India’s entertainment & media industry to reach $73.6 bn by 2027: Report

New Delhi: Driven by a surge in OTT platforms, India’s entertainment and media industry is expected to reach Rs 6,828,944 crore ($73.6 billion) by 2027, growing at a 9.48 per cnet CAGR, a report showed on Tuesday.

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 Rs 1,48,554 crore ($1.8 billion), according to PwC’s ‘Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2023-2027.

“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 Rs 2,88,855 crore ($3.5 billion) in 2027,” the report noted.

This will be driven by the competitive SVOD (subscription-video on demand) sector, which accounted for 78.1 per cent of market revenue in 2022.

Although subscription service revenue will expand at a 13 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 2,14,578 crore ($2.6 billion), advertising-supported services (AVOD) will grow at a higher rate, albeit from a lower base.

“As the adoption of emerging technologies like AI/ML, metaverse, increase, use cases will expand and will undoubtedly disrupt the media industry,” said Manpreet Singh Ahuja, Chief Digital Officer and Leader — Technology, Media and Telecom, PwC India.

Media companies and content creators are already pushing towards providing more interactive and immersive experiences to viewers.

“We expect media and entertainment enterprises to invest heavily in transformational ideas of the future to stay relevant to their audiences,” he added.

India’s total video games and esports revenue was Rs 1,40,301 crore ($1.7 billion) in 2022 and is expected to reach Rs 3,46,626 crore ($4.2 billion) by 2027, increasing at a 19.4 per CAGR, the findings showed.

“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,” said Rajib Basu, Partner & Leader — Entertainment & Media, PwC India.

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 3,63,132 crore ($4.4 billion) in 2022 to Rs 6,51,987 crore ($7.9 billion) by 2027.

India’s consumer book market will increase at a 3.7 per cent CAGR between 2022 and 2027, with total revenue increasing from Rs 90,783 crore ($1.1 billion) to Rs 1,07,289 crore ($1.3 billion), the report added.