India’s Ad Budget: Is Digital Entertainment Calling the Shots?

In India, the digital media ecosystem has emerged as they key driver behind the nations entertainment economy, which now accounts for more than half of total ad expenditure, as per Sanjay Jaju, Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Speaking at an digital entertainment summit, he said the digital segment has condilated its position in comparison to traditional formats, who've taken a backseat

"The digital segment is now definitely more than the non-digital segment," he stated, whlist urging stakeholders to help the space "grow at a much brisker pace."

Highlighting India’s mobile-first consumption habits, he pointed out that the country now has over 55 crore smartphone users, a pertinent factor behind the curation of content and how its being distributed, and monetised.

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The summit, held against the backdrop of the government’s ambitious World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), focused on policy roadmaps, new technological frontiers in gaming, and the expanding influence of the creator economy. Jaju described digital as central to India’s global ambitions in entertainment.

Talking about India's ambitions in entertainment vertical, he mentioned the how e-enterainment played a massive share in the media and entetainment landscape given the constant elevation in the relevance of OTT platforms, gaming and indiviual content creators.

Reflecting on the recently concluded WAVES summit, Jaju described it as a landmark for India's entertainment sector.

"WAVES is a movement being created for all of you, for the industry, for the content creators... it was actually a declaration to the world that we are ready to lead the creative economy of the future," he said.

The rapid digitisation of the Indian media and enterainment (M&E) vertical can be credited to low data costs, rising internet population and affordable smartphones, which has positionedthe south Asian nation as a top contender in worlwide content production.