The Phoenix Has Risen & Is Here to Stay
I remember the time when we had to hire VCRs and Video Tapes from the retailer near our homes if one had to binge on a 12-hour hire. Then the VCRs became affordable, so we had to just rent videotapes. Then we saw the cable TV explosion in the early 90s and movies were getting beamed through satellite TV channels.
Over time new movies were just 30 days away from these tv stations and one could enjoy movies being watched at home.
Fast-forward 20 years and here we are in 2021. What a change of sorts, today digital video has several formats. There are social channels to share, there are platforms to create and then there are entire shows being released on platforms known to us today as OTTs, why just shows movies have been released in the recent past on OTTs which have changed the entire landscape of viewing and the consumer journeys thereof.
What a time for those who are witnessing the digital revolution in India, some of these new-age consumers may not even know how it was 20 years ago, that is what technology does to our lives, it just accelerates the entire ecosystem as a whole.
Going back in time, video rentals were a hassle with the evolving consumer of those times which is why a Redbox was created, the first-ever major innovation in the rental space where people did not drive down anymore to the nearest library, but it was available through a vending machine at every Walmart in the US.
Technology evolved so much that even a family outing to Walmart was not considered convenient and streaming through the internet took center stage and we all know what Netflix is today. But for me, the spark of innovation was first sowed by Redbox.
Nevertheless, coming back closer to home, I remember the first time I heard of Hotstar was in 2014-2015 and I wondered when we will ever see the big opportunity translate into reality in India and like many businesses, I thought this will also die a natural death thanks to the insignificant internet penetration at homes, lack of Smart TVs, expensive mobile data consumption etc. Seldom did I realise then that people will stay invested in the business till 2017-2018 because it is one helluva investment to sustain for so long but what I did not know is the kind of acceleration a Jio would do to our country through one man and his team knew all along with the importance of data and what it would do to the digital economy.
Mukesh bhai had different ideas and having had the opportunity to work closely with the leadership at Jio, I could see it transpire into reality from close quarters. What a digital movement it eventually was the entire ecosystem thrived from it.
Not just the consuming economy but the creator economy too, we now have a whole host of platforms where talent gets showcased, one does not need to depend on getting launched to get noticed, one gets noticed on social media and through creator platforms like Josh, MX Player and many others. When talent meets entertainment, everyone benefits. People make money creating, platforms make money enabling creativity and the end consumer gets entertained.
Coming back to how people consume entertainment today is very different to how two generations ago people would consume it. Today communication platforms are the biggest carrier of entertainment. WhatsApp, Sharechat and the likes have massive audiences which creates massive network effects across all aspects leading to massive consumption of digital video.
Then there are the Firesticks of the world that makes a TV into a Smart TV enabling further consumption and penetration and the App economy of video is booming. My child Ajinkya was born in 2018 and in a year Covid happened. He has had no exposure to any playschool and at little over 3 years he has leant English all by himself through digital videos expanding the horizon of learning. That gives me a Segway to Edutech.
If you look at companies like Byju’s to Emeritus it covers all aspects of video from live tutoring to digital video learning and having been a student myself at Emeritus I can tell you that the pandemic accelerated edutech in a massive manner and we know the beneficiaries thereof, we have more than 7 Unicorns in that space with Byjus leading the race followed by all the new age unicorns like Eruditus Group, Unacademy, Great Learning to name a few.
Digital video is a Phoenix, it has risen, and it is here to stay. I say this because I was lucky to have seen the early era of digital video through VCRs to seeing it today as a streaming service, it died and has risen from the ashes and this time it is not going anywhere because the use cases are so many from entertainment to healthcare to education that the digital life for us has truly arrived.
The author is Rammohan Sundaram, Country Head & Managing Partner- Integrated Media, DDB Mudra Group
