Screwvala says sports content can drive in revenues ahead of key events

Optimistic about the prospects of sports content, media veteran Ronnie Screwvala Tuesday said the genre is a big sunrise industry. "We are one of the few countries where sports is a strong form of both media and entertainment and a big driver for subscription and advertising revenue. The investment we need to make in the sports ecosystem is incredible. It will have its ups and downs but it's for the long haul," Screwvala who owns the Pro Kabaddi League team U Mumba said.

Addressing the annual media and entertainment industry jumboree Ficci-Frames, he said the companies of tomorrow, even in the media sector, must become consumer-oriented companies. "While we have been building many things that we have built here how much our real attention goes to core consumer versus the core advertisers or the core stakeholders in the company. I think that not as much as this sector needs it to be," he added.

The chairman and co-founder of online education company Upgrad said he doesn't envy the broadcasting sector as most of it hasn't been able to innovate and it is challenging to figure out the next level of innovation. The English genre, he observed, is led by on-demand viewing and binge-watching and not appointment viewing.

He pointed out that there is no content available in the 14-24 age-group, which has led the youth to move out of the linear broadcast space. He described the new Trai tariff order, where a customer can choose his/her own channel, as a challenge.