<dhhead>CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT 2024</dhhead>
The year gone by has been a somewhat muted one for the Global Media
and Entertainment Industry. Dragged down by the dual shocks of a retracting global economy
coupled with a protracted Writers and Actors strike in the US, the Industry grew by 5%
which has outperformed the rest of the economy though.
Rationalization of linear TV networks, a slowdown in production for OTT
and streaming and a theatrical market affected by strikes and an audience still unsure
about the place of cinematic content in their lives post Covid, have been some of the
global issues the M&E Industry has had to deal with. However, this has been offset
with a growing short form content appetite, a boost in advertiser driven streaming
services and more power to the influencer social media economy. AI has dominated the
conversation and there is little doubt, it is poised to make a serious impact on the
business in the years ahead.
The Indian scenario was somewhat similar but in the theatrical space,
underperforming Hollywood biggies and many from the domestic market was interspersed with
massive hits in Hindi like Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan and Animal and from the South with
Jailer, Leo and Salaar. Smaller films too like The Kerala Story found an audience. Cricket
remained the dominant draw as well with the IPL finding a massive audience on television
and thanks to a new Free to Air ad funded model, through streaming also. OTT Content
volumes in regional languages surpassed Hindi volumes for the first time. It is no doubt a
sign of things to come as the vernacular audience pushes for more and more relatable
content in their own dialect. Exciting times ahead for all kinds of producers no doubt.
From a Company point of view, Mukta Arts has made some steady progress
over 2023. Our television series for Doordarshan, ‘Jaanaki’ was hugely
successful completing its 208 episode run and being one of the highest rated serials on
the channel throughout. It was indeed a different experience for me helming a TV show for
the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed the process and believe that this first effort has
opened many a door for the Company in times to come. In addition to this, we have made
some strong progress on a few film projects. These were affected due to studio
consolidation and slowdown within the industry but now we are sure that they are ready to
head into production. I have spent a great deal of time working on these scripts and
remain confident of their potential. More information will be shared in due course on all
these projects.
We have done significant consolidation for our theatre business, Mukta
A2 Cinemas (‘MA2’). During the year, we closed down nine screens which
were loss making and added twenty new ones which we believe will be far more profitable.
It is rationalization like this that we believe will drive the business ahead. We are
almost back to pre-Covid levels in terms of revenue for the business and have also signed
an agreement for a significant investment into the business to help us expand strongly in
years to come. We continue to strongly believe in the theatrical space and smart expansion
has to be the name of the game moving ahead for MA2. The subsidiary in Bahrain though
continues to have struggles. The change in policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which
historically had supplied a lot of the audience for Bahrain, has negatively impacted
theatres across the country and MA2 has not been spared. We hope though that our upcoming
management deals in Saudi Arabia, which we should commence by the year end, will help
offset this business in a significant manner.
Whistling Woods International (‘WWI’) had a steady
year in terms of its performance. Despite increased domestic and international
competition, we have continued to recruit strongly for the upcoming Academic year. The
school, further enhanced its international tie-ups and reputation by signing off
Agreements and partnership MoUs with International Universities like University of Denver
- London, South Bank University and The Korean Media Arts School. In addition to this, WWI
has had exchange programs with a host of Universities like ECV in France, University of
Denver in US, Gotland University in Sweden and our students visited ECV in Paris, Hult
Business School in Boston, USA and Korean Media Arts School in South Korea. This growing
internationalization of WWI shows the strong soft power emerging from India and WWI will
be in the forefront of this from a media and entertainment education perspective. WWI also
signed a strong agreement with Ubisoft, which is one of the world’s leading gaming
companies to ensure that our students and faculty get the value of
their great experience and technology. It will make our students even more industry
ready on graduation. 3
We are of course hoping that our long-standing legal issue will
also be resolved in the upcoming financial year. There has been movement in terms of
hearings and with both the Film City and the Maharashtra Government supportive, we believe
that a beneficial resolution is now well within sight.
As I complete my look back at 2023, it leaves me hopeful for what can
come in 2024 and later. Decisions the Company takes now are important to ensure that it is
on strong footing in the years ahead and I believe we have taken those decisions. Mukta
has a strong set of upcoming productions, MA2 is taking tough calls with an ongoing
rationalization and building ahead with further investment and WWI is again showing that
it can attract attention form some of the most reputed brands in India and across the
world. There is little doubt that the future ahead is bright and I appreciate that the
road thus far has been bumping with ups and downs. My gratitude and thanks to all our
stakeholders for the belief and faith in us and our mission. I believe the best is yet to
come and it will be coming soon.
Regards, Subhash Ghai
Chairman