Times Internet among six Indian Cos in Top 10 Digital Media Players’ list: Redseer

The Indian digital media landscape is experiencing a monumental shift as homegrown players ascend the ranks. The Indian digital media market has reached unprecedented heights, reaching an estimated market size of US$~11 billion in FY23. This remarkable growth has been catalysed by the surge in Internet users and their engagement, propelling the market at an impressive CAGR of ~35% over the last two years due to COVID-led market tailwinds.

In FY23, six Indian companies secured spots in the top 10 rankings of pure-play digital media companies by revenue. These six Indian companies are Dream Sports, Gameskraft, Games24x7, Verse Innovations, Junglee Games and Times Internet.

The robust performance of the digital media market owes a lot to the Media and Entertainment sector, which itself is a multifaceted arena comprising various segments such as Over-The-Top (OTT) Video Services, Audio Streaming, Shortform Video platforms, and Digital Gaming. Excluding contributions from social media platforms, this sector alone is responsible for injecting an impressive US$~5.5 billion into the overall digital media market ecosystem.

Breaking down these numbers, one finds that a dominant share – approximately 60% – of this contribution comes from the digital gaming sector. This remarkable figure highlights the popularity of gaming sector in India, catering to Indian population with domestic games like rummy and leveraging cricket's popularity through daily fantasy sports. Also, with the focus on vernacular content and understanding the diversity of languages and cultural nuances across India, game developers are increasingly localizing their products and creating content in native languages. This inclusion of vernacular elements not only aids in broader user engagement but also helps in penetrating untapped markets across different states.

“The focus on ‘For India’ content and strategic alignment with local consumer interests have proven pivotal for domestic digital media companies. With this trajectory, we anticipate further revenue expansion and market dominance for these platforms,” noted Mukesh Kumar, Associate Partner at Redseer Strategy Consultants.