Indian Media And Entertainment

The Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5% to touch $45.1 billion by 2021 from the current $27.3 billion, said a report ‘Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2017-21’ released by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

While the Indian M&E sector will grow in double digits, globally the industry is projected to grow at 4.2% CAGR, according to the report which covers 17 media and entertainment segments across 54 countries.

Growth for digital advertising (in India) is projected to be the fastest at a CAGR of 18.6%, while television advertising is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% between 2017 and 2021. Digital advertising will reach $1.7 billion by 2021, up from the estimated $740 million in 2016, according to the report.

Among traditional media, radio will see the fastest growth at 14.7% CAGR and will be a $826 million industry, up from estimated $416 million in 2016.

“Unlike the global economy, which will see a shrinking contribution from the entertainment and media sector over the outlook period, in India the sector’s growth rate will outpace the overall GDP growth rate. Being a relatively under-developed market in terms of per capita spend on entertainment and media, will allow India to grow at 10.57% over the next five years,” said Frank D’Souza, partner & leader, entertainment & media, PwC India.

The Indian film industry is expected to experience strong growth to become the third largest cinema market, after the US and China by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 10.4%. Unlike the global trend, the Indian newspaper industry is expected to record a positive growth rate of 1.1% CAGR between 2017 and 2021.

However, the report added that the online advertising market in India remains immature due to a lack of internet access across the country. “While several over-the-top (OTT) platforms have launched in India and both smartphone usage and online video viewing are growing, lack of broadband infrastructure continues to limit the market. Fixed broadband penetration remains low at just 6.9% in 2016. The high cost of wired Internet access (and computers and laptops) means that it will remain unaffordable for the vast majority of Indian households,” the report said.

“In Indian context, internet remains an expensive proposition especially when you have to pay for separately for the content and connectivity. We have a cheaper option of television. It’s true that digital is growing fast but it’s over a very small base. Being the least digitised market, India will allow the traditional media to grow without disruption by digital,” said D’Souza.

India is the second-largest subscription TV market in the Asia Pacific region in terms of the number of subscription TV households, which reached 154.3 million in 2016. This number is expected to expand at a 1.6% CAGR to reach 166.9 million subscription TV households by 2021. “As the economy grows, this presents strong opportunities for expansion in the TV market,” the report said.

Source: Newspaper article in Livemint