with painting, photography and amateur film-making as a teenager, she went on to establish a successful career in animation.

She worked as the Head of Creative Management for DreamWorks Animation in Shanghai and as Executive Director of Rhythm & Hues studio in India. She managed the teams of artists and technicians that created the VFX and digital characters in Academy Award- winning movies like Life of Pi, The Golden Compass and The Chronicles of Narnia.

At the inaugural session, the welcome speech will be delivered by P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Media Group.

This will be followed by a keynote

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address by filmmaker and founder of Whistling Woods Films Institute Subash Ghai.

Then comes the felicitation and AMS Awards declaration by Ashish Kulkarni, FICCI Chairman for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic Forum.

Prof Nina Sabnani, winner of the Legend of Indian Animation Award at Animation Masters Summit 2021 and Ketan Mehta, winner of Special Contribution to Indian Animation Industry Award for his overall contributions to the industry, will deliver the acceptance speech.

On Day 2, the Ed Tech panel discussion to start at 10 am IST will have Ashish Kulkarni as moderator. The panelists are Dhimant Vyas, Chief Creative Director, Byjus, Dr M Srinivasan, Founder, GEAR Foundation, Prerna Jhunjhunwala, Founder, Little Paddington and Creative Galileo and Sasikumar Pillai, Executive Director, Toonz Education Services. From 11.30, there will be an in conversation session with Rahul daCunha.

While Day 3 will have an in conversation session with MegLeFauve and session

by Jiggy George, Day 4 will have sessions by Vidjay Beerepoot and Vani Saraswathi Balgam.

On the last day of the summit, there will be an AWN panel discussion. Dan Sarto will be the moderator. This will be followed by Ri8brain launch.

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Ketan Mehta,

Nina Sabnani to be honoured at Animation Masters

Summit 2021

Organised by Toonz Media Group, the virtual Summit will be held from May 4 to 8, 2021, over the Zoom platform eteran filmmaker, media entrepreneur and Indian animation industry pioneer Ketan Mehta and artist, filmmaker and art academic Prof. Nina Sabnani will be honoured at the 2021 edition of Animation Masters Summit.

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including The Stitches Speak (Tanko Bole Chhe), Baat Wahi Hai (It’s the Same Story) and Mukand and Riaz.

Organised by Toonz Media Group, the virtual Summit will be held from May 4 to 8, 2021, over the Zoom platform.

She will be awarded the Legend of Indian Animation Award at Animation Masters Summit 2021.

Sabnani, who teaches at the IDC School of Design, at IIT Bombay, is one of the first women artists to foray into the field of animation in India.

Hailed as a brilliant visual storyteller and recipient of several national and international awards, she received the National Award for Best Animation Film for her film Hum Chitra Banate Hai. A Fulbright Fellow, Prof. Sabnani has also done extensive research in the areas of Folklore, Visual Ethnography, Participatory Filmmaking and learning pedagogies of traditional artists, among others.

She is also the author of several books on traditional art and design and has been acclaimed for her documentaries and short-films

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In 2018 she received the lifetime achievement award (BLBA) for Illustration from Tata Trusts at the Tata Lit Live Festival at Mumbai.

Ketan Mehta, best known for awardwinning films like Bhavni Bhavai (Gujarati), Mirch Masala, Maya Memsab, Mangal Pandey, Holi and Sardar (all Hindi), is the founder of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics and Cosmos Maya Studios.

Maya Academy is best known for popular animation IPs like Motu Patlu, Kisna, Vir- the robot boy, EenMeena-Deeka, etc.

Mehta is a recipient of the French Government’s “The officer of the realm of Arts and Literature’ award.

He will be awarded the Special Contribution to Indian Animation Industry Award for his overall contributions to the industry.

Both the awards will be presented at the inaugural session of the Summit on May 4.

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Ketan Mehta is the founder of Maya Academy -- best known for popular animation IPs like Motu Patlu, Kisna, Vir- the robot boy, Een-Meena-Deeka

Nina Sabnani, who teaches at the IDC School of Design, at IIT Bombay, is one of the first women artists to foray into the field of animation in India

According to P Jayakumar, CEO – Toonz Media Group, “Every year at Animation Masters Summit we give away the Legend Award to a legendary animation master in recognition of their life-long contribution to Indian Animation. Prof Nina Sabnani is one of the most revered figures in Indian animation today. She is like a guru to all of us in the fraternity. As a pioneering woman animator, she is also an inspiration for hundreds of young women who aspire to join this industry.”

He added: “Mr Ketan Mehta, who is being awarded the Special Contribution Award, has helped put the Indian animation community on the global map by founding one of the most successful animation studios in India. He also played a significant role in fostering new talent by establishing the Maya Academy.”

The five-day Animation Masters Summit will include sessions by a

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Ketan Mehta

Nina Sabnani

galaxy of stalwarts from diverse fields of media and entertainment across the world.

Legendary Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Summit.

Master sessions in the following days will be led by renowned artists and creators including legendary ad guru Rahul daCunha, best known for spearheading the Amul ad campaign, one of the longest running ad campaigns in the country.

The Summit will also have two panel discussions – one on the scope of animation in Education Technology (EdTech) and the another curated

by Animation World Network (AWN) focussing on diversity in the kids entertainment industry.

Delegates can register for the event for free by logging on to www. animationsummit.in

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TOONZ ANIMATION GROUP

Pandemic compelled

us to think Global Despite COVID-19 pandemic impacting every aspect of life and business, for animation industry it has been an eventful year in terms of content consumption and global collaborations, bringing the world closer through technology and innovations, reveals P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Media Group

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P Jayakumar

CEO, Toonz Media Group

Toonz Media Group launched MyToonz during COVID-19 lockdown. How is it doing?

MyToonz is an exclusive OTT platform for kids and family entertainment launched by Toonz Media Group. Toonz has tied up with multiple app stores, tele-companies, OTTs and connected TV companies around the world to make MyToonz available to consumers across platforms. The MyToonz app is now available on iOS, Android and Android TV playstores, as well as the Roku Videoon-Demand platform, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. We have tied up with mobile tech services company U2opia Mobile to integrate MyToonz on various telco platforms in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

The MyToonz library includes over 1500 hours of content, with new content being added every week. The library includes movies and episodic content across different genres. Besides English, there are dedicated playlists in Spanish, Russian and Hindi languages. The content on platform has been categorized to target pre-schoolers, upper pre-schoolers and early teens. The programming has also been carefully curated to provide quality entertainment to kids and families through fun, educational, safe, non-violent and environmentally sensitive content that celebrates diversity. The MyToonz library can also be accessed online over the website www. mytoonz.com.

There has been a very encouraging response from the industry for MyToonz so far. We have received a lot of enquiries from catalogue owners for on-boarding content on to MyToonz. There has also been interest shown by localization companies wanting to collaborate on content localization. We have been receiving enquiries from various content aggregators of telco platforms who are keen to get MyToonz onboarded on VAS/DCB/WAP platforms and portals. The response from CTV OEM companies has also been positive. The application has been on-boarded on quite a few CTV platforms.

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MyToonz library includes over 1500 hours of content, with new content being added every week. The library includes movies and episodic content across different genres.

Besides English, there are dedicated playlists in Spanish, Russian and Hindi languages

Competing against Amazon Kids, Netflix and YouTube Kids is very challenging. At the same time we have over 40 OTT platforms in the domestic market and over 250 globally. What differentiates MyToonz from them?

Yes, there are several players in the OTT sector currently, but most of them are general platforms. Kids section is only a small part in these OTTs. MyToonz is more of a niche platform for kids and family entertainment. We have created a dedicated space for kids and families within the OTT space, banking on our rich legacy and strong content portfolio. In fact, we are the first company of its kind from India to launch an exclusive OTT of kids.

MyToonz basically originates from the compelling need to create a safe and engaging entertainment destination for kids and families in the digital landscape. We have envisaged MyToonz as the go-to destination for kids to watch safe, fun and nutritious content, which will be available in multiple global languages. It is a space where the whole family can come together to enjoy world-class content.

All MyToonz programming is compliant with international safety standards for child viewing.

What has been the impact of COVID-19 in the animation space? While we are resilient, is there room to bridge the growth gap that we may have lost?

COVID has impacted every aspect of life and business today. Across industries, we can see the repercussions of the pandemic. With respect to the content, and animation industry in particular, it has been a rather eventful year since the pandemic started. Content consumption has skyrocketed, and the demand for content has never been so pressing before. Especially in the kids entertainment space, with kids all over the world staying home, there has been an urgent need to keep them positively engaged. And content is now being seen as a source of not just entertainment but also education and inspiration. We can safely say that because of this demand, the kids entertainment industry has been largely immune compared to other industries that have had to bear the brunt of the pandemic.

We definitely have no dearth of work or business. But that said, it is also important to note that developing and creating content in these restrictive circumstances is a real challenge.

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At Toonz, our studios obviously had to be shut for a while owing to government and public health protocols. However, there were production deadlines and other commitments to meet. So, we took up a massive asset transfer operation to shift the machines of our artists from the studios to their homes. We are striving hard to ensure that none of our projects are affected by the situation. We have a well formulated business continuity plan in place, so we are prepared to meet any unforeseen disruption.

In terms of growth, prior to the pandemic we had a healthy year-onyear growth rate of 25-30%. Our expectations for 2020 were naturally very high. But owing to the pandemic our growth projections had to be curtailed. However, we did not go into the negative rate of growth. Even though there has been no loss of business, there were some project delays mostly owing to remote working and disruption in creative collaboration. There have been some cashflow issues too.

One of the major areas that got affected is our live action studio Telegael. However, we are positive that we will bounce back with our new ventures Ri8Brain – an e-learning platform, and a health app for kids that we are developing.

Toonz has always been an innovator. You adapt quickly according to the curation needs. What are some of the new visual innovations in the animation space today?

We basically adapt and innovate based on the requirements of the script and our co-production partners. We try to make each of our projects unique in terms of visual treatment and aesthetics. The idea is to follow and adapt the latest trends internationally and also take inspiration from Indian folk arts and legends, depending on the treatment of the story. For example, we recently developed a new show for ETV’s newly launching kids channel, which has Madhubani art motifs throughout. For another movie called A Many Splintered Thing, we followed a graphic novel kind of treatment.

In terms of improving the technical aspects of our shows and films, we keep ourselves up-to-date with the latest technological tools in animation, especially CGI. We currently use V-Ray and Arnold, which is the latest render engine available for 3D animation. We are soon going to include in our pipeline game engines like Unreal and Unity to achieve real-time rendering.

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Toonz has been a regular visitor to major global animation markets. How has been your collaboration experience? Has the global market satisfied you (as a delegate) in providing platforms to engage in business?

As far as the distribution side of the business is concerned, the pandemic has caused a notable disruption. With all the major markets and conferences going virtual, most of the business interactions are happening over video calls and online pitches. We did alter our sales and marketing strategy to remain agile with the changing trends in the market, both with respect to content preferences and reinventing our marketing tools and processes.

Toonz’s distribution wing, Imira Entertainment, is one of Europe’s leading production and distribution companies based out of Madrid.

Imira specializes in kids and youth programming with focus on the European, US, Latin American, Asian and African markets. Apart from our own IPs and co-productions, we have a vast catalogue of titles, across genres that we offer in these markets. Many of these titles are available in multiple language dubs. Our distribution and sales teams have strong relationships with broadcasters and OTTs alike. We have regional sales teams with unparalleled relationships and knowledge to cater to specific markets. Being a well-recognized brand we are often able to close pre-sales of our productions much before the shows are released.

The pandemic has essentially compelled us to think global in every aspect. Even though physically we might be forced to stay put at home, from a practical point of view, it has brought the world closer through collaboration and technology. The virtual markets definitely do not have the charm or convenience of physical events.

But there are some obvious benefits in terms of markets become truly global and accessible, and the budget savings. A lot of innovation has gone behind creating virtual markets. But it might be too premature to evaluate them or even compare them to physical markets. But as an industry, we are trying to make the most of the situation.

Do you see a need for physical meetings going forward? Or a mix of physical and digital...

It is going to be a mix of physical and digital.

The pandemic has essentially compelled us to think global in every aspect. Even though physically we might be forced to stay put at home, from a practical point of view, it has brought the world closer through collaboration and technology. The virtual markets definitely do not have the charm or convenience of physical events. But there are some obvious benefits in terms of markets become truly global and accessible, and the budget savings 20

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What are the focus areas of Toonz Animation Studios in these challenging times?

The highpoint for Toonz in the past year has been the wonderful collaborations we were able to make with some of the biggest names in kids entertainment. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Toonz has been able to forge partnerships for new projects from across the globe from illustrious creators like Keith Chapman, Olivier Jean-Marie, James Driscoll and Janet Hubert.

We also entered into partnerships for new shows with some great studios and production houses such as Italy’s Rainbow S.p.A and London-based Nucleus Media Rights. We are co-producing highly anticipated animation features with leading production houses like Highland Films, Exodus Film Group and Cinema Management Group. With the latter we are co-producing the first ever English animation feature of Oscar Wilde’s popular short story ‘The Canterville Ghost’. All in all, Toonz has been able to strengthen its global clientele in 2020, garnering opportunities to produce specialized, high quality content.

In the last one year, Toonz Animation produced 5,000 minutes of 2D and 3,000 minutes of 3D animation content. We have in our pipeline several exciting projects. And we are proud to say that all of them have extremely diverse and relevant content that uphold universal values. Like I said earlier, we are collaborating with many renowned creators, like Keith Chapman with whom we are doing an interactive pre-school series titled Paddypaws & Pals. Another one is a value-oriented show called JG & the BC Kids in partnership with veteran American actress Janet Hubert. The show, which inspires kids to embrace differences, is also entirely driven by a multi-cultural team.

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Toonz has been able to forge partnerships for new projects from across the globe from illustrious creators like Keith Chapman, Olivier Jean-Marie, James Driscoll and Janet Hubert. In the last one year, Toonz Animation produced 5,000 minutes of 2D and 3,000 minutes of 3D animation content. We have in our pipeline several exciting projects. And we are proud to say that all of them have extremely diverse and relevant content that uphold universal values

Another marquee project currently under production at Toonz is Sunny-side Billy, a very colorful and upbeat 2D animation preschool series about fun and positivity. The creative heads behind this project are none other than celebrated animators like Olivier Jean-Marie and Jan Van Rijsselberge of Oggy and the Cockroaches and Robotboyfame. We are co-producing this series in association with the French studio Tractor.

Toonz is also partnering with Russia’s oldest and most prestigious studio Soyuzmult for a brand new alien CGI called Aliens in my backpack. This project comes from Rob Lee and James Driscoll, creators of BAFTA nominated World Award winning titles like The Shoe People. Apart from that, we also recently signed up with major US girl-centric, STEM-focused toycoGoldieblox to develop an animated series titled Glodlieblox and Friends. This MIPTV season we are also launching in the market season one of the pre-school series Zoonicorn, based on the famous plush toy brand of the same name.

You have been a major supporter of small and medium animation outlets. What damages have they suffered due to the pandemic? How do we bring them back to the fold?

For small studios cashflow had been a major problem these past months. Many had to be either shut down and go for steep salary cuts to keep themselves afloat. The situation has been more or less the same for small businesses in all other industries, and not just animation. However, we have tried to support those studios that have been our long-time partners and those that delivered high quality work to us. We have gone that extra mile by relaxing payment norms so that their cashflow issue could be eased a bit. But there is a limit to which we can support small studios at this level. At a larger level, we have been lobbying in industry and trade bodies as well as approaching government authorities to develop schemes to support small studios. There is no running away from the fact that small businesses have borne the brunt of this pandemic. In the case of animation, the pressure has been tremendous on smaller studios to stay afloat.

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Even as vaccination is being rolled out globally, how can we protect jobs in the animation space during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Talent has always been a key aspect for this industry, and nurturing and grooming new talent remains a priority. As mentioned before, there is no dearth of business or opportunities in the content creation industry owing to the pandemic. Jobs are there and new jobs are being created across the board. In the post-pandemic era, we foresee a greater demand for artists and creative professionals who can swiftly adapt to changing circumstances. There would be a higher demand for professionals who not only have a keen sense of creativity but are also constantly upskilling their knowledge of relevant technology. This includes areas like CGI animation, application-based animations for sectors like film making, entertainment media production, edutainment, gaming, medicine, defense, VR/AR, architecture, interior design and commercials.

Toonz spearheaded the launch of an online learning platform dedicated to animation and creative arts in order to mould new talents in the field. Can you share some of the details?

Ri8Brain is an online education arm of Toonz Media Group, dedicated to learning of creative art forms. Ri8Brain is a highly agile ed-tech initiative that aims to redefine the traditional pedagogy.

This online platform focuses on collaborative teaching, providing greater impetus to hands-on, experience-based quality learning for early starters as well as seasoned learners. Ri8Brain will carry over the legacy of Toonz Academy, with a modern and technological twist to it.

The vision of Ri8Brain is to transform the lives of creative minds and artists across the world by honing their talent and upskilling them. The techno-creative industry is booming globally, and with the right skill set and talent, one can pursue a very rewarding and creatively satisfying career in this industry. This is exactly what Ri8Brain will be facilitating for aspirants.

Ri8Brain works in two modes: Explore – for early starters; and Excel courses – for amateur artists, aspiring creative professionals as well as young and experienced professionals.

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India has not been able to scale up to capture the global animation stories market. We are still at the tip of the iceberg. What do you think we lack and what will make us a global player in this market?

I think what we lack primarily is the skill of global storytelling as well as exposure. If you look at Hollywood or other Western industries, they take very simple concepts with universal themes and values and then market it amazingly. Their stories transcend boundaries and have global appeal. I think that is what is lacking here and perhaps that is what we should do in order to scale up and strengthen our global footprint in animation. However, this needs to be done not just for animation, which is part of a larger ecosystem.

Even for live action, we largely see highly localized content that would not fit into the context of a global audience. To say it plainly, we are not exactly making films for global consumption. And I don’t think that is an anomaly. Just that if our aim is to create global hits, our storytellers need to tell stories which have universal appeal.

Also countries like the US have a history of 100 years in animation, whereas our industry is just over two decades old. So it may not be entirely fair to compare. However, we will reach there soon. The Indian animation industry is very robust and fast growing. We have scaled up significantly in the last two decades. We progressed from an outsourcing destination to an IP creating industry. It is only a matter of time that we conquer the global arena.

Toonz’ Animation Masters Summit has brought together some of the brightest minds all these years. How has the Animation Masters Summit 2021 digital edition shaped?

Animation Masters Summit (AMS) 2021 will be held from May 4 to May 8. This time again, we are conducing it virtually because of the prevailing circumstances. In the 2020 edition, we had the privilege of having some of the biggest and brightest stars in the industry as speakers. We had masters like Disney editor Fabienne Rawley (Zootopia); veteran Indian cinematographer Ravi K Chandran (Virasat, Dil Chahta Hai, Black, Kannathil Muthamittal, etc); renowned Bollywood composer Shantanu Moitra (Parineeta, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Lage Raho Munnabhai, etc.); and Quentin Staes-Polet, gaming expert and General Manager India and SEA, Epic Games.

This time again we have a stellar speaker line-up that includes legendary ad guru Rahul daCunha, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Meg LeFauve (Inside Out, Captain Marvel, My Father’s Dragon), licensing and merchandising master Jiggy George, Hollywood music composer Vidjay Beerpot and awardwinning animation director and producer Saraswathi Balgam. The theme for the 2021 edition is ‘Embracing Diversity: Finding Beauty in Our Differences.’ We will also have two panel discussions—one on diversity in content and the industry—and the other around education technology and the scope of animation in e-learning.

The theme for the Animation Masters Summit 2021 edition is Embracing Diversity: Finding Beauty in Our Differences. We will also have two panel discussions—one on diversity in content and the industry—and the other around education technology and the scope of animation in e-learning 24

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Dr S. Raghunath

Chairperson, Centre For Corporate Governance and Citizenship Professor of Strategy IIM Bangalore

E-Sports

A Blockbuster

Opportunity The most attractive thing for e-Sports players today is the multiplayer facility of playing and the possibility of social interactions between the players in a virtual environment.

By Dr S. Raghunath Professor of Strategy, IIM Bangalore 26

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C

OVID 19 has been actively contributing to the physical isolation of people, especially the younger generation in our country. However, to this ghastly downside there has been an upside in the proliferation of e-Sports which are turning out to be big public gaming events, where thousands of people play, and millions watch them through online streams.

According to the FICCI-EY ‘Playing by New Rules’ report 2021 that focuses on the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector, e-Sports grew in the country by 12% in 2020. The report highlights that there was a 90% increase in the number of people playing e-Sports compared to 2019. Also, e-sports in India viewership double to 17million in 2020 as it became available across 14 broadcast platforms. “Global gaming firms, such as Activision, Garena and Supercell, which publish Call of Duty, Free Fire and Clash of Clans, are lining up to invest in India’s e-Sports ecosystem after PUBG Mobile had to exit late last year due to the Indian government’s clampdown on Chinese or China associated apps,” says the report.

The most attractive thing for e-Sports players today is the multiplayer facility of playing and the possibility of social interactions between the players in a virtual environment. The participants in e-Sports are striving to fill the void in their lives, fulfilling the social need of belonging to a group. Through e-Sports it is being satisfied through communication with or belonging to a team with other players of similar orientation and aspiration. Thus, online games bring people together virtually and provide them a shared purpose. The virtual presence of spectators caters to the need for socialization and social networking. Even though in physical isolation, it also provides enjoyment, or more precisely the ability to immerse oneself in the content of the game.

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One way of further developing the e-sports community, especially In India, could be opening food/ beverage serving facilities with social distancing on the theme of e-sports or video games belonging to e-Sports. This would allow e-sports enthusiasts to have a place where they can gather and share information, and watch e-sports, or even organize something on their own

Dr S. Raghunath

Chairperson, Centre For Corporate Governance and Citizenship Professor of Strategy IIM Bangalore

Not only are they fulfilling their social need of belonging but as players they are also trying to measure and compare their abilities with other players in the sports oriented competitive spirit. Therefore, it is not surprising to see India ambling its way to the 16th rankin the 2020 global ranking within the e-Sports industry with a total revenue of Rs. 8,000 crores(approximately $1.17 billion).

The e-Sports industry is not just about players playing video games and millions of users choosing to spend their time watching others play video gamesthroughliveinternetbroadcasts,referredtoasstreams.Attached to these streams are streamers. Streamers are e-Sports enthusiasts serving viewers with daily streams on Twitch or YouTube.Streaming platforms are also acquiring large number of streamers. As there is tremendous growth in e-Sportsstreaming, many streamers are leaving their day jobs and becoming full-time streamers.

These developments have been facilitated by mobile phone-based gaming and watching games through affordable handsets and data costs. BARC and Nielson report clearly indicates an upsurge in smartphone-based game users during the COVID lockdown and the aggregate revenue reported by e-Sports companies in India was $68 million in 2020 projected to grow at the CAGR of thirty six percent in the next three years. The audience has reportedly grown to 17 million in 2020.

The employment scenario has also been positively impacted. There are opportunities to work as data handlers who manage the latency and connectivity related issues present in a gameor as a game developer for writing codes for AI integration into a game, or an in-game commentator who can do voice-overs for different characters present inside a game.

There could be growing opportunities in the hospitality industry .One way of further developing the community, especially In India, could be opening food/beverage serving facilities with social distancing on the theme of e-sports or video games belonging to e-Sports. This would allow e-sports enthusiasts to have a place where they can gather and share information, and watch e-sports, or even organize something on their own.

An established e-sports enthusiast base represents the target market.

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E-Sport entrepreneurs must consider using platforms like TwitchTV, Microsoft’s Mixer or You Tube– more precisely to stream personal e-Sports related content and to use already popular and proven successful monetization model in the form of subscriptions for access to additional content, as well as donations and digital marketing There are also nearly 100 gaming cafes and less than 1000 non-exclusive cafes. Today,more Indians in the age group of 18 to 24 play video games than go to the movies and global revenues were an estimated $67 billion for console and portable hardware and software. Recent reports indicate 2.5X surge in traffic post the lockdown, with 150K new users a month. Higher player engagement in most platforms could potentially boost e-Sports value chain, as most sponsors who would usually partner other sports events such as cricket or other major sporting events are considering e-Sports to promote their products.

E-Sport entrepreneurs must consider using platforms like Twitch TV, Microsoft’s Mixer or You Tube– more precisely to stream personal e-Sports related content and to use already popular and proven successful monetization model in the form of subscriptions for access to additional content, as well as donations and digital marketing. The focus to create and manage e-Sports-related programs, particularly focused on the target market, whose viewers, even though they are familiar with English as a language of communication may prefer vernacular or local language to follow programs. Needless to say, that e-Sports is at an inflection point of breaking out from a niche category opportunity to a blockbuster.

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FICCI EY M&E REPORT

New Rules of

Engagement As the COVID-19 pandemic has brought in major disruptions in the M&E business model, it is high time for the sector to forego holding on to old ways of thinking and working, and prepare to engage with the world with a new set of rules to propel growth, says the latest edition of FICCI-EY Report on Indian M&E sector

Media a

Indian M&EM&E sectorsector fell 24% in fell 24% Indian 2020 to INR1.38 trillion trillion in 2020 to INR1.38 2019

2020

2021E

2023E

CAGR 2020-23

Television

787

685

760

847

7%

Digital media

221

235

291

425

22%

Print

296

190

237

258

11%

65

76

99

155

27%

191

72

153

244

50%

Animation and VFX

95

53

74

129

35%

Live events

83

27

53

95

52%

Out of Home media

39

16

22

32

27%

Radio

31

14

23

27

24%

Music

15

15

18

23

15%

Total

1,822

1,383

1,729

2,234

17%

Online gaming Filmed entertainment

All figures are gross of taxes (INR in billion) for calendar years | EY estimates

► The Indian M&E sector fell by 24% to INR1.38 trillion (US$18.9 billion), in effect taking 30 revenues back to 2017 levels BIZ magazine India’s Only Media ► The last quarter of 2020 showed a marked

Analyzing the INR439 billio ► Digital and www.pickle.co.in online gaming were th for the world

segments which grew in 2020 add aggregate of INR26 billion and co

Today content creation and storytelling are much more diverse and come from all parts of the country. New distribution models and monetization strategies are evolving across both large and small screens. Learning content and gaming have emerged as very large new opportunities. These changes are driving a shift in monetization of content investments and this opportunity is global Sanjay Gupta

Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee

T

he COVID-19 global pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to the media and entertainment industry worldwide.

Faced with isolation, consumers actively sought alternatives to keep themselves entertained.

Thus, 2020 saw demand patterns shift with acceleration in digital media adoption aided by the growth of digital infrastructure. The supply side transformed, too, as M&E companies took the opportunity to reinvent.

“This altered the M&E sector as we knew it. Every segment – TV, radio, print, digital, etc. – had video, audio, textual and experiential products and had begun to redefine itself across those verticals. What didn’t change, however, was the compelling content created around news and escapism, and the passion to build some of India’s most powerful brands,” says Ashish Pherwani, M&E Sector Leader, EY India.

EY India in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, has come out with the 2021 edition of the FICCIEY report on the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector— ‘Playing by New Rules’—that seeks

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to capture transformation of the country’s M&E sector and offer useful insights into the new rules of the game.

According to Pherwani, appointment viewing on news television, gamification on e-commerce apps, circulation transformation in print companies, short video on OTT platforms, interactivity and brand solutions from radio companies were some of the many strategic shifts that were seen in 2020.

Saying that India’s diversity and scale will continue to fuel the growth of traditional media, Sanjay Gupta Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, highlights the new and big opportunities for M&E businesses.

“Today content creation and storytelling are much more diverse and come from all parts of the country. New distribution models and monetization strategies are evolving across both large and small screens. Learning content and gaming have emerged as very large new opportunities. These changes are driving a shift in monetization of content investments and this opportunity is global,” says Gupta.

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Key trends in 2020 Key trends in 2020

► Digital subscription – 28 from 10.5 million in 2019 OTT subscriptions in 2020 growth in digital subscript Digital and online gaming were the was led largely by Disney+ only segments which grew IPL behind a paywall durin content investments by Ne Segment growth 2020 vs. 2019 Prime Video and launch o language products.

2020 also saw 28 In add Digital subscription 49% Indians consumed million Indians (upcontent Online gaming with their data plans.

18% from 10.5 million in 2019) paying ► Print – Print’s revenue de Digital advertising 0% for 53bymillion OTT a 41% fall in advertising subscriptions in circulation revenues. E 0% Music leading to a 49% newspapers were hit hard growth in digital get back their circulation p Television - 13% subscription particularly in metros, wh M&E sector overall - 24% newspapers recovered a la revenues, thus their lost circulation. clearly indicating The Print -36% establishment of a new low that subscription benchmark, fared better with most pri Animation & VFX - 44% costs by over 25%. than advertising revenues.

Radio ► Online gaming – Continui - 54% growing segment of the M Out of Home media - 60% fourth year in a row, the s helped by work from home Filmed entertainment - 62% and increased trial of onlin during the lockdown. Onli Live events - 68% to reach 360 million in 20 game revenues grew 21%, EY estimates regulation in certain state revenues grew 7%. ► Television Thethat largest segment saw a 22% Online gamers The report points– out the Indian grew– 20% reach ► Film Whiletotheatrical rev M&Efall sector fell by 24% to INR1.38 360 million into2020.

Transactionin advertising revenues on account of less than a quarter of th trillion (US$18.9 billion), in effect based game revenues grew 21%, highly discounted ad rates during the lockdown portion of this loss was ma taking revenues back to 2017 levels. regulation in certain months – though ad volumes reduced only despite adverse digital rights revenues wh However, there were some silver states, while casual gaming revenues 3%. as In addition, it also witnessed a 7% fall during 2020 to INR35 bill linings well. “Several digital grew 7%. in subscription income, led by the continued trends accelerated their trajectory, stoppage in production fo Indians (up fed by growthofinfree broadband, personal growth television, reverse migration 2020 also saw 28itsmillion impact, which will now from 10.5 million in 2019) paying for devices smart televisions, and to part andand a reduction in ARPUs due healthy slate of films is ma 53 million OTT subscriptions leading the time and inclination try 2.0. online implementation of to NTO and the fear of stepping in to a 49% growth in digital subscription services,” observes Gupta. subsides.

While the trend ► Digital advertising – Digital advertising revenues, thus clearly indicating “Digital and online gaming were the that subscription fared better than releases will continue, pro stayed stable, led by increased allocation from only segments which grew in 2020 advertising revenues. importance of theatrical r traditional advertisers accelerated their adding an aggregate of INR26who billion and investments consequently, in their contribution film productions. digital sales channels. This “Growth was led largely

by Disney+ to the M&Ebecome sector increased from 16% Hotstar which put the IPL a – Sto could a permanent phenomenon. SME ► Animation behind and VFX in 2019 to 23% in 2020,” the report says. the year, increased advertisers continued to increase their spendspaywall duringand film content productio

by Netflix and Online gamingadvertising continues to be experimented the on digital and morecontent investments in 2020 resulted in a fall i Amazon Prime Video and launch of fastest growing segment of the M&E with online sales platforms like Amazon and and post-production several regional language products. contr sector for the fourth year in a row, Flipkart. News brands, whose reach crossed 450 inability to conduct In addition, 284 million Indians live sh the segment grew 18% helped by work million in 2020, also increased revenues from demand for animated consumed content which came con from home, school from home and their trial digital animation registered increased of platforms. online multi-player bundled with their data plans,” says a gro games during the lockdown.

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the report.

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EY expect to see the following types of deals over the next few years:  Investments in scalable D2C business models will continue  Digital companies with a differentiated product offering and an identified path to monetization / profitability will attract significant interest from both financial and strategic investors  Companies with a strong balance sheet that have been nimble to adapt to the digital disruption will come out strongly from the pandemic led recession. Such companies will explore selective consolidation opportunities to further gain market share  Companies with strong technological platforms leveraging next-gen tools such as Artificial Intelligence, IoT and advanced analytics  Traditional advertising agencies and tech giants will both continue to invest in niche MarTech companies to differentiate and compete with larger digital and consulting networks  Companies under financial stress will also look to partner with a larger strategic player to fund and accelerate their growth plans According to the FICCI-EY report, online gaming will continue to grow and reach 500 million gamers by 2025 to become the third largest segment of the Indian M&E sector.

The segment will grow across all its verticals viz, esports, fantasy sport, casual gaming and other games of skill, but revenue growth will be led by mobile-based real-money gaming applications across these verticals.

It continues to say that the pandemic disrupted the already fast evolving M&E sector and new rules have been set in place to drive success of the sector.

It lists out some strategic priorities for the Indian M&E sector including Identifying the audiences that matter, building a multi-media and multi-community strategy, addressing community needs apart from just news and entertainment, make end-customer data and insights the core of operating priorities, building customer acquisition efficiency, enhancing speed of product development and change, and reinventing ad sales.

The report points out that globally the M&E industry is under renovation. “The steps taken by media and entertainment companies to streamline the cost base and optimize the operating model for efficiency and effectiveness will

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remain on center stage as the entire industry plots a course through disruption,” it says.

It also adds that major business conferences, which moved to virtual gatherings in 2020, will continue to utilize digital platforms to extend reach and include remote participants who remain wary of business travel.

Esports and video games will build on a fan and user base that multiplied in size during the pandemic, believes John Harrison, EY Americas Media & Entertainment Leader. “In 2021 and beyond, companies will be successful not because they are better at predicting the future but because they are better able to orchestrate a wideranging ecosystem of in-house talent and external partners, and pivot in a timely, confident manner,” says Harrison.

Although Indian television segment declined 13% in 2020, the report expects television advertising in 2021 to be close to 2019 levels, growing over 20% to reach INR304 billion.

Digital segment, too, is expected to grow to INR424.5 billion by 2023 and digital advertising will outpace all other media with paid subscriptions doubling to over 100 million by 2023.

According to Pherwani, in effect it will be the same game, but with totally new rules.

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FICCI-EY M&E Report March 2021

WHERE DO WE

GO NOW E Sanjay Gupta Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee

x pert

This is the time for the sector to forego holding on to old ways of thinking and working, and its sense of complacency about what’s possible in the future. we need to disrupt our old business models, our approach, our solutions, our marketing, and our distribution...

The success in 2021 will depend on industry leaders adapting strategies to address unforeseen market opportunities and threats. With disruption as the constant, the John Harrison only way to survive and EY Americas Media thrive in exceptional & Entertainment circumstances is to Leader build systemic agility.

The COVID-19 crisis forced media and entertainment industry leaders to activate transformation plans, shrink execution timelines and experiment at lightning speed.

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K Madhavan Managing Director, Star & Disney India

India’s M&E industry will emerge stronger from 2020, with tremendous growth for Digital and AVGC and a quick recovery for Television. It has the potential to reach the pre-Covid target of $100Bn before 2030, but needs the collaboration of policy makers with a lighttouch regulation

The M&E sector is in a transformative phase, witnessing exponential growth in content consumption across platforms driven by increasing personalisation in the Punit Goenka consumer experience.

MD & CEO, The advent of technology Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited led innovations, have re-modelled the industry in several ways, making it more agile and responsive. Proving its resilience in a challenging year, the sector is well poised for a strong phase of growth, backed by robust consumer demand and a more targeted and collaborative business framework.

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With the upsurge in digital adoption driven by growth of wired and wireless broadband access and the rising consumer demand for diversified, personalised and immersive content, NP Singh the Indian M&E industry MD & CEO, Sony is at the cusp of an even Pictures stronger growth phase.

Networks India With the augmentation (SPN) of technological infrastructure in both traditional and digital media, investments will be more focused towards digital transformation.

Avinash Kaul Chief Executive Officer Network18 Broadcast News

COVID-19 has made sure that “ fitness” of industries has a new meaning. Those who are nimble enough and evolve and adapt will survive this fitness test too. The Darwanian philosophy is as applicable to species as it to industries. The measures the media industry has taken to reinvent itself are commendable.

Content consumption across platforms is growing at a rapid pace in a multi-screen environment. Building a diverse talent pool and content creation ecosystem that can flex Punit Misra the twin muscles - of deep President, Content viewer understanding on and International Market one side, and the ability Zee Entertainment to take creative leaps Enterprises inspired by that affinity Limited on the other, is the recipe for sustained success.

Appointment viewing on news television, gamification on e-commerce apps, circulation transformation in print companies, short video on OTT platforms, Ashish interactivity and brand Pherwani solutions from radio M&E Sector Leader companies were some of EY India the many strategic shifts that were seen in 2020.

Megha Tata Managing Director – South Asia, Discovery Communications India

Sunil Rayan President & Head, Disney+ Hotstar

Devraj Sanyal Managing Director & CEO Universal Music Group, India & South Asia

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Going forward we will see a fine balance between OTT and linear, especially in India. Content will be a key differentiator and the ownership of content and the ownership of customer will remain two key pillars. Also, data and analytics will play an integral role in decision making.

The streaming industry is still in its early stages.

Creativity combined with technology will transform storytelling and the pace of innovation in product experiences will accelerate to meet rising consumer expectations.

Exciting times ahead!

The next phase of music in our industry is now firmly here and it mirrors what’s been a global phenomenon for ages now. Music from singer songwriters across various genres of pop, rock, dance and Hiphop now seriously rival film music and will be the overriding trend for the future

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Streaming video will continue to be one of the biggest growth drivers of Indian entertainment over the next few years on the back of a large and growing connected consumer base, world Gaurav Gandhi class creative talent, Director and increasing disposable Country GM, incomes (of this Amazon Prime discerning consumer Video base) and improved infrastructure (from connectivity to payments).

Manish Maheshwari Managing Director Twitter

We are inspired by the way the M&E industry is leading the charge on several dimensions. This last year, there has also been a paradigm shift in how brands leverage technology and digital channels to engage with their customers. We are excited to see how this partnership deepens and how the industry continues to contribute to economic progress.

Music streaming has evolved into a deeply personal experience based on curation of content, features available to listeners in-app and for social sharing, as well as algorithmic Amarjit Batra recommendations.

Managing DirectorRegional content from India across India for both Spotify music and podcasts will explode. Industry trends also show that the time spent by listeners on streaming audio will continue to increase, as will their willingness to pay for a valuable experience.

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After a gap of 4 years , the recorded industry is down to a low single digit growth rate due to the pandemic . The only silver lining, the time spent on music streaming is up 40%.

Blaise Considering that there Fernandes was no commute time President & CEO due to the lockdown, it Indian Music shows the therapeutic use Industry of music is invaluable .

Also a few soundtracks broke out and become very popular from OTT shows – is this the beginning of a new trend? Time will tell.

Satya Raghavan

Video is serving as the entry point for millions of new storytellers and users, as well as providing renewed longevity for content from traditional media, unlocking vast economic opportunity for all.

Director YouTube Content Partnerships, India

It was a year that set a new marker for a transformation that has been underway for a long time: time, investment and energy moving firmly online for consumers and businesses. As the Ajit Mohan whole world shut down, Vice President and the Internet remained Managing open and the disruption Director, India has spurred entirely Facebook new ways of building brands and doing business. I see new online businesses and models emerging out of India that will play a key role in steering the world that emerges out of the pandemic.

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Gaming already is the biggest pie of Indian entrainment industry and as india enters into golden decade of gaming, the gap between gaming and other formats will be massive in terms Manish of revenue as well as Agarwal penetration. The revenue CEO growth will be driven by Nazara inherent player retention Technologies loop in gaming on ccount of zero upfront cost, dopamine release, self worth enhancement and every multiplayer game play creating unscripted experience.

The pandemic has accelerated the consumption of digital content. This has brought to the fore, regional content consumption preferences, resulting in investments in Hiren Gada original regional content CEO production and building Shemaroo regional propositions.

Entertainment We strongly believe that going regional and thinking like a local is the next growth avenue for the OTT segment.

VFX work in the coming years is going to dramatically increase due to a transition to virtual production. Viewership for animated content went up 600% - 900% on various platforms during Ashish SK the pandemic. India will Founder have enough shows from Punnaryug Artvision internal work for the next Pvt Ltd 3 years, due to sudden greenlighting of shows from TV and OTT. The industries will require talent from tier 2 tier 3 cities for better, faster delivery.

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Sai Srinivas Co-founder and CEO Mobile Premier League (MPL)

Esports and Gaming is a huge part of India’s media industry and the last year showed us that it is a sector on the rise. Looking forward to Gaming helping the media and entertainment industry’s growth.

Technological advancements will continue to play a key role in adjusting the world to a new normal, followed by a rapidly evolving consumer behaviour – which demands outdoor Apoorva Mehta entertainment at home.

CEO Companies will leverage Dharma tech-led innovations to be Productions more cost-efficient and create revenue enhancement opportunities.

The post-pandemic era provides enormous opportunity as the complexities of remote working are evolving.

Image-makers now have new ways to mount their stories using game engine Biren Ghose technology. Business will Country Head scale exponentially in Technicolor the next 4-5 years and the AVGC industry will double its pre-pandemic footprint in terms of investments, revenues and jobs.

Monica Shergill Vice President, Content, Netflix

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As storytellers, we want to bring a wide repertoire of films and series from every corner of the country. We believe India is one of the world’s centres of creative excellence with incredible storytelling that audiences all around the world can discover and fall in love with.

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FUTURE OUTLOOK

M&E Sector’s

Future Decoded

All hopes are not lost at a time when the world in general and M&E industry in particular is facing a tough time due to COVID-19. For, a future outlook, part of the FICCI-EY report of March 2021 titled ‘Playing By New Rules’, says the sector to rebound in 2021 and double to around Rs 2.68 trillion by 2025 Path To Recovery The report said while it expects the M&E sector to rebound in 2021 and double to around Rs 2.68 trillion by 2025, the recovery of various segments will vary. “We expect that different segments will take different periods of time to regain their 2019 (pre-pandemic) revenue numbers.” Assuming no further setbacks, it will take one to two years for TV, film, music, two to three years for animation and VFX, events and beyond three years for print, radio, OOH.

Medium Agnostic Given that video, audio, text and experiences are available across almost all segments, the M&E sector is redefining itself across these 4 verticals: Video – TV, video OTT; Experiential – Online gaming, cinemas, events, OOH; Textual – print, online news; Audio – radio, music, audio OTT.

Visual Trends Premium consumers (comprising Digital only and tactical digital) will cross 100 million by 2023. The fastest

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growing segment will be the bundled digital consumer, growing to 399 million by 2023. The free consumer base will also grow as progress continues to spread amongst the 50 million homes today which do not have access to television.

Smart Screens Smart connected TVs will exceed 40 million by 2025, thereby ending the monopoly of broadcasters on the large screen and leading to around 30% of content consumed on large screens to be social, gaming, digital, etc.

Billion Count Screen count will almost double to near a billion by 2025, of which around 220 million would be television screens and over 750 million would be smartphone screens. This could lead to a massive increase in content creation (news and entertainment) from the around 170,000 currently to over 250,000 hours, as personal consumption (as opposed to group consumption) increases to over 50% of total video time, across a wider set of genres and niche content types.

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Regional Consumption The share of regional content will increase to 60% of television consumption in 2025 from around 55%1 in 2020 and will increase to around 50% of OTT consumption from 30% in 2019. The need for dubbing, titling, formatting, etc. services to make content mobile will increase.

Online Gaming Online gaming will continue to grow and reach 500 million gamers by 2025 to become the third largest segment of the Indian M&E sector. The segment will grow across all its verticals viz, esports, fantasy sport, casual gaming and other games of skill, but revenue growth will be led by mobile-based real-money gaming applications across these verticals.

India has the opportunity to become the core centre for events in the SAARC region, filling the gap between Dubai in the west and Singapore in the east. The M&E sector will attract and build more IPs and events of international stature the variable loss incurred on each newspaper printed by most print companies, and India could see a doubling of newspaper average cover prices by 2025.

Split In Cinema Audience

More Focus On Margins

While cinemas today largely cater to 100 million Indians, mostly top-end audiences, they will now begin to go deeper into India to cater to a wider audience base. Cinemas will continue to cater to top end multiplex audiences who watch movies for their spectacular experience and to enjoy an evening out with friends and family, comprising around over 100 million customers by 2025.

Continued focus on operating margins will be required and made possible by creating state-wide shared services across news gathering, production and distribution while print companies focus on their core capabilities of brand building, community management and editorial excellence.

Video & Audio

In 2020, Comscore data indicates that online news had a reach of 454 million as compared to 450 million for online entertainment.

Content produced for the video OTT segment will begin to play a more important role in using and promoting music – akin to Bollywood’s link to music – and we could see a lot more music led innovation from this segment.

Power of Newspaper

Consumption Volumes

With the shift of premium customers to SVOD, print will increase in importance with respect to such audiences. Large news networks will focus on increasing the collection of regional news to create very strong regional products (print + digital) of extremely high relevance to audiences – news that national and large digital news aggregators may not be able to provide.

If YouTube continues to provide recent and video content-linked music for free, the paid OTT music sector will reach 5 million top-end users by 2023, and grow to INR2 billion in revenue, leading to consolidation in the music OTT segment; if not, paid subscribers could cross 50 million.

News Reach To Go Up

Reduced Ad Reliance Cover price growth is critical for the print segment, in order to reduce

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Radio Relevance Radio, the most affordable of all media for consumers, will continue to exist and serve large portions of India through smart phone FM receivers, and play a vital role in retail advertising.

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