India's media and entertainment sectors will increase their overall revenue by over 50 percent to about $25 billion by 2015, according to a new report published Tuesday by accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young.
The report, "Spotlight on India's Entertainment Economy: Seizing New Growth Opportunities," indentifies the world's second-most populous country as a hot spot for global media and entertainment investment.
"Companies in the U.S. and Western Europe see their growth increasingly linked to emerging
giants like India, which is why they are now focused on the best way to enter, grow and brand their business in this market," the report says.
Notably, Ernst & Young says that newspapers account for 42 percent of all advertising money spent in India — the most of any medium.
"Media sectors regarded as 'sunset' industries in mature markets are flourishing in India, presenting global media companies with exciting opportunities to counter declining revenues," Ernst & Young says.
"The newspaper industry, which is facing declining readership in many international markets because of digital media, continues to thrive in India, driven by increasing literacy rates, consumer spending and the growth of regional markets and specialty newspapers," the document adds.
Further, it says, wireless broadband availability has pushed digital adoption to a tipping point in India and "will create additional opportunities for global companies to cater to a new generation of digital consumers."
By 2015, the report adds, 90 percent of the country's broadband subscribers will use wireless devices to access the internet.
The report also says that India has more than 600 television channels, 100 million pay-television households and 70,000 newspapers. It produces more than 1,000 films every year.
