Media and Entertainment Industry

Introduction

The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is a sunrise sector for the economy and is making significant strides. The increasing availability of fast and cheap internet, rising incomes, and increasing purchases of consumer durables have significantly aided the industry. India’s media and entertainment industry are unique as compared to other markets. The industry is well known for its extremely high volumes and rising Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

India is rapidly emerging as a global creative powerhouse, driven by its talent pool, cultural richness, and technological advancements. According to the EY report titled "A Studio Called India", the country's media infrastructure is expanding, with animation and VFX costs in India being 40% to 60% lower than in the West, supported by a workforce of around 2,60,000 skilled professionals.

This significantly aided the country’s industry and made India leading in terms of digital adoption and provided companies with uninterrupted rich data to understand their customers better. India has also experienced growing opportunities in the VFX sector as the focus shifted globally to India as a preferred content creator.

Proving its resilience to the world, Indian M&E industry is on the cusp of a strong phase of growth, backed by rising consumer demand and improving advertising revenue.

Market Dynamics

Between 2 to 2.5 million digital creators are influencing over Rs. 29,60,300 crore (US$ 350 billion) in annual consumer spending, a number expected to surpass Rs. 84,58,000 crore (US$ 1 trillion) by CY30.

In the Union budget of FY26 the Ministry of Information and broadcasting received Rs. 4,358 crore (US$ 515.5 million).

The Indian entertainment sector could unlock an estimated Rs. 50,724 crore (US$ 6 billion) in unrealised value by FY30, according to a recent industry report. This growth potential is attributed to international collaboration, technology adoption, and strategic changes in content creation.

According to a report published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India’s total internet users crossed 100 crore in June 2025.

Indian advertising revenues is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% to reach Rs. 1,58,000 crore (US$ 19.2 billion) in FY28, which is 1.4x the global average of 6.7%.

The online gaming and sports sector in India is growing at a CAGR of 19.2% and is projected to reach Rs. 39,583 crore (US$ 4.8 billion) by FY28.

OTT platform revenues in India are projected to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 14.9%, the highest among the top 15 countries, to reach Rs. 35,061 crore (US$ 4.25 billion) by FY28.

India's Animation and VFX sector is projected to grow from US$ 1.3 billion in 2023 to US$ 2.2 billion by 2026, increasing its share of the media and entertainment (M&E) industry from 5% to 6%, according to a CII GT report.

Media companies are projected to achieve an 8% revenue growth, reaching US$ 7.14 billion (Rs. 60,000 crore) by FY27, driven by increasing contributions from the digital segment, according to a Crisil analysis of 20 companies that account for 55% of the media industry's revenue.

India's Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry is set to outpace global growth, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3%, projected to reach US$ 43.03 billion (Rs. 3,65,000 crore) by FY28.

According to Media Partners Asia's Asia Pacific Video & Broadband Industry 2024 report, India's video market, encompassing both TV and digital, is projected to grow from US$ 13 billion in 2023 to US$ 17 billion by 2028.

Recent development/Investments:

• In FY26, JioStar plans to invest Rs. 33,000 crore (US$ 3.85 billion) in new content, a move aimed at transforming India’s media landscape with greater focus on Indian-language, localised entertainment and sports.
• FDI inflows in the information and broadcasting sector (including print media) stood at Rs. 1,02,988 crore (US$ 11.77 billion) between April 2000-June 2025.
• Pocket FM, an audio series platform, has raised $103 million in its Series D funding round, led by Lightspeed with participation from Stepstone Group
• Disney-owned Star India secured the TV broadcasting rights for the Indian Premier League from 2023 to 2027 through an online bid. During the same period, Viacom 18 won the bid for the digital streaming rights of the Twenty20 League.
• Major tech and e-commerce firms, including Google, Meta, Amazon, and Flipkart, saw their collective ad revenues rise 9% to over Rs. 60,000 crore (US$ 7.13 billion) in FY24.
• The Star-Viacom18 merger deal signed on February 28 will create an US$ 8.5 billion media goliath with a dominating presence in both TV and digital segments.
• Media company Shemaroo Entertainment is planning to spend Rs. 75 crore (US$ 9.1 million) in FY24 to bolster its broadcast and over-the-top (OTT) businesses.
• Newly merged multiplex giant PVR Inox is ready with a plan to add up to 175 new screens and retrofit a host of existing ones at an investment of Rs. 700 crore (US$ 85.1 million) during FY24.

Government Initiatives

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) approached 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 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.

To ease filming in railways, the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) set up in the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) collaborated with the Ministry of Railways to develop an integrated single window filming mechanism to streamline the permission process for filming across railway premises.

Digital audio-visual content including films and web shows on over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms, as well as news and current affairs on online platforms, have been brought under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in November 2020.

Road Ahead

The Indian M&E industry is on an impressive growth path. The industry is expected to grow at a much faster rate than the global average rate. This can be majorly credited to rising incomes, increasing internet penetration and a growing push toward digital adoption.

In the long run, growth is the M&E industry is expected in retail advertisement on the back of several players entering the food and beverages segment, E-commerce gaining more popularity in the country, and domestic companies testing out the waters. India’s rural regions are expected to be the next regions for growth. India has also gotten on board with 5G and is already planning for 6G well ahead of the future. This push towards digital adoption especially in the rural regions will provide advertisers and publishers with an immense opportunity to capture untapped markets and help grow India’s media and entertainment industry forward