Indian entertainment network Viacom 18 Media which has under its stable popular channels such as Colors MTV Nickelodeon etc. will soon launch more content relevant to its audience in the GCC and the wider Middle East said Sudhanshu Vats Group CEO.

Currently the network primarily broadcasts content produced in India to the Asian diaspora in the GCC.

"In the GCC and Mena we are also looking at the South Asian diaspora. We try to bring the best international content for them. We have original content from India acquired content from South Asia and content from Europe Turkey in particular" he informs.

The network produces about 50 per cent of content in the GCC in the form of talk shows quizzes and health and wellness shows.

"Local content for the wider population is something we will continue to evaluate. Content travels internationally. The storyline is common across geographies especially for non-fiction formats for instance Big Brother Dancing with the Stars Fear Factor etc." Vats adds. Other new ventures at Viacom 18 include a digital platform Voot which is currently in the beta testing phase and Rishtey Cineplex a Bollywood movie channel which will launch within a month.

The over-the-top platform will air original content content around content (for home grown and popular international non-fiction formats) and digital-only content the CEO discloses.

The group also launched an English general entertainment channel Colors Infinity last year which broadcasts contemporary shows.

Other business interests include a live events division consumer products unit and a film studio Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.

The eight-year-old company today owns 20 channels in India and 14 feeds internationally. Its revenue has grown 30-fold in the last eight years. Rather than expand into new genres Viacom 18 focuses on playing to its strengths.

"Sports is not on our cards at the moment. In India sports is a very long gestation high investment business. The business case does not stack up for us in this case" clarifies Vats. Currently TV business accounts for the lion's share of the group's revenue. However there has been an advertising slowdown in the Mena for the past few months. But with India experiencing robust growth in TV ad revenue it is poised to offset the lower ad billings from other international markets.

"The TV ad market in India is expected to grow at around 20 per cent. Projections for FY 2017 are also very strong in India. E-commerce players are a big new source of advertising. Traditional players such as FMCG and the auto sectors have also been strong" reckons Vats.

Although revenue from TV ads still dominate digital is also an increasingly monetisable platform in India.

"Both platforms can co-exist. Growth will be much more in digital ad sales going forward" says Vats. He expects the Indian digital video ad sales market to grow to $1 billion by 2020. Citing the challenges in the Indian media and entertainment industry the Viacom 18 Group CEO said subscription revenues are very low. On an average Indian subscribers pay about $4 or Rs240 per month.

However Vats believes that once Indians switch to mobile payment transactions the subscription eco-system will grow exponentially.

"Content owners are not getting a rightful share of these revenues. The bandwidth is another challenge for OTT operators but that is gradually changing" Vats points out.

There is also no ease of doing business with multiplicity of permissions required Vats claims. He also calls for lowering entertainment tax on movie tickets and live events.

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