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India’s media and entertainment (M&E) sector grew 9% year-on-year to Rs 2,78,000 crore in 2025, driven by digital media, advertising, and live events, according to the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2026. The sector is expected to reach Rs 3,30,000 crore by 2028, growing at over 7% CAGR.Digital media became the largest segment, crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time, with digital advertising up 26% to Rs 94,700 crore, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total ad revenues. E-commerce and point-of-sale advertising surged 50% to Rs 22,000 crore.Digital subscriptions rose 60% to Rs 16,300 crore, with paid video subscriptions reaching 216 million users and paid music subscriptions growing 37% to 14.4 million. Live events saw a 44% jump, fueled by concerts, public gatherings, weddings, and government and religious events. Overall advertising grew 13%, contributing 0.41% to India’s GDP.Other segments showed mixed performance. Films recorded revenues of Rs 20,500 crore, with over 1,900 releases and 37 films earning more than Rs 100 crore at the box office. Animation and VFX grew 2%, while television remained the dominant medium with 745 million weekly viewers; linear TV ad revenues fell 10% but were offset by connected TV growth to 40 million units.Music revenues increased 10%, out-of-home media rose 13%, and radio and video games faced declines due to reduced ad spends and regulatory changes. Print remained resilient, with advertising up 2% and digital contributing 5-6% of total revenues.Ashish Shelar, Maharashtra’s Minister for IT and Cultural Affairs, said the government is committed to building a future-ready ecosystem that integrates creativity with technology, ensuring sustainable and globally competitive growth. He noted that Mumbai continues to be the creative capital of India and a hub for films, television, music, advertising, and digital content.Speaking at the report launch, Kevin Vaz, Chairman of FICCI’s M&E Committee, said 2025 marked a “defining year” for scale, innovation, and transformation. He highlighted how digital, linear TV, connected TV, live sports, cinema, and experiential content are not replacing each other but reinforcing one another, making India a multi-screen “AND” market. Vaz noted that sports, especially, remain a heartbeat of shared experiences, with live events like the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup seeing record engagement across screens.FICCI President Anant Goenka said the sector’s growth is defined by “stories, scale and impact,” noting that compelling stories now translate into economic contribution, job creation, and cultural influence.The report notes that rising smartphone penetration, regional-language content, Connected TV adoption, and experiential consumption will continue to reshape the M&E landscape, with new media projected to contribute over 50% of total industry revenues by 2028.