India’s entertainment and media industry set to hit $36.7 billion by 2030 as AI drives monetisation, says PwC report

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India’s entertainment and media (E&M) industry is projected to grow from $25.7 billion in 2025 to $36.7 billion by 2030, as artificial intelligence (AI), regional content and digital ecosystems reshape how companies create and monetise consumer engagement, according to PwC India’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026-2030.

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The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.4% during 2025-30, nearly twice the global E&M growth rate of 4%, the report said. The shift marks a move away from the sector’s earlier focus on audience acquisition and scale towards monetisation, premiumisation and stronger user economics.

“India’s industry and media are moving beyond reach and scale. The whole push is on how do we monetise the scale which has been achieved?” Rajesh Sethi, partner and leader—Media, Entertainment and Sports, PwC India, told Fortune India.

Will internet advertising continue to lead growth?

Internet advertising is expected to remain the biggest contributor to incremental growth, with revenue projected to almost double from $7.5 billion in 2025 to $14.3 billion by 2030. The segment is forecast to grow at a 13.9% CAGR, supported by search and video advertising.

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OTT video is expected to be another key growth driver, with revenues rising from $2.2 billion in 2025 to $3.6 billion by 2030, representing a 10.2% CAGR. With subscriber growth becoming increasingly competitive, streaming platforms are expected to focus more on advertising-supported offerings, engagement, retention, revenue per user, premium content, and regional programming.

Gaming and e-sports revenues are projected to rise from $1.5 billion to $2.6 billion over the same period, a CAGR of 11.3%. In-game advertising, sponsorship-led e-sports, and recurring revenue models are expected to gain importance as companies look to convert engagement into sustainable revenue.

Can regional content become the next growth engine?

Regionalisation is emerging as another important growth engine for India’s E&M industry. Local-language content is expanding across cinema, OTT, music, podcasts, and creator platforms, helping companies reach audiences beyond traditional language and geographic boundaries.

“Regional content definitely will drive the next phase of India’s growth in the E&M sector,” Sethi said.

According to Sethi, the regional content ecosystem is changing from a sequential model, where successful films were later dubbed or subtitled for other markets, to simultaneous multilingual releases. The trend is also visible on OTT platforms, where content is increasingly launched in multiple languages at the same time.

More than 35% of music consumption on digital streaming platforms is already coming from regional-language content, he said.

How will AI create new monetisation pools?

AI is expected to have an impact across the E&M value chain, from content creation and production to discovery, personalisation, advertising and audience engagement. Applications include pre-visualisation, de-ageing, multilingual voice modelling, virtual production, recommendation engines and generative engine optimisation.

Beyond improving efficiency and reducing costs, AI could help media companies extract greater value from first-party data and consumer behaviour.

“AI can definitely help you become more efficient,” Sethi said, adding that AI-driven data systems can help companies capture consumer intent and identify when and what audiences are watching.

Such insights could enable more targeted advertising and new models such as content-commerce, creating incremental revenue opportunities beyond traditional advertising and subscriptions.

Can connectivity and premium experiences add more value?

Data connectivity revenue is projected to grow from $36.5 billion in 2025 to $58.6 billion by 2030, a 9.9% CAGR. Expanding mobile, broadband, fibre and 5G infrastructure is expected to support richer digital experiences and expand the addressable audience for media platforms.

At the same time, premium live experiences across music, sports and cinema are creating new avenues for monetisation, with consumers showing greater willingness to pay for immersive and differentiated experiences.

Traditional media is also expected to remain resilient. Traditional TV revenue is projected to rise from $7.2 billion in 2025 to $7.5 billion by 2030, while newspaper revenue is expected to increase from $3 billion to $3.5 billion.

The overall outlook suggests that India’s E&M industry is entering a phase where audience scale alone will no longer be the primary measure of success. Instead, the ability to turn engagement into sustainable revenue through AI, regionalisation, premium experiences and digital integration will determine the next leg of growth.