In this Industry Spotlight with Megha Tata, Immediate Past President of the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), and Lohita Sujith, Sr. Director, Copyright & Digital Economy, Motion Picture Association, they discussed the future of the media industry.

As one of the original veterans in satellite television, with more than thirty years of experience in the media industry, Megha offered a lot of insight on how to ride the waves of evolution in technology and the industry.

The conversation started with the topic of monetization, which she said continues to be a challenge as viewers move away from traditional television. Earlier, a simple ad model was the revenue model, but in digital, this is not the case. Megha suggested that perhaps the future would marry the two with innovative viewer experiences such as viewers being able to immediately purchase a product seen in a movie.

She stated that having a digital stream is non-negotiable for all media now; whether print or television, it is a must to have a digital version, and in many cases, consumers engage with the digital version more. She also touched on the role of social media and influencers in the content creation ecosystem. One thing people forget is that while there is a potential viewership of 1.4 billion people, there are also 1.4 billion potential content creators now. While this number often excites people, Megha cautioned that India was not a one-size-fits-all market, and diverse content would reach and speak to different parts of India.

Megha encouraged people to be open-minded rather than sticking to their set idea of how things should be. When it came to AI, she said there was nothing to be afraid of; one must simply learn how to use it as a job enhancement. Traditional ways would always be challenged, but when one is open to the journey, they could find success for their business.

Near the end of the discussion, the two came to one of Megha’s passions: women in the industry. She identified three cohorts to look at: how women were represented in content, how many women were involved in filmmaking, and how many women were at the corporate level. She acknowledged that there had been a lot of growth in the industry; however, she stated that the very fact that this was still being discussed showed that there was still room for improvement. She recommended companies take practical steps to improve this and bring more women into the fold.

In closing, Megha stated that over thirty years in the industry, she had seen a lot. As she described it, it was similar to nurturing a child, where you had to let it grow up and acknowledge that things continue to be executed in an alternative manner.