Indian media business models need a fundamental rewrite, says Gaurav Banerjee

MUMBAI: A big audience is not a business. That was the blunt message from Gaurav Banerjee, chairman, CII Media and Entertainment Committee, and managing director and chief executive officer, Sony Pictures Networks India, at the inaugural session of the CII Big Picture Summit in Mumbai on October 15, 2026. India’s media and entertainment industry, he said, must fundamentally rethink its business models to turn its vast audience reach and creative strengths into sustainable economic value.

Addressing industry leaders and policymakers, Banerjee said the summit’s theme, “The New Economics of Media & Entertainment”, reflected an urgent challenge: building an industry that is more innovative and more valuable for audiences, creators and investors.

“Today, more than at any other time in the past, economic and business models are under stress. They require a fundamental rewrite,” Banerjee said. “A large audience is, finally, just a starting point. It is not a business model.”

Reach is not enough

The argument is simple and sharp. Chasing reach alone has not delivered the best economics, Banerjee said, and he urged the industry to focus on the value it creates through that reach. Each party in the chain wants something different. Viewers need entertainment worth their time and money. Advertisers need credible evidence of business outcomes. Investors need confidence that creative ambition can deliver sustainable, long-term returns. A model that satisfies all three, rather than any one of them, is what he is asking the industry to build.

An IPL for storytellers?

The most striking idea was borrowed from cricket. Making the case for a more systematic approach to creative development, Banerjee drew on the IPL’s talent scouting and coaching model, and asked what it would take to build an equivalent system for Indian storytellers, with stronger pathways for discovering talent, developing skills and widening access to opportunity.

“What would it take to do that for our entertainment storytellers? How can this forum, CII, policymakers and companies like ours make that process bigger, better, more systematic and better organised?” he said.

The comparison is telling. The IPL turned raw talent into a pipeline. Banerjee wants the creative industries to do the same for writers, directors and performers, so that great stories are found by design rather than by luck.

Own the franchise

Banerjee also called for a reset in how the industry invests in intellectual property (IP). India’s programmes, films, characters and formats have become part of its cultural memory, he said, but the industry must ask whether it is capturing their full economic value.

He urged businesses to build franchises that can endure across decades, travel across languages and global markets, and extend across television, streaming, cinema, live experiences and licensing. That would require stronger development, research-led writers’ rooms and partnerships that help Indian IP reach new audiences, alongside fair rewards for creators and respect for rights.

Measure what matters

As viewing moves across screens, Banerjee said, measurement and monetisation systems must evolve to give a more coherent understanding of reach, engagement and outcomes. Greater industry collaboration could give advertisers stronger, evidence-backed confidence in the value of their investments. It is a pointed reminder that better numbers are not a technical nicety but part of the business case.

AI as enabler, not replacement

On artificial intelligence, Banerjee urged the sector to look beyond production efficiencies and use the technology to deepen research, development and creative discovery.

“My concern is that AI should not be used simply to reduce costs thoughtlessly. It must never be used to replace the voice of the creator,” Banerjee said. “It should be an enabling function, not a replacement function.”

Three priorities for collective action

Banerjee outlined three priorities for collective action through CII:

1. A forward-looking framework for intellectual property and responsible AI.
2. Talent and skills development in partnership with educators, technology companies and creative businesses.
3. Constructive engagement with government to create a predictable environment for long-term investment and global competitiveness.

He closed with an ambition that looks well beyond the home market. “Our opportunity is not simply to serve a large domestic audience. It is to build businesses, franchises, capabilities and talent in India that can create value around the world,” Banerjee said.