Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Apurva Chandra, on Friday inaugurated the Media and Entertainment Week at the India Pavilion, Dubai Expo. Bollywood actor R. Madhavan was present on the occasion.
Mr. Chandra is leading a delegation of the Ministry comprising Doordarshan Director-General Mayank Agrawal, Joint Secretary Vikram Sahay, and Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Executive Officer of the Central Board of Film Certification and Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation of India.
The Secretary held a meeting with Ajay Sethi, chairman of Channel 2 Group Corporation, who apprised him of his company’s plan to launch a live radio channel in India dedicated to sports.
Mr. Sethi said: “The current broadcasting of live cricket in India on radio lacks quality and content and there is a delay of around 11 seconds as well.”
The company, which has collaborated with stars including Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, plans to invest in infrastructure, marketing and content. Currently, it is in a 60:40 revenue sharing model with Prasar Bharati, but not producing content.
The company operates FM channels in Dubai, TV channel in Kenya, Media City, cricket teams in Caribbean and South Africa, among other key activities. It owns ICC global cricket radio rights.
The Secretary assured Mr. Sethi of all the support from the Ministry to take the venture further.
AVGC content collaboration
During a round-table discussion on the issue of collaborating for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) content creation, Mr. Chandra said the country's media and entertainment industry was valued at $28 billion, and projected to reach $100 billion by 2030 with a cumulative growth rate of 12%.
The Ministry will be setting up an AVGC task force by March end to formulate a policy to facilitate the companies working in the sector. Mr. Madhavan lauded the Indian government for its focus on AVGC.
The Ministry is expected to soon formalise a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates in this regard.
The upcoming Indian movie RRR was also launched globally in the presence of the Secretary and other dignitaries.
