What lies ahead for media and entertainment industry in 2025

In 2024, the M&E industry saw major mergers, regional content growth, and streaming expansion, but faces challenges like talent shortages and competition.

As the year wraps up, it is time to take stock of the broad trends that marked the media and entertainment (M&E) industry in 2024 and what to expect in the future. The mega merger of The Walt Disney Co.’s India operations with Reliance Industries’ media assets, now called JioStar, was the biggest event in the sector which created an entertainment behemoth commanding 40% viewership share in the Hindi speaking and regional markets (except Tamil Nadu at 26%) and 34% share in digital streaming under Disney+Hotstar and JioCinema. The synergies between TV and digital platforms under the merged entity can create seamless cross-platform experiences for advertisers and audiences alike, said Lalatendu Das, CEO, Publicis Media, South Asia, last week.

The mega merger of The Walt Disney Co.’s India operations with Reliance Industries’ media assets, now called JioStar, was the biggest event in the sector

LV Krishnan, CEO of TAM Media Research expects further consolidation or possible collaborations among companies in the M&E sector as the unprecedented proliferation of content, platforms and devices has made it tough for a single organization to manage and monetize all the screens.

When broadcast TV was the only source of video, it was easy to reach audiences. “As the number of platforms and screens multiply, finding an audience that meets your content, budget and revenue needs gets hard,” Krishnan said. A complex media landscape may encourage collaborations, he added.

Deepak Dhar, founder and group CEO at production firm Banijay Asia, agreed that the future of M&E lies in tapping multiple content forms, platforms and screens. His company makes shows for streaming platforms and broadcast TV. However, the growing viewership of short format videos isn’t lost on him. “We’re now not just competing with different shows, slots or networks but with reels and YouTube shorts with people spending 30-40 minutes at a time watching them for free,” said Dhar. “It’s an opportunity for us to create shorter format dramas to engage with these millions,” he said.

2024 also marked the stupendous rise of regional language content. “Language markets will be very important going forward,” said Dhar, who makes the reality show Bigg Boss in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bangla and Hindi. His Master Chef has Tamil and Telugu versions, too, even as he mulls creating Fear Factor and Temptation Island in languages other than Hindi.

Mihir Shah, vice president at research and insights firm Media Partners Asia (MPA), however, said that the M&E industry will be impacted both by consolidation as well as leadership changes at Viacom18-Disney, Sony, and Zee. “Market dynamics will be shaped by how this new leadership executes strategies focused on building scale, regaining lost ground, pivoting to new business models while maintaining cost efficiency,” he said.

With slowing TV revenue growth, streaming will fuel industry expansion, though the former still remains a vital profit source, Shah said. “To scale and compete with global tech majors, broadcasters must invest in direct-to-consumer offerings while maintaining the profitability of legacy operations,” he added.

On streaming, MPA said that the SVoD (subscription-led video-on-demand) market rebounded in 2024, reaching 125 million subscriptions after a slight dip in 2023. Paid subscriptions are expected to more than double over the next five years, reaching 287 million by 2029, “fuelled by strong investments in local original programming and the introduction of low-cost, ad-supported tiers,” Shah said.

India’s video revenue including subscription and advertising for both TV and streaming is estimated at $11.7 billion for 2024 and projected to touch $12.5 billion in 2025. MPA forecasts total video revenues to reach $16 billion by 2029 (6.4% CAGR), with online video expected to hit $8.9 billion at 15.6% CAGR.

MPA’s Shah expects rapid adoption of home broadband which has just 13.5% household penetration currently. Telcos like Jio and Airtel are accelerating growth through 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access), pairing affordable plans with streaming bundles. (Fixed Wireless Access uses radio waves to provide high-speed internet access to homes and businesses.) MPA said FWA is estimated to reach 5 million subscribers by 2024. “With continued price subsidies, FWA is set for exponential growth, transforming how Indians watch television,” Shah said.

However, there is a severe talent crunch in the M&E segment that may mar its growth. “That’s really going to be a big challenge for the industry since we are making content for different devices, mediums, demographics and languages,” said Dhar.