PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2026-2030: India perspective
India’s entertainment and media sector moves from scale to monetisation
- August 27, 2026
PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook is its flagship thought leadership report that provides a detailed analysis of consumer and advertising spending across the entertainment and media (E&M) industry in 53 countries. Covering ten revenue segments and a data consumption segment, the report provides a comprehensive overview of market dynamics and future trends shaping the E&M landscape.
India’s E&M market by 2030, up from USD 25.7bn in 2025
growth compared to Global CAGR: 7.4% E&M market growth estimated (2025-2030)
Internet ad revenues to reach USD 14.3bn by 2030
OTT subscriptions in 2025, third-largest base globally
India has mastered scale. The next frontier is monetisation. As the country’s E&M industry grows from USD 25.7 billion in 2025 to USD 36.7 billion by 2030, the real opportunity lies in converting audience reach into sustainable value. Organisations that can harness regionalisation, premium experiences, and AI to deepen consumer engagement will shape the industry’s next chapter of growth.
India’s E&M landscape
India’s E&M sector is evolving from a scale-driven market to a value-driven one, powered by digital ecosystems, regional content, and new technology-led revenue streams. Revenue is projected to grow from USD 25.7 billion in 2025 to USD 36.7 billion by 2030, significantly outpacing global growth. Digital segments such as internet advertising, OTT video, and gaming will account for most incremental growth, supported by expanding connectivity and smartphone penetration.
India’s E&M revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
Key highlights
Internet advertising, OTT video, and gaming are emerging as the strongest growth engines, while advertising-supported business models are creating new monetisation opportunities across digital media. Traditional TV and print continue to grow in India despite global declines, demonstrating the resilience of legacy media. Regional content is becoming increasingly important across streaming, music, and advertising, helping platforms reach and monetise diverse audiences
India’s E&M market has entered its monetisation era
The industry is shifting focus from audience acquisition to extracting greater value from existing audiences through monetisation, premiumisation, and operational efficiency. Traditional media is adopting digital capabilities and premium models, while digital platforms are prioritising profitability and revenue optimisation. Regional language content is opening up significant new revenue pools across previously underserved markets.
Traditional media
Traditional media remains deeply embedded in India’s media ecosystem and is evolving through digital integration, premiumisation, and platform convergence. Television, newspapers, cinema, and OOH advertising are leveraging digital capabilities to stay relevant while maintaining strong consumer and advertiser engagement. Rather than being displaced by digital media, traditional formats are increasingly complementing and integrating with digital channels.
India: Traditional TV revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
India: Newspaper revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
India: Newspaper advertising revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
India: Cinema box office revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
India: OOH revenue (in USD million), 2021–2030
Digital media
India’s next phase of digital growth will be defined by monetisation rather than audience expansion. Internet advertising, OTT, gaming, and digital audio platforms are increasingly focused on improving revenue generation, increasing engagement, and strengthening user economics. Advertising, subscriptions, premium content, and new monetisation models are becoming the primary drivers of sustainable growth.
India: Internet advertising revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
India: OTT revenue (in USD billion) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
India: Video games and e-sports revenue (in USD million), 2021–2030
India: Music streaming revenue by component (in USD million), 2021–2030
India: Music streaming subscriptions (in million), 2021–2030
Regionalisation is becoming a powerful growth engine
Regional language content has emerged as one of the most significant growth drivers across cinema, OTT, and music. Local storytelling is helping media companies unlock India’s diverse linguistic markets, deepen engagement, and attract new subscribers and consumers. The future growth of India’s E&M industry is likely to be driven by multiple thriving regional ecosystems rather than a single national market.
Future in motion: Connectivity, live experiences, and AI
Three forces are set to shape the future of India’s E&M industry: connectivity, premium live experiences, and AI. Together, they are transforming how content is created, distributed, discovered, and monetised. These trends are creating new growth opportunities while enabling deeper consumer engagement and more efficient business models.
Connectivity is becoming a critical enabler for the industry
Connectivity infrastructure is increasingly acting as the foundation for digital media growth, enabling new content formats, advertising models, and audience engagement opportunities. India’s mobile-first ecosystem, widespread smartphone usage, and expanding 5G infrastructure are accelerating digital consumption and advertising spend. As connectivity deepens, it is creating larger addressable audiences and unlocking entirely new media ecosystems.
India: 3G, 4G, and 5G subscriptions (in million), 2021–2030
Premium experiences are creating new value pools
Consumers are showing a growing willingness to pay for immersive, exclusive, and premium entertainment experiences across music, sports, and cinema. Premium ticketing, luxury formats, and experience-led offerings are generating higher spending per consumer and creating attractive new revenue pools. This shift reflects a broader move from mass participation toward higher-value, differentiated entertainment experiences.
India: Live music revenue (in USD million) and annual growth (%), 2021–2030
AI is powering the next phase of value creation
AI is reshaping the E&M value chain by enhancing content creation, discovery, personalisation, advertising effectiveness, and audience engagement. Technologies such as AI-assisted production, GEO, recommendation engines, and multilingual localisation are helping improve efficiency and monetisation. As adoption increases, responsible AI governance, transparency, and trust will become critical competitive differentiators for the industry.
Conclusion
India’s E&M industry is entering a new phase where success will be defined not by audience scale alone, but by the ability to monetise engagement and create sustainable value. The market is projected to grow from USD 25.7 billion in 2025 to USD 36.7 billion by 2030, significantly outpacing global growth. Digital segments such as internet advertising, OTT video, gaming, and digital audio will lead this expansion, while traditional media continues to demonstrate resilience through premiumisation and digital integration. Regional content is emerging as a powerful growth engine, unlocking deeper audience engagement across India’s linguistic markets. At the same time, investments in connectivity, live experiences, and AI are reshaping how content is created, distributed, and monetised. Together, these trends position India as one of the world’s most dynamic and innovation-driven entertainment and media markets for the decade ahead.
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Partner and Leader, Media, Entertainment, and Sports, PwC India
