The Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector grew 20 per cent in 2022 to reach Rs 2.1 trillion, 10 per cent above its pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to a Ficci-EY report released yesterday.

The digital media’s contribution to the M&E sector jumped sharply from 16 per cent in 2019 to 27 per cent in 2022, reaching a figure of Rs 571 billion, noted the report titled “Windows of opportunity: India’s media & entertainment sector maximizing across segments” that was launched at the Ficci Frames 2023 in Powai on Wednesday.

It added that if data costs we­re considered, the digital con­tribution to the sector wou­ld almost double to 50 per cent.

Consultancy firm EY said the M&E sector surpassed Rs 3 trillion, if one were to include the estimated Rs 90,000 crore that users pay to access data services utilised for streaming, a PTI report stated.

The Rs 2.1-trillion sector (excluding data costs) is set to grow at over 10 per cent annually to reach Rs 2.83 trillion by 2025, it said.

The key contributors to this growth will be digital, online gaming and television (together contributing to 65 per cent of the growth), followed by animation and VFX (11 per cent), live events (8 per cent) and films (8 per cent). In 2022, filmed entertainment, live events and out-of-home media segments together contributed 40 per cent of the sector’s total growth.

Merger and acquisitions also remained strong in 2022, with over 125 deals compared to 118 in 2021. Sixty-five per cent of the deals were in digital, gaming and new media segments.

At Rs 1.049 trillion, advertising exceeded the Rs 1 trillion benchmark for the first time. In 2022, when India’s nominal GDP grew 15 per cent, advertising recovered 19 per cent. It is now 0.4 per cent of India’s GDP, much lower than developed large markets such as the US, Japan, and China, which are all between 0.6 percent and 1 percent, the report said, according to PTI.

Ashish Pherwani, EY India Media & Entertainment Leader, stated, “The Indian M&E consumer base is large but heterogenous, hungry for content but willing to pay only for value, and more than ready to experiment with technology, be it streaming, digital payments, online education, virtual experiences, e-commerce, social media, or gaming. The diverse consumer base, coupled with favourable macroeconomic and demographic factors, have translated into a very exciting time for the sector.”

Jyoti Deshpande, Co-Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, observed, “It’s an exciting time to be in the M&E business, as we leverage the three pillars of the industry – content, commerce, and community, fuelled by technological innovation.

“The sector is expected to grow 11.5 percent in 2023 to reach INR 2.34 trillion and further grow at a CAGR of 10.5 percent to reach INR 2.83 trillion by 2025.  Through democratisation of the creator economy and disruption in digital distribution, I dream of an India with infinite storytellers finding infinite platforms to share their stories, engaging with audiences in every language, with India leading the charge across the global entertainment landscape.”