India’s Media and Entertainment Market Projected to Reach $36.7 Billion by 2030 as Digital Advertising Accelerates
India's entertainment and media industry is projected to expand to $36.7 billion by 2030 from $25.7 billion in 2025, as rapidly growing digital advertising, streaming, gaming, artificial intelligence and regional content reshape how media companies generate revenue.
According to the India findings of PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026–2030, released on August 27, India's E&M market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of:
7.4%.
That is nearly twice the projected global entertainment and media industry growth rate of:
4%.
Digital advertising is expected to remain the most important growth engine.
India's internet advertising revenue is projected to rise from $7.5 billion in 2025 to $14.3 billion by 2030, representing a CAGR of 13.9%.
OTT video is expected to increase from $2.2 billion to $3.6 billion, while video games and e-sports revenue is projected to expand from $1.5 billion to $2.6 billion.
Traditional media will not disappear from India's growth story either.
PwC expects traditional television revenue to rise modestly from $7.2 billion in 2025 to $7.5 billion by 2030, while newspaper revenue is projected to increase from $3 billion to $3.5 billion.
The forecasts highlight a distinctive characteristic of India's media market: digital channels are expanding rapidly without necessarily producing the same level of structural decline in television and print seen in several mature economies.
India’s E&M Market to Grow by About $11 Billion
PwC projects India's entertainment and media market will increase from:
$25.7 billion in 2025
to:
$36.7 billion in 2030.
That represents an increase of approximately:
$11 billion
over five years.
The overall market is expected to expand at a:
7.4% CAGR.
For an already sizeable media economy, sustaining growth at that rate would create significant opportunities across advertising, streaming, gaming, live entertainment and technology.
India Is Expected to Grow Nearly Twice as Fast as Global Industry
The comparison with the global market is particularly significant.
PwC projects the worldwide entertainment and media industry to grow at approximately:
4% annually
over the same period.
India's:
7.4% CAGR
would therefore be almost twice the global pace.
The difference reflects India's combination of:
a large consumer population,
rising digital adoption,
expanding broadband connectivity,
increasing smartphone usage,
regional-language demand,
growing advertiser spending,
and relatively low monetisation per consumer compared with mature markets.
Digital Advertising Becomes the Primary Growth Engine
The strongest growth is expected in:
internet advertising.
Revenue is forecast to increase from:
$7.5 billion in 2025
to:
$14.3 billion in 2030.
That represents growth of approximately:
91%.
The segment is projected to expand at a:
13.9% CAGR.
By 2030, internet advertising alone could account for close to two-fifths of India's overall entertainment and media market.
Search and Video Advertising Will Drive Expansion
PwC expects:
search advertising
and
video advertising
to play particularly important roles.
The shift follows consumer attention.
More Indians are spending time across:
search engines,
social platforms,
streaming services,
short-video applications,
connected televisions,
e-commerce platforms,
and digital news environments.
Advertisers increasingly allocate budgets toward channels where audience behaviour can be measured and campaigns can be targeted.
Digital Advertising Offers Greater Measurability
Traditional advertising often measures performance using indicators such as:
reach,
circulation,
ratings,
or estimated audience exposure.
Digital advertising provides much more granular information.
Advertisers can monitor:
impressions,
clicks,
video completion,
conversions,
customer acquisition,
sales,
and return on advertising spend.
This measurability makes digital media particularly attractive for performance-focused marketers.
E-Commerce Is Reinforcing Digital Advertising Growth
India's expanding e-commerce economy is also strengthening online advertising.
Digital commerce platforms increasingly operate their own advertising businesses.
Brands can pay for:
sponsored search placement,
product visibility,
display advertising,
and personalised recommendations.
This creates another layer of advertising spending outside conventional media platforms.
Retail media could therefore become an increasingly important component of India's digital advertising market.
Streaming Platforms Are Adopting Advertising More Aggressively
India's OTT platforms are also expanding advertising-supported models.
Streaming was initially associated primarily with paid subscriptions.
The Indian market increasingly uses hybrid structures combining:
subscriptions,
advertising,
free access,
and premium tiers.
This reflects local consumer economics.
A large audience may be unwilling to maintain numerous paid entertainment subscriptions simultaneously.
Advertising allows platforms to monetise those viewers without requiring full subscription revenue.
India’s OTT Market Could Reach $3.6 Billion
PwC expects India's OTT video market to expand from:
$2.2 billion in 2025
to:
$3.6 billion by 2030.
That represents a:
10.2% CAGR.
The next phase of streaming growth is expected to focus less exclusively on adding subscribers.
Platforms increasingly need to improve:
engagement,
retention,
advertising revenue,
average revenue per user,
and content economics.
Subscriber Numbers Alone Are No Longer Enough
During the early streaming boom, platforms frequently prioritised:
subscriber acquisition.
Large amounts of capital were invested in:
original series,
films,
sports rights,
and marketing
to build audience scale.
The industry is now becoming more financially disciplined.
Investors and media groups increasingly want platforms to demonstrate that audience growth can translate into sustainable earnings.
Advertising-Supported Streaming Could Improve Monetisation
Hybrid streaming models can increase the economic value of users.
A consumer may pay a lower subscription price while still generating advertising revenue.
Other consumers can remain completely free but be monetised through advertising.
This gives platforms several ways to segment users according to willingness to pay.
India's enormous audience makes these flexible pricing models particularly important.
Regional Content Is Becoming a Major Growth Engine
India's linguistic diversity represents one of the largest opportunities for the media industry.
Audiences consume entertainment in:
Hindi,
Tamil,
Telugu,
Malayalam,
Kannada,
Bengali,
Marathi,
Punjabi,
Gujarati,
and numerous other languages.
Digital platforms can distribute regional programming nationwide without operating separate physical distribution networks.
This dramatically increases the addressable market for regional content.
Regional Stories Can Produce Better Engagement
Content that reflects local:
language,
culture,
humour,
music,
social dynamics,
and storytelling traditions
can create stronger audience connections.
For media companies, regional programming is therefore not simply a translation strategy.
It can become an independent content ecosystem with:
local stars,
creators,
advertisers,
and intellectual property.
PwC identifies regional storytelling as an important component of India's next phase of media monetisation.
AI Is Beginning to Reshape Media Production
Artificial intelligence is expected to influence almost every stage of the media value chain.
Potential applications include:
content development,
production,
editing,
visual effects,
localisation,
recommendation,
advertising,
and audience analytics.
Generative AI is particularly relevant because it can reduce the time required for some creative and production tasks.
AI Can Lower Production Costs
AI-assisted tools can help with:
pre-visualisation,
storyboarding,
translation,
voice generation,
background creation,
editing,
and post-production.
These technologies do not eliminate the need for creative professionals.
But they can make parts of production faster and potentially less expensive.
That could allow media companies to produce larger volumes of content at similar budgets.
Multilingual Voice Technology Could Be Important for India
One particularly significant use case is:
multilingual voice modelling.
India's media market requires localisation across many languages.
Traditionally, dubbing and localisation require substantial human production work.
AI-assisted voice technology could help platforms adapt content across languages more quickly.
Used appropriately, this could expand the addressable audience for individual films, shows and digital creators.
AI Will Also Influence Content Discovery
A large entertainment catalogue is useful only if consumers can find relevant content.
Recommendation algorithms already influence:
streaming,
music,
social media,
and news consumption.
Generative and predictive AI could make recommendation systems more personalised.
Platforms may increasingly tailor:
home screens,
trailers,
promotions,
and advertising
to individual users.
Personalisation Can Increase Revenue Per User
Better recommendations can increase:
watch time,
retention,
and advertising inventory.
A subscriber who discovers more relevant programming is also less likely to cancel.
For advertising-supported platforms, additional engagement creates more opportunities to display advertisements.
This links AI directly with monetisation rather than treating it only as a production technology.
Gaming and E-Sports Could Reach $2.6 Billion
PwC expects India's video games and e-sports revenue to rise from:
$1.5 billion in 2025
to:
$2.6 billion in 2030.
That represents a CAGR of:
11.3%.
Gaming has become an important part of the broader media economy because consumers increasingly spend entertainment time inside interactive environments.
Gaming Revenue Models Are Becoming More Diverse
India's gaming sector is expanding beyond simple paid downloads.
Revenue can come from:
in-game purchases,
advertising,
subscriptions,
sponsorships,
e-sports,
and recurring digital services.
This diversification can reduce dependence on a single monetisation method.
Advertising may become particularly significant in free-to-play gaming environments.
E-Sports Creates Sponsorship Opportunities
Competitive gaming creates an ecosystem involving:
players,
teams,
tournaments,
streaming,
advertisers,
and sponsors.
Brands seeking younger digital audiences increasingly view e-sports as a marketing channel.
As professionalisation increases, sponsorship and advertising can become larger components of industry revenue.
Connectivity Is the Infrastructure Behind Media Growth
None of India's digital media expansion happens without connectivity.
PwC projects India's data connectivity revenue to increase from:
$36.5 billion in 2025
to:
$58.6 billion by 2030.
That represents a:
9.9% CAGR.
Connectivity is measured separately from the $36.7 billion core entertainment and media market, but it provides essential infrastructure for digital consumption.
5G Supports Richer Media Experiences
The expansion of 5G can improve:
streaming quality,
download speed,
latency,
and mobile content consumption.
Faster networks can also support:
high-resolution video,
cloud gaming,
interactive entertainment,
and immersive experiences.
As network quality improves, consumers can access increasingly sophisticated media products from mobile devices.
Fibre Broadband Is Equally Important
Home broadband is becoming increasingly relevant as connected television adoption expands.
Consumers can stream:
films,
sports,
television,
and creator content
directly through smart TVs.
This moves digital media beyond smartphones.
Connected television potentially creates a premium advertising environment combining the scale of traditional TV with the targeting capabilities of digital platforms.
Traditional Television Remains Resilient
Despite rapid streaming growth, PwC does not forecast the collapse of Indian television.
Traditional television revenue is expected to increase modestly from:
$7.2 billion in 2025
to:
$7.5 billion in 2030.
That is relatively slow growth.
But it contrasts with some developed markets where traditional television revenue is declining materially.
Television Still Offers Mass Reach
Television remains powerful in India because it can reach:
large households,
regional audiences,
sports viewers,
and mass-market consumers.
For national advertisers, television can still generate enormous reach quickly.
Digital platforms increasingly complement rather than entirely replace this capability.
The market is therefore becoming fragmented across multiple screens rather than moving uniformly from television to digital.
Sports Remains Important to Television Economics
Live sports is particularly valuable.
Consumers frequently watch sporting events in real time.
That limits the effectiveness of delayed or on-demand viewing.
Sports can therefore attract large simultaneous audiences, making it especially attractive for advertisers.
Broadcast rights for cricket and other major sporting properties remain strategically important to both television and streaming businesses.
Newspaper Revenue Is Also Expected to Grow
PwC projects India's newspaper revenue to increase from:
$3 billion in 2025
to:
$3.5 billion in 2030.
Again, this is distinctive compared with many Western markets where print newspaper economics have faced long-term contraction.
India retains substantial print readership, particularly across regional-language markets.
Trusted newspaper brands are also increasingly developing digital products.
Print and Digital Are Becoming Integrated
The future of newspapers is unlikely to depend entirely on physical copies.
Large publishers now operate across:
print,
websites,
apps,
video,
social media,
podcasts,
and events.
An established newspaper brand can therefore monetise the same journalism through multiple distribution channels.
This hybrid model may help explain the relative resilience of Indian newspaper economics.
Premium Live Experiences Are Creating New Revenue
PwC also identifies growing demand for:
premium live and out-of-home experiences.
These include:
concerts,
sports,
cinema,
festivals,
and premium hospitality.
Consumers are increasingly willing to pay more for differentiated physical experiences.
That creates a different growth opportunity from digital entertainment.
India’s Concert Economy Is Expanding
Large concerts and music festivals have become increasingly visible across major Indian cities.
International and domestic artists can attract substantial audiences.
Revenue extends beyond basic tickets.
Premium tiers may include:
better seating,
exclusive access,
hospitality,
merchandise,
and branded experiences.
This increases spend per attendee.
Cinema Is Moving Toward Premiumisation
Cinema operators are also increasingly focused on premium experiences.
Consumers can choose:
luxury seating,
large-format screens,
premium sound,
and food-and-beverage services.
This strategy is important because theatres now compete with high-quality home streaming.
The proposition increasingly needs to offer something consumers cannot easily reproduce at home.
Media Industry Is Moving From Scale to Value
One of the central conclusions from PwC's outlook is that India's media industry is moving from:
scale-driven growth
toward:
value-driven growth.
The first phase of India's digital expansion focused heavily on accumulating users.
Low-cost mobile data and smartphones created enormous digital audiences.
The next challenge is turning those audiences into sustainable revenue.
Engagement Must Become Monetisation
A platform with hundreds of millions of users can still struggle financially if revenue per consumer is too low.
Media companies therefore increasingly focus on:
subscription pricing,
advertising yields,
commerce,
premium tiers,
licensing,
events,
and creator monetisation.
The strategic question is shifting from:
"How many people use the platform?"
to:
"How much sustainable economic value can the platform create from that engagement?"
Advertising-Supported Models Could Be Central to India
This monetisation challenge makes advertising especially important.
India's per-capita consumer spending on entertainment remains lower than in many developed markets.
Advertising allows businesses to provide free or low-cost content while still generating revenue.
This model can support enormous audience scale.
It also explains why internet advertising is expected to grow much faster than the overall E&M market.
Digital Advertising Could Nearly Double in Five Years
The forecast increase from:
$7.5 billion
to:
$14.3 billion
means digital advertising could add roughly:
$6.8 billion
of annual revenue by 2030.
That single category accounts for a substantial proportion of the projected $11 billion expansion of India's broader E&M market.
Digital advertising is therefore not merely one growth segment.
It is likely to be the industry's dominant incremental revenue engine.
Advertisers Are Following Consumer Attention
Advertising budgets eventually follow audiences.
As consumers spend more time on:
smartphones,
connected TVs,
streaming apps,
social networks,
and online commerce,
advertisers must shift spending accordingly.
Television and print can remain relevant while losing relative share of incremental advertising budgets.
This creates a multi-channel environment rather than a simple replacement cycle.
Creator-Led Media Adds Another Layer
India's creator economy is also changing the definition of media.
Individual creators can now build large audiences across:
YouTube,
Instagram,
short-video platforms,
podcasts,
and other digital channels.
Brands increasingly allocate marketing budgets toward these creators.
This means advertising spending is spreading beyond conventional media companies.
Media Companies Must Compete for Creators
Creators possess direct relationships with audiences.
Platforms therefore compete to attract and retain them through:
revenue sharing,
commerce tools,
subscriptions,
advertising,
and fan monetisation.
The growth of creator-led media could further fragment advertising expenditure while creating new opportunities for digital platforms.
Regional Creators Could Unlock New Advertising Markets
Regional creators are particularly important.
A national advertising campaign may not connect equally with every linguistic or cultural market.
Local creators can offer:
language relevance,
community trust,
and regional influence.
That makes them useful to brands expanding deeper into Tier II, Tier III and smaller markets.
AI Could Also Change Advertising Production
Generative AI can reduce the cost of producing variations of advertisements.
A brand could potentially adapt a campaign across:
multiple languages,
regions,
audience segments,
and formats
more quickly.
This could make highly personalised advertising economical at greater scale.
India's linguistic diversity makes this particularly relevant.
Trust Will Become Increasingly Important
As AI-generated content becomes more common, audiences may find it harder to distinguish between:
human-created,
synthetic,
edited,
and manipulated media.
That creates challenges involving:
authenticity,
copyright,
misinformation,
and brand safety.
PwC identifies trust as a critical factor in converting technology-led innovation into sustainable value.
Media Companies Will Need Responsible AI Governance
Businesses adopting AI will need frameworks governing:
intellectual property,
training data,
privacy,
creator consent,
synthetic media,
and human oversight.
Fast adoption without adequate controls could create legal and reputational risk.
Companies that combine AI efficiency with credible governance may gain an advantage.
Copyright Economics Could Become More Complex
Generative AI also creates new questions around ownership.
Media businesses own enormous libraries of:
text,
music,
video,
images,
and characters.
Those assets can be valuable inputs for AI systems.
Rights holders increasingly need to determine whether to:
license content,
restrict AI access,
or develop proprietary AI tools.
Intellectual property could therefore become even more strategically important.
Media Consolidation Could Continue
The need for scale and sustainable monetisation may encourage further consolidation.
Large media companies can spread the cost of:
content,
technology,
advertising platforms,
and sports rights
across larger audiences.
Smaller businesses may seek:
partnerships,
joint ventures,
or acquisitions.
India's media sector has already experienced significant consolidation, particularly across broadcasting and digital entertainment.
Data Will Become a Competitive Advantage
Digital platforms generate detailed information about audience behaviour.
Companies can analyse:
what consumers watch,
how long they watch,
when they stop,
what they search,
and which advertisements generate action.
This data can improve:
content commissioning,
recommendations,
pricing,
and advertising.
Media companies with strong first-party consumer relationships may therefore gain an advantage.
Subscription Fatigue Remains a Challenge
The growth outlook does not eliminate structural challenges.
Consumers face a growing number of:
streaming,
music,
news,
gaming,
and other digital subscriptions.
There is a limit to how many services a household will pay for simultaneously.
Platforms must therefore demonstrate clear differentiation or use bundled and advertising-supported models.
Content Costs Can Pressure Profitability
High-quality entertainment remains expensive.
Costs include:
actors,
directors,
writers,
production,
technology,
marketing,
and rights.
Sports rights can be particularly costly.
A platform can generate rapid revenue growth but still struggle financially if content spending increases faster.
The industry's shift toward sustainable monetisation therefore requires greater cost discipline.
Competition for Consumer Attention Is Intensifying
Every entertainment category increasingly competes with every other one.
A consumer with 30 free minutes can choose:
television,
YouTube,
OTT,
gaming,
social media,
music,
news,
or a podcast.
Media businesses therefore compete for:
time.
The most successful platforms will need to combine compelling content with effective distribution and personalisation.
India’s Large Population Creates Exceptional Scale
India's structural advantage remains its enormous potential audience.
More than a billion consumers can participate in the digital economy over time.
Even modest increases in revenue per user can therefore generate substantial industry growth.
This is one reason the market can expand significantly without requiring mature-market levels of consumer spending.
Rising Incomes Can Increase Entertainment Spending
As household incomes rise, discretionary spending can shift toward:
subscriptions,
cinema,
gaming,
concerts,
sports,
and premium experiences.
The relationship between economic development and entertainment spending gives India's media industry a long-term structural tailwind.
However, affordability will remain essential for mass adoption.
Global Companies Will Continue Targeting India
India's expected growth makes it increasingly important for international entertainment and technology companies.
Global players already participate across:
streaming,
music,
gaming,
advertising,
social media,
and cloud infrastructure.
Domestic companies have advantages in regional content and local market understanding.
Competition between global platforms and Indian businesses will continue shaping the market.
India Could Become a Global Content Production Hub
The opportunity is not limited to domestic consumption.
India already possesses substantial capabilities across:
film production,
animation,
visual effects,
gaming,
technology,
and post-production.
AI-enabled workflows could increase productivity further.
That creates opportunities to serve international media customers as well as Indian audiences.
The $36.7 Billion Forecast Signals a Broader Transformation
The most important point is not simply the size of the market.
India's media economy is changing its revenue architecture.
Traditional categories remain relevant.
Digital platforms are scaling.
Advertising is moving online.
Streaming is becoming hybrid.
Gaming is commercialising.
Regional content is expanding.
AI is entering production and distribution.
Live experiences are becoming more premium.
These trends are occurring simultaneously.
Conclusion
India's entertainment and media market is projected to grow from $25.7 billion in 2025 to $36.7 billion by 2030, representing a 7.4% compound annual growth rate and nearly twice the projected pace of the global industry.
The strongest driver will be digital advertising.
PwC expects India's internet advertising market to nearly double from $7.5 billion to $14.3 billion, growing at 13.9% annually, as search, video, streaming and digital platforms attract a larger share of advertiser budgets.
OTT video is projected to grow from $2.2 billion to $3.6 billion, while gaming and e-sports could increase from $1.5 billion to $2.6 billion.
At the same time, India remains unusual in showing continued resilience in traditional media, with television revenue projected to reach $7.5 billion and newspaper revenue $3.5 billion by 2030.
The larger shift is from audience accumulation toward monetisation.
India has already built extraordinary digital scale. The next phase will depend on whether media companies can convert that engagement into sustainable revenue through advertising, subscriptions, regional content, gaming, premium experiences and AI-enabled products.
If those models mature successfully, India's entertainment and media sector could become not only significantly larger by 2030 but structurally different — more digital, more personalised, more multilingual and increasingly integrated with technology.