WE-THE TELEVISION PRODUCTION HOUSES!!!!

 

A Garment making unit is called – A factory;

A TV Serial making unit is called – A Production House;

The name “Production House”  takes us away from the spectrum of organised businesses;

Thousands of investers are ready to invest in Websites,Online Portals,Mobile Application companies,Logistics Units,Ground Services,Equiptment Businesses,Broadcast Businesses or even Online Content Businesses;

But not many are there for TV Production Houses;

Why!!!

Because we  do not offer stable,organised,structured and scalable business models;

Why don’t we offer so!!!

Because we don’t  focus on that;

I have been interacting with Production Houses as Head of Companies,Creative Director,Writer or Consultant – And now when I myself run my own Production House – I develop a bigger insight into the operations of the Production Houses;

No doubt,To create the entity of Production House itself is great task;

Congratulations to all those friends of mine who made it;Specially my Creative Friends;

But

Its high time to analyse this entity of ours-The Production House!!!

The entity of Production House gives all of us names on Screen,Good Finances,Cars,Houses,Hollidays,Imported Specs,Colourfull Clothes,Offices,Staff,Good PR,Localised Fame;

 Giving above mentioned things;

But not giving us a real corporate existance;

A big company making dozens of serials can easily die down  in few months;

And a new company having no track record can be created in few months;

That’s the excitement of Production Houses;

That’s the fear of Production Houses;

We have seen big companies vanishing into thin air;

We have seen new companies emerging all of a sudden;

Oh,Sorry;

I should not say-a Company!!!

Because,Though we might be registered as a company,We  are not treated as companies by the corporate world;

We  are known by the names of the producers;

Sometimes people even don’t know the name of the company,People just know the person who is the producer;

Its not an ideal situation for the organised growth of this space of the Media & Entertainment Sector.

 Lets understand what the real situation is!!!

The Production Houses survive on the raw material of Concept and Ideas – There is no factory manufacturing these Concepts or Ideas,There is no organised form of the creation of ideas,Its badly cluttered,badly oriented;

So the back bone area itself is not specifically structured!!

There is no stable work systems,Work systems come and go with people in production houses – It creates lack of deliverance promises,You can trust someone today but you may go wrong with the same person tomorrow;

So the faith remains with people and faith in the entity of the business house  is not developed!!

There is no “Proof of the Concept” element here –A Production house may make a successful show but the next one might be a failure,

So there cant be any kind of minimum guarantee system!!!

There is no Tender system for getting work from broadcasters – Any business strategy is very difficult to be designed,Mostly the entire business runs on personal equations;

That’s why you will rarely find a CEO or COO in any production house!!!

What a Producer want from his or her show!!!

Does he or she want to create a company around the business of TV Serials!!

Or he or she wants to become rich and famous!!!

Mostly,The Second One!!!

Production Houses pay taxes,but not for becoming an entity to attract the investers;

We  do so,Only when It becomes a compultion;

Most of the money is diverted to personal purposes;

And why not!!!

We  know,  that In most of the cases,No invester is waiting to invest in their company,

And Its not a myth;

You just check it around;

How many investers have invested in TV Production Houses!!!

Negligible!!!!

A Production House producing a highly famous TV serial for more than 15 years is still a Partnership Firm!!!

Most of the Production Houses are partnership Firms;

Even if we are Limited Companies,We have very limited use of it;

There is no permanent employment within Production Houses;

There is no leave system,No HR policies or practices,No PF,No Insurance,No Appointment Letters,No Notice Period,No IPR Protection system,No Legal Contractual Systems....Nothing!!!!

You go on a shoot;

It does not look like an organised factory where serials are made;

It looks more like a Marriage Ceremony where so many people are managing things;

You don’t find a great library in most of the production houses;

In this scenerio;

How can we expect from the stalwarts of Media Businesses to look upon us with constructive vision!!!

They will not;

 Once I asked a  head of a TV Channel;

To enhance the business of Production Houses,You need to support the Eco System of them;

He asked me – What do they do to create a great infrastructure!!! A Great Company!!!

And I did not have answers;

He was rights;

As most of the Production Houses create offices just for the investment purposes;

We  do only the running things;

And untill those things are done;Stalwarts will not treat us like an important part of the industry.

 

Broadcasting is serious business;

Production Houses are the back bone of their businesses;

But even in broadcasting industry,

Production Houses are nothing but small entities run by colourfull people termed as Producers;

Creative or Non Creative people who can manage the Production Units;

But we don’t belong to FICCI,FICCI FRAMES,Stock Markets,Panel Discussions,Parliamentry Committee Discussions;

Production Houses are not even the part of TAM or BARC circuits;

We  are not invited for Marketting,Branding or Rating discussions;

We  are not linked to Advertising Associations for any purpose;

 

All these mentioned entities are run by management professionals;

They don’t find any connect with this fraternity;

 

Production Houses are Producers’ Dukaan,

And not a corporate entity;

This is the perception!!!

 Can we break the perception!!!!

Yes;

Few ones are trying to do that;

But for doing that;

We need to disconnect our individuality from the enity called Production House;

We need to pay taxes;

We need to invest in the company;

We need to create an HR,Legal,Finance and all other systems;

We need to move beyond Cars – Towards Company Secretaries;

We need to offer permanent employment;

We need to sustain the employees even in the absence of the TV serial;

We need to provide Insurance;

We need to systemise the output not depending upon the individuals;

We need to create various faces for the company;

We need to dismantle our individual brands for creating the brand of the Production House;

We need to become a Content Creation Entity,Not a Production House;

We need to become Content Aggregators;

We need to get into online plateforms;

We need to create a not so dependent on few clients kind of business models;

We need to be a part of all business organisations;

We need to read Economic Times,Instead of reading Trade Guides only;

 

Can we do that!!!

Yes;

Because this is the only future for production houses;

Else;

Today you are here;

Tomorrow you wont be here;

Production Houses are judged by the performances of their todays;

And that’s not wrong also;

We  get paid for that;

We  don’t have any stake in the larger business;

A day might come,When Production Houses might get into a profit and loss sharing business models with various plateforms owners;

And that might be the day of starting the real business;

A possible future;

Owning IPR of thousands of ideas;

Owning various Online Content Plateforms;

Aggrigating content for plateforms;

Making things in partnership with broadcasters;

Intigrating various verticals of the content business;

Making content beyond Audio-Video formats;

 

There can be thousands of ways of doing that;

But;

If it remains a matter of one concept only,There is no future for Production House Business;

If it becomes a matter of one person only,There is no future for Production House Business;

If it becomes a matter of expanding vision,There is great future for Production House Business;

 I am sure that we have visionaries;

I am sure, we have Production Houses that understands all this;

I am sure that Production Houses will come out of the circle of Helpless and Dependent Business;We will move into the circles of Systemised and Broadbased businesses;

Technology is ready to support the vision;

We must have a vision;

When we have a vision;

We should go to Channel Heads,Programming Heads,Their CEOs;

And should request them;

Help us grow;

Support Us;

We need your assistance;

Assist us please;

They will support once they are convinced with the vision;

I am sure about it;

You too should be sure about it;

Hundred Percent!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMPOWERING THE VIEWERS !!!

 Television is for viewers.

It wants to interact and engage the viewers,Sometimes the traditional viewers,Sometimes inviting the new viewers,Viewers and the Viewership is the biggest thing for Television.

We make Fiction and Non Fiction shows for them,We report News for them,We cover Sports for them…We do all this in the name of viewers and viewership;

Where are they!!!Where do they exist in our Scheme of things!!

They exist in the Research Methods of companies which are asked to do the Research;

They exist on the stale and not so active and interactive Web Sites of various Television organisations;

They exist in the Mobile Codes of shows and programmes;

They exist in the ground activities of shows and programmes;

BUS!!!

Viewers need a Live Interactive Digital Rocket of Communication;

A Rocket that can travel with Interactive Communication between a TV programme and the viewer so fast that It almost has the capacity to adjust,control or alter the product;

Is it possible!!!

Very Easily;This is a digital age,We are able to send communication signals to billions of miles away in other galaxies,So nothing big to create this line of communication.

What could be the shape of it!!

Something that empowers the viewers LIVE!!!

Viewers should have a Button,They should have a target for their communication,And there has to be a mechanism on the other end.

It should move beyond providing Mobile Numbers and Codes;

Viewers reacts,The other end replies,The data is stored,Its automatically analysed,A paper sheet is printed,A report is mailed,A Ticker announces the action on Screen,It all happens in seconds.

We should not depend on Rating agencies,They are for different purposes,They tell who watches what,We need to hear the voices of the people directly;

Its possible only when we create something for the viewers;

WHAT and HOW!!!

We are sure that It has to be a Technological plateform;

Something beyond Twitter,Something beyond Facebook;

Something that is created for the specific need;

Why It has not happened so far!!

Because Techno Guys are not interested in creating something for the world of Broadcasters,It’s a world not that big,They will prefer the direct world of  Millions or Billions of Consumers for their Technology products;

Or

We might be wrong;

Someone Somewhere might be working on an Idea;

An idea that will change the outdated communication systems between the Television organisations and the Viewers;

Viewers  are the reason of Television;

Viewers are the reasoning of Television;

Viewers cant be left at a corner of our scheme of things;

They have to be brought at the centre stage;

Earlier It was difficult;

Today Its very easy;

We just need  A SOMEONE who has the power to do it,Who has the vision to do it,Who has a desire to say ;

Lets do it;

Lets do something bigger about

Empowering the Viewers!!!!!