Leading digital industry players at Convergence India 2009 have reiterated the need for content protection technology and content distribution to function collaboratively in India.
The Indian film industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% to reach US$3.34bn (Rs 168.8 bn) by 2013, according to KPMG. However, the country’s media and entertainment industry loses US$4 billion and 820,000 jobs each year due to piracy and counterfeiting.
The Centre for Content Protection (CCP) and the Motion Picture Dist. Association (MPDA), brought together leading digital industry players at New Delhi, March 19, to discuss recent developments in digital protection technology for content distribution and how this relates to monetisation of content.
“Content protection helps consumers in India and elsewhere to purchase content per-view, per-hour and on whatever device that suits the consumer. We are looking forward to engaging the Indian industry more,” said CCP Director Isa Seow.
Participants at the event pointed out that real numbers on the problem of actual piracy at TV set top boxes, as opposed to potential piracy, were not easily found and the methodologies not full-proof.
“It will be really wonderful if we find a connect between Bangalore’s IT companies and Bollywood to better enable new consumer models,” Seow said
NDS sees India as one of the most dynamic markets for the growth of digital pay-TV. "NDS technology, supported by our strong presence in India, enables operators to deliver uncompromised, innovative content, positively impacting the growth of the industry while fighting piracy," says Warren Pearsall, Director, Major Accounts, NDS Asia-Pac, which is one of CCP’s Primary Advisory members.
Other issues discussed during the event were developments in regulation. There was a general sense that regulatory issues needed more discussion amongst stakeholders and with government.
Also, participants explored potential differences between software and hardware content protection solutions. Proponents defended the viability and security of both hardware-based and software-based solutions for content protection.
Says Rajiv Dalal, Managing Director of MPDA India, “Digital technology enables perfect replication and instant, widespread redistribution of entertainment. In order for everyone to derive the full benefit of such advances, it is important to implement secure content protection solutions that meet international standards. This is not only in the best interests of our consumers and our industry but ultimately, the long term development of entertainment on the Internet.”
