MUMBAI: With the government fixing a timetable for digitisation, the television trade event Ficci-Frames will have sessions looking at it.

On 14 March there are two sessions. The first session on ‘Addressable digitisation-The Way Forward‘ will have keynotes delivered by Trai chairman Dr JS Sarma and I&B secreratry Uday K Varma. Then there is a panel discussion that will look to identify and address immediate asks for successful implementation of the digital switchover and also on what’s next in the regulatory and market framework to enable and sustain the transition.

The panellists are Star India CEO Uday Shankar, Times Global
Broadcasting CEO, MD Sunil Lulla, Den Networks founder Sameer Manchanda and Zee MD, CEO Punit Goenka.

Another session is ‘Maximising the Power of Digital Distribution‘. Upgrading distribution pipelines would require huge capital outlays.The panellists will share their experiences of how funding challenges have or can be overcome and the process towards digitisation from stakeholders from the entire affected value chain.

The panellists are Den CEO SN Sharma, Turner International India senior VP, MD, Networks and Content Distribution Anshuman Mishra, NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra, Ortel co-founder, director Jagi Mangat Panda, FCC former senior legal advisor Professor Jonathan Askin and Government Attorney, US Department of Commerce, Former Program Director, US Government‘s TV Converter Box Coupon Programme Anita Wallgren.

There will also be a session on ‘Financing the Media and Entertainment Business‘ It will offer a at the critical component in M&E financing and its various ways of execution in the sector. The speakers are HDFC Mutual Fund executive director Prashant Jain, Blackstone senior MD private equity Mathew Cyriac, The Allegiance Theater, Hollywood founder, partner Daniel Dubiecki and Zee chief strategy officer Atul Das.