Consumer behaviour and content consumption patterns have witnessed a sea change in the last one year. Due to limited mobility, everyone turned to their screens for their daily source of entertainment. With events/concerts hosted online, free streaming subscriptions, mainstream cinema being released on streaming platforms, OTT originals and more, content consumption witnessed a steady growth.
No wonder then that the Media and Entertainment industry in our country is projected to reach US$ 100 billion by 2030. And driving this phenomenal growth is original and relatable content. An article by Mint suggests that Video streaming platforms are expected to shell out around Rs 1,920 crore to create original content in India this year. Rahul Maroli, Senior Vice President and Business Head, SVoD, Zee5 says “2020 was a breakthrough year for the OTT industry. We witnessed an unprecedented rise in consumption as consumers across the country scouted for stay-at-home entertainment options. While the production of new content did stall due to the pandemic, it has now picked up, and the pace will only keep increasing.” This clearly reflects that NOW is the time for fresh and inventive content to grow and flourish.
And not just OTT platforms, big production houses have also jumped on the bandwagon to back fresh and compelling content. Take for instance the partnership between Netflix and Dharmatic Entertainment – the digital content wing of Dharma Productions. As part of this collaboration, Dharmatic has been producing exclusive feature films, long and short-form content covering both fiction and non-fiction for the streaming platform. Excel Entertainment on the other hand has been behind shows like Inside Edge, Mirzapur and Made In Heaven for Amazon Prime Video. With video streaming platforms democratizing content, authentic storytelling has been surely the secret formula to attract viewers.
When talking about relatable content, we simply cannot not talk about how various brands on social media have been leveraging original content to engage the audience. Memes for example have been the favourite amongst most users. Super-original, fresh, humourous and very relatable, memes are almost custom-made to fit the purpose of different brands. Case in point, the recent commercial released by CRED featuring Rahul Dravid. Just when the ad went viral, brands started customizing parts of the ad to tell their story. Though completely not original, surely very relatable.
Original content along with technology will remain the major growth drivers of the Media and Entertainment Industry. A joint report by KPMG, FICCI, Pearl Academy and FDCI suggests that advancements in tech like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will help organisations predict consumer behaviour and consumption patterns, leading to increased personalized content formats. And this development means that there will be a host of new career opportunities in this domain. Modelled in line with contemporary demands of the industry, our two-year Media and Communication course helps students to drive this new media narrative. From industry exposure, live projects, international partnerships to media experts as faculty, this course empowers our students to become the storytellers of tomorrow. To know more, click here
