India’s entertainment & media industry can be worth over Rs 4 lakh cr by 2026: PwC

By 2026, the Indian entertainment and media industry is predicted to grow by 8.8 per cent CAGR, reaching a valuation of Rs. 4,30,401 cr, as per the latest report on entertainment and media by the global consultancy firm PwC.

As per the report, although India's entertainment and media (E&M) industry has grown steadily over the years, however, when it comes to traditional media, expanding digitalisation, greater Internet usage, and the rise of online alternatives to consumer entertainment have long been seen as threats to the industry.

However, according to the predictions made by the report, India will see an increase in total newspaper revenue at a 2.7 per cent CAGR from Rs 26,378 crore in 2021 to Rs 29,945 crore within the next four years. In terms of the print industry, India is set to become the fifth-biggest newspaper market by 2026, surpassing both France and UK. Additionally, India is also expected to surpass China as the largest worldwide market for print edition readership in 2025 thanks to the growth at a 1.3 per cent CAGR, which will reach an average of 139 million daily average print newspaper sales in 2026, accounting for one-third of the global daily total.

Regarding the forecasts of India's E&M business, Rajib Basu, Partner and Leader of Entertainment & Media at PwC India remarked, ”The Indian Media and Entertainment outlook for the next few years is quite unique. There is an exciting pace of growth of digital media and advertising led by the deeper penetration of Internet and mobile devices in our market. At the same time, traditional media will hold their steady growth rate over the next few years. We shall see a very different profile of media and entertainment-related businesses and revenue models emerging in the digital space once we have the rollout of 5G.”

In terms of the Music, Radio and Podcast segments of India’s E&M industry, these are expected to grow at 9.8 per cent CAGR to reach a valuation of Rs 11,536 crore by 2026. India’s recorded music industry is already growing steadily at a CAGR of 13.6 per cent. Here, the revenue increased from Rs 1,663 crore in 2017 to Rs 2,568 crore in 2021 and is anticipated to do so for the foreseeable future, reaching Rs 4,849 crore by 2026, according to the predictions made by the report. 

The Indian film industry, which is currently the third-largest in the world in terms of admissions and unquestionably one of the most well-liked, is expected to increase at the fastest pace of all the categories over the projected period, with a startling 38.3 per cent CAGR, to reach Rs 16,198 crore by 2026. 

According to the findings of the report, more than 379 million movie tickets were sold in India alone in 2021, a significant increase over the 278 million admissions in 2020 and that too following a sharp decline from a record amount of 1.9 billion tickets sold prior to the pandemic. Not only does this demonstrate the potential of the Indian film industry, but also attests to the fact that it can only be expected to rise further.

In the post-pandemic world, when movie theatres were shut down, OTT platforms became the only source of entertainment for Indian consumers. These platforms saw their revenues more than double what they made before 2020 thanks to the promise of convenient and accessible entertainment.  The OTT segment is likely to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 14.1 per cent to reach Rs 21,032 crore in 2026. Subscription services, which accounted for 90.5 per cent of revenue in 2021, are projected to account for 95 per cent of revenue by 2026.

In what may be good news for advertisers in the country, these sectors are also expected to show promising growth in the next 4 years. While the conventional TV advertising industry is anticipated to recover from a 10.8 per cent decline during the pandemic to post a 6.3 per cent CAGR rise to reach Rs 43,410 crore by 2026, propelling India to become the fifth-largest TV advertising market internationally. 

Also interestingly, India’s Internet advertising market is also set to increase at a phenomenal rate of 12.1 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 28,234Cr by 2026. Following similar trends, India’s out-of-home (OOH) advertising market is also expected to make a strong comeback post-pandemic, clocking a growth of 12.57per cent CAGR to reach a valuation of Rs 5,562Cr within the next four years. 

In terms of global projections, the report suggested that the film and Internet advertising sectors are expected to experience the greatest growth of all, with global box office revenues expected to reach a high of $49.4 billion in 2026 and internet advertising projected to experience an exceptional 31.6 per cent Y-o-Y rise to clock a net revenue of $468.4 billion. At the same time, the metaverse may hold promise as a brand-new phenomenon in the E&M industry, fundamentally changing how companies and customers interact with each other in the coming years and consequently bringing in new possibilities for the industry as a whole.

 

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