Upskilling, relevance, AI adoption - Industry’s mantra for future media jobs landscape

The downsizing happening in the media industry – both globally and in India – is an open secret that no one wants to talk about. While the mass layoffs in the IT industry always makes big news, the hundreds being asked to leave from media houses big and small remain under-reported.

While there are no definitive numbers available, according to various industry sources, between 400 and 600 media personnel have been laid off so far in 2024 across print, television and digital news media in India.

Industry experts point out to the headwinds faced by the media industry across the world, as ad revenues face a squeeze, resulting in media organisations going for, what they call, ‘cost rationalisation’. Mergers, acquisitions and consolidations have also resulted in companies going in for leaner teams.

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Downsizing woes: Layoffs dampen Indian media industry’s growth story

In a bid to better understand the downsizing happening in the media industry, Adgully spoke to a cross-section of industry experts.

Sanjay Trehan, Digital & New Media Advisor, remarked, “What is happening is sad because people’s careers are involved. Any downsizing impacts people and should be the last resort after costs rationalisation and other measures to streamline efficiencies have been undertaken.”

Mona Jain, who recently resigned as the Chief Revenue Officer at Zee Media, preferred to call the downsizing “re-structuring” to make the teams more flatter and efficient, with less hierarchical reportings.

Rama Paul, Co-Founder, Ninered, observed, “The downsizing in India’s media industry reflects global trends. The shift from cable and satellite TV to streaming services and digital platforms (including CTV) has driven substantial consolidation and restructuring within media companies. Despite the growth in digital media, reliance on advertising revenues from tech giants like Google and Meta creates financial instability for smaller players. In the short term, mergers and acquisitions in the Indian media sector are likely to lead to layoffs and market volatility. However, this instability is expected to eventually stabilize. India’s expanding advertising market and the arrival of international players offer a hopeful outlook for the industry’s future.”

Trehan felt that downsizing should give way to rightsizing, and while some jobs in traditional profiles may become redundant, new positions with the right skills need to be created to harness the possibilities emerging out of data analytics, AI, audience fragmentation, cross-platform content consumption, new delivery mechanisms, et al. “So, to some extent, this churn is inevitable for organisational renewal and revitalisation, but it needs to be done right and with empathy and sensitivity,” he added.

Prime factors responsible for this downsizing

Listing some of the key reasons for this downsizing, Trehan mentioned slowing down of the advertising revenue, growing gap between costs and revenue, excess of inventory leading to falling yields in the digital space, slow growth in the digital subscription model, new generation audience moving to smarter digital products, increasing audience fragmentation, and the inability of the media houses to create smarter and spiffier monetisation models.

For Mona Jain, it is more due to consolidation of multiple platforms, which earlier used to operate on a unique structure, along with integration of linear and digital and avoiding overlap and duplication of work.

Marketing consultant Shubho Sengupta said, “There are multiple reasons, the three most important being AI, Digital and global trends. I would say AI is the biggest reason.”

On the other hand, both Mona Jain and Sanjay Trehan didin’t think AI was responsible for the job cuts. In fact, Trehan saw AI as a force-enabler in the media space. He said, “It will create new opportunities for smarter professionals who embrace it and work with it. The idea is not to get daunted by its deployment, but use AI to work for us by getting the tedium out of dull, repetitive tasks, and freeing the talent to focus on creative thinking. Originality will continue to rule the roost.”

Ninered’s Rama Paul noted, “Netflix’s recent launch of its ad-supported service in the US highlights the persistent demand for advertising sales professionals. While AI may automate some jobs, significant layoffs due to AI are unlikely. Most AI technologies require substantial investment, which may be challenging for media companies, especially in India’s cost-sensitive labour market.”

The prognosis for media jobs landscape

According to Paul, to thrive in the evolving media landscape, companies must focus on reskilling their employees, and individuals should prioritize upskilling to remain relevant and employable.

Mona Jain foresaw organisations re-creating leaner structures for the future. “Obviously automation and technological progression will replace operational/ execution profiles,” she added.

While there will be more job cuts, according to Shubho Sengupta, he also saw new areas of job creation. “In the long run, AI will create more jobs,” he affirmed.

On a positive note, Sanjay Trehan said that while there may be some pain in the short term, he was optimistic about the media jobs landscape in the future. “Getting ourselves future-ready and upskilling will be critical to harness the emerging opportunities. There’s no need to be despondent. Change is an inalienable part of the growth cycle and one must learn to adapt and adapt fast to the stimulus of change,” he concluded.

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