By A Correspondent

BDO, a leading network of Accounting, Tax and Advisory firm has released a report titled ‘MEDIAtalk- The Future is bright in India’ which reveals that media deals constitute some of the biggest M&A deals.

The report states that while global M&A across all sectors dipped by 1 per cent by deal volume, media M&A activity in 2017 actually increased by 4 per cent over 2016. The year 2017 ended with Disney-making Rupert Murdoch a US$66, it capped a stellar year for a vibrant media sector.

According to the report, India remains one of the favourite markets on account of:

– India is top target region for media acquisitions in 2017 and grew its deal share by 3 per cent.

– The majority of India’s urban consumption comes from non-metro cities (Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns) — regional markets with distinct cultures, languages and content preferences.

– M&A deals in 2017 have ranged from US$24 million to US$120 million, which included the acquisition of 9X Media and INX Music by Zee Entertainment, SVG Media by Dentsu Aegis Network and Zapr Media Labs by Hotstar.

– Amidst the competition from digital media, the Indian print industry remains uniquely strong on the back of growing demand from regional markets.

– Burgeoning mobile internet and smartphone penetration has given rise to an alternative screen for media consumption in India, which is still dominated by single television households.

– Mobile advertising has emerged as the third largest advertising medium in India after television and print advertising.