2017 was a year of modest growth for OOH says FICC-EY report 2018

The  FICC-EY report 'Re-imagining India' s M&E sector,' launched at FICCI Frames 2018 states that the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector reached almost INR1.5 trillion (US$22.7 billion) in 2017, a growth of around 13% over 2016. With its current trajectory, it is expect to cross INR2 trillion (US$31 billion) by 2020, at a CAGR of 11.6%. The digital segment led growth, demonstrating that advertising budgets are in line with the changing content consumption patterns. Talking about the growth of the OOH industry, it touched INR 34.3 billion in 2017 is expected to reach INR 37.1 billion and 42.5 billion in the year of 2021.

The report estimates that approximately 1.5 million consumers in India today are digital only and would not normally use traditional media. It is expected that this customer base will to grow to 4 million by 2020 generating significant digital subscription revenues of approximately 20 billion. Going forward, micropayments, enabled through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) platforms developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will further accelerate subscription revenues for entertainment content.

FICCI President, Rashesh Shah said that the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry has been hitting new milestones and has stepped onto a matured phase at a growth rate of 11.6% CAGR. The need is to promote India as an entertainment hub to the world, facilitate policy change for the betterment of the Indian M&E industry as well as create and encourage platform for Business-to-Business interface and dialogue”.

Farokh Balsara, Partner and M&E Leader, EY India, stated, "Indian M&E sector reached INR1.5 trillion in 2017 led by digital. With digital subscribers expected to reach 20 million by 2020, has Indian M&E reached its digital tipping point? We now need to re-imagin the future of Indian M&E sector."

Ashish Pherwani, Partner and M&E Advisor Leader, EY India said, "Growth in 2017 was led by the digital, film & animation & VFX segments. We expect sectors like digital and gaming to grow between 2 to 3 times by 2020."

• OOH Key Findings:

2017 was a year of modest growth: In 2017, after March- April, the OOH industry in India started recovering from the effects of demonetization. Riding on the wave of new launches in mobile handset & auto segments, the industry witnessed 8.4% growth to reach INR 34.3 Billion.

Billboards continue to dominate:  Billboards continued to dominate the OOH presence at about 40% of the advertising pie wherein transit media showed the strongest growth with new advertising opportunities at airports and mass rapid transport system.

Data & technology are bringing accountability: The OOH industry is undergoing an overdue tectonic shift. OOH industry is moving towards data-driven media planning process.

Transit OOH drove a premium, targeted offering: The Govt’s impetus to economic and infrastructure growth & smart city infrastructure development is widening the OOH landscape   with several key projects.

• Way Forward:
  

Sponsorships are becoming more important: From creating a lounge for a car manufactures’ users at airports to mobile charging stations at metro lines, brands are developing immersive ways to share their brand stories.

DOOH will enable interactivity: Enabling interactivity with consumers through their mobile phones will be the next big trend.

• Challenge:

Operational issues remain: Even after the implementation of SOP, compliance with it is yet not tracked comprehensively.