At the annual Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) FRAMES conference, Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, Prasar Bharati addressed the attendees on understanding how to navigate the crossroads of regulation and consumer welfare.
India is witnessing a massive shift in the nature of content being consumed and a wide range of avenues to consume such content.
“The surge in data consumption, largely led by a young audience, calls for an organized regulatory framework in an environment driven by scope for a strong regulatory overlap between telecom and media,” Dwivedi said.
He added, “With Media and entertainment sector expected to reach a humongous INR 2.83 trillion in 2025, the regulatory responsibility of those driving the sector becomes paramount.”
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Key principles of such a regulatory framework should take into account; diverse consumer profile and its spending capabilities on one hand and uplifting the regulatory standards on the other.
Digitalization of television and emergence of new media devices have re-defined the broadcast landscape. Dwivedi mentioned that the features offered by digital television like personalization of content, the accompanying interactivity and the technical capabilities of the new media platforms have thrown a world of opportunities as well as challenges to all the stakeholders viz, content creators, broadcasters, distributors, application developers, CPE manufacturers to reach out and catch the eyeballs or eardrums of the viewers or listeners. “At the same time, the importance of Telecom players in such a dynamic environment cannot be ignored as the torchbearers of infrastructure, allowing seamless consumption of such content,” he added.
“The emerging ecosystem is posing a great challenge to the traditional broadcasters whether terrestrial or satellite. Traditional broadcasters need to evolve, innovate and reach out to the audience through multiple platforms by using the new media platforms to complement the services rendered through traditional broadcasting means. This requires considerable commitment of resources on the emerging platforms and technologies while sustaining the traditional linear broadcast infrastructure,” Dwivedi said.
OTT services, digital cable and DTH operators are presently competing to occupy more space in the broadcasting industry for distribution of content. Dwivedi said that these platforms have their own USPs.
“OTT services have caused disruption to traditional broadcasting services and are becoming more and more popular – especially in the urban areas. As the services are using internet connection, it can be accessed anywhere. Many DTH operators are providing access to their services through OTT to complement their traditional services and keeping their consumers with them. However, the requirement of reliable high-speed broadband is limiting their reach. This further calls for enhanced harmony between media and telecom,” he said.
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Additionally, the market is segmenting into paid TV, free TV and connected TV. Each platform is sizable in itself. Therefore, “content producers, broadcasters and distributors will have to address the needs of each of these groups for better monetization of their services. Free television/ DD FreeDish , at the same time is continuously growing its base.” He added.
Another competing element in the broadcast media ecosystem of late has been the entry of telecom operators. The demands for spectrum by telecom service providers to roll out 4G and LTE and wireless video streaming solutions has put a lot of pressure on the broadcasters and a sizable part of the spectrum hitherto used by the latter has seen diversion.
Dwivedi said that, “This has compelled the broadcasters to look for better compression technologies and competing solutions and standards. While allocating spectrum to the telecom operators and other wireless service providers, there is a need to keep the spectrum reserved for the broadcasters to roll out D2M, HDTV and other innovative services.”
“TRAI rightly mentioned in one of its consultation papers ‘To accommodate new services and the evolving marketplace, many countries are modifying their policy-making and regulatory frameworks and institutions addressing the phenomenon of convergence of the telecom and broadcasting industries.’ One of the ways this has been achieved is by merging different regulatory authorities for telecom and broadcasting into one regulatory body. Large economies around the world like the USA, UK, Australia, European Union, etc. have established the converged regulators who are empowered and made responsible for overseeing the complete electronic communication space which includes telecommunication, broadcasting, media, and cyberspace. They have a common body that authorizes or provides licenses for both telecommunications and broadcast service.’ In light of the above, India finds itself ideally suited to discuss, debate and adopt best of international practices keeping in view its own set of challenges, consumer profile and stakeholders,” he said in conclusion.