Media and Entertainment

Indian media industry has tremendous scope for growth in all the segments due to rising income and evolving lifestyle.

India is rapidly emerging as a global creative powerhouse, driven by its talent pool, cultural richness, and technological advancements. According to the EY report titled "A Studio Called India", the country's media infrastructure is expanding, with animation and VFX costs in India being 40% to 60% lower than in the West, supported by a workforce of around 2,60,000 skilled professionals.

As of 2025, India has 2–2.5 million active digital creators influencing over US$ 350 billion in annual consumer spending, which is projected to exceed US$ 1 trillion by 2030.

In the Union budget of FY26-27 the Ministry of Information and broadcasting received Rs. 4,551.94 crore (US$ 515.07 million).

According to a report published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India’s broadband internet subscribers crossed 995.63 crore in September 2025.

The Indian M&E sector grew to Rs. 2,78,000 crore (approx. US$ 33.3 billion) in 2025 (a 9% increase YoY), driven by digital and live experiences. It is projected to grow further to Rs. 3,30,000 crore (approx. US$ 39.5 billion) by 2028

The Indian M&E sector grew to Rs. 2,50,000 crore (US$ 29.4 billion) in 2024 (a 3.3% increase YoY). It is projected to grow ~7.2% in 2025 to Rs. 2,70,000 crore (US$ 31.6 billion), and at a 7% CAGR to Rs. 3,10,000 crore (US$ 36.1 billion) by 2027. The Indian entertainment sector could unlock an estimated Rs. 50,724 crore (US$ 6 billion) in unrealised value by FY30. This growth potential is attributed to international collaboration, technology adoption, and strategic changes in content creation. Indian advertising revenues is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% to reach Rs. 1,58,000 crore (US$ 19.2 billion) in FY28, which is 1.4x the global average of 6.7%.

India’s digital media market reached Rs. 1,100 crore (US$ 13.13 billion) in 2025, building on revenues of Rs. 80,200 crore (US$ 9.7 billion) in 2024, and is projected to grow to Rs. 1,10,400 crore (US$ 13.3 billion) by 2027. Filmed entertainment sector generated Rs. 18,700 crore (US$ 2.2 billion) in 2024, with steady projected growth. OTT platform revenues in India are projected to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 14.9%, the highest among the top 15 countries, to reach Rs. 35,061 crore (US$ 4.25 billion) by FY28. In FY26, JioStar plans to invest Rs. 33,000 crore (US$ 3.85 billion) in new content, a move aimed at transforming India’s media landscape with greater focus on Indian-language, localised entertainment and sports.

In February 2026, the Union Budget 2026-27 proposed support for the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, to set up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, reflecting the government’s continued focus on India’s creative economy and talent pipeline, with an allocated investment of Rs. 250 crore (US$ 0.03 billion).

India’s Animation and VFX sector contributed approximately Rs. 10,300 crore (US$ 1.24 billion) in 2024 and is expected to scale to Rs. 14,700 crore (US$ 1.75 billion) by 2027. The online gaming and sports sector in India is growing at a CAGR of 19.2% and is projected to reach Rs. 39,583 crore (US$ 4.8 billion) by FY28. As per EY-FICCI report, the number of employees in the online gaming sector was 100,000 in 2023, and this figure is projected to increase to 250,000 by 2025. India’s online gaming segment is projected to grow from Rs. 260 billion (US$ 3.07 billion) in 2025 to Rs. 288 billion in 2026 (US$ 3.26 billion) and further to Rs. 317 billion (US$ 3.52 billion) by 2027, reflecting sustained growth driven by increasing digital adoption and expanding user engagement.

The Indian music industry was valued at around Rs. 6,000 crore (US$ 709.55 million) in FY25 and is estimated to reach Rs. 6,900 crore (US$ 780.76 million) in FY26, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 15.0%. It is projected to grow to Rs. 10,899 crore (US$ 1.3 billion) by FY28, translating into a CAGR of 22.0% from FY25 to FY28.

By 2025, the number of connected smart televisions is expected to reach ~40-50 million. 30% of the content viewed on these screens will be gaming, social media, short video, and content items produced exclusively for this audience by television, print and radio brands. Video viewers increased 7% (36 million) in 2023 to reach 563 million, which is around 98% of smartphone owners and wired broadband subscribers. Total online video content investment in India stood at Rs. 125 billion (US$ 1.51 billion) in 2023, representing a 52% increase over 2022 due to more than a twofold growth in sports rights values.

By 2025, ~600-650 million Indians, will consume short-form videos, with active users spending up to 55 to 60 minutes per day.

OTT video services market (video-on-demand and live) in India is likely to grow US$ 4.1 billion in 2024 and reach US$ 7 billion by 2027, driven by rapid developments in online platforms and increased demand for quality content among users.

India’s Direct-To-Home (DTH) Services market is expected to expand to US$ 7.59 billion in 2029 from US$ 6.48 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 2.8%.

The Government of India has supported this sector's growth by taking various initiatives such as digitizing the cable distribution sector to attract greater institutional funding, increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit from 74% to 100% in cable and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite platforms and granting industry status to the film industry for easy access to institutional finance. FDI inflows in the information and broadcasting sector (including print media) stood at Rs. 82,201.29 crore (US$ 12,455.88 billion) between April 2000-December 2025.

To ease filming in railways, the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) set up in the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) collaborated with the Ministry of Railways to develop an integrated single window filming mechanism to streamline the permission process for filming across railway premises. The government also announced that it is working towards creating a National Centre of Excellence for AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics).

Mr. Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India announced that the government is working to soon bring an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) policy and create an AVGC Mission.

According to EY, print media’s revenue is anticipated to increase by 3.4% between 2023-2026 as a result of increased government and corporate advertising spending.

India’s media and entertainment industry is on a strong growth trajectory, powered by digital innovation, rising consumer demand, and supportive government initiatives. With global collaborations, new-age technologies, and a rapidly expanding creative ecosystem, the sector is set to unlock significant opportunities in the years ahead. Positioned as a global hub for content, talent, and investment, India is poised to play a defining role in shaping the future of media and entertainment worldwide.