Technology imports by film markers should be exempt from customs duty (as is done for the IT industry). Reduce customs duty on import of CD’s related to technology.

Introduce further steps to curb film piracy.

The procedure for securing institutional finance should be streamlined.

Service tax on the film industry should be abolished, as it is impossible for the industry to pass it on to the viewers.

Media has been granted industry status. The industry is slowly getting access to institutional finance.

The demand from television channels for quality contents is burgeoning. Broadcasters are ready to pay higher price for quality content.

With FMCG companies (which have been a key contributor in the total ad-spend) increasingly concentrating towards rural markets, ad-spend in regional channels is likely to register a rise in growth.

Animation continues to remain an attractive business for Indian companies. The difference in the cost of executing animation jobs between US studios and their Indian counterparts is expected to drive turnover and profits of Indian animation majors, for the foreseeable future.

On the back cost cutting exercise, most of the FMCG companies have reduced their advertising budget considerably.

The dogfight among channels has led to burgeoning costs of production. The primary contenders viz. Star, Sony and Zee have all ramped up annual production budgets. This is bound to put further pressure on the bottom lines.

The working capital cycle for most content providers is far too stretched and is putting pressure on their cash flows.

The revenue model for the cable and satellite companies is still skewed in favour of cable companies. Cable operators are in a commanding position. However, this industry is likely to face consolidation with Multi System Operators (MSO’s) like Incablenet, Siticable, Asianet, Hathway cable and Datacom buying over the small local cable operators (LCO’s) and setting up their integrated network.