'India to emerge as world's 3rd largest M&E market by 2028': Kevin Vaz at FICCI Frames 2025

India is on track to become the world's third-largest media and entertainment market by 2028, fueled by the amount of content being produced and consumed in the country, said Kevin Vaz, Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee and CEO - Entertainment, JioStar, during the launch of FICCI-EY M&E Industry report on Thursday.

Vaz said India's media and entertainment industry is growing at an unprecedented level, driven by southern cinemas that have showcased "exceptional" storytelling.

He pointed out that India's M&E industry stands out globally because television and digital media are thriving together.

Notably, digital media in India has overtaken television to become the largest segment within the M&E sector, contributing an unprecedented 32% to the overall revenues, FICCI-EY report mentioned.

Showing confidence in the rise of the TV industry, Vaz said that television will grow from 190 million households in 2024 to 214 million households by 2026.

On the rise in engagement in sports, especially the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Vaz said, "Sports has demonstrated the power of both TV and digital, reaching 525 million viewers on TV and 550-600 million on streaming platforms".

He anticipated that Over-the-top (OTT) would become a major force in digital entertainment, with television remains the bedrock of the industry, commanding 30% of the market.

According to the FICCI-EY's media and entertainment industry report titled, "Shape the future: Indian media and entertainment are scripting a new story", the M&E sector reached a total value of Rs 2.5 trillion ($29.4 billion) in 2024. However, the growth slowed down from 8.3% in 2023, due to falling subscription revenues, and a global decline in Animation and VFX work outsourced to India.

Interestingly, the advertising revenue of the M&E sector witnessed an 8.1% growth in 2024, driven by performance advertising on digital platforms, including e-commerce websites, and a surge in demand for premium and digital Out-of-Home (OOH) media. This growth has been further bolstered by the resilience of print and radio retail advertising revenues. Digital media (17%), live events (15%), and OOH media (10%) have been key drivers of growth, the report mentioned.