An incredibly and exciting time to be here: Walt Disney's Andy Bird

British film producer and the current chairman of Walt Disney International, Andrew Peter Bird is here in India to attend FICCI FRAMES 2013. This is the full speech that Bird gave while addressing the audience at media & entertainment's mega event. 

Honourable Minster, Distinguished guests, Ladies & Gentlemen, it’s a real privilege to here with you again at the 2013 FICCI-FRAMES conference.

It was nine years ago, in 2004, that I first had the pleasure of attending this event and addressing many of the same people who are here today. I remember how the hot topic of the day was CAS and its imminent implementation. As they say, “the best laid plans”….anyway I’m particularly pleased to have seen the successful deployment of CAS throughout most major cities in India and look forward to its further expansion….”Good things come to those who wait”!

When I last spoke, we were the “new kids on the block” – back in India after a decade’s absence, with the launch of Disney Channel. I’m so pleased to be joined this morning by Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group. Anne will be addressing you later this morning and through her passion and support, she has helped Disney Channel become the number one kids network in India and our bouquet of four kids channels (Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior and Hungama) become the number one kids network in India.

We’ve also grown our other businesses over the past nine years –  both organically and, of course, through the acquisition last year of UTV. When we made the decision to buy UTV, we did it with two considerations in mind – the first was to create a diverse company in India of which I’ll speak more shortly; but, as importantly to acquire the talents of Ronnie Screwvala to run the new company. As many of you know, Ronnie is a rare breed of entrepreneur who has successfully built UTV and embraced Indian and Western cultures. I am so proud to count Ronnie as one of my friends and to have him lead the Walt Disney Company in India with his magnificent creative management team.

As a company, we’ve been on a bit of a transformational journey as well, since we last met. Bob Iger became CEO with three clearly articulated strategies: Creativity, Technology & International. We had to ensure that creativity and quality remained at the heart of our company; that we embraced technology and the changes that would bring; and that we became a truly international company.

Clearly, in my case, “international”  is meant to mean “anything outside the United States.”  But, I’m fairly certain that the people here today define it quite differently.  And that’s really the point.  Every market has its own perspective, and the industry leaders with each market have a unique view of the region, along with an insider’s and appreciation for the opportunities and challenges within it.

There is no international market.  There is only a vast collection of diverse and dynamic local markets that demand individual strategies and relevant products from any business trying to succeed there.

The Walt Disney Company has a long legacy of success as a great media and entertainment company – helping to define the industry for a few generations at least.  Perhaps not surprisingly, when people began to speak of the “old media” that had defined the industry for generations versus the “new media” that would define the digital future – everyone put Disney squarely in the former category.  Well, everyone except the leadership at Disney – who had other ideas and began to transform what it means to be a media company in this era, challenging the status quo (along with conventional wisdom) and leading the charge on a number of fronts as industry innovators in the process.

In that transformation, we not only changed how we looked at ourselves and our business – but how we looked at the world. It’s no longer “domestic” versus “international”  for us.  We recognize that each market we enter essentially needs its own “Disney” company – with strategies and products and messages that are compatible with the culture and relevant to local consumers.  And we see tremendous opportunity in rapidly emerging markets like China, Russia, Latin America, South Korea – and, of course, India – so connecting with consumers in these regions is a key strategic priority for Disney, and will be integral to our future growth.

That’s why our strategy for each region reflects local market realities and opportunities.  Our approach here in India is focused on media and entertainment – because that’s where we see the greatest potential for Disney, not only because the industry here is poised for a huge leap forward, but because of the rapidly rising middle class of consumers and their traditional focus on the family.

This is radically different than our strategy in China, for example, which is much more restrictive on the content imported into the country.  In China, we’re focused on building our presence and our brand by telling Disney stories through theme parks and a strong retail effort.  Likewise, our China strategy is quite different from our approach in Latin America, where we’re transitioning Disney from a high-end, rather elite brand, into the broader mass market.

The Disney brand will remain strong and clear and everything we do anywhere in the world will reflect the brand values consumers know and trust – but each market will dictate how consumers access and interact with that brand.  At the Walt Disney Company, we believe that in stories we find the imagination needed to envision a better tomorrow, and the inspiration to make that vision come true.  This belief guides how we act as a company, and how we connect kids, families, and friends first with each other, and then with the causes they care most passionately about.

Together, we are more than the sum of our parts.  By inspiring others to join in and take action we can truly create a better tomorrow.  A happier tomorrow.  A healthier tomorrow.  Where we are all driven to care for the world we share.

We’re creating a better world powered by today’s creativity and imagination, and shaped by the potential of what can be.  Disney has a unique ability to inspire kids and families to create new tales where they are the heroes, because we believe that the greatest stories have yet to be told.

We are, in fact, building The Walt Disney Company from the ground up in critical markets like India – just as Walt Disney himself built the original company in the U.S. decades ago.  The managers of our business in each region are creating strategies that reflect the local markets.   They are actually operating as entrepreneurs, taking what is essentially a start-up operation and building it into an extraordinary Disney company in their markets.  For that reason, India’s Disney will look different from any other version.

I describe the change as follows: In the past, the Walt Disney Company India and the Walt Disney Company China were very similar, largely sales, marketing and distribution organizations for product created in the US. Today, instead of the Walt Disney Company India, we’re creating the Indian Walt Disney Company and, instead of the Walt Disney Company China, we’re creating the Chinese Walt Disney Company. Each different to ensure each is as relevant as possible to consumers in each market.

With the acquisition of UTV and the creation of the new Walt Disney Company India, Disney became India’s leading film studio and TV producer.  We also added six of the country’s most popular entertainment, and film channels to our portfolio, so we’re now one of India’s leading broadcasters as well, reaching more than 100 million viewers every week across the country.  The UTV deal also positioned us as a significant player in the digital media space, thanks to Indiagames, the number one mobile gaming company in this market.  And, just as importantly, the deal gave us the brilliance and vision of Ronnie Screwvala – the man behind UTV’s incredible rise – to build The Walt Disney Company in India.

With Ronnie’s leadership, our goal is to build four specific lines of business – Television, Film, Digital Media and Consumer Products – around five distinct brands:  Disney, UTV, Marvel, Bindass…and the newly acquired Star Wars.   Acquiring UTV and transforming it into The Walt Disney Company in India gives us 250 million new consumers in this market that we couldn’t reach before.  Consumers who already have a strong relationship with two of those four brands, and seek them in out in at least three of those core businesses.

The Walt Disney Company India will be unlike any other Indian media company: none will have the breadth of brands and franchises that TWDC India will have. No other Indian media company will have the breadth of businesses we will have and no other Indian media company will connect with generations of consumers like The Walt Disney Company India will do.

In India, we have built a creative prowess, second only to that found in the U.S. We have creative teams here in India who produce a slate of diverse films, produce a spectrum of original TV programming across our networks, build mobile games and applications and create style guides for our consumer products business. We are building a company that is far greater in scope than just one business, or being defined as being just in distribution and marketing. We are building the Indian Walt Disney Company.

What excites me even more is that we can work with Indian talent, infront and behind the camera, to create local franchises and look to export this talent to markets outside of India - offering opportunites for talent in our Hollywood movies for example. The Disney-UTV team is already working with their colleagues at Disney, Pixar, Marvel and now Lucas to innovate and produce even better product for here in India.

Our Interactive team is working very closely with our Japan team - where we do the most amount of innovation in interactive and mobile outside the US - to really take this space in India to the next level and be ready for the Broadband wave that India will no doubt see.

Our TV team here very sucessfully reversions our best formats from around the world to connect with local audiences.

So, as you can see, we are building a Content, Creative, Brand and Franchise company in India and with these four excelling it can only translate to the best business model stradling the four verticals I spoke about - movies+tv+interactive+consumer products .....and ,of course, I have not touched on our Live Entertainment business as that is a work in process..so watch this space!

We are clearly investing for the long term, and are looking to India for significant growth going forward.  There are few markets that offer the tremendous opportunity available in India today.  You’ve got a middle class of more than 50 million people – a rapidly growing middle class of consumers that is expected to exceed more than 500 million by 2025.  Incomes are expected to at least triple during that same time.

Additionally, the rapid rise of new technology and India’s more recent focus on this sector means that India is capable of the kind of instantaneous shifts and opportunities in the media and entertainment space that simply are not possible in countries like the U.S. that will literally have to rip out existing infrastructure in order to replace it with the new technology that will drive the future.  That’s an expensive proposition and one that will slow critical change in some of those more established markets – while India has the chance to define itself with the latest technology and innovation unencumbered by the remains of technology that defined the last century.

We have made such significant investments here because we believe in the enormous potential to be found here.  We share your goals, and want to be a partner in your success.

The discussion over the next couple of days will be about the best ways for us to get from here to there –  from the current market to the $100 billion juggernaut that we all want for India.  Personally, I think all of the elements exist to realize that potential.  The only question is how fast we can do it -- and there are some things that could potentially drive accelerated growth.

Injecting more reliability and certainty would accelerate success.  Actually, that’s pretty much true for the world at large at the moment – we could all use a little more reliability and certainty these days, but that’s perhaps a topic for another day.

Clearly it is easier to make decisions and commit to a course of action when you have all the facts.  That’s true for individuals in our own lives – and it is doubly true for companies looking to invest in new markets.

It’s critical for everyone involved to at least understand what the rules of the market place are and to be fairly confident that those rules are not going to change unexpectedly.  India is on the cusp of great change – which creates the exceptional opportunities we’ve been talking about, but also adds a greater degree of uncertainty as the many facets of the government and industry and population go about the difficult business of charting the course forward into the future we all want to see.  The more certainty India can create with clear policies and firm decisions, the greater interest and investment it will attract and the faster it will achieve its goals for this industry and beyond.

One day in the not so distant future, I hope to be back in a room like this….and look out to see a room full of competitors in a robust industry that has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations.  Ronnie and I sincerely believe in what Disney has to offer Indian consumers and we look forward to competing in a very strong market – but to get there, right now we must all work together to address the critical issues and drive the change needed to unleash the incredible potential here and realize our shared vision of what this industry can, and should, be.

Ambitions that may have seemed unimaginable a few years ago are now achievable with the right strategy and focus and the combined commitment of the leaders here today.  Together, we can create the momentum to move us all forward toward our goals.

India is the world’s second largest country and will soon be one of its biggest economies.  Despite the tremendous growth over the past several years, this amazing country is only just beginning to realize its potential.  And that makes this an incredibly exciting time to be here.

The future of media and entertainment in India will be defined and built by the people in this room.  It’s an honor to be included in the conversation, and I appreciate the chance to share my thoughts about the challenges and opportunities we at The Walt Disney Company see ahead for this industry and this country.  We look forward to working with you to build the unlimited future we all believe is possible in India. | By Andrew Peter Bird

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