Megha Tata, who served as the managing director of Discovery Communications India for three years and three months has stepped down. Arjun Nohwar steps into Tata's shoes as the Country GM for Warner Bros Discovery business in India. Nohwar had previously served as the Country GM, HBO Max, India.
Tata, who has over three decades of experience in the media and entertainment industry, was previously COO at BTVI. She also serves as the president of the International Advertising Association — India Chapter and has had stints at Sunday Mail, Star India, Turner International India, and HBO India.
Storyboard18 caught up with Tata to talk about the major disruptions she witnessed in the media landscape and her takeaways from the Discovery stint.
How has the media landscape changed in your view in the past few years?
There has been a huge shift in the way content is getting consumed now. I think the pandemic accelerated that change faster than what was originally planned by any of the players in the market. The movement of content consumption from linear to digital and within that consuming it on multiple devices of their choice is where one of the biggest changes and disruptions has taken place in the last couple of years.
The fact that there are many 'Indias' within India, so the ability to create or cater content for various audiences in terms of what they want to watch, and where they want to watch is another disruption which has taken place. The growth of regional content is another shift as well.
The biggest disruption has been technology which has played a big role not only in the way we communicate but how we consume and market our content because data is what has created a far more nuanced approach in terms of reaching out to the consumers.
What is the next thing coming down the line in terms of technology and consumer changes?
It is such an evolving market and the environment is ever-changing. Plus, technology is such that every time you bring in a new form of technology, it becomes old within a few months or a year (maximum). There is a constant evolution of technology taking place which will continue to happen. I think, data and how data is used to drive content creation, reaching out to consumers, or a bit more specific way of reaching out to consumers, the way content or a product was created or marketed or they are reached out to people, is going to be far more data-centric. So, that is something that will get further enhanced in the coming years.
In your three-year stint, what is your biggest takeaway from Discovery Communications India?
It has been a wonderful journey where I had a glorious three years. A lot of milestones we achieved together as a team and I have been privileged to have been a part of some of those milestones. It has been a fantastic journey.
