India to be the third largest cinema market in the world by 2021: PwC

PWC estimates that in the period 2017-21, the media and entertainment industry in India will reach Rs 2,91,000 crore mark.

According to the global entertainment and media outlook report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Indian media and entertainment industry is slated to grow steadily over the next four years. The industry is expected to exceed Rs 2,91,000 croreore by 2021 growing at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5 per cent between 2017 and 2021.

As per the report, despite fewer scroreeens and low admission prices, India will be the third largest cinema market in the world by 2021 with a double digit CAGR of 10.4 per cent over the Outlook period. Internet advertising to register the fastest growth as compared to other advertising platforms at a CAGR of 18.6 per cent.

Frank D'Souza, partner and leader - entertainment and media, PwC India, says in a press release, "Unlike the global economy, which will see a shrinking contribution from the Entertainment and Media sector over the Outlook period, in India the sector's growth rate will outpace the overall GDP growth rate. Being a relatively under-developed market in terms of per capita spend on entertainment and media, will allow India to grow at 10.57 per cent over the next five years to an overall size of Rs 2,90,539 croreore."

He adds. "Also, being the least digitised market, will allow the traditional media to grow without being disrupted by digital competition. Whereas one may be tempted to conclude that India's growth in this sector is divergent from the world's, it will do well for Indian players to keep their eyes on changing landscape globally and prepare for its eventual impact on the Indian market."

Key highlights of the report:

Television: TV Subscroreiption revenues are expected to grow from INR 52,755 crore in 2016 to INR 90,713 crore in 2021 at a CAGR of 11.6 per cent. Though subscroreiber numbers are still growing, explosive growth levels of the recent past will not be replicated in the future. The cable market is approaching a saturation point but will still account for over 55 per cent of the total pay-TV market in 2021. In terms of advertising, TV will continue to hold the larger share of the pie from INR 21,874 crore in 2016 to INR 37,315 crore in 2021, even though Internet advertising is expected to growth a much faster rate of 18.6 per cent as opposed to TV advertising at 11.1 per cent from 2017-2021.

Cinema: India's cinema sector is expected to experience strong growth throughout the forecast period. Box office revenue will rise from INR 10,957 crore in 2016 to INR 18,047 crore in 2021, at a healthy CAGR of 10.4 per cent. Admissions will rise from an estimated 200 crore in 2016 to 230 crore in 2021 (at a CAGR of 2.4 per cent) and ticket prices will rise at a CAGR of 7.9 per cent in the same period. This is one of the few majorcinema markets in which 100 per cent digitisation of scroreeens has not yet been achieved - and it is not expected to occur over the forecast period.

Publishing: Publishing in India is expected to grow from INR 38,601 crore in 2016 to INR 44,391 crore in 2021 at a CAGR of 3.1 per cent. Book publishing is projected to grow at 6.1 per cent CAGR over 2017-2021 whereas Magazines are expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.3 per cent for the same period. The Indian newspaper industry continues to grow from INR 23,161 crore in 2016 to INR 24,447 crore in 2021, but the growth rate is tailing off as the effects of digital disruption begin to be felt in a market that had long enjoyed print expansion.

Internet: In terms of Internet advertising revenue, India is ranked eighth in the Asia Pacific region. One reason for the immature online ad market is the lack of Internet access among Indians - fixed broadband penetration remains low at just 6.9 per cent in 2016. Today, mobile Internet advertising only comprises 27.6 per cent of total online spending, marking a clear gap between Indians with mobile access and brands reaching out to the mobile audience. India's internet video segment has produced revenues of INR 560 crore in 2016 and will grow at 22.4 per cent CAGR to reach a new high of INR 1540 crore in 2021. Transactional video-on-demand will account for over 61 per cent of total Internet video revenues in 2021, with many households not wanting to commit to the regular payments of subscroreiption video-on-demand.

Click here to view the full report.