The lockdown has changed a lot of things in our lives, even our needs related to entertainment. In the current situation, we are streaming more content than ever but shooting and production these days is on a halt. It seems that digital streaming is our only option.
Negligible amount of content that is being created in the lockdown and that is the reason why channels are now forced to air old shows. Though the telecasters and OTT platforms are doing well, Media and Entertainment as a whole is suffering. The revenue in the coming year is expected to be reduced by 16% which makes a whopping 25,000 crore.
The reason for this expected revenue cut is the limitations posed by the current lockdown situation.
The creation of content won’t go back to the way it was anytime soon. Shooting for new projects would be done maintaining social distancing norms. Most media projects will be dropped by production houses due to the increase in the budget due to precautionary measures. The probability of live sports returning to stadiums is very low, which will again result in a huge loss for media houses in fact even people related to the sports industry. A huge number of jobs could be lost as the entertainment business runs on a contractual basis. The media and entertainment industry could witness further slowdown if shooting restrictions are not addressed.
Media and Entertainment are expected to explore the “Digital” dimension. Using digital methods for media creation will reduce the need for human contact reducing the cost of precautionary measures but it is likely to bring up a lot of challenges that may appear to be as major threats or roadblocks for the completion of such projects. Concerts would have to follow the same pattern of live streaming. The OTT industry will flourish further with most release taking place on online platforms.
Going digital will help keep us entertained till media gets back to its original pace and also provide exposure to a larger pool of artists who have been struggling to get noticed in the otherwise glamourized Bollywood culture.
