India poised for strong ad growth as digital, gaming budgets accelerate: WPP

India is set to play a growing role in global advertising expansion over the next two years as digital consumption accelerates and new channels such as gaming attract fresh marketing budgets, according to WPP Media’s Media 2025 end-of-year forecast.

The Asia-Pacific region — driven by major markets including China, Japan, India and Australia — is expected to grow advertising revenue 6.4% in 2025 to $361.8 billion, followed by 6.6% growth in 2026. Growth is projected to stabilise at about 5% annually through 2030. India’s expanding digital audience and the rapid growth of streaming platforms are expected to support the region’s momentum, the report said.

Global advertising in the media and entertainment sector is forecast to rise 2.6% in 2025 and 6.3% in 2026, outpacing or matching overall revenue growth. The trend is reflected in The Walt Disney Co.’s fiscal 2025 numbers, where advertising expense grew 6.6%, compared with total revenue growth of 3.4%.

Despite continued pressure from digital platforms, television advertising is expected to remain stable, reaching $167.4 billion in 2025 and $170.8 billion in 2026.

Digital and social media platforms will remain the largest growth engines, with ad spending projected to reach $413 billion in 2025, up 12.8% year-on-year, and $445.4 billion in 2026, an increase of 7.8%.

Gaming is poised to be the fastest-growing channel, though still small in comparison to other categories. Ad revenue in gaming is expected to surge 29.5% to $8.5 billion in 2025, and 25.6% to $10.7 billion in 2026, the report said.

Out-of-home advertising is also expected to expand, rising 6.3% to $54.6 billion in 2025, led by growth in digital OOH networks. Traditional OOH formats will grow more modestly to $32.5 billion, up 4.5%.

Sports rights remain a critical battleground for television. The report notes that India’s IPL media rights auction for the 2028 cycle could price out traditional broadcasters entirely, giving digital platforms with deeper capital resources an upper hand in securing premium live sports content.

WPP Media also said film marketing strategies are increasingly shifting toward digital-first campaigns designed for social virality. Streamers such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime are deploying algorithmic targeting, influencer collaborations and interactive digital experiences to reach younger audiences who primarily discover content via social platforms.