A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY AND OPPORTUNITY

A look at the key trends that will redefine how content will be created, distributed, and consumed

- JEHIL THAKKAR

The Indian Media and entertainment (M&E) industry has seen rapid transformation over the past decade, driven by significant advances in technology, shifting consumer preferences, and the growing digital economy. But this is also a time of flux, uncertainty and of opportunity. It's an unprecedented time with digital infrastructure driving changes that will reshape the industry.

Digitisation, streaming, consolidation and regionalisation are key trends that will play a crucial role in redefining how content is created, distributed, and consumed.

1. Digitisation and Streaming

Digitisation has been the most transformative trend in the Indian media landscape, driven by the growth of the internet and mobile penetration. Over the past five years, India has seen an extraordinary surge in digital connectivity. Mobile internet has been the primary driver of this growth. From approximately 300 million smartphone users in 2018, India has surpassed 700 million in 2023. Similarly, from 500 million internet users, six years ago, India has around 1 billion users today. Of these, 130 million are on 5G, projected to rise to 800 million by 2030 and close to 50 million connected TVs, rising to 100 million in five years. As connectivity improved, mobile penetration increased across urban and rural India. And as data prices dropped, data consumption doubled from 12 GB per capita per month to 24 GB today.

All of these factors combined led to India's OTT sector growing at close to 20%, with over 80% consumption coming from video streaming.