Media in 2003: A good year... almost

[icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu]

Media companies have been quick to cash in on the bull run in the stock
markets and positive trends in the economy. If the latest CII update on the
industry is taken into account, then that too indicates an economy doing
well. The spate of new news channels also indicating the same. The Indian
viewer has seen tremendous growth over the last couple of years, in terms of
the number as well as type of channels. There aren't now only mass
entertainment channels but specific channels for news, sports, Hindi and
English mass entertainment, Hindi and English movies, music, nature,
regional... the list goes on. The sectors that contribute to the revenue of
mass entertainment as well as Hindi movie channels are the two wheeler and
all FMCG categories. Reason being that for both the above type of channels,
a majority of their viewership comes from the common man who watches these
channels purely for entertainment purposes.

What has been slightly worrisome for the industry is the intra-segment
fights that continue unabated and the ad hoc nature in which the Government
has been trying to address policy and other issues. CAS has turned out to be
the year's biggest fiasco. Even now politicisation of the issue continues
unfazed - all in the name of the consumer who probably doesn't have much
clue why the industry and the Government are trying to play out a game on
his behalf, while not keeping him in the loop.

Source:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity1.asp?main_variable=MEDIA&file_name=med1
%2Etxt&counter_img=1