Indian TV & streaming need new ideas: Gaurav Banerjee

“We are certainly not in a comfortable space. We need new ideas. And we need creative expression that really deeply, sincerely connects with a large audience base,” said Gaurav Banerjee, CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India, delivering a hard-hitting call for innovation in the face of the evolving content landscape. 

Highlighting the urgent need for the television and streaming sectors to reinvent themselves, Banerjee made these remarks during the Content India 2025 conference held in Mumbai, where he participated in a discussion titled “Perspectives for Change.” 

The conference brought together key players from the media and entertainment sectors, where Banerjee shared his insights on the current challenges and opportunities facing the content business in India.

Banerjee reflected on the significant moment the content industry is undergoing, acknowledging how rare such moments of transition can be.

"We’re at a pretty significant moment in the evolution of the content business," he said, adding, "These moments are sort of rare when the entirety of the business, in some ways, is being reset." 

Banerjee, who started his career in the year 2000, recalled the optimism of the pay TV boom. “Back then, the future seemed certain, particularly the growing number of pay TV subscribers,” he said.

Despite India's growing economy, with its increasing share of global trade and position as a leading GDP power, Banerjee pointed out the paradox within the entertainment industry. 

“While the country is trending towards a larger addressable market for content, the industry is facing several key challenges. While we have challenges on pay TV growth, we have challenges on a lot of the advertising world having moved away to pure-play digital companies... we also have a challenge in streaming," he observed.

Banerjee noted how many content creators have faced significant cuts in budgets and a reduction in the number of projects in the past few years. 

“I think that shrinking business is real," he emphasized. 

This underscores the struggles in both television and streaming, which seem to be exacerbated by broader shifts in media consumption habits, he added.

Reflecting on the lack of significant innovations in the last decade, Banerjee called out the absence of groundbreaking shows or game-changing moments in Indian media. 

He pointed to the rise of KBC in 2000, the success of the IPL, and the launch of Colors in 2008 as monumental milestones that propelled the industry forward. 

However, since then, he argued, the industry has been in a stagnant phase. 

"The last of them happened in 2008. So, we've gone 17 years without the next massive innovation that has prepared huge engagement, unparalleled engagement," Banerjee stated.

In his view, the media business thrives on innovation and fresh ideas. 

"That's what the media business is about," he said, stressing that the industry needs to focus on creating new ecosystems that foster such innovation. 

"We need to figure out the ecosystem challenges... the solutions are there. They’re somewhat boring solutions, and therefore people don't really pay enough attention."

Addressing the post-COVID complacency that may have crept into the business, Banerjee acknowledged how the pandemic period led to a spike in content consumption.

However, he highlighted that the industry has now moved past that "comfortable business" phase. The need for new ideas and a refreshed business model is undeniable.

He also pointed out how people are increasingly moving away from high-quality curated content and shifting toward more bite-sized consumption. 

"What does the big data trend tell us? That people are moving away from high-quality curated content to snacking," he said.

Banerjee urged the industry to not only recognize its challenges but to actively work toward solutions that can rejuvenate both television and streaming. 

He pointed to the importance of focusing on foundational elements, such as investing in writers and ensuring they have the time, money, and focus to develop stories that can resonate with audiences. "I think we keep talking about it, but... ensuring development has time, ensuring development has money, ensuring it has effort of focus," he said.