India’s entertainment and media industry is expected to reach Rs 4,30,401 crore by 2026 at 8.8% CAGR, according to the latest report by PwC. Titled, ‘Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2022-2026’ the report provides five-year projections of consumer and advertiser spending data across 14 segments and 52 territories. Partly driven by the absence of public entertainment and additional time at home, total over-the-top (OTT) revenue more than doubled in 2020. The report stated that the trend continued in 2021, with revenue nearly doubling again. The OTT market is estimated to expand by 14.1% CAGR to reach Rs 21,032 crore in 2026. Subscription services are driving this growth, the report claims, accounting for 90.5% of revenue in 2021 and set to account for 95% in 2026.

For Rajib Basu, partner and leader – entertainment and media, PwC India, a different profile of media and entertainment related businesses and revenue models might emerge in the digital space post the rollout of 5G. ”The Indian media and entertainment outlook for the next few years is quite unique. The pace of growth of digital media and advertising is led by the deeper penetration of internet and mobile devices in our market. At the same time, traditional media will hold their steady growth rate over the next few years,” he added.

As for newspapers and consumer magazines, the report states that India will see an increase in total newspaper revenue at a 2.7% CAGR from Rs 26,378 crore in 2021 to Rs 29,945 crore in 2026. India, which will leapfrog both France and the UK to become the fifth-biggest newspaper market by 2026, will also be the only country to grow total newspaper print revenue consistently across the five-year forecast period. The report also forecasts that India will be the only country in the world to grow daily print newspaper copy sales (by volume) during the forecast period. The increase at a 1.3% CAGR – to an average of 139 million daily average print newspaper sales in 2026, one-third of the global daily total – will mean that India will overtake China as the biggest world market for print edition readership in 2025.

After witnessing a slump, India’s out-of-home (OOH) advertising market seems to be demonstrating one of the strongest comebacks globally and is predicted to grow at 12.57% CAGR to reach Rs 5,562 crore in 2026 by the report. In 2021 total OOH revenue was up to Rs 3,076 crore. The momentum of this rebound will carry over into 2022, and by year-end the market will be at the value of Rs 4,084 crore.

While the media and entertainment industry slumped in 2020 because of the pandemic, the gaming sector recorded a rise. The report highlights that the momentum will continue as India’s total video games and esports revenue is forecasted to reach Rs 37,535 crore by 2026, from Rs 16,200 crore in 2021. Of the total 13,244 crore, social/casual gaming accounted for 83.9% of India’s total video games and esports revenue in 2021. Expanding at a 20.6% CAGR, social/casual gaming revenue is expected to reach Rs 34,581 crore by 2026. A big enabler of this segment will be the emergence of 5G technology in the market.

With the country’s return to economic growth in 2021, TV advertising grew by 16.9% to Rs 32,374 crore. The market will expand further at a 6.3% CAGR to reach Rs 43,410 crore by 2026. At this time, India will be the fifth-largest TV advertising market globally, after the US, Japan, China and the UK, the report claims. Meanwhile, the report states that with regards to cinema, India is the third-biggest market globally in terms of footfalls after China and the US in 2021 and is set to grow at the rate of 38.3% CAGR in the forecast period to reach Rs 16,198 crore by 2026.

According to the report, internet advertising is set to increase at a 12.1% CAGR to reach Rs 28,234 crore by 2026. Given India’s mobile-first Internet access market, the mobile sector accounted for 60.1% of total revenue in 2021 and will witness a 69.3% rise by 2026. Display advertising dominates the mobile sector, accounting for 90.7% of revenue in 2021 though its share will fall to 88.9% of the total in 2026. India’s wired Internet access revenue amounted to Rs 6,379 crore in 2021 and is predicted to increase at a 6.3% CAGR to reach Rs 8,829 crore by 2026.

As for music, radio and podcast segment, the report claims that the segment grew by 18% in 2021 and is set to grow at 9.8% CAGR to reach Rs 11,536 crore by 2026. On the back of streaming models, India’s recorded music industry (which is a key sub-segment) is making steady progress at a CAGR of 13.6%. Translating this into revenue, from Rs 1,663 crore in 2017, the segment grew to Rs 2,568 crore in 2021 and is expected to continue on this path to Rs 4,849 crore by 2026.

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