What’s holding back MP’s OOH growth potential?

Madhya Pradesh’s outdoor market is in a phase that most growing markets go through, demand is outpacing the infrastructure built to serve it. Local businesses in Indore are spending, Ujjain’s tourism economy is expanding, and Bhopal is picking up commercial pace. Operators who have been building here are finding genuine traction, even as the policy environment and inventory situation make things harder than they need to be. 

Licensing and participation 

Sunil Maheshwari, MD of Maheshwari Advertising, has been in this market long enough to read it clearly. He is positive about where things are headed, but honest about what makes it difficult. “The corporation’s license fee is among the costliest in the country,” he says. The municipal corporation runs a structured tender process with clear eligibility criteria, similar to how airport tenders work. The high cost filters out operators who do not have the resources or operational capability to manage large media sites. 

“If you don’t know how outdoor is sold, who is the right client, what is the right site, you simply cannot participate,” Sunil says. “A lot of people find it very difficult to compete here.” 

One operator in the market puts the national picture plainly. “Indore is like thirteenth or fourteenth on the list when national campaigns are being allocated. That is just the reality of where this market stands.” For operators focused on building sustainable businesses here, that means local and regional advertisers remain the more reliable client, and in a city as commercially active as Indore, that is not necessarily a bad thing. “Our vision has always been local clients. It is much easier to sell to them, and the demand is real,” the operator says. 

The BRTS story 

The BRTS corridor, an 11.5-kilometre stretch along AB Road, has been one of the more significant outdoor properties in Indore. Following a High Court order in February 2025 for its removal, the Indore Municipal Corporation floated a dismantling tender twice in April without attracting any contractors. A third tender was issued in June, dividing the corridor into six parts to make it more viable, according to a Times of India report. 

The OOH advertising tender for the same stretch has had its own complicated run. “The same tender has been issued four times and cancelled four times,” says one operator suggesting a monopoly situation, with the tender process too favouring one entity.  He also shares that one large naional operator is understood to have applied and walked away without securing it. 

Sunil has a different account of events. According to him, the tender was cancelled once, and the reason was a calculation error. “Instead of putting a square feet rate in the tender, the total amount was calculated incorrectly. What should have been a per square feet rate ended up being written as a total figure that ran into crores. The numbers made no commercial sense, so the tender fell apart,” he says. “The policy is sound. Anyone can come, anyone can participate. The eligibility criteria are clear.” 

Well, irrespective of what actually transpired and why, the outcome is the same- the advertising inventory on the stretch remains unused, and the market is poorer for it. 

DOOH in MP 

Digital out-of-home has been growing in MP, but the experience varies depending on which city you are in. In Bhopal, operators can put screens on private buildings and run advertising, allowing digital to establish a visible presence on the city’s roads. In Indore, no such provision exists, keeping the street-facing outdoor landscape largely static. National players who might otherwise consider the market have largely stayed away as a result. 

Interior space in buildings is a different story. Screens have gone up in restaurants, corporate offices, and residential complexes across Indore, and operators have built meaningful networks within these environments. But the absence of a consistent policy on private property advertising across MP cities remains a point of friction for the industry. 

On the taxation side, one operator alleges that there is currently no provision in the municipal online portal to pay advertising tax in any direct way, forcing operators to register under alternate categories to remain compliant. They say they are willing to pay, but the issue, as they see it, is that the system has not been set up to receive it properly. This could not be independently verified, but if accurate, it points to an administrative gap that is worth addressing. 

What the market needs 

The building blocks are all there. Indore is a commercially active, consumption-driven city. Ujjain draws pilgrimage and tourism traffic that most tier 2 cities cannot match, and that will only grow with the Kumbh Mela approaching. Bhopal is picking up its own commercial pace. 

What MP’s outdoor market needs is not dramatic intervention, just resolution on the things that have been left unaddressed for too long. A tender process that reaches a conclusion. A consistent policy on private property advertising across the state’s cities. And if the allegations around tax payment infrastructure hold up, an administrative fix that allows operators to pay what they owe without workarounds. None of these are complicated asks. 

Sunil is not worried about the long term. “The policy intent is right. Once the process stabilises, the market will respond.” 

The demand is there, the operators are there, and the audiences are there. MP’s outdoor market has been growing quietly on its own for years. Better clarity on the policy front would let it grow a lot faster.