MAM
Creatorpreneurs and Tier ll+ Cities Lead as Creator Economy
Mumbai: The report explores the booming creator economy and highlights the emerging trends they witnessed in 2023. Currently valued at over Rs 100 billion and involving around 300 million people worldwide, the industry has shifted gears this year.
Enclosed herewith is a comprehensive report summary –
1. Rise of Creatorpreneurs:
The creator economy, once dominated by entertainers, is now witnessing a significant shift towards education and knowledge sharing, giving rise to a new breed of creators- “creatorpreneurs”.
Today, nearly 2X as many creators prefer to establish themselves as sustainable business owners rather than chase celebrity influencer status with books and podcasts witnessing the biggest y-o-y growth in creation.
Sectors such as personal development, health & fitness, personal finance, etc., have seen significant growth, indicating a strong demand for creator-led educational content.
2. Growth:
The e-learning industry is projected to exceed Rs 460 billion by 2026, representing a vast opportunity for creators in the educational space.
On Classplus alone, the earnings of non-academic creators have soared by 2.5X in 2023 from the previous year. The number of creators using the platform has also grown by 300 per cent from 2021.
3. Shift from Social Media to Other Digital Learning Products:
Fearing the unpredictability of ad revenue and seasonal brand deals on social media, creators are diversifying their income streams and turning to entrepreneurship to build sustainable revenue through digital learning products.
77 per cent of creators said algorithm changes had a moderate-to-significant impact on their audience engagement. Additionally, 25 per cent of creators estimated they’ve lost Rs 1,000- Rs 9,999 in revenue due to algorithmic changes, and 24 per cent estimated Rs 10,000-Rs 49,999 in losses.
4 . 2023 Saw the Rise of Fin-fluencers:
The rise of the creator economy has coincided with an increase in financial awareness among retail investors. The number of investor accounts has surged from 3.93 crore in December 2019 to 13.23 crore by the end of October 2023.
In line with these trends, finance and investment education is an emerging category across platforms. They are teaching courses ranging from basic financial literacy to advanced investment strategies, catering to various levels of expertise and interest.
5. Upskilling for Professional Growth:
Creator-led courses are gaining traction as alternatives to the traditional education system. The appeal lies in its flexibility and accessibility, allowing individuals to upskill at their own pace from anywhere at an affordable cost. (The course listings of creators on Classplus typically range from 1k for bite-sized video courses to Rs 50k for certification courses.)
The demand for online creator-led courses is soaring with coding, digital marketing, and personality development witnessing remarkable growth.
Professionals are also engaging with leaders from major tech companies for 1-on-1 mentorship and consultations.
Every month, 15 million learners visit Classplus powered apps of these creators to upskill themselves on skills in digital marketing, coding, communication, etc.
6. Boom in Categories for “Bharat”:
Social Media has become a medium for successful business owners to share their expertise and insights, thereby enabling others to start and grow their own micro-businesses.
This trend is significantly empowering individuals, particularly women in Tier II+ India to generate income and start successful ventures. Around 70 per cent of the audience accessing courses by these creators using Classplus are from Tier II+ cities and towns.
Some courses gaining momentum-
○ Organic Farming
○ Makeup Art
○ Jewellery Designing
○ Cooking & Catering
○ Fashion Designing
7. Increasing Focus on Health and Well-Being
· Around 94 per cent of Indians are worried about their own and their family’s health and feel that lifestyle changes like exercising, yoga and dieting will benefit their health and overall wellbeing. People are spending more on gym memberships, yoga classes, and curated diet plans.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
