India's media, entertainment revenues seen at $33 bn by 2020

Mumbai: The media and entertainment industry will grow at 14.3 percent annually to touch earnings of Rs.2.26 trillion ($33 billion) by 2020 led by a fast growth in advertising revenues, a study released here on Wednesday said.

The report prepared by Ficci and KPMG says advertising revenue is expected to grow by a 15.9 percent annually to Rs.994 billion ($14.8 billion), with digital advertising expected to retain its strong run, having grown by 38.2 percent in 2015 over the previous year.

"We are going through a phase of rapid, sustained technological innovation that will permanently change the way consumers will access and consume content," said Ficci director general A. Didar Singh, releasing the report at the Ficci-Frames conclave on media and entertainment here.

"Changing user habits will disrupt existing business models as content providers and brands will need to match consumer expectations. While this will pose multiple challenges, we believe there are significant opportunities for media, entertainment firms to leverage the digital ecosystem."

Jehil Thakkar, partner and head of media and entertainment with KPMG India, said the films sector also returned to growth in 2015 led by Hollywood and regional cinema, rather than Bollywood.

"Print saw a slower growth in the past year but TV and digital advertising have exceeded expectations."

Thakkar said with the wide rollout of 4G finally underway, coupled with the "Digital India" initiative, the future of digital advertising is very bright.