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Newer Media Platforms Mean Protecting TPMs, Says Content Industry

PRESS RELEASE — 24 Oct 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Newer Media Platforms Mean Protecting TPMs, Says Content Industry
Digital media will transform the Indian entertainment and content industry such that consumers can obtain their favourite shows wherever they are and on whatever device. As a basis, Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) need to be recognised and protected under the law.
This was the conclusion of the panel of content industry stakeholders, presented by the LA India Film Council and Centre for Content Promotion at FICCI’s Media and Entertainment Business Conclave(MEBC), Chennai, Oct 17.

Chennai, Oct 22: Content policy makers need create proper infrastructure, which includes protection and security, transparent market access, and weeding out content theft. This becomes essential as the “long tail of movies is really happening, facilitated and enabled by new digital technology,” says Uday Singh, Managing Director, Motion Picture Dist. Association (MPDA) India.

Singh was speaking at the fourth MEBC organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Oct 17. Actor Dr Kamal Hassan is the Chairman of MEBC which celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema this year.

The panel was hosted by Isa Seow of the Centre for Content Promotion, Singapore and the LA India Film Council. In the audience were P. Murari, Advisor-President, FICCI and officials from the Indian and international film industry, Government of India and experts from industries of technology and VFX.

Films make the most financial returns during the initial months of their release. However, theatrical is not the only return-on-investment for movies given the emergence of Pay TV and other business models on platforms such as IPTV, mobile, packaged media and internet.

India’s National Telecom Policy 2011 envisions providing high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through optical fiber by the year 2014. The government intends to provide affordable and reliable broadband on demand by the year 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed. This paves the way for emerging new  business models and the need for content protection measures that are critical for the feasibility of these new delivery channels. Additionally many states in India will have digital broadcast TV in the coming months.

Speaking at the event, Isa Seow, Managing Director of the CCP provided an overview of content protection technologies and policies.

The panel discussed the role of TPMS in the above scenario and went on to chart the road ahead for India. “There is so much potential for Indian films worldwide. With current technology, many more communities worldwide can enjoy Indian movies after their theatrical release. We explored the most current aspects of digital distribution and technologies in our panel,” said Seow.

Ankan Biswas, Chairman, Digital Broadcast Council, delineated the timeline of the long tail. It begins 5-6 weeks before theatrical release with the music release and extends 3-9 months after, spanning DTH, DVD distribution, satellite licensing to TV and new media.

Joining the panel were industry experts such as Krishnan Rajagopalan, Head of Technology, Group Digital Life, Singtel, Singapore’s leading telecom provider and Paul Jackson, Chief Engineer, NDS, who discussed TPMs for Pay TV and OTT. NDS leads markets in conditional access, middleware and digital video recorder software.

A Council publication commissioned from Ernst & Young titled “Monetizing Your Content In A Digital World” was released during the panel discussion. “Successful digital monetization in a fragmented landscape depends on sharp customer targeting, providing enhanced value in entertainment experiences and seamless integration of targeted advertising micropayment mechanisms. Media owners who rework their business models based on these parameters will be valued in the future,” said Raghav Anand, Segment Champion Digital Media, Ernst & Young.

About the LA India Film Council

Established in November of 2010 by a Joint Declaration between the City of Los Angeles and the Indian Film Industry, the Los Angeles India Film Council was formed to facilitate and strengthen motion picture production, distribution, technology, content protection, and commercial cooperation between the two communities. The current Governing Council members are: Film Federation Of India, Film and Television Producers Guild of India, National Film Development Corporation, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, AP Film Chambers, California Film Commission, Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles , MovieLabs, Technicolor India, DQ Entertainment, Reliance MediaWorks, Prime Focus, Peter Law Group, Whistling Woods International, Film and Television Institute of India, University of Southern California— School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and Motion Picture Dist. Association (India) Pvt. Ltd. For more information, visit: www.laindiafilmcouncil.org

About CCP

The Centre for Content Promotion (CCP) is a consortium of industry stakeholders dedicated to digital and analogue content creation, technological standards and innovation, legitimate business models, and secure delivery.
As the primary service to all its members the CCP works to generate awareness and education to the government, industry and public. We organise training seminars, public relations campaigns, and cross-industry cooperation that engender respect for content creation and secure delivery.

Importantly, the CCP is an avenue to create an understanding and ecosystem between technology providers, service providers, content providers and regulators.

CCP hosts their site at https://contentpromotion.net/
In Singapore: isa_seow@sxf.3bf.myftpupload.com
In India: annathomas@sxf.3bf.myftpupload.com or anukurien@yahoo.com
Tel: 9500147304