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March 16, 2010

Indian biz grows 1.3% to $13 billion in 2009



Media and entertainment industry examined at confab
By Nyay Bhushan
March 16, 2010, 08:26 AM ET

NEW DELHI -- The Indian media and entertainment industry only grew by 1.3% in 2009 to touch $13 billion (Rs 591.59 billion) given the effects of an overall slowdown over the last two years.
These are the findings of "Indian Media and Entertainment Industry 2009" published by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) in association with management consultants KPMG India which was released Tuesday on the opening day of the 11th FICCI Frames conference in Mumbai.

By contrast, last year's report had assessed the industry at $12.9 billion (Rs 584 billion) in 2008, a 12% increase over the previous year, projecting a 12.5% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over five years estimated to touch $23.3 billion (Rs 1,052 billion) by 2013.

Looking ahead, the report forecasts that the industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13% to touch about $24 billion (Rs 1,091 billion) by 2014.

Filmed entertainment is estimated to have grown at a CAGR of 5% over the past 3 years with the industry touching revenues of about $2 billion (Rupees 89 billion) in 2009, a reduction of 14% over 2008 when the industry touched $2.42 billion (Rs 109.3 billion).

The sector suffered a setback due to the month -ong strike following a stalemate between multiplexes and producers, in additon to other factors including a lack of hit films. The film industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9% to touch $3 billion (Rupees 137 billion) by 2014.

The TV industry grew 6.8% over 2008 to touch $5.7 billion (Rs 257 billion) and is projected to grow at 15% over 2010-14 to touch $11.5 billion (Rupees 521 billion) by 2014. This growth will be driven by a rise in subscription and advertisement revenues, the report said.

Looking at the overall entertainment industry, the report added, "Aspirations of Indian players to go global and foreign players entering the industry will also help the sector post a double digit growth in the next five years."

Among the report's findings is the fact that media spend in India is 0.41% of the GDP, half of the world's average of 0.80% and much less compared to developed countries like the U.S. and Japan.

Also, current media spend per capita for India is very low at $4 compared to other countries. While it may be difficult to match levels of developed economies given India's large population base and lower spending power per capita, the report states that "there is scope to follow China and enhance this ratio."

FICCI-Frames will conclude on 18th March and among this year's speakers was Shah Rukh Khan who delivered the opening keynote address titled "New Connect between Hollywood and Bollywood" in which he said that "we in India need to forge alliances to share expertise and knowledge with Hollywood rather than just monetary investments."

Khan also added that Bollywood was severely lagging behind Hollywood in three spheres -- screenplay writing, VFX (and technology) and discipline and organization. But Khan was optimistic about the future growth of the industry pointing to the Indian government's predictions for robust growth in GDP adding that "we are all the more optimistic about the Indian film industry."

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