Entertainment & media sector growing fastest in India

TV and radio advertising, online ad sales - all poised for massive growth in India.

BY A CORRESPONDENT

25 June, 2007:

India is poised to become the fastest growing market in the global entertainment and media sector in the next five years. The business of internet portals and online advertising also are developing on a large scale in the country.

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India reveals that India’s growing market in the global entertainment and media (E&M) space will have a size of over Rs 100,000 crore by 2011.

Driven by a sharp growth in the digital media space, as well as the traditional segments like TV, radio and films, the global E&M industry will grow at a compound annual rate of 6.4% to $2 trillion in the same period, the study says.

With the arrival of new web portals and rising number of internet users, a major chunk of television advertising and viewership has now passed on to internet. However, traditional segments like radio, television and films are not much worried about the development, the PwC study shows.

Identifying Asia-Pacific as the fastest-growing region, PwC says that the rapid growth in this region would be led by India and China.

The average spending in the Asia-Pacific region would be at 9.6%, the fastest for any region, moving up to $470 billion in 2011 from $297 billion in 2006.

India will be the fastest growing country over the next five years at 18.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), while China will continue to record double-digit annual gains that will average 16.8%.

It is interesting to note that the United States, the largest market in the world, would grow at the slowest pace – growing at 5.3% CAGR to reach US $754 billion by 2011.

The global outlook projects India’s entertainment and media industry revenue at Rs 120,871 crore in 2011, as against Rs 51,715 crore in 2006, according to PwC Executive Director Timmy S Kandhari.

Internet advertising is expected to emerge as the fastest growing segment over the next five years, driven by the growing number of internet users.