SCREENXX 2021: Discussions on Day 1 set the future course for the OTT sector

SCREENXX 2021, Adgully’s premier property for Digital Video and OTT, got underway yesterday (October 6) to a scintillating start. This year, the event is spread over two days. MX Player is the presenting sponsor and Powered By sponsor is Voot. The event is in association with Inmobi. Gold Partner is PTC Network, while Plum Body Lovin and Park Avenue Grooming are the Gifting Partners.

Day 1 commenced with an opening Keynote Address by Gourav Rakshit, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, who outlined four principles, which are used at Voot to set course for a brand new tomorrow.

Watch the complete address below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2I1e2eYoBE

The panel discussion on ‘Beyond the Pandemic Push – Building on the Momentum’ saw the speakers highlight ways in which OTT players are capitalising on the gains see during the pandemic period, the impact on customer acquisition cost and more.

In the panel on ‘OTT: A New-Age Emerging Marketing Medium’, the speakers dwelled on advertising budgets and what is OTT’s share in the overall ad pie. Brand marketers present in the panel spoke about how they are factoring in OTT into their media mix.

Newer narratives, compelling storytelling and a strong content strategy for the OTT platforms were discussed at length in the panel on ‘Making Stories the Centrepiece Again – Behind the Big Boom’, which comprised of some leading content and creative names.

This was followed by a Fireside Chat between Ferzad Palia, Head - SVOD and International Business, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, and Louis Boswell, CEO, Asia Video Industry Association, who discussed the various aspects of ‘The SVOD play and the Best Monetisation Model’. 

Watch the entire interesting conversation below:

The panel on ‘Going Local – Why OTT Needs to Grow Deeper Roots?’ brought to the fore the strong growth of regional content and regional OTT players and what it means for the Indian M&E industry.

The panel on ‘Why A Stronger Technology Gameplan Matters in OTT’ brought together OTT players and tech consultants, who highlighted the technology juggernaut on which the entire OTT ecosystem is based and how it is helping the business gain scale.

The panel following this saw some legal eagles discuss the very important issue of piracy – ‘Plugging the Leaks – Giving More Teeth to Anti-Piracy Fight’. The speakers also shared how the legal system is gearing up to counter this menace, as well as some very helpful advice on how OTT and Digital Media players can safeguard themselves against piracy.

The final panel on Day 1 – ‘Creating Differentiation – Avoiding the Pitfalls of Monotony’ – had a mix of OTT players and media experts, who discussed content from a marketers’ perspective as well as a consumers’ perspective. The discussion commenced with an interesting conversation on what each of the panellists preferred to watch – theatre, television and OTT. The common answer – OTT.