Hope and optimism was palpable in the 14th edition of FICCI FRAMES—as in the previous years. What was also constant year after year are laments about hurdles like muddled policies and unreliable data of audience measurement

As usual, the 14th edition of Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FICCI) FRAMES 2013 began in Mumbai on similar optimism against the background of issues that are plugging the media and entertainment (M&E) industry year after year.

Delivering the keynote address, Andy Bird, chairman of Walt Disney International said his company is betting big on India “as the media and entertainment industry here is poised for a huge leap forward, with rapidly rising middle class and their traditional focus on the family”.

As usual, the FICCI KPMG report projected the Indian M&E industry to grow to Rs1.66 lakh crore by 2017 from estimated Rs91,700 crore at present. Last year, a similar report by FICCI KPMG indicated that the M&E industry in India would grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 14.9% to reach Rs1.46 lakh crore by 2016.

However, Uday Shankar, chairman of FICCI’s M&E committee and also the chief executive of Star India, in his inaugural address, lamented lack of reliable data on audience measurement across verticals of the media and entertainment sector. “There are 140 million cable and satellite homes but the measured universe is 62 million households. I do not know how many subscribers I have with a particular multi-services operator (MSO) and the MSO doesn’t know how many households his local cable operator (LCO) delivers the signals to,” he said.

The FICCI KPMG Report said that television continues to be the dominant segment of the M&E sector, although new media like animation, VFX, gaming and digital advertising are expected to post strong double-digit growth over the next five years. In 2012, the television segment accounted for 45% of the Rs83,100 crore market. It's share is likely to go up to 50% by 2017, with a size of Rs84,760 crore of the Rs1.66 lakh crore market. Print media is expected to post a moderate CAGR of 8.7% to touch Rs34,020 crore from the 2012 level of Rs22,410 crore. The Indian film industry is slated to grow to Rs19,300 crore in 2017 from the present Rs11,240 crore, the report said.

Similarly, the size of the advertising industry in India is estimated to be Rs36,200 crore. Print media continues to account for a larger share at 44.7%, followed by TV at 38.2 %. By 2017, it is estimated that the size of the Indian advertising industry would be Rs63,000 crore with both print and TV having a share of 38%-40% each. Digital advertising is estimated to post a robust 32.1% growth to reach Rs8,720 crore from the current modest level of Rs2,170 crore, it said.