'Media industry has expanded India's cultural influence since 1991'

Subhash Chandra says India's media industry has become a ₹2.7-trillion powerhouse, expanded the country's global cultural influence and created millions of jobs since liberalisation

Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel Group and founder and chairman emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, was 40 when he first saw CNN in a largely media dark India, in 1991. He knew that he wanted to get into this business before others did. He chased Richard Li, the man who launched Star TV on Asiasat 1, the only satellite broadcasting over Asia then, for a transponder. It took him over a year, but finally in October 1992, India’s first private satellite channel Zee TV (now Z) was launched. Along with Star, Sun and Sony,  Zee led the growth of broadcasting in India. Chandra, now 75, spoke to Vanita Kohli-Khandekar over the phone on how he sees the business that he helped pioneer. Edited excerpts:

 

What has liberalisation done to the media and entertainment (M&E) business? How do you view these 35 years? 

One, M&E has evolved into a ₹2.7 trillion (revenues in 2025) powerhouse that generates livelihoods for over 12 million people across the country. That number was merely 20,000 in 1992. With over 900 private satellite channels, 70 OTT (over the top) platforms, more than 50 million content creators and 1,000 radio stations, the role of the M&E sector has moved far beyond informing and entertaining. 

Two, it has created lots of awareness internationally about India and its people, about our culture, fashion, design, food and so forth. 

It has also created a lot of ambitions amongst people — whether that is good or bad is a subjective issue. One school of thought is: How would the economy grow without ambition? On the other hand, a section of people think that the media has created an over-ambitious populace.

 

What are the key milestones of these 35 years? 

The three decades of liberalisation can best be summed up in three shifts that illustrate the journey of the M&E business. One, the sector has evolved from being a pure information or entertainment provider to a strategic catalyst with significant potential to drive economic growth and build global influence. It is not defined by individual platforms anymore but by billions of consumers engaging with brands and platforms simultaneously across the globe. This makes M&E an economic enabler, spurring allied industries like tourism, hospitality, fashion and wellness. 

Two, the storytelling prowess of India’s M&E sector has grown. Today, India is one of the largest content creators with a potential to create distinct intellectual properties for global consumption. 

Three, although the Indian M&E sector has a small share in the global pie, it has an expanded significant cultural influence amongst the 6.8 billion people outside the country. India generates a direct revenue of ₹10,000 crore in foreign exchange from M&E. The indirect revenue due to enhanced exports of merchandise could be several times that of direct earnings.

Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel Group and founder and chairman emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises

India is the largest producer of films, second-largest TV market and a huge consumer market. But, at $31 billion, our M&E sector has never hit global scale. It remains at 0.8 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product). Why? 

The M&E sector could have achieved far more. The problem is government after government has never seen it as a strategic industry. It has been seen as a means to disseminate information about Prime Ministers and their governments and nothing beyond it. Secondly, they always look over the shoulder of this industry through different rules and regulations. The business could have probably achieved three times more than it has. The minimum contribution of this industry to the economy should be at least 5 per cent of GDP.

 

In 2000, the ambition was that M&E would be to the Indian economy what IT had been. Where does it stand today? 

In terms of employment generation, it has done that. But it has not had the impact it should have had because it is still divided. There are four parts of this business. The content creators (producer community), broadcasters, MSOs (multi-system operators) and last-mile cable operators. All of them work in silos. Despite the best efforts, even by me, we have not succeeded in bringing the four of them together under one platform to work as an industry.

 

DD Freedish and YouTube are the fastest growing part of the video business. TV seems to be in decline. Is it a sunset industry? 

This is the narrative that global tech firms have spread. And because they are paying a higher commission to media buyers they are succeeding. Like I mentioned, our industry is divided. We fight with each other. As a result, we do not have a voice.

 

But doesn’t the regulator have a role to play? It micro-manages everything from channel pricing to ratings but has no outlook on the bigger picture? 

Unfortunately, India is the only large economy where the regulator has limited say. It is considered more of a recommendatory body. They have recommended a few things that have been with the government for the last couple of years. The government is neither accepting nor rejecting it.

 

If you could change something in the last 35 years what would it be? 

I would free up this industry from regulation, other than in content. It is not free today.

Free in what way? 

Everything other than issues of national security and content that can corrupt young minds. Here, the reverse is happening. The content that is corrupting young minds is freely available on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.

 

The valuation of the teams in the IPL (Indian Premier League) or its media rights prices keep going up. Any comments on how the sports media ecosystem has built up, given Zee’s various attempts at getting into cricket and other sports? 

I do not want to comment on that. But I can tell you that Zee is helping sports bodies create good IPR (intellectual property rights) in which we will also share.

 

What difference has streaming made to the business? 

It is a natural progression. From a satellite-delivered, analogue, traditional way of seeing content, you are now seeing it through the internet. It’s another form of distribution. That’s the only way I look at it. Many people see it as a Godsend. Content evolution will continue. After shorts, immersive content will come.

 

Where do you think the M&E business is headed in India? 

It will continue to grow. And so will TV. I hope and wish the industry comes together and does not let people waste their money on false narratives attempted by certain biggies.