The advancement in technology and the receding price of it is all set to take Indian Media and Entertainment businesses on a pretty impressive growth trajectory. According to the media outlook report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers, media and entertainment industry in India is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 13.2% to reach a size of Rs 1.19 lakh crore by 2015. The economic upturn in 2010 saw advertising revenues rise and PwC says the Indian industry grew by 11.2%, one of the highest growth rates in the world.
“Buoyant advertisement spends will need to supplement subscription growth for a profitable growth in revenues of the entertainment and media sector in the next five years,” said Timmy Kandhari, leader, entertainment & media practice at PwC India[source]
The print media sector and radio sectors are expected to grow at 9.6% and 19.2% respectively, during the period leading up to 2015. As the spending on advertising increases, the internet advertising segment is expected to grow the fastest.
The television industry on the other hand, the biggest contributor to the industry,which is largely advertising dependent and is plagued by low average revenues per consumer, is expected to grow to Rs 60,250 crore, a cumulative growth of 14.5% over the next five years. The television industry currently contributes 47% to the media and entertainment industry and its share is expected to rise to 50% by 2015.
As the technology drive sweeps India, the number of multiplexes in India is projected to be doubled by 2015 and this is expected to drive the film industry that has seen a drastic slowdown in the last 2 years. This huge rise in the number of screens coupled with the introduction of some big budget films is expected to drive the growth of the film business to a Rs 13,650-crore industry by 2015.
“The next five years will see digital technologies increase their influence across the industry and rapid change in technologies and consumer behavior will continue across all media and entertainment segments. However, the pace of change will continue to be slower in India as compared to other territories,” the report stated.
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BlackBerry issue: DoT under fire on delay in solution
“The parliamentary panel/committee expresses unhappiness over the way the extension after extension are being given to resolve such an important issue related to security of the country,” the panel on information technology said in its latest report. Security agencies have expressed concern on highly encrypted communication made through BlackBerry phones and have demanded Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry phones, to provide them data in readable format[source].
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Telecom firms will pay service tax on sale of SIM cards: SC
The Supreme Court has held that telecom operators will have to pay service tax on the sale of SIM cards as these transactions entail their processing and activation for providing cellphone services. It observed that payments made by subscribers to procure SIM cards are generally processing charges for activating cellphone services and consequently it would necessarily be included in the value of the SIM Card.[source]
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TV audience measurement firm aMap may shut India operations
According to sources closely associated with the firm, it is shutting down its Indian operations, a decision that has been communicated to the staff. Maybe it has something to do with getting more competitive.” While many people in the industry claim to be unaware of this development, a senior executive in a leading media agency says, “Not too many agencies have bought data from aMap. If the channels have, it is at heavily discounted prices [source].
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