India has been the world's most prolific film industry for decades — Bollywood in Mumbai plus thriving Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and other film industries. For most of that time, cinema halls and television ruled. The 2010s brought a disruption: cheap mobile data and smartphones put screens in hundreds of millions of pockets.
Media, Cinema & OTT
Media, Cinema & OTT
India's Media & Entertainment (M&E) sector — film, TV, music, digital and streaming — crossed Rs 2.5 lakh crore (about $30 billion) in 2024. The story of the decade is the shift to digital: OTT streaming, mobile-first viewing and regional-language content. The counter shows the M&E sector's size (illustrative).
Rs 2.5 lakh cr
M&E sector (2024)
1st WAVES
Summit · Mumbai 2025
52%
OTT originals in regional languages
M&E sector (2024)
| Year | M&E sector size |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 1 Rs lakh cr |
| 2016 | 1 Rs lakh cr |
| 2018 | 2 Rs lakh cr |
| 2020 | 1 Rs lakh cr |
| 2022 | 2 Rs lakh cr |
| 2024 | 3 Rs lakh cr |
| 2026 | 3 Rs lakh cr |
2014
0Rs lakh cr
M&E sector size
20142026
Since 2014
Added
+2 Rs lakh cr
2014
1 Rs lakh cr
2026
3 Rs lakh cr
Why it matters India is the world's largest film producer and now one of its fastest-growing streaming markets. Cheap data and 80 crore broadband connections put a cinema in every pocket. M&E is soft power, jobs and exports — Indian stories, music and games reaching a global audience.
- India's M&E sector reached about Rs 2.5 lakh crore (~$30 billion) in 2024 (FICCI-EY).
- OTT is among the fastest-growing segments (~15% CAGR); digital is overtaking television.
- About 52% of original OTT content is now made in regional languages, not just Hindi/English.
- India hosted the first WAVES summit in Mumbai (May 2025) — 100+ countries and $1.1 billion in deals.
History
Notable milestone
India hosted its first WAVES — the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit — in Mumbai in May 2025, inaugurated by the Prime Minister. It drew delegates from over 100 countries, 3,100 companies and 100,000 participants, and reported over $1.1 billion in media deals and commitments — India's bid to become a global content hub.
How it works
The engine is digital. OTT platforms — from global names to Indian players like JioHotstar — stream film, series, sport and music to phones, funded by subscriptions and advertising. Crucially, over half of new OTT originals are in regional languages, opening vast audiences beyond Hindi and English.
Outlook
The M&E sector is set to keep growing near 8-10% a year, with digital overtaking television as the largest segment. Alongside OTT, live events, music and India's animation/VFX and gaming industries (your Creative Economy sector) are among the fastest-growing 'sunrise' segments.
The road ahead
Growth brings challenges: 'subscription fatigue' as viewers tire of paying for many platforms, piracy, and debates over content regulation and ethical AI (the WAVES Declaration addressed these). Turning huge viewership into sustainable profit — and exporting Indian content and formats globally — is the next chapter.
By the numbers
Rs 2.5 lakh crore (~$30 bn) M&E sector (2024). ~15% CAGR for OTT — among the world's fastest. 52% of OTT originals in regional languages. WAVES 2025 — first summit, Mumbai, $1.1 bn in deals. Sources: FICCI-EY, PwC, PIB.
Source: FICCI-EY / PwC — India's Media & Entertainment sector size, 2014→2026. Curve illustrative.