Anurag Batra is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group. He is an entrepreneur, journalist, an angel investor and a media observer. Batra talks about the announcement of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in November 2020, that digital audio-visual content, including films and web shows on over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms and news and current affairs on online platforms, would be brought within its purview. “The decision evoked a mixed response. Some welcomed the regulation, while others questioned the government intervention, saying it interfered with creative expression”, states Anurag Batra.
Anurag Batra brings into view that while this is about the growth in digital, facts have proved that ‘digital’ has become too broad a term from what it once was. “Specific attention needs to be placed on some of its aspects, which are now becoming industries in their own right. All the government initiatives simply underscore the tremendous promise the sector holds for the country. Media is the only vehicle that truly and directly reaches consumers. It is a pull medium. Compelling content, engagement and overall entertainment attract people, demanding their time and attention. These attributes in turn provide an opportunity to large companies, institutions, the government, etc. to address consumers and engage with them through messages and calls to action”, affirms Anurag Batra.
Media, hence, is the original direct-to-consumer (D2C) interface. Media tech is a wave pushed forth by startups and young entrepreneurs with the ambition to take homegrown media and social media platforms around India and beyond. “Right now, they are doing a good job, perhaps because there clearly is a space for it. This industry attracts optimism. That being said, media tech is not limited to startups but is also being embraced by traditional media companies that now prefer to call themselves content brands instead of broadcast or newspaper and the likes. The move is in the right direction. We focus on the fast-growing media tech subsector, look closely at how technology is disrupting some other sectors and the role that leadership plays in moving the baton forward”, concludes Anurag Batra.
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