The second screen in the TV home is mobile So is the Third

Globally, as economies grow, the middle class expands, and per capita income increases, a second television comes into the home.

In India, where over 80 percent of TV sets are still CRT-based, the mobile phone is fast becoming the second screen. This is creating a huge opportunity both for television, as well as telcos.

Digital content consumption has grown significantly, and digital advertising is growing at over 25 percent annually, as more time is spent on mobile phones. Various studies show that between 30 percent and 47 percent of the total time spent on a mobile phone is linked to media and entertainment, across music, TV, film, games, etc. Falling data rates have certainly helped increase consumption.

As telcos have realized this, they are creating more data + content bundles, and subscription income from digital content is therefore growing. It grew over 50 percent in 2017, and we expect it to grow from `400 crore in 2017 to `2000 crore by 2020. It would then be expected to contribute just under 10 percent of total revenues for digital platforms.

The other key impact of the mobile screen(s) in the home is second screen interactivity, where the mobile is used to engage one-on-one with linear TV content. We have seen many examples of this recently, starting with KBC-Jio play along, which averaged 36 lakh unique participants per episode. Predictive games around the Indian Premiere Leagues cricket have garnered as high as 5 million unique participants per day, at the time of writing this article, as well as millions and millions of app downloads. Interactivity not only provides an additional monetization opportunity for broadcasters, but results in increased stickiness and time spent for the linear content.

It also provides a way for broadcasters to gather knowledge and connect with their audiences. For telcos, it provides the ability to sell their connections, or upgrade customers to higher value data packs, or even build their brand.
All this is just the beginning. The second screen is leading content consumption, and interactivity is here to stay, more the norm now. I believe the third screen in the household, too, will be the mobile. Total time spent on entertainment and news will only increase. And broadcasters and telcos will both benefit from this.