The year 2024 was marked by significant consolidation in the Indian media and entertainment industry. From television to digital to cinema, rival firms merged (Jio-Star) collaborated (Dharma-Serene) or were simply acquired (ENIL bought Gaana; Amazon acquired MX Player; Saregama picked up a majority stake in Pocket Aces) as they sought to survive amid changing consumer tastes and preferences.
While 2024 saw players come together to ride out the tough times, the convergence model created by consolidation is expected to be tested in 2025, say experts, as big firms get down to doing business with advertisers, digital content creators, distribution platforms and TV production houses. At the same time, consumers will see whether getting bigger is any good for them from a content pricing perspective and regulators will have to ensure that there are no price wars in the marketplace.
“The post-consolidation phase is never easy because you are dealing with one or two large players with some smaller players. In media, for instance, you have one large player (Jio-Star) and smaller players (such as Sony, Zee, regional firms) in the TV-digital landscape. There will be pressure to ensure there are no advertising or tariff price wars,” HP Ranina, senior corporate lawyer, said.
Jio Star has agreed to not raise TV as well as digital streaming ad rates to unreasonable levels. The merged entity has also agreed not to bundle TV and OTT ad slots for the Indian Premier League (IPL), the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the remaining tenure of the existing rights. The merged firm has also divested around seven channels in Bengali, Marathi and Kannada where its market share exceeded the 35-40% threshold in compliance with guidelines prescribed by the Competition Commission of India while giving approval to the $8.5-billion merger, experts said.
Manpreet Singh Ahuja, chief digital officer and TMT leader at PwC India, said there could be a further round of consolidation among regional or niche channels as they seek scale and efficiency. Media companies may also need to raise their game in terms of innovation, he said.
“Innovation in content strategies including esports, online gaming and indigenous sports could address changing consumer behaviour in some emerging areas,” he said. “At the same time, genAI could be a future growth driver and media companies may increasingly experiment with AI in content creation,” Ahuja said.
What Sony and Zee will do in 2025
Sony is expected to keep its focus on general entertainment, sports and digital as it seeks to revive its fortunes in 2025 after failing to merge with Zee in 2024. Flagship channel Sony Entertainment Television has brought back iconic shows such as CID, extended its primetime game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, which will celebrate 25 years in 2025, reimagined music reality show Indian Idol with rapper Badshah as a judge and will introduce new fiction shows in 2025 to capitalise on the momentum.
On digital, new shows such the Indian adaptation of American reality TV show Million Dollar Listing debuted on SonyLiv in October, while historical drama Freedom at Midnight began streaming in November and season 4 of business reality show Shark Tank will stream from January 2025.
“For Sony, it is now or never because the domestic media market has consolidated with the merger of Reliance and Disney (JioStar). Zee, too, is putting its focus back on content after the merger failed,” Karan Taurani, senior vice-president at Elara Capital said.
Sony is also beefing up sports content to improve viewership on digital and TV. It recently acquired the Asian Cricket Council media rights for the 2024-31 cycle for $170 million (Rs 1,411 crore). The acquisition will strengthen Sony’s sports portfolio, which includes the rights to the England and Wales Cricket Board, New Zealand Cricket and Sri Lanka Cricket each.
Zee, meanwhile, has set its sights on achieving a revenue growth of 8-10%. It has also set itself a margin target of 18-20% over the next three years, as it steers through an evolving domestic media market.
While shareholders have rejected Zee CEO Punit Goenka’a reappointment as director on the board of the company at its AGM held in November, he will continue in his current position, overseeing operations and focusing on achieving the enhanced targets.