WAVES 2025: India’s M&E sector set to add Rs 1.7 lakh crore; 3,00,000 jobs by 2029
Multiple industry reports unveiled at the summit painted a picture of a rapidly scaling media and entertainment (M&E) industry, powered by original content creation, rising digital consumption and the emergence of India as a global hub for media services.
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As India cements its position as a global content powerhouse, stakeholders at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 highlighted both the sector’s explosive growth and the urgent need to address the growing threat of piracy. Multiple industry reports unveiled at the summit painted a picture of a rapidly scaling media and entertainment (M&E) industry, powered by original content creation, rising digital consumption and the emergence of India as a global hub for media services.
EY’s report ‘A Studio Called India’ underscored the country’s transformation into one of the largest content production ecosystems in the world, churning out more than 2,00,000 hours of original content annually. This includes 1,600 films, 2,600 hours of premium OTT content, 1,90,000 hours of television programming and 20,000 songs.
The report credited India’s over 1,580 Global Capability Centres (GCCs), around 50 of which are dedicated to M&E, for underpinning this scale.
Meanwhile, a Deloitte and Motion Picture Association study revealed that India’s M&E industry contributed Rs 5.14 lakh crore to the economy in FY24, with expectations of hitting Rs 6.88 lakh crore by FY29. The sector employed 2.7 million people last year, with employment expected to surpass 3 million by 2029. Television remained the largest contributor, followed by film and online content platforms.
However, the industry’s progress faces a serious roadblock, piracy. A joint report by IP House and Media Partners Asia (MPA), supported by CII, estimated India’s online video piracy losses at $1.2 billion in 2024, a figure projected to double by 2029 if left unchecked.
The report, ‘The Impact of Piracy on India’s Online Video Sector and Creative Economy’, emphasized that effective anti-piracy enforcement could recover $1.1 billion in revenue and generate over 1,58,000 jobs.
Adding a digital dimension to India’s M&E trajectory, BCG’s report ‘From Content to Commerce’ spotlighted the rapid expansion of the creator economy, positioning it as a new frontier for both domestic innovation and global cultural influence.
