INDIA: India's media industry booming

PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts the media and entertainment business will more than double by the year 2011

Straits Times
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

New Delhi --- India's media and entertainment business will more than double over the next five years, fuelled by rising incomes and a surge in consumerism, a global consulting firm said yesterday.

Sales will reach 1 trillion rupees (S$35 billion) by 2011, according to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It said technological advances such as film reviews on mobile phones and television viewing over the Internet will drive the boom that is expected to cut across all segments of the industry -- from home video to radio and newspapers.

Sales in the industry totalled 437 billion rupees last year, up 20 per cent from a year ago, said the study, which was commissioned by the Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Mr Amit Mitra, chief executive of the chambers of commerce, welcomed the findings but he said the industry's expansion could be affected by widespread piracy and a lack of clarity in government policies that affect use of new technologies. Lack of adequate bandwidth is another concern, he said.

Date Posted: 3/20/2007