Market Dynamics

Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry grew at a CAGR of 10.90 per cent from FY17-18; and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.10 per cent to touch Rs 2,660.20 billion (US$ 39.68 billion) by FY23 from Rs 1,436.00 billion (US$ 22.28 billion) in FY18. India's media consumption has grown at a CAGR of 9 per cent during 2012-18, almost nine times that of US and two times that of China. The industry provides employment to 3.5-4 million people, including both direct and indirect employment in CY 2017. India's online gaming industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22 per cent between FY18-23 to reach Rs 11,900 crore (US$ 1.68 billion) in FY23 India’s advertising revenue is projected to reach Rs 1,232.70 billion (US$ 18.39 billion) in FY23 from Rs 608.30 billion (US$ 9.44 billion) in FY18. 

Recent development/Investments

 The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) sector (including Print Media) in the period April 2000 – March 2019 stood at US$ 8.38 billion, as per data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Dailyhunt, a regional language news aggregator run by Verse Innovation Pvt Ltd, will receive investment of US$ 60 million in a new funding round led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. As of September 2018, Twitter announced video content collaboration with 12 Indian partners for video highlights and live streaming of sports, entertainment and news. As of August 2018, PVR Ltd acquired SPI Cinema for worth US$ 94.42 million. In H12018, 5 private equity investments deals were recorded of worth US$ 115 million. The Indian digital advertising industry is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent to reach Rs 18,986 crore (US$ 2.93 billion) by 2020, backed by affordable data and rising smartphone penetration. India is one of the top five markets for the media, content and technology agency Wavemaker where it services clients like Hero MotoCorp, Paytm, IPL and Myntra among others After bagging media rights of Indian Premier League (IPL), Star India has also won broadcast and digital rights for New Zealand Cricket upto April 2020. 

Government Initiatives

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to approach the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, with a request to fastrack the recommendations on broadcasting, in an attempt to boost reforms in the broadcasting sector. The Government of India has agreed to set up the National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects and Comics industry in Mumbai. The Indian and Canadian Government have signed an audio visual co-production deal to enable producers from both the countries exchange and explore their culture and creativity, respectively. The Government of India has supported Media and Entertainment industry’s growth by taking various initiatives such as digitising the cable distribution sector to attract greater institutional funding, increasing FDI limit from 74 per cent to 100 per cent in cable and DTH satellite platforms, and granting industry status to the film industry for easy access to institutional finance.

Road Ahead 

The Indian Media and Entertainment industry is on an impressive growth path. The industry is expected to grow at a much faster rate than the global average rate. Growth is expected in retail advertisement, on the back of factors such as several players entering the food and beverages segment, e-commerce gaining more popularity in the country, and domestic companies testing out the waters. The rural region is also a potentially profitable target.