Show Reports

Broadcast India has grown both in size and scale over the last 20 years. During this period, the show has significantly contributed to the global broadcast business by offering a platform to introduce products into a predominantly trade orientated Indian market.

Surprisingly, technology savvy India lacks indigenous product manufacturers. Instead, global manufacturers find themselves plugging into the growth of regional Indian radio broadcasting and the shift from standard definition television to high definition broadcasts. The successful HD broadcast of the Commonwealth Games, despite the many controversies, set that particular ball rolling. The opening ceremony’s flawless telecast put an end to critics’ doubts, while the decision to opt for stereo rather than 5.1 audio was prudent – the roll-out of surround sound into every home in the world’s largest democratic country will take some time.

Nevertheless, consumer demand for HD and 5.1 is growing, and an aggressive approach to marketing is likely to yield strong results, as proven by Sennheiser’s approach to the territory. ‘We have an 85 per cent share of the broadcast industry and 25 per cent market share in pro audio for radio microphones and headphones,’ explained Sennheiser technical head, Suman Thakur, exhibiting the 5000 series wireless system. He added that the company’s strategy encompasses education, training, seminars and technical support.

Kishore Patel of Audio Ltd has also witnessed the show’s growth, having attended every year from the start. ‘We are introducing a brand new range of radio microphones systems this year,’ he explained. ‘It is a lower cost alternative to our top of the line range.’ Audio Ltd is distributed in India by Cineom.

Elsewhere, Harman distributor Hi-tech Audio Systems Pvt Ltd exhibited the entire AKG microphone range, alongside studio monitors from JBL and recording interfaces from Lexicon. Starring on the booth was the Soundcraft Vi1 small format digital mixing console plus the Air Max console from Studer. ‘Platforms like this are always welcome, since they offer a chance to showcase new product lines and also facilitates customer meeting and new opportunities,’ commented Hi-tech director Rajan Gupta.

Pace Communications – a long-time exhibitor – is widely credited for the success of digital consoles in the Indian studio, live sound and broadcasting industries, and it boasted an array of Yamaha equipment on its booth. Pace engineer Clifton D’Souza was demonstrating Yamaha M7CL ES networking solutions with the SB168 boxes, networked with an LS-9 console and Audinate’s Dante MY16 Aud card.

Standing up for indigenous Indian manufacturing meanwhile was Sonodyne, demonstrating the DSP-based BMS 205 bass management system plus its range of studio monitors. The show also marked the company’s first joint marketing effort along with west-zone distributor Narain Professional Audio, assisted by industry stalwarts Vijay Benegal and Mujib Dadarkar.

Elsewhere, RCS – showing its highly popular Zetta and GSelector Music scheduling and play-out software – expressed its happiness with the show and its excitement regarding India’s expected Phase-III licensing announcement, which the company believes will help it to expand its existing base. RCS is currently catering to approximately 200 odd stations in the metro cities, with plans to expand to around 400 following the announcement.

Rivera International‘s Rajesh Sadrangini had positive things to say about the show. ‘We are always present at Broadcast India,’ he said. ‘Since we are handling two speaker brands – KRK and Focal – we expect to sell them in good numbers with the new radio stations to be set up post-Phase-III. We are also here with DiGiCo and we have an SD9 console.’

Inside, Focal’s Igloo-shaped tent was among the most talked-about spaces at the show, containing CS- 40 and CS- 50 monitors. Meanwhile, KRK's director of sales David Hetrick offered his thoughts on Broadcast India: ‘What strikes me about this show is how similar is it to other big exhibitions. The trends here reflect global trends and lots of people are excited about HD and surround – it will certainly boost speaker sales for us in this country.’

At the large Avid booth, the arrival of Pro Tools 9 was having the same dramatic effect as elsewhere in the world, while attendees watched demonstrations explaining the integration between HD video played out of Avid Media Composer 5 and the new DAW software. Products including HD Native, the MBox family boasting Dave Hill designed mic-pres and the HD I/O were being exhibited.

Occupying a much smaller space but nevertheless bringing a wealth of brands to the show floor was exhibition regular Pro Musicals. Among the manufacturers represented on the booth were Equator Audio, Focusrite, Toft Audio, Universal Audio and Joemeek. The company also recently introduced PreSonus Studiolive consoles to the Indian market, while Sudhin Prabhakar was busy announcing a new distribution deal. ‘The big news for us at this show is that we are now the API distributors in India,’ he reported.

API’s Dan Zimbelman was also present. ‘We are excited to be in India for the third time in a 12 month period,’ he enthused. ‘API made the first 1608 console sale a year back at this very show.’ However, Mr Zimbelman argued that Broadcast India 2010 was slow for pro audio manufacturers, pointing out that the exhibition was not well attended by the studio engineering community. ‘We are a focused company and we don’t have products for broadcast, so this was not the best show for us,’ he explained.

Striking a more positive note was Aditya Modi, celebrating Modi Digital’s long-standing association with the show plus a distribution deal with SPL. ‘We have brought in the RCK pack 500, which takes in all API 500 series modules,’ he explained. ‘We also have the Babyface sound card from RME.’ The Genelec 8260A studio monitor was also a star attraction on the booth, having recently been installed into high profile studios including AR Rahman’s new facility in Bombay alongside winning fans such as Shankar Mahadevan and  Ram Sampat. 

Arguably the best demonstrated product at the exhibition meanwhile was the HHB Flash Mic, which was well utilised to record interviews with instant playback either into connected headphones or any available speaker.

For the last five years the Bavarian Pavilion has become a regular Broadcast India feature, and this year 10 companies participated though sadly no audio manufacturers were among them. Still, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs organises one of the best sections of the exhibition and the Indian government could learn much from it in terms of supporting local manufacturers.

However business is improving – since 1991’s trade liberalisation policies, India’s exports have experienced a growth rate of 18.11 per cent. During the same period, the import sector has experienced a growth rate of 34.30 per cent. Furthermore, a visit from US President Barack Obama in November has strengthened Indo-US ties, and import duties are likely to be further reduced in the next budget.

In the last two decades, while hung parliaments have ruled Indian trade policies, Broadcast India’s organiser has faced a major challenge in inviting global manufacturers to explore the Indian market. That situation has greatly improved with the stable second-term government of Dr Manmohan Singh. Meanwhile, the Indian economy is presently growing at 7.2 per cent annually, where the average Indian age is just 26 years old. It bodes well for the market, and it will certainly be interesting to find out what is in store at Broadcast India 2011.

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