There are plenty of opportunities in India’s free-to-air market but how can new players tap into this huge market? Simran Hoon, Chief Executive Officer of youth-focused general entertainment channel, The Q, delivered a presentation on January 20 at Television Asia Plus’ recent webinar, “South Asia: A look at India’s Content Space,” where she talked about India’s free-to-air (FTA) space and identified the gaps and opportunities in the market.
According to Simran, the Indian FTA market is critical in the country. Presenting the latest numbers, the CEO revealed that India currently has 70 million households who have yet to get their first TV set, with just 10% of the population having multiple TV sets at home, while free TV households are approximately 43 million and huge growth is expected in the area.
Providing a snapshot of the demographics of India’s market, she revealed that 50% of India’s population is under 35 years old and the new audience has gone off the television and to other media such as digital platforms and OTT to explore. She also noted that consumers have become more price-conscious as the pandemic has pushed a lot of people back into poverty. With digitization happening in the country, how can they access cheap entertainment?
With content costs going up in recent years thanks to the boom of OTT, Simran said, “I think what’s going to happen in television is content costs will have to be more rational. And that’s been a big revolution–they are seeking meaningful content which is relevant to them.”
Simran also said that there is room for content innovation on the FTA market as she identified the gaps and possible solutions indicating that viewers are currently underserved but ready to experiment.
Webinar panellists included Dhruv Sinha, Senior Vice President for International Business, Marketing and Syndication at Reliance Entertainment who talked about International Investments in Regional Content and Murtuza Kutianawalla, Country Head of Distribution and Syndication at Toonz Media Group who talked about The Evolution of Kids Content In India.
Watch the video below:
