Digital media is set to overtake television, and online gaming is growing faster than filmed entertainment. These are among the key observations of the latest FICCI-EY report that reviews the performance of media and entertainment (M&E) sector and provides insights into the future prospects for various segments of the business.
The report titled ‘Reinvent: India’s media & entertainment sector is innovating for the future’, was released at the FICCI FRAMES 2024.
The report stated that the M&E sector grew 8% in 2023, reaching ₹2.3 lakh crore ($27.9 billion), marking a 21% rise from the pre-pandemic levels in 2019. It is projected to grow to ₹2.55 lakh crore by 2024 and ₹3.08 lakh crore by 2026.
Below are some interesting data points and trends driving the sector.
Movies (Filmed entertainment)
1,796 films released in theaters in 2023 across languages and dubbed versions. The highest number of films were released in Telugu (317), Tamil (271), Kannada (241), Malayalam and Hindi (218 each).
36 films grossed more than ₹100 crore in 2023 as compared to 22 such films in 2022. Of the top ten movies in 2023, six were in Hindi and the remaining in South Indian languages.
High-end cinemas are expected to evolve into experience zones and cater to top-end multiplex audiences who watch movies for their spectacular experience. This market is estimated at around over 100 million customers/ 50 million households currently.
A different category of lower-priced cinema products is expected to emerge for the next 100 to 150 million audiences across the top 50 to 75 cities of India. This will involve a change in the content type and could include regional OTT products.Over-the-top (OTT) content
India created almost 200,000 hours of content in 2023.
416 films were released on OTT platforms but direct to digital releases halved to 57.
OTT content volume growth slowed in 2023 due to profitability pressures and is expected to fall further in 2024.Online gaming
New media segments (digital media and online gaming) contributed nearly ₹122 billion to the overall increase of ₹173 billion in 2023. This boosted their share in the M&E sector to 38% in 2023 from 20% in 2019.
Online gaming overtook filmed entertainment to become the fourth largest segment. There were over 450 million online gamers in India, of which around 100 million played daily.
Over 90 million gamers paid to play; real money gaming comprised 83% of segment revenues.
Online gaming is expected to grow to ₹388 billion by 2026 from ₹220 billion in 2023, with growth across verticals such as esports, fantasy sport, casual gaming and other games of skill. Revenue growth, however, will be led by mobile-based real-money gaming and casual gaming.
The gaming industry might see consolidation, and increasing international interest once there is better clarity on taxation matters.Other key trends
Bucking the global trend, print continued to thrive in India in 2023. A loyal readership will support growth for print, but likely cover price increases may intensify competition.
Comscore data indicates that in 2023 online news had a reach of 456 million as compared to 574 million smartphones in India. This is expected to grow to over 500 million by 2026.
Experiential segments including outside-the-home and interactive media, alongside online gaming, filmed entertainment, live events, and Out-of-Home (OOH) media, collectively grew by 18%, accounting for 48% of the total sector growth.
By 2030, India is likely to have nearly a billion active screens. Of this, around 240 million (24 crore) will be large screens such as TV, laptop or PC and the balance will be small screens such as mobile phones, phablets.
