Such a great piece of info 😀😀
Madhavan, who had a long stint at Star and now works under a new owner, says both organisations have their individual styles. “We have picked up what works well and topped it up with our own experience of India. The transition has been smooth and this is a high-priority market for Disney,”
Here u can clearly see that he is talking abt remakes & i think they will continue to do so as its working for them.
The network, too, has managed to adapt smartly to the changing times. Shailesh Kapoor, Founder and CEO of consulting firm Ormax India, says leadership for the network, for a long time, centred around its flagship channel, Star Plus. “Today, it has three pillars—Star Plus, cricket and Hotstar. It is a more diversified portfolio not just in terms of revenue but having a strong positioning as well,” he explains. Broad estimates suggest Star Plus makes Rs 1,500 crore each year through advertising (rivals Sony Entertainment Television and Zee TV make around `1,000 crore each) in a very difficult market.
During 2009 star plus was only pillar of star india so losing no.1 position to colors in 2009 was big setback for them but now evn if sp loses its no.1 position then its not big deal as right now other 2 pillars are much more stronger than sp
(SP makes 1500 cr per yr whereas sony/zee makes 1000cr , i think colors must be making 1200cr+ every yr).
Kevin Vaz, Head of Network Entertainment Channels, Disney Star, admits the model has changed. “Now, it is about differentiated content that leads to wholesome entertainment for the family. If you think non-fiction and film shows, it won’t work,” he says. To him, understanding the nuance of each market was what a lot of time went into—romance in Marathi and humour in Telugu being examples. “Today, content has to resonate with the preference of the changing viewer.”
Here in first quote he is clearly taunting sony (abt non fictions) & i think he is right in what he is saying, i agree with him.
To Menon, the options on the table are clear. “Disney cannot afford to lose the big-ticket cricket rights (IPL, ICC and BCCI). It will bid aggressively for all as losing them means a serious dent to the subscriber base,” he says. The logic is simple: valuations will be determined by the number of paid subscribers (rather, how many of them are on OTT). Menon emphasises how Netflix lost a quarter of its value on the back of a drop in subscriber base. “Disney is very well aware of this and will do anything to retain the top position.” Just the bids for the IPL broadcasting rights could go up to `30,000 crore.
The total base stood at 129.8 million, with Hotstar (primarily led by India with other markets being Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand) alone at 45.9 million, an increase of 2.6 million. Importantly, this comprises over 35 per cent of Disney’s total subscriber base. India is estimated to have over 42 million, or almost one-third, of the total subscriber numbers. Wall Street’s investors ensured the Disney stock zoomed by over 8 per cent.
A former Hotstar executive, who worked under both Star and Disney, says the focus on the broadcasting business will be limited. “It comes down to Hotstar’s paid subscriber numbers and the need to retain them at any cost. Cricket brings in at least 80 per cent of Hotstar’s revenues. Losing the big rights will see the stock taking a hit,” says the executive who declined to be named.
You can clearly see that how much IPL/BCCI/ICC rights are important not only for star india but also for whole disney as their whole future of disney plus depends on DPHS & Its subscribers, so they will bid very agressively for next IPL cycle rights.
The OTT subscription model is a segment Madhavan is bullish about. “We can’t set a timeline but the 50-million number in India will definitely touch 500 million. Cheap access to data coupled with the 5G roll-out can change everything,” he says. Given how obsessed Wall Street is with the paid subscriber model, Disney will want a very generous chunk of the pie. With his financial acumen, it is unlikely Madhavan will take his eyes off the numbers, rather Hotstar, even for a moment.
From this quote its very clear that his sole focus on OTT service, he is just waiting for 5G entry in India, right now linear television business (sp) is just another tool to make money for company
Obiviously they will not abandon linear television business in near future but clearly they will just keep them for commercial purposes.
Overall what i want to say is dont expect any quality work from ITV (or atleast star india) as they all have clearly set their next target on their OTT Business , tv is just tool to make money until indian entertainment industry becomes totally OTT driven Industry (its long path but still they are taking baby steps towards it).
https://www.businesstoday.in/interactive/longread/will-disney-after-buying-star-be-third-time-lucky-in-india-100-04-03-2022
Ps. @purple is my opinion on this article
Edited by IamRaj96 - 4 years ago