PwC Projects Indian Entertainment and Media Industry Revenue to Reach Rs 3.65 Lakh Crore by 2028

By the end of the year 2028, the Indian entertainment and media industry is projected to generate revenue amounting to Rs 3.65 lakh crore, according to the predictions by PwC. 

The Indian entertainment and media segment is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3 percent and complete a revenue of Rs 3,65,000 crore, as detailed in the PwC report. The report added that India's E&M industry is also projected to grow ahead of the global 4.6 percent growth. 

As stated in the report, advertising revenues are expected to increase substantially at 9.4 percent to Rs 1.58 lakh crore above the global average of 6.7 percent according to the publication 'Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024-28: India Perspective.' However, advertising investments are foreseen to rise the highest of all top 15 countries by 15.6 percent to Rs 85,000 crore compared to the average of the world by 1.6 times.

Segment sports and online gaming are also projected to grow by a CAGR of 19.2 percent, reaching Rs 39,583 crore by the year 2028. 

The sector would exhibit the highest growth trajectory during the period about OTT platforms at 14.9 percent CAGR, reaching Rs 35,061 crore by 2028 again, the highest growth rate among the top 15 countries. 

At present, India is at number nine among the revenues earned from entertainment and media markets, the leading country being the US, followed by China. Here, the worldwide E&M revenues reflected growth to 5.5 percent from Rs 138,91,000 crore in 2022 to Rs 173,59,000 crore in 2023. 

According to Manpreet Singh Ahuja, Chief Digital Officer at PwC India and TMT Leader, the major growth drivers would be digital advertisement, OTT platforms, online gaming, and Generative AI.

The report underscored that India's expected growth would arise from better connectivity, increased advertising revenues and good government policies on foreign direct investment (FDI). Furthermore, it indicates that there are more than 91 crore of India's Gen-Z and millennials benefitting from the lowest data costs in the country. 

More so, India has 80 crore broadband subscriptions, 55 crore smartphone users, as well as 78 crore internet users. Ooh advertising witnessed a boom driven by all the infrastructure developments in India, with the OOH ad market in India projected to expand by 12.9% in 2023. It is expected to continue its steady growth and estimated CAGR of 7.6%.

In contrast to the global declining trend projected to be -2.6% in the print advertising space, India's print advertising market is forecast to grow at a rate of 3%. This growth pattern is projected to place India in the third position of the print market globally by 2028. As the towns grow in size, it seems then that the Indian cinema market is growing at much the same rate, at a CAGR of 14.1%, which would probably reflect a rising and sustained interest in cinema by much of the country. 

India will be the richest among all nations in business-to-business (B2B) revenues over the future five years, with a CAGR of 5.6%. This sharply contrasts with global B2B revenue growth projections, which are only 1.9%.