The way in which Indians devour leisure has reworked drastically over the previous few years. As soon as dominated by tv screens in dwelling rooms, the media and leisure (M&E) panorama is now formed by cell phones, good TVs, and streaming platforms. With on-demand content material obtainable on the faucet of a finger, digital media is not only the long run—it’s the current.
Based on the newest FICCI-EY report titled “Form the Future: Indian Media and Leisure is Scripting a New Story,” India’s M&E sector has crossed a formidable milestone, reaching a valuation of ₹2.5 trillion ($29.4 billion) in 2024. Regardless of world financial uncertainties, the trade has managed to develop by 3.3% year-on-year, including ₹81 billion to its valuation and contributing 0.73% to India’s GDP.
The projections are much more promising. The sector is anticipated to increase by 7.2% in 2025 to achieve ₹2.7 trillion, and by 2027, it’s set to the touch ₹3.1 trillion, rising at a gradual 7% CAGR.
Digital Media: The New King of Leisure
The most important takeaway from the report? Digital media has overtaken tv as the most important phase of the Indian M&E trade. It now accounts for 32% of the full sector income, with digital promoting witnessing a staggering 17% progress, reaching ₹700 billion. Digital platforms alone contribute 55% of whole promoting revenues, an indication that conventional media gamers have to rethink their methods.
The promoting sector as an entire grew by 8.1%, with the strongest push coming from digital efficiency advertisements, e-commerce promoting, and premium Digital Out-of-Dwelling (DOOH) media.
The landmark progress of digital media has caught the eye of each policymakers and trade leaders. Ashish Shelar, Minister of Data Know-how & Cultural Affairs, Authorities of Maharashtra, acknowledged the report’s findings, saying,
“I praise FICCI for this complete Media and Leisure report. My division and authorities will take the perfect options from this report and implement them in our 100-day motion plan for the Cultural Affairs Ministry.”
Kevin Vaz, Chairman, FICCI Media & Leisure Committee, echoed the same sentiment, stating,
“The Indian media and leisure trade is at a defining second, pushed by fast digital adoption. With India’s M&E market anticipated to surpass INR 3 trillion by 2027, the long run holds immense potential.”
Even Ashish Pherwani, Accomplice & Media & Leisure Chief, EY India, highlighted how digital has revolutionized content material consumption:
“The digital revolution has reworked how content material is created and consumed. As digital media overtakes conventional codecs, we’re witnessing a paradigm shift the place engagement, escapism, and interactivity are driving new success metrics.”
Breakdown of M&E Sector Efficiency in 2024
Successful Segments
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Digital Promoting: Grew 17% to the touch ₹700 billion, with e-commerce promoting main with a 50% soar.
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Stay Occasions: Up 15%, fueled by weddings, live shows, and election-related occasions.
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OOH Media: Elevated 10%, with Digital OOH surging 78% to account for 12% of whole OOH revenues.
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Radio: Revenues climbed 9% to achieve ₹25 billion, with 20% of earnings now from non-traditional sources.
Struggling Segments
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Print Media: Promoting income grew by simply 1%, whereas subscriptions declined by 1%.
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Music Trade: Confronted a 2% income dip as a result of declining free music consumption and decrease streaming royalties.
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On-line Gaming: Shrunk by 2% as a result of the 28% GST on deposits and rising competitors from offshore platforms.
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Movie Trade: Noticed a 5% income decline, as solely 11 Hindi movies crossed the ₹1 billion mark, down from 17 in 2023.
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Tv: Promoting revenues dropped by 6%, and pay TV subscriptions declined by 6 million.
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Animation & VFX: Declined by 9%, as worldwide studios lowered outsourcing work.
The Way forward for Indian M&E: What Lies Forward?
The report highlights a number of key developments that may outline India’s leisure trade within the coming years:
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Subscription Fashions Will Lead Income Progress: Extra digital platforms will shift in direction of paid fashions for sustained income.
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Content material Monetization Will Broaden Globally: Indian mental properties (IPs) and licensing offers will drive new income streams.
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Trade Consolidation & Cross-Platform Digital Growth: Bigger companies will purchase smaller gamers to strengthen their market dominance.
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AI Will Reshape Content material Creation & Distribution: Synthetic intelligence will allow extra customized and cost-effective content material.
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On-line Gaming Will Face Regulatory Challenges: Indian gaming startups might search enlargement abroad to navigate home tax hurdles.
India’s M&E Sector: Poised for a $36.1 Billion Future
With digital media firmly on the helm, India’s leisure trade is anticipated to evolve right into a $36.1 billion sector by 2027. The tempo of innovation, mixed with the nation’s huge digital consumer base, ensures that India stays one of many fastest-growing leisure markets globally.
For startups, traders, and content material creators, this shift is an open invitation to leverage digital alternatives and create partaking, worthwhile media ventures. The query is not whether or not digital will dominate—it already has. The true problem now could be who will lead the following part of India’s leisure evolution?
