Indian media and entertainment industry - an overview

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.

Recently, the Indian and Canadian governments have signed an audio-visual co-production deal that would help producers from both countries to explore their technical, creative, artisteic, financial and marketing resources for co-productions and, subsequently, lead to exchange of culture and art amongst them.

Furthermore, the Centre has given the go-ahead for licences to 45 new news and entertainment channels in India. Among those who have secured the licenses include established names such as Star, Sony, Viacom and Zee.

Presently, there are 350 broadcasters which cater to 780 channels. “We want more competition and we wanted to open it up for the public. So far, we have approved the licences of 45 new channels. It’s a mix of both news and non-news channels,” said Mr Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Government of India.

The radio industry is expected to witness growth opportunities after the Phase III auction of 839 radio channels in 294 cities, expected to complete later this year.

The Phase III auction, which started in July 2015, is expected to bring in an estimated US$ 390 million in revenue to the government. With over 800 frequencies up for auction in third- and fourth-tier towns, radio is likely to match the reach of print.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, has given its approval for entering into an Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement between India and the Republic of Korea (RoK) and to complete internal ratification procedure, to enable the agreement to come into force.

Cooperation between the film industries of the two countries will not only promote export of Indian films but would also act as a catalyst towards creating awareness about India and its culture.

Road Ahead

The Indian Media and Entertainment industry is on an impressive growth path. The revenue from advertising is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13 per cent and will exceed Rs 81,600 crore (US$ 12.29 billion) in 2019 from Rs 41,400 crore (US$ 6.24 billion) in 2014. Internet access has surpassed the print segment as the second-largest segment contributing to the overall pie of M&E industry revenues.

Television and print are expected to remain the largest contributors to the advertising pie in 2018 as well. Internet advertising will emerge as the third-largest segment, with a share of about 16 per cent in the total M&E advertising pie.

The film segment which contributed Rs 12,640 crore (US$ 1.90 billion) in 2014 is projected to grow steadily at a CAGR of 10 per cent on the back of higher domestic and overseas box-office collections as well as cable and satellite rights.

Digital ads are expected to lead the CAGR with 30.2 per cent, followed by radio with 18.1 per cent. Animation and VFX, and TV are expected to register 16.3 per cent and 15.5 per cent respectively.