Modern Technology but Traditional Content: Experimentation has just begun in India’s TV Market [Media Monday]

On one hand you can see Steve Jobs’ keynote on “Apple TV” which is a revolutionary step towards Web-TV integration and on the other you can find Indian TV producers experimenting with local content to make interesting programs.

India has one of the fastest growing Television markets in the World and sudden rise in number of DTH subscribers have shown a new way to growth. Technology adoption is becoming quick and hence it would not take much time for Indian market to adopt the US “pay-per-view” model, specially among the youngsters.

This technology is making way for multiple other Channels and Broadcasters to come and join the revolution and I would not be surprised if we have 1500 channels in next 5 years to come.

As the technology is giving better reach and quality to Broadcasters, they are now becoming more confident in experimenting with the content. There was an era of Saas-Bahu serials and now there is the era of Rural-stories or non-metro stories. Success of shows such as “Uttaran-Colors”, “Na Ana Is Desh Lado– Colors”, “Pratigya- Star Plus” etc proves this point. But in my opinion this scenario can quickly change with “pay per view” model.

The main reason for General Entertainment Channels (GECs) getting a good viewership is simply because of mass non-metro audience. As content discovery becomes better via internet /DTH /other technologies GEC viewership can go for a toss.

Looking forward I see a change in the way TV is watched in India. Total TV homes in India stand at around 134 Million with more than 450 million total viewers. Out of this there are 64 million TV-owing homes in Urban India. With differentiated viewing there would be a surge in number of TV sets owned by each urban home, and I can safely assume that each urban home will have 2-4 TV sets in the time to come. When that happens urban viewership will compete with rural one and GECs would need to modify their strategy.

But one important thing here is Govt regulations. Govt needs to be more liberal in giving tax benefits to DTH/IPTV Operators to encourage the industry. If that happens we can definitely see a boom in Indian TV industry where everyone including Broadcasters, producers and Distributors can get a fare share from the market.

What’s your opinion on this, and what are the problems you think are there in current TV market as a viewer?