Event Coverage
M&E to cross Rs 2 trillion by 2020: FICCI-EY report
MUMBAI: FICCI Frames 2018 saw the launch of its annual media and entertainment (M&E) report, this year by Ernst & Young (E&Y) titled ‘Re-imagining India’s M&E sector’ which captures key insights from the exciting and fast growing Indian M&E sector.
Launched on Sunday in the presence of the Information & Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani and other industry stalwarts like Star India MD Sanjay Gupta, Siddharth Roy Kapoor, filmmaker Karan Johar and others, the FICCI-EY report highlights that the M&E sector continues to grow at a rate faster than the GDP growth rate, reflecting the growing disposable income led by stable economic growth and changing demographics.
The report suggests that the Indian M&E sector reached Rs 1.5 trillion in 2017, a growth of around 13 per cent over 2016 and is expected to cross Rs 2 trillion by 2020, growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 per cent. The digital segment led growth, demonstrating that advertising budgets are in line with the changing content consumption patterns.
The report states that subscription growth outpaced advertising growth in 2017 but advertising will continue to grow till 2020 led by digital advertising. The report estimates that approximately 1.5 million consumers in India today are digital only and would not normally use traditional media. It is expected that this customer base will grow to 4 million by 2020 generating significant digital subscription revenues of approximately Rs 20 billion. Going forward, micropayment, enabled through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) platforms developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will further accelerate subscription revenues for entertainment content.
EY India partner and M&E leader Ashish Pherwani expects digital and gaming sectors to grow between 2 to 3 times by 2020.
Television
While advertising is 41 per cent of the total revenues today, the report expects it to grow to 43 per cent by 2020. There are over 30 per cent households in India which are yet to get television screens, but being at the bottom of the pyramid, these households will tend to move first towards free and sachet products.
EY report states that the TV industry grew from Rs 594 billion to Rs 660 billion in 2017 and advertising grew to Rs 267 billion while distribution grew to Rs 393 billion. At a broadcaster level, however, subscription revenues including international subscription made up approximately 28 per cent of revenues.
Digital media
250 million people viewed videos online in 2017 and the figure is expected to double to 500 million by 2020. 93 per cent of time spent on digital videos is in Hindi and other regional languages and OTT subscription in India is expected to touch Rs 20 billion by 2020.
Digital media has grown significantly over the past few years and continues to lead the growth charts on advertising. Subscription revenues are emerging and are expected to make their presence felt by 2020. In 2017, digital media grew at 29.4 per cent on the back of a 28.8 per cent growth in advertising and a 50 per cent growth in subscription. Subscription, which was just 3.3 per cent of total digital revenues in 2016, is expected to grow to 9 per cent by 2020.
Today, 98 per cent of readers read dailies and 20 per cent read magazines. Reader base is 395 million, or 38 per cent of the population. Readership has grown by 110 million over the last 3 years. Rural (52 per cent) reader base is larger than urban (48 per cent). 44 per cent of children aged between12-17 years read a newspaper or magazine. Magazines have a higher readership in urban area (57 per cent) as compared to rural areas (43 per cent).
Print accounted for the second largest share of the Indian M&E sector, growing at 3 per cent to reach Rs 303 billion in 2017 and is estimated to grow at an overall CAGR of approximately 7 per cent till 2020.
This growth is expected despite the FDI limit remaining unchanged at 26 per cent and therefore, restricting access to foreign print players and the imposition of GST at 5 per cent on the advertising revenues of the print industry for the first time in history.
Films
Regional movies drove the growth in number of releases in 2017. Screen count increased from 9481 in 2016 to 9530 in 2017. Number of Hindi movies crossing the Rs 1 billion mark was highest in 2017 in the past five years. From 31 movies in 2016, Hindi dubbed movies increased more than three times to 96 in 2017.
The Indian film segment grew 27 per cent in 2017 on the back of box office growth – both domestic and international, coupled with increased revenues from sale of satellite and digital rights. All sub-segments, with the exception of home video grew and the film segment reached Rs 156 billion in 2017.
The Hindi films comprise the majority component of the Indian film segment. They contribute almost 40 per cent of the net domestic box office collections annually, despite comprising only 17 per cent of the films made. Films in 29 other Indian languages account for approximately 75 per cent of the films released but they contribute approximately 50 per cent to the annual domestic box office collections. Hollywood and international films comprise the balance.
M&A in M&E
The Indian M&E sector witnessed a relatively new trend in deal activity with emerging segments such as gaming and digital gaining momentum, while the deal activity in the traditional media segments was slower. The slowdown can be partially attributed to challenges faced by the advertising segments of the industry due to demonetisation and GST. Overall, the number of transactions in the M&E sector decreased from 56 deals in 2016 to 40 deals in 2017.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
