PwC India projects the country’s entertainment and media market will grow from $25.7B to $36.7B by 2030 at a 7.4% CAGR — nearly double the 4% global rate — powered by AI and internet advertising.
India’s entertainment and media (E&M) industry is projected to grow from $25.7 billion in 2025 to $36.7 billion by 2030, according to the India findings of PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026-2030, released August 27, 2026. That works out to a 7.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) — nearly twice the projected global industry growth rate of 4% over the same period.
From Chasing Audiences to Monetizing Them
The report frames this as a structural shift for India’s E&M sector: audience acquisition defined the first phase of the country’s digital growth, but the next phase is about converting that engagement into sustainable revenue. Regional language content is emerging as a key growth lever in this shift, helping media companies unlock new audiences and monetization opportunities across India’s diverse linguistic markets. “India has already demonstrated its ability to build audience scale. The next phase is about converting that engagement into sustainable value,” said Rajesh Sethi, Partner and Leader – Media, Entertainment, and Sports at PwC India.
Internet Advertising Nearly Doubles to $14.3 Billion
Internet advertising is set to remain the sector’s primary growth engine, projected to nearly double from $7.5 billion in 2025 to $14.3 billion by 2030 — a 13.9% CAGR, the fastest of any segment in the report. Search and video advertising are driving much of this expansion.
OTT Shifts From Subscriber Growth to Stronger Monetization
India’s OTT video market is projected to grow from $2.2 billion in 2025 to $3.6 billion by 2030, at a 10.2% CAGR. Rather than chasing subscriber numbers alone, platforms are increasingly leaning on advertising-supported tiers alongside subscriptions, with a growing focus on engagement, retention, revenue per user, premium content, and regional programming.
Gaming and E-Sports Revenue Grows 73% Over Five Years
Video games and e-sports revenue is projected to rise from $1.5 billion in 2025 to $2.6 billion by 2030, an 11.3% CAGR. As the market matures, in-game advertising, sponsorship-led e-sports, and recurring revenue models are expected to play a bigger role in turning engagement into durable revenue.
AI Is Reshaping the Entire Value Chain
The report highlights AI’s expanding footprint across content creation, production, discovery, advertising, and audience engagement — including applications like pre-visualisation, de-ageing, multilingual voice modelling, virtual production, generative engine optimisation (GEO), personalisation, and recommendation systems. PwC frames AI as a lever for both efficiency and monetization simultaneously, rather than a cost play alone.
Connectivity: The $58.6 Billion Foundation Underneath It All
Data connectivity revenue — the infrastructure layer beneath the entire digital media ecosystem — is projected to grow from $36.5 billion in 2025 to $58.6 billion by 2030, a 9.9% CAGR, as expanding mobile, broadband, fibre, and 5G infrastructure supports richer content experiences and larger addressable audiences.
Traditional TV and Print Hold Steady — While Global Peers Decline
While TV and print are shrinking in several mature global markets, India’s traditional media is proving more resilient. Traditional TV revenue is projected to grow modestly from $7.2 billion in 2025 to $7.5 billion by 2030, while newspaper revenue is expected to rise from $3.0 billion to $3.5 billion — a trend PwC attributes to strong regional audiences, sustained advertiser demand, trusted brands, and deeper integration between traditional and digital channels.
Premium Experiences Open a New Revenue Pool
Across music, sports, and cinema, the report notes growing consumer willingness to pay for immersive, exclusive, and differentiated experiences. Premium ticketing, hospitality-led offerings, and higher-value cinema formats are shifting value creation toward spend per consumer, opening a distinct revenue pool beyond volume-driven growth.
The Bottom Line: Convergence, Trust, and Responsible Growth
As infrastructure, connectivity, platforms, advertising, and AI increasingly converge, PwC frames India’s E&M market as entering a phase where value creation depends less on reach alone and more on monetizing engagement sustainably. “The leaders of the next phase will be those that can turn this convergence into distinctive, sustainable, and responsible growth,” Sethi said.