From terrestrial television to cable, from DTH to OTT—each step has broadened access, but the core structure remains intact. Content is still created, uploaded, and passively consumed. The user experience is largely static: Play -> pause -> play. Even OTT—heralded as a disruptor—has hit a plateau, particularly among younger and mobile-first users who now divide their attention between eight-second vertical videos and long-form podcasts. While the demand for longer-format, in-depth conversation remains consistent, the audience for short, snackable content keeps growing.

Today’s reality is clear: Attention is scarce, competition is relentless, and the traditional model is no longer enough.

The next frontier is interactive, intelligent, and inclusive storytelling—content that doesn’t just reach users but responds to them. This is not a futuristic vision but an emerging global trend being rapidly shaped by changing consumption habits. What we saw with Netflix’s Bandersnatch was not an experiment; rather, it was an indication of things to come. We had the first taste of interactive storytelling, where the users could choose the outcomes at 31 different points, leading to five different endings but innumerable permutations. While this could be time-consuming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially Gen-AI could easily solve for this. Fast-forward ten years, and we could be looking at AI producing entertainment on-the-go according to the wishes of the viewers.

With over 82% of media consumption happening on mobile devices, India is among the most mobile-first content markets in the world. This shift has profound implications not only for how content is consumed, but how it must now be designed. Platforms like Glance, which delivers personalised, real-time content directly on users’ lock screens, are already pioneering this shift. With an average daily engagement time of 25 minutes, and over 550 million glances a day, the platform is redefining discoverability and content value. Importantly, regional-language content performs at nearly two times the engagement levels of English, underscoring a powerful truth: Scale in India comes with cultural and linguistic nuance.

Snackable content—short, punchy, and context-rich—is not merely a concession to attention deficit. It’s a strategic format that respects the user’s time while maximising emotional and informational impact. From 15-second video vignettes to interactive live quizzes and polls embedded in the lock screen, the possibilities for real-time, user-shaped storytelling are growing fast.

India’s rapid ascent as a content powerhouse is not accidental—it has been actively enabled by forward-looking government policy. The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics (AVGC) Incentive Policy offers up to 30% rebates on post-production spend, encouraging local and global productions to invest in Indian talent and infrastructure. States such as Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu have rolled out complementary policies offering space subsidies, tax waivers, and incubator support to AVGC startups.

The single-window clearance systems for filming permits, now operational in multiple states, have reduced project timelines by nearly 40%. Meanwhile, audio-visual co-production treaties, including those with the US, have enabled smoother collaboration between Indian and foreign production houses—boosting both commercial and creative output.

What’s more, Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes under discussion in the Union budget signal a growing recognition of M&E as a critical sunrise sector—at the intersection of digital economy, job creation, and soft power projection.

At the WAVES Summit, the increasing synergy between Bollywood and Hollywood was evident—not just as a cultural moment, but as a business model. Hollywood studios are co-financing Indian productions, while Indian creative talent—across VFX, sound, editing, and scripting—is being embedded in global story pipelines. The year 2008 was pivotal for Indian film industry which saw international studios like Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures and Fox invest in the Indian film market. Walt Disney collaborated with Yash Raj Studios in 2008 to produce Roadside Romeo to enter the Indian market, Warner Brothers through Saas, Bahu aur Sensex and Sony through Saawariya.

India is not just a passive outsourcing hub anymore. It is becoming an active IP generator, a test market, and a talent epicenter. With over 950 million internet users, a booming creator economy, and some of the world’s most engaged digital audiences, the country provides both the laboratory and the launchpad for global M&E innovation.

From a market standpoint, the numbers are compelling. India’s M&E sector was valued at ₹2.5 trillion ($29 billion) in 2024 and is projected to grow to $73 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 9.7%. Digital media, now the largest segment, is expected to dominate further, driven by increasing data affordability (less than ₹7/GB), smartphone penetration, and youth-led consumption habits.

For investors, this translates into opportunities across the value chain—from regional content production and artificial intelligence (AI) powered content personalisation, to live-stream infrastructure, interactive gaming, and vernacular creator platforms.

India’s moment in M&E is not a promise—it is an unfolding reality. The ecosystem is vibrant, the policy is enabling, the audience is demanding, and the platforms are already innovating.

At WAVES 2025, the message was clear: The future of storytelling is no longer linear—it is participatory, real-time, and born in ecosystems like India’s. With innovative platforms and strong public-private collaboration, India is not just witnessing the next media revolution—it is writing it. That said, the pace at which the technology is evolving doesn’t guarantee any particular format or technique to withstand the test of time. We can only focus on the near future: What works today and tomorrow. However, we will do it with great aplomb and create tangible impact, the Indian way. India’s storytelling doesn’t chase length—it creates impact. As Rajesh Khanna beautifully put it in Anand, “Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi” (Life should be lived large, not just long.

This article is authored by Subi Chaturvedi, global SVP, chief corporate affairs and public policy officer, InMobi and co-chair, Jt Indo-US AI Taskforce, USIBC and FICCI chair, Women in Technology, Policy & Leadership.