The summit, conducted virtually, entered its ninth edition in 2020. Calling 2020 “a year that has taken a toll on most of us,” Madhavan addressed all the large scale disruptions seen in the industry.

Mr. Madhavan lauded the media and entertainment industry, which came together to entertain and engage homebound viewers despite the constraints of the lockdown.

Excerpts from the speech

Good morning to you all, and welcome to the ninth edition of the CII Big Picture Summit. Even though this is the ninth edition, there is something here that is happening for the first time – the fact that it is a virtual event, which makes it different and unique. We hope that we all are able to meet physically to celebrate the milestone of a decade of the Big Picture Summit next year.

2020 has been a year that has taken a toll on most of us. In my many years in the industry, disruption on this scale had never before been imagined. Content production was halted, live sports and events were cancelled, cinema halls and theatres were shut down. With a worldwide reduction in demand for services and major cuts in advertising spends – the pandemic enforced a long pause across the entire industry. However, the entire Media and Entertainment industry came together to engage and entertain millions of viewers while they were homebound.

In these times, entertainment consumption surged across television, gaming, and digital streaming platforms. Television and video streaming increased to a peak of 37 per cent higher than pre-lockdown levels.

Live Sports made a stupendous comeback with the IPL 2020. Not only was the IPL the biggest live cricketing tournament to be held during the pandemic, but it was also a beacon of hope and normalcy for the nation. The tournament broke all the previous records – with a 23 per cent increase in viewership over last year. The response from the fans and advertisers was heartening and it set a positive tone for the festive season. It acted as a game-changer for the sector and helped revive the media spends for the whole industry.

The film industry showed resilience and adapted to the ‘direct-to-digital’ model, which helped launch new movies across digital streaming platforms. Cinema halls have taken longer to reopen, but I am confident that fans will soon be watching their favourite movies on the big screen, in safety.

Over the next three days, at the Big Picture Summit, you will get to soak in the words of more than 100 speakers, from both government and the industry. There will be several speakers from overseas, virtual format has its advantages. There will be sessions with state governments as well as with representatives of the regional entertainment industry. A special curtain-raiser for the upcoming India International Film Festival in Goa in January 2021 will be presented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This Summit should give us a chance to discuss what has worked, and what hasn’t – and how we can put India’s Media & Entertainment sector on the global stage.

The CII report on Big Picture Summit will be released later in this session which presents a panoramic view of the Indian media and entertainment industry – how it fared in 2020, what were the viewership trends, what was the impact of the pandemic on advertising, which medium got an edge and going forward what will be the role of Indian content in the global arena.

In 2020: Industry, business, and most importantly people & livelihoods have all been affected. Especially in the Indian Media and Entertainment industry, the losses were immeasurable as several glittering stars left us to forever shine bright in the sky.

This industry has the potential to grow from the present $24 billion to $100 billion by 2030, which is what our vision is and target should be. The potential of the industry is untapped – Pay TV is still at 120 million of the 300 million households in India, we only have 500 million smartphones in a country which has over 950 million mobile subscribers. The pandemic has driven customers to adopt technology as never before – as seen in the growth in e-commerce, online video, and digital gaming – and this can drive the sector to new heights.

To achieve this potential, we need a lighter touch on regulation and a much simpler governance structure in place. There are various kinds of restrictions that this sector is being subjected to although it has within it to make India truly atmanirbhar. We can increase our exports, increase the number of jobs being given to young talent, and most importantly, make India a global leader in content if policies are shaped as per the requirements of the industry. We have senior representatives of government present in this session today. I urge them to look into the demands of the industry and facilitate its growth.

We have struggled our way out of what I would call the worst time the industry has ever seen. I invite you all to derive maximum benefit from this summit – visit the expo, attend the plenary sessions, and immerse yourself in this unique experience.

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K. Madhavan, the Managing Director of Star and Disney India, was recently elected as the President, Indian Broadcasting Foundation. A veteran of many media wars, the head of the Star and Disney in India, has been elected to the position at a crucial juncture in history of broadcasting in India.
He believed that Indian broadcasting space was among the largest in the world with nearly 100 million households without television. He stressed that getting the content right would get the viewers and pointed to the growth of Doordarshan on the back of mythological shows during the lockdown.

He opined that broadcasting is projected to grow to Rs.882 billion from Rs.787 billion by 2022 Mr. Madhavan said that the industry wanted to exceed that expectation and for that the support of policymakers and regulator was critical..

Mr. Madhavan also spelt out a few priority areas that he would be dealing with for the growth of the industry. Stating that three key players were needed for the growth of the broadcasting industry in the country, he said that the first priority of the IBF is to get broadcasters, policymakers and regulator together to create an atmosphere conducive to the growth of broadcasting. The idea was to meet the growth projections but he said that the New Tariff Order 2 was not conducive to growth.

The second one, Mr. Madhavan said, was to try to exceed expectations on growth. The third priority was the longstanding request to grant infrastructure status to broadcasting. This, he said, would bring cost side benefits and help formalise the business. This would help in availing loans for day-to-day business and also investment for content development.

Mr. Madhavan also brought the focus on GST and called for its revision as it would facilitate growth of the industry. He also called for a push for policies that will facilitate growth.

Talking about the present situation of the broadcasting industry in the COVID-19 situation, he said that the viewership has increased 25-30 per cent on both entertainment and news. With the Indian Premier League getting under way, there has been a 30 per cent rise in viewership. Mr. Madhavan believed that the sector paid a key role in keeping the audiences engaged while they were homebound. He claimed that broadcasters also supported cine artistes during these trying times when production had come to a standstill. He said that the industry had reinvented itself.

Mr. Madhavan also holds the view that there was a need for a separate regulator for the broadcasting industry. He said that the IBF believed in a dialogue between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The IBF had tried to convey its points of view to the regulator but it did not heed its requests.

Setting new standards was nothing new to Mr. Madhavan who had proven his mettle early on in the television industry. When he switched career from banking, assuming a pivotal role in Asianet, the channel was in the doldrums and the television field a minefield. It was a bold step even by the most capable of professionals to step into the murky world of media that face the vagaries of fickle viewership and TRP ratings.

Given the fact that the television world was ruled by the likes of Zee TV and Times TV, the move of Madhavan to take up the role of Director at Asianet Communications Ltd in 1999, forgoing his years of experience in the banking world shocked many. He soon rose to the position of Managing Director and Chief Executive.

In 1999, when he joined Asianet, the regional brand from South India was on the verge of closing down. Turning a struggling channel into a media powerhouse, Mr. Madhavan ensured that the Asianet bouquet of channels became the undisputed market leader in Kerala.

Mr. Madhavan is post-graduate in Commerce from Calicut University and Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) and the driving force behind Asianet’s growth as the undisputed leader in Malayalam with more than 50% of market share.

Challenges did come his way and he took them head on consolidating the assets of the regional media company and soon built up an empire that some of the biggest media conglomerates came to covet.

Mr. Madhavan joined Star India in 2009 as its South head after Star India acquired a 51 per cent stake in Asianet, popular in the Kerala market then. Star eventually took full control and ownership of the channel in 2014 by which time Mr. Madhavan had taken Asianet to other markets in the south, sources said.
Under his leadership, the company has built a thriving regional entertainment portfolio.

Mr. Madhavan’s vision for the regional language network has led the company to set benchmarks in quality programming in South India, which is now being replicated throughout India. Under his trusted leadership, the channel has reached more than 100 countries. Mr. Madhavan believes in the entrepreneurial culture. His vision has forced many others in the field to set benchmarks in quality programming in the South, which is now being replicated throughout India. It is these expertise and negotiating skills that would hopefully aid Mr. Madhavan in his new responsibility in building bridges with the regulator and policymakers and bring in much-needed changes in the broadcasting industry in India.

Recently, the Confederation of Indian Industry appointed Mr. Madhavan as the Chair of National Committee on Media & Entertainment for 2020-21. He is responsible for driving the growth of the business, focussing on innovation and creating compelling content for consumers.

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