Indian video entertainment market in recovery, on track to break US$10bn barrier by 2028

The Indian video entertainment market continues to track upwards, resulting in a 6% increase in consumer spending in 2023, according to a newly released report from Futuresource Consulting. This post-pandemic recovery achieved revenues of near INR 760 billion, equivalent to more than USD$9 billion, and was predominantly driven by the growth of Box Office and SVoD.

“All the indicators are pointing to market positivity,” says Ayushi Sharma, Lead Analyst, Futuresource Consulting. “Many SVoD service providers have implemented price rises, and the consumer response has been encouraging. At the box office, there’s also been a widespread audience enthusiasm, with an increase in cinema footfall for the right film.

“And we’re also hearing distant rumblings from the digital transactional segment. It is still a very small part of the Indian entertainment market, but as its own segment it saw significant growth in 2023, boosted by Amazon’s launch.”

Wide range of market opportunities for SVoD

According to Futuresource, SVoD has been making serious headway in the Indian market. The specialist consulting firm has confirmed year-on-year market growth close to 20% for 2023 as it broke through the INR 100 billion barrier.

This expansion has been buoyed by a wide variety of vendor strategies and market events. These include SVoD bundling with Pay-TV and telecom providers, as well as price hikes by platforms. In addition, significant growth in smartphone penetration, affordable data costs and high-speed mobile internet have all made their contribution to the upsurge.

NTO 3.0 improves the picture for Pay-TV

Despite a steady decline in household penetration in recent years, Pay-TV remains a significant part of the market, representing more than two-thirds of total entertainment spend in 2023. While the number of households continued to decline in 2023, new amendments to the tariff order, NTO 3.0, enabled broadcasters to increase prices.

This resulted in ARPU increasing by 6.2% in 2023, offsetting household decline and achieving 2.5% growth in consumer spend.

“This continuing contraction of Pay-TV subscribers is partly due to the rise of streaming services,” says Sharma. “These offer far more flexibility and choice to consumers, at more affordable prices. Bundling mobile and data services with OTT platforms has also been an accelerating trend in India, simultaneously serving the interests of OTT services, Pay-TV providers, telco companies and consumers alike. For example, in August 2023, Netflix entered into a strategic partnership with telecom operator, Jio, bundling with the carrier’s pay-as-you-go plans to expand its subscriber base.”

Box office rebuilds its audiences

Theatrical remains an important part of the Indian video entertainment market, representing more than 16% of overall video spend. According to Futuresource, 2023 saw consumer revenues reach pre-pandemic levels again, yet admissions still lag behind pre-covid numbers.

“The Indian box office is mainly dominated by Bollywood and Tollywood titles,” says Sharma. “Last year, Hindi-language movies accounted for 44% of titles, followed by Telugu at 19%. Although Hollywood titles hold a smaller share in the Indian box office, they can still affect the market, particularly when blockbusters are rescheduled, as has been the case during the writers’ and actors’ strikes.”

By 2028, Futuresource expects total consumer spend on video entertainment in India to grow by a CAGR just over 2% out to 2028, achieving INR 843 billion, or USD$10 billion.

Futuresource Consulting’s India video insights report reviews the overall video entertainment market and assesses the impactors and drivers as the sector transitions to digital. For more information on this report or to make a purchase, please contact Ben at ben.thrussell@futuresource-hq.com. 

About the author

Ayushi Sharma

Ayushi Sharma is a Lead Market Analyst in the Video Entertainment team at Futuresource Consulting, responsible for delivering the latest category trends via Video Insights Country Reports.