Ag Talk | Digital has changed the game in every industry, CASBAA's Chris

With Television and audio visual industry coming a long way, India as a market has witnessed a lot many changes and evolution in the past few years. CASBAA has been successfully instrumental in creating various discussion platforms and getting stalwarts under one roof to raise various issues, clear confusions and further discuss the on-going issues. CASBAA, an association for digital multichannel television, content, platforms, advertising and video delivery across Asia, was established in Hong Kong on May 28, 1991. Founding companies included HBO Asia, ESPN, Star TV, CNN and Discovery Networks.

With its mission to promote the growth of multichannel TV and video content via industry information, networking exchanges and events while promoting global best practices to its consumers around Asia region, CASBAA year on year has grown quite successfully.

As it is rightly said that if the team is strong the organisation can reach to encouraging heights, bringing over 25 years of rich experience in the Asia-Pacific broadcasting industry to this role, Christopher Slaughter, leads an excellent team responsible for representing the interests of Association’s 130 member companies across 18 Asian markets.
Prior to CASBAA, Slaughter was MD and Executive Producer at a production company APV, Head of Asia-Pacific research and consulting at The Yankee Group, and Hong Kong and Shanghai Bureau Chief for CNBC Asia. To know more Adgully during the recent CASBAA forum that took place in Delhi couple of weeks back caught up with Christopher Slaughter, CEO, CASBAA.

Adgully (AG): How has been CASBAA’s journey so far?
Christopher Slaughter (CS):
We have been in this industry from last 10 years and every year has made CASBAA as an organization learn something new. If you look at the progression of the topics that have taken place every year, it will prove the fact that CASBAA has grown tremendously.

AG: How was the conference this year viz-a-viz last year?
CS:
This year was brilliant year for us. Interestingly, we were taking the conference ahead with the theme, New Era, New Opportunities but what we ended up discovering was ‘Disruption’. With on-going discussions on the same, the entire conference took a new turn and every session stressed upon how disruption is growing and affecting the industry. Also, spurred by the plan to digitize the cable television sector, the Indian TV industry has been revived with the promise of increased transparency, pay revenues and access to content. 

CASBAA assembled a diverse roster of expert speakers to debate on the on-going issues along with a variety of other important topics paving the way for India’s continued growth such as audience measurement, media regulations, advertising, new technology, satellite spectrum and much more.

AG: If you have to give us a sense of the television and content industry, globally, what would be your thoughts?
CS:
You take any country or market whether it’s Washington DC or London or any, the entire world has been witnessing changes in the television industry. The advent of digital has created a buzz in the television and content industry quite literally. The opportunities that online video platform is giving the consumers and the content creators a wide array of new innovations but at the same is creating confusion for the industry stalwarts in terms of realizing where the industry is going to head.

AG: What you have to say about the Indian Television and content industry?
CS:
Indian television industry has been one of the fastest growing ones or rather I should say India as a market has been one of the fastest growing one in terms of accepting newer technologies and delivering back in the best possible way. What is interesting is the fact that there has been an encouraging growth in the industry in terms of creativity and content consumption patterns and that to in spite of all sorts of regulatory issues that have been flooding in the industry from quite some time now.

AG:  What are the key challenges that CASBAA has faced till date?
CS:
The Asia Pacific region has a diverse set of audiences where the audiences’ content preferences are growing and evolving at rapid pace. The region involves various markets such as Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore to emerging markets including Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. To understand the need and demand of each region and to abide by the changing regulatory environment with every region is a big challenge. The difficulty lies in predicting a single direction as there are so many opportunities.

AG: You have been re-iterating the fact that there are a lot of opportunities in every market and in the television and content industry too. Please specify some of them.
CS:
Well the key opportunity lies in the technological revolution that every market in Asia is witnessing. The way marketers and broadcasters are catering to the evolving needs and demands of its consumers and the acceptance of multi screens is where the opportunity is. The linear television business remains a powerful driver of the industry in every region.

AG: As you mentioned about the evolution of the television industry, if you have to chalk down the biggest game changer in the last couple of years, what would that be?
CS:
I never cease to be amazed by the proliferation of the channels and the pace at which this industry has grown over the years. Also the increasing acceptance of new media and video platforms has been a game changer for the industry.  | By Aanchal Kohli | Twitter: @aanchalkohli

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