Indian media industry can be worth $100 bn

New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) It is possible to make the Indian entertainment and media industry worth $100 billion by 2010, experts said Monday.

This was stated at 'India - The Big Picture', the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Media and Entertainment Summit here.

In his opening remarks, Amit Khanna of CII, said all stakeholders should work out a good roadmap. "$100 billion is not an impossible target," Khanna said.

Uday Shankar, CEO of Star India, pointed out the hurdles in achieving the target. "We may have notions of having achieved a great deal but we are far below in the industrial pecking order.

"In television, we need a lot more content. Talent is another issue." Yet, "a $100 billion is a target worth achieving".

Andy Kaplan of Worldwide Network, Sony Picture TV, said innovation was the key to make the Indian media industry near the $100 million target.

"There are four pillars for growth in the media industry: content, digitization, distribution and platforms," he said.

Ronnie Screwvala, managing dirctor of The Walt Disney Co, noted that for the long term growth of the industry, the business model had to undergo a drastic change.

In another session, Aroon Poorie, chairman and editor-in-chief of the India Today group, said media has brought transparency and accountability in public life.

However, he said the Indian media needed regulation. "But none of it should be by the government."