‘Young’ is buzzword for Indian TV Fest
The country’s first ever television festival aims to bring in fresh ideas and draw young minds to the TV industry In a committed effort to bring in fresh ideas and draw young minds to the television industry, the country’s first ever television festival, Indian TV Fest 2012 or ITF 2012, will allow all delegates below the age of 25 years to avail a complementary delegate pass. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which is the governing body for broadcasters in India, recently announced the festival, scheduled to be held at the Baga Grounds, Goa on November 2 and 3. The exchange4media Group is the exclusive industry partner for the event. Emphasising the importance of youth participation, Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) said, “We want more and more people to come, mingle, share ideas, talk and brainstorm on how to take this industry forward. We want to dispel all negative thoughts about the television industry and discuss how the industry could progress.” From an IBF point of view, Goenka remarked that it would be a great initiative for the broadcasting industry, as for the first time, everyone from the industry would be in one space to celebrate television. Commenting on the unique aspect of the initiative, he said that the earlier events used to focus on different aspects of media, not specifically television, and the differentiator in this case would be that it is a complete television festival. “There would be incredible takeaways for broadcasters in terms of international learning,” Goenka observed, explaining that broadcasters will get an opportunity to understand how television has evolved in more mature markets. It would also provide them the opportunity to interact with and meet other stakeholders and understand their perspective of the television industry, he added. Elaborating on ITF 2012, Sunil Lulla, MD and CEO, Times Television Network said that there is no platform in India where a large number of television executives can go and meet other executives, learn from one another and demonstrate what they have done. Therefore, this is a very unique platform that has been created for the people who make television happen in India. Lulla believes that ITF will bring together people, bolster their confidence and create a community. The focus is on learning what the world thinks of television. “The industry has grown by leaps and bounds, often through pressure that has driven the marketplace, through innovation and the connection that the industry has made with consumers and with the environment. The platform presents an opportunity to invite the world to our doorstep, which is why ITF has marked speakers and visionaries from across the world to come and share their vision,” added Lulla. Discussing topics on the ITF agenda, Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR India, said that investments are important and there are sectors which need investments. “One needs to brainstorm to explore ways through which we can attract revenue, be it domestic or foreign. Such discussions are necessary to ideate on how to get the industry to the next level,” he said. Commenting on the outlay required for the initiative, Goenka said that the event will be quite expensive and cost around Rs 5 crore. “We have internal source of sponsorships as well as our partners. The process has begun and the feedback is positive. As and when we sign sponsors, we will announce them. In context to the publicity campaign, it will be a multi-campaign and broadcast on all our television networks,” he said. Goenka concluded by stating that they are approaching people who are the right partners. Advertisers would also be approached at some point of time. It would also be an opportunity for vendors, suppliers, etc., to come together under one roof. ITF will not be looking at a conventional presentation format, but one-on-one arrangements where people can share ideas, vision and learnings. A lot of interesting names have been lined up to ensure that the event is full of dialogues. *To register for ITF 2012, one needs to log on to indiantvfest.com. The first 200 delegates to register can avail of a 10% discount too. Feedback: synjini.nandi @exchange4media.com
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