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India’s Entertainment & Media industry expected to grow at 9.48 per cent CAGR to reach INR 6,828,944Cr by 2027: PwC Report
Mumbai: India’s Entertainment & Media industry is expected to reach Rs 6,828,944Cr (US$73.6bn) by 2027 at 9.48 per cent CAGR. These figures come from PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027, the 24 annual analysis and forecast of E&M spending by consumers and advertisers across 53 territories in 13 sectors.
PwC India, chief digital officer and leader of technology, media & telecom, Manpreet Singh Ahuja stated, “As the adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, ML and the metaverse increase, the range of use cases will broaden, leading to a significant disruption in the media industry. Media companies and content creators are already striving to provide more interactive and immersive experiences to viewers. We anticipate that Media & Entertainment enterprises will invest heavily in the transformative ideas of the future to maintain relevance with their audiences.”
PwC India, partner & leader – entertainment & media, Rajib Basu said, “The Indian Media and Entertainment outlook for the next few years will show an exciting pace of growth. We have a good view of how the industry has reset itself after the pandemic. Increased mobile penetration and the use of digital technologies are poised to disrupt existing channels and create new possibilities in the years ahead for the sector. It is increasingly becoming important for traditional media and entertainment businesses to adopt the right strategies for growth as they face competition from digitally powered businesses.”
Key findings for India in this year’s Outlook include:
OTT Video: With new launches from international players and increasing “pay-lite” options, OTT revenue has surged in recent years, expanding a further 25.1 per cent in 2022 to reach INR 148,554Cr (US$1.8bn). This is over six times the revenue of 2018. The market will continue to grow at an impressive rate, increasing at a 14.3 per cent CAGR to produce revenue of INR 288,855Cr (US$3.5bn) in 2027. This will be driven by the competitive SVOD sector, which accounted for 78.1 per cent of market revenue in 2022. Although subscription service revenue will expand at a 13.0 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 214,578Cr (US$2.6bn), advertising-supported services (AVOD) will grow at a higher rate, albeit from a lower base.
Video games & Esports: India is the second-fastest-growing video games market in the world behind Pakistan. India’s total video games and esports revenue was INR 140,301Cr (US$1.7bn) in 2022 and is expected to reach Rs 346,626Cr (US$4.2bn) by 2027, increasing at a formidable 19.4 per cent CAGR. Year-on-year growth in 2022 was 28.8 per cent, a slight slowing of 2.1 percentage points over the previous year. Although growth will continue to slow across the forecast period, it will remain significantly faster than the global average.
Internet advertising: The Indian Internet advertising market is among the fastest-growing in the world, with a 12.3 per cent CAGR expected to see total revenue climb from Rs 363,132Cr (US$4.4bn) in 2022 to Rs 651,987Cr (US$7.9bn) by 2027. There will be growth across the market over the forecast period, with the strongest performances coming in the mobile sector, where an overall CAGR of 13.7 per cent is expected to push total revenue from Rs 255,843Cr (US$3.1bn) to INR 478,674Cr (US$5.8bn). In the wired sector, revenue will increase from Rs 115,542Cr (US$1.4bn) to INR 173,311Cr (US$2.1bn), at a CAGR of 8.9 per cent.
Newspapers & consumer magazines: India’s consumer book market will increase at a 3.7 per cent CAGR between 2022 and 2027, with total revenue increasing from Rs 90,783Cr (US$1.1bn) to INR 107,289Cr (US$1.3bn). Most of the growth will come from the electronic books sector, where revenue will see an impressive increase at a 10.3 per cent CAGR. In the print sector, growth will be more modest, with increase at a 1.7 per cent CAGR expected. Print still dominates the Indian market, accounting for 80.1 per cent of total revenue in 2022, with electronic books making up the other 19.9 per cent. Electronic books will gain ground over the forecast period, making up 27.2 per cent by 2027.
Out-Of-Home Advertising: India’s out-of-home (OOH) advertising market is rapidly expanding. In 2022 total OOH revenue increased by 63.4 per cent, this saw revenue valued at a new high of INR 56,202Cr (US$681mn). This pace will be sustained for years to come. An increase at a 9.9 per cent CAGR will outperform every other OOH market in Asia Pacific and the world over the forecast period. OOH has a low penetration rate in India and a number of hurdles have held back further development to date.
TV advertising: India’s TV advertising market recovered rapidly from the COVID-19 pandemic downturn, with revenue expanding 19.0 per cent in 2021 and 11.9 per cent in 2022 to reach INR 387,891Cr (US$4.7bn). There remains considerable room for growth with advertisers keen to access India’s vast population and large live audiences. TV ad spend will grow at a 6.4 per cent CAGR to reach INR 536,445Cr (US$6.5bn) in 2027. At this time, India will be the fourth-largest TV advertising market globally, after the US, Japan and China. The market’s expansion continues to be based on economic development and an increasing proportion of households having television sets.
Cinema: The Indian cinema sector suffered badly during the COVID-19 pandemic but is now rebounding rapidly. Total cinema revenue in India was up sharply in 2022, reaching Rs 90,783Cr (US$1.1bn), up from INR 3317Cr (US$402mn) in 2021. Revenue is expected to reach INR 189,819Cr (US$2.3bn) by 2027 representing an increase at a 15.1 per cent CAGR. Admissions are also rebounding. They were at 379mn in 2021 but went up to 986mn in 2022 and are expected to reach 1.4bn by 2027.
Music, Radio & Podcast: India’s total music, radio and podcasts market passed the Rs 82,530Cr (US$1.0bn) milestone in 2022 to reach Rs 90,783Cr (US$1.1bn) and is forecast to reach Rs 123,795Cr (US$1.5bn) in 2027. Radio and recorded music revenue are the key drivers. As Indian consumers log onto their favourite streaming platforms en masse, the business for recorded music added over Rs 16,506Cr (US$200mn) in the five years to 2022. India’s relatively small live music market has rebounded, and eclipsed pre-pandemic results. Revenue from live is expected to come in at Rs 10,398Cr (US$126mn) in 2023 and lift to Rs 11,884Cr (US$144mn) by 2027, a CAGR of 5.5 per cent.
PwC Germany, Global Entertainment & Media Industry Leader, Werner Ballhaus said, “We have seen impressive growth in the entertainment and media industry over the past two years following a surge in demand for digital products during COVID-19. However, macroeconomic challenges, increased industry competition, and a reduction in production costs – particularly in digital services and experiences – have reduced revenues and consumers’ willingness-to-pay. If companies in the EM industry are to successfully engage consumers and drive growth, they need to transform their service-offerings and tap into new and emerging markets and technologies, such as Asia and generative AI.”
Applause Entertainment, managing director, Sameer Nair said, “At a macro level, with our population size, digital and financial connectivity, the ever-increasing appetite for content, and the overall economy growing, getting to $75 billion by 2027 seems doable.
The critical questions are however more micro and specific. Will theatres survive? Can OTTs alone support the movie industry? Have we maxed out on SVOD? How soon will linear TV die? Can the Digital Advertising business support all the platforms? Is the idea of quantity over quality programming viable? Will Gaming survive the Regulator? What new disruption in Content & Distribution is in the offing? Is AI really going to help reduce costs?
It’s actions and answers to questions like this which will decide the percentage split of the macro $75 billion in 2027, resulting in individual winners and losers, even as the industry grows.”
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WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
