Indians to hit media spend limit of $32 by 2021: Assocham-PwC study

India's per-person spend on media and entertainment will hit a limit of $32 by 2021 as nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person for the year reaches $2,560, said a joint study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

By comparison, per-person spend will reach $222 in China and $2,260 in the US by 2021, according to the study.

The Indian media and entertainment market is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% from $30,363.7 million in 2017 to $52,683 million in 2022. In terms of absolute numbers, India is set to be among the top 10 entertainment and media markets globally by 2021, said the study.  

In terms of subscription video on demand (SVOD) and transaction video on demand (TVOD), India is expected to grow from $296.7 million in 2017 to $823 million in 2022 at a CAGR of 22.6%, with SVOD holding a majority share throughout the period.

The study also said that OTT (Over The Top) services in the country will be on the rise, with consumers spoilt for choice as multiple platforms emerge. Factors such as a young population base and traffic conditions in expanding cities will play a major role in the growth of OTT services.

"With increasing traffic in metro cities, the time spent on viewing videos is also on the rise. Cab aggregators have installed tablets inside their cabs with a wide range of curated content for passengers at no additional cost," noted the joint study.

It further explained that since most of the country's population is under the age of 35, OTT services will ride on the cord-never or wireless audience.

However, this will lead to OTT platforms not only competing with each other but also with DTH (direct to home) players, and in developing markets like India, television and OTT will continue to coexist with the former still holding a larger portion of the market share in the near future.

Interestingly, the new generation will start consuming content from video on demand (VOD) platforms rather than television, the study said.

Globally, the OTT landscape is projected to grow at 10.1% from a base of $36,021 million in 2017 to $58,369 million in 2022.  

The study also said that while Netflix leads the content space in the US, Hotstar dominates the market in India.