Media should play the role of an enabler in a democracy, says L. Murugan

Delegates at the inauguration of South India Media Summit in Chennai on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: M. KARUNAKARAN

Media should be seen as an enabler and play a progressive role in a democratic nation, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan has said.

The Union Minister was virtually addressing the third edition of the South India Media Summit 2022 held on Wednesday in Chennai.

The Indian media and entertainment industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.8% and reach ₹4.30 lakh crore by 2026 with South Indian media contributing 35% to the overall media and market share, said Shankar, CEO of Fourth Dimension Media Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

The South Indian streaming and digital media market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25% and reach a valuation of ₹16,200 crore. The animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) segment is the fastest growing segment at a CAGR of 30% and is expected to contribute to 10% of the overall growth of the South Indian entertainment and media industry by 2030.

The South Indian film industry is set to grow at a CAGR of 13% amounting to ₹6,000 crore while the figure for the print industry is expected to be ₹9,900 crore by the end of the year. The OTT and social media platforms have seen immense growth during lockdown and are still expected to grow at CAGR of 30% annually. In addition, the integration of “metaverse” will ensure that the industry grows exponentially in future, he said.

Alukkas Varghese Joy, managing director of Joyalukkas India Ltd., was the chief guest.

K. Lakshminarayanan, Puducherry Minister of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, Public Works, Tourism and Law; G. Vivekananda, Chairman, Visaka Industries Ltd.; Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan, CEO, CavinKare; Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India; Vinoth Vasanth, MD, Vasanth & Co.; Dato’ K. Saravanan, Consulate General of Malaysia, Chennai; Rajaraman Sundaram, Business Head Colors Tamil, Viacom; Johnson, MD, Sathya Agencies; were present.

Effective implementation of the knowledge gained and discussions held during the summit will definitely bolster the growth and help achieve the ambitious goal set for 2030, according to a statement.