Media and entertainment industry expected to reach INR 1.73 trillion in 2021: Report

According to the FICCI-EY report, the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector is expected to grow by 25 per cent in 2021 and reach ₹1.73 lakh crore ($23.7 billion).

The report titled 'Playing by new rules' showed that if the status quo continues, the M&E sector in India will reach INR 2.23 trillion by 2023 at a CAGR of 17 per cent.

Though television continued to remain the largest segment, online gaming has overtaken a disrupted filmed entertainment segment, and digital media has overtaken print. The only segments that grew in 2020 were digital media and online gaming, adding an aggregate of INR 26 billion, while all other segments have deteriorated by an aggregate of INR 467 billion. Online gaming was the fastest-growing segment in the M&E sector in 2020 as it grew 18 per cent in 2020 to reach Rs 77 billion.

Though the pandemic and lockdown have severely affected the media and entertainment industry, it is positive news that there has been a 49 per cent increase in digital subscription, said Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General FICCI. The lack of fresh content on television further contributed to the increase in digital subscriptions. Digital advertising, meanwhile, is expected to outpace all other ad media by 2024 or 2025.

The fact that that different media and entertainment industry sectors will take different time to recover makes the report more crucial.

"Digital is fuelling an unprecedented growth in content creation and consumption in almost every Indian language, creating new economic opportunities for both the media and entertainment industry and creative professionals across the country. We need to capitalize on this and unlock the full potential of India's creative ability to power India's economic engine," said Sanjay Gupta, chairman of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee.