Track 1: OTT

Panel Discussion-I: Transforming OTT into a Platform for Masses by 2025

In the time of pandemic, industries across the spectrum are going through a transformation. However, over-the-streaming (OTT) platforms have emerged as one of the most positively affected sectors. With a rise in userbase on the back of new content and OTT movie premieres, streaming platforms have found themselves becoming a part of mainstream media platform.

Moderator – Ashish Pherwani, Partner, Media & Entertainment Advisory Services, Ernst & Young

Panelists:

• Ali Hussein, Chief Executive OfficerCEO, Eros Now
• Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama
• Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Player
• Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment

Track 3: Short Form Content

Panel Discussion-I: : The Future is Vertical: How Vertical Videos Are Becoming the Norm

In India, where the surge in Internet usage largely coincided with the availability of data on smartphones, vertical videos have been the norm. Television viewing has been on a decline, while smartphone use has been growing steadily. In India, the number one usage of phones has been for videos, especially the free kind. As a result, the rise of short video apps in India is no surprise. India remains a leading market for short videos, indicative of where the world is headed with videos at large. Mobile video consumption comes with a few key factors defining the evolution of videos as we head into the future.

Moderator – Paul Yang, Founder, CEO, Lomotif

Panelists:

• Shivank Agarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Mitron
• Ravanan N, Head of Content- Dailyhunt

Panel Discussion II: Streaming & the New Economics of Cinema

Lockdowns across the world have been a boon for streamers. With cinemas yet to reopen in India, OTT platforms have had a fresh opportunity to work with various studios. The platforms have scored a number of early hits in collaboration with Indian studios and stars, but are yet to break into the Bollywood mainstream. But the closure of cinemas in India has already caused something of a shake-up in the country’s sprawling film industry, forcing top studios to sell productions to streaming platforms and helping grow their audiences.

Moderator: Nitin Tej Ahuja, CEO, Producers Guild of India

Panelists:

• Vishnu Mohta, Co-Founder, SVF
• Sunil Doshi, Director, Manzar Studios
• Ajit Thakur, CEO, aha
• Mansi Darbar - VP - Strategy & Development, IN10 Media Network

Panel Discussion II: The Evolution of Music Licensing – TV, Movies, Trailers & Beyond

As music makes its way out to the public faster and more conveniently than ever, the music supervision community face the daunting task of sourcing through an overflow of material that not only satisfies their brief, but also meets the changing creative and production needs and licensing budgets. At the same time, the art, science and commercial realities of music supervision across all spectrums is rapidly evolving across multiple arenas including: trailers, TV shows, video games, film, online and most significantly, on-demand. This session will dive into the music discovery process, how to balance the relationship with artists, content owners/creators and studios/networks to get the right music for the right brief, as well as the various other aspects that come into the mix when securing a synch license including the creative and commercial realities, marketing and new and enhanced ways of monetization.

Moderator: Ameet Datta, Partner, Saikrishna & Associates

Panelists:

• Atul Churamani, Managing Director, Turnkey Music & Publishing
• Anil Lale, General Counsel, Viacom18 Media

Panel Discussion II: How Brands are Killing it by Advertising with UGCs and Boosting their Engagement

UGC as a concept disrupted the marketing paradigm long ago; the pandemic just amplified the already present strategy. Brands have been utilizing it for better reach, engagement and better ROI at a low cost of production. Hence, reducing the financial stress in these unprecedented times. And, the use of earned content can ease the costly burden of producing elaborate campaigns while building customer loyalty and increasing engagement.

Moderator: Vivek Bhargava, Vivek Bhargava, Head Performance Group, Dentsu & Co-Founder Profit Wheel & Co-Chair, Digital Advertising Committee, IAMAI

Panelists:

• Sanjay Gupta, Marketing Director APAC, Uber
• Neha Sharma Katyal, Business Head - Business Head - West & South, Twitter India
• Vikram Tanna, COO, Mzaalo

Panel Discussion III: Transforming Viewer Experience Through Technology

The Session will focus on the technologies that will drive the future of OTT, the role of technology and innovation in augmenting and enhancing consumers streaming video experience and how the OTT brands can capitalize on this.

Moderator – Ali Hussein, Chief Executive Officer, Eros Now

Panelists:

• Shabir Momin, MD & CTO, Zenga Tv & One digital entertainment
• Shahabuddin Sheikh, Chief Technology Officer, ALTBalaji
• Nikhil Rungta, India Country Manager, Verizon Media

Panel Discussion III: Are the Podcasts New Battleground in Music streaming

As the music industry becomes more competitive, non-audio content or podcasts seem to have become the new battlegrounds. The monthly podcast listeners in India, who've listened to at least one podcast in a month, grew to 40 million at the end of 2018 from 25.8 million a year ago. This implies an annual growth of 57 per cent, according to a research. India ranked third, after the United States (US) and China, in terms of podcast consumption. Currently, only 150 million Indians are estimated to be using audio-streaming services, which itself presents a massive opportunity of growth for podcasts. Music streaming companies are trying to leverage this increased demand for audio content in India. They are also trying to build their own podcast platforms.

Moderator: Gautam Raj Anand, CEO & Founder, Hubhopper

Panelists:

• Sreeraman Thiagarajan, CEO, aawaz.com
• Soumini Sridhara Paul, Senior Vice President, Hungama
• Vipul Bathwal, VP - Podcasts & Monetization Products, Gaana

Panel Discussion III: Global Trends in UGC Moderation

The complexity of content moderation lies in the enormous volume of UGC and its exponential growth as existing platforms scale and new ones appear. Companies lack the processes and tools to handle the relentless pace at which content circulates on the web. Unlike the content volumes which grow exponentially, the content moderation teams do so at linear pace. During this Panel, we will discuss case studies, success stories and content moderation solutions and global trends.

Moderator: Kazim Rizvi - Founding Director - The DialogueD

Panelists:

• Stephen Collins, Senior Director, Public Policy International, Snap Inc
• Bimal Rebba, Co-Founder, Trell
• Anirudh Rastogi, Founder, Ikigai Law
• Dr. Pavan Duggal, Founder & Chairman of International Commission, Cyber Security Law

Panel Discussion IV: Creativity for Diversity

OTT players offer diverse content while creating an immersive and engaging experience for consumers. With abundant choice & seamless accessibility facilitating content consumption on-the-go, binge-watching has become a norm. The result is that a large amount of content is now created for its stickiness. OTT platforms enable targeting the right mix of viewers based on their profiles and viewing habits, helping build strong consumer-driven relationships. Hence, there is a huge window of opportunity, to offer content that is well-packaged, hyper-personalized & engaging and while being within the bounds of sensitivity of Indian Culture and beliefs.

Moderator: Tarun Katial, Ex-Zee5

Panelists:

• Gourav Rakshit, Co-Chair, Digital Entertainment Committee, IAMAI & COO, Viacom18 Digital
• Amish Tripathi, Author
• Priya Kumar, Screenwriter

Panel Discussion IV: How Indie Music Evolved Over the Years

Indie music has evolved tremendously over the last two decades. Earlier it was a genre that only catered to the elites, but the musical journeys of these bands from being nothing to something is nothing short of phenomenal. In a county where Bollywood and cricket rule the entertainment industry, indie music is slowly making its mark in India. The rise of independent artists can be attributed to new technological mediums and increased living standards as well. There’s no doubt that when it comes to music, a country like India has not only been open toward the drastically changing music scene globally, but also has accepted it with an open heart. This has pushed its indie scene forward in turn.

Moderator - Raghav Meattle, Head, Big Indie Bang & New Initiatives

Panelists:

• Gurpreet Singh, Co-Founder & COO, One Digital Entertainment
• Rachna Kanwar, COO, Digital Media- Radiocity & Midday, Jagran Prakashan
• Sagar Gokhale, Chief Operating Officer, QYUKI
• Indira Rangarajan, National Content Director, Mirchi

Panel Discussion IV: Social Media Influencers- Are They the New Celebrities of Tomorrow?

Creator culture has taken the world by storm. Consumers are tuning into influencers everyday, and they are becoming one of the most preferred channels for all types of content and entertainment. Across the board, brands are increasingly studying the best way of leveraging influencers as dynamic mediums to convey their messages in ways that audiences understand and actually want to consume. On this panel we will dissect emerging influencer fame vs traditional celebrity stardom, and how to best communicate through this ever-important medium of people.

Moderator: Pranay Swarup, Founder & CEO, Chtrbox

• Paras Tomar, Social Media Influencer
• Deepti Chandak, Social Media Influencer
• Siddhi Mahajankatti, Social Media Influencer