The media and entertainment sector grew by 8.9 per cent to reach Rs 1,822 billion in 2019 according to the FICCI EY report.
The report was to be unveiled during FICCI Frames, but due to the event being rescheduled, it was revealed online. The report was written before Coronvirus hit the country.
TV viewership grew by 6.4 per cent. There was a five per cent growth in advertising income during the year, even though advertising volume reduced by four per cent. The growth came because of the volume of advertising on marquee events like the elections, the ICC World Cup and the IPL. Subscription income grew by 7.5 per cent largely because of the NTO making it more expensive for consumers.
The growth in advertising revenues for the year was Rs 4,000 crore. Rs 3,700 crore of this growth came from digital while Rs 300 crore was for TV in the incremental ad spends.
The print segment de-grew by 3.4 per cent which led to advertising income falling by five per cent. The Adex volume fell by eight per cent. The impact on English was higher than regional players as the former de-grew by 10 per cent and the latter de-grew by one or two per cent. English newspapers conducted more than 300 events last year, but with the coronavirus outbreak, those will reduce and could end up posing problems.
Subscription grew at 9.3 per cent. Digital growth was 111 per cent. Base was small but people are starting to pay for content and quality content when it comes online.
Digital media grew by 31 per cent. There was a growth of 20 per cent in broadband subscriptions. Ad income growth on digital was 24 per cent. Video subscription income grew by 111 per cent while audio was only at 18 per cent as people still access free streaming of music according to the report. More than 10 million individuals paid for video content. With the total number of internet users being at 661 million, the report states that there is still plenty of scope for growth.
Online gaming grew by 40 cent and online gamers crossed 365 million fueled by fantasy game revenues. Casual game revenues also grew by more than 20 per cent.
