Consolidation and Corporation of Indian Media: Opportunities and Challenges

The Indian media market differs from those of developed countries in several ways. India is a developing country and all segments of the media industry (including print and radio) are still growing unlike in many developed countries. The media market in India remains highly fragmented, due to the large number of languages and the sheer size of the country. The television broadcasting industry has over the last two decades, become particularly fragmented, with low entry barriers and high carriage fees and the top two or three channels obtaining a disproportionately high share of total advertising expenditure. The uniqueness of India's Mediascape suggests that while restrictions may be desirable, the safeguards deemed appropriate may not precisely be those that apply in other countries.