Megha Tata, Managing Director, South Asia – Discovery, contributes to our special series in which industry heavyweights, thought leaders, industry captains, business heads, brand custodians, and other C-suite executives share their lessons learned from 2021, as well as guidance and inspiration for the year ahead.
Megha Tata became the Managing Director of Discovery Communications India on April 1, 2019. In a career spanning more than 28 years, Megha has held executive positions at companies such as BTVI, HBO, Turner International, and Star TV. She is a respected member of FICCI‘s National Media and Entertainment Committee and a leader in several national and international industry forums. She was elected President of the International Advertising Association’s India Chapter in 2021. (IAA).
A Look Back Over the last few years, the M&E landscape has changed dramatically. With the introduction of OTT, the world is presently shifting from a survival mode to one of innovation and change for the future. Despite the obstacles that the pandemic will provide in 2020, we are glad to say that as a network, we are among the top four in terms of growth and have successfully pushed the boundaries in terms of providing content that inspires and entertains.
For us, 2021 was a year of new trends and triumphs. In terms of weekly reach, Discovery Infotainment Network was 182 per cent greater than the English News Genre and 112 per cent higher than the leading English GEC and English Movie Channels combined.
Furthermore, the Discovery Network India channels controlled roughly 50% of the infotainment category market. Most crucially, our most successful initiative, discovery+, which entered the OTT industry during the shutdown in 2020, saw its original content rise five-fold in 2021. Since its inception, the network has continually invested in local stories and generated genre-defining Indian content. In 2021, innovation will be at the heart of our commercial activities as a network, and we want to build on that momentum in our strategy for 2022.
Looking ahead they believe the previous two years have ingrained in us a fundamental shift in attitude toward life and beyond, as well as lessons to help us re-calibrate our enterprises. This year would be about getting the most out of those insights, taking into account evolving customer behaviour trends, and curating cross-channel engagement tactics. During the epidemic, video streaming platforms become the go-to destination for everything from originals to movies to esports, concerts, and virtual events. Viewer tastes switched to deep libraries on OTT, which span genres and languages, as original content on linear TV became scarce.
Top of form while streaming material will grow in popularity, television will continue to grow and coexist, with increased advertising and reach. Short format video material that has the potential to go viral and earn repeat views is becoming increasingly popular. In the last two years, increasingly customised fan groups headed by digital producers/influencers have gained footing on major media platforms.
Follow and Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
