India continues to be an exciting Pay TV market and will be for a while: Uday Shankar

In conversation with Vivek Couto, Managing Director of Media Partners Asia, Uday Shankar, Vice Chairman of JioStar, laid out a compelling vision for the Indian M&E sector on Day 3 of the WAVES Summit 2025.

“The narrative was that Pay TV is dead,” Shankar said. “But since we brought two major companies together, Pay TV has added subscribers, not lost them. We’ve focused sharply, and the results speak for themselves. India continues to be an exciting Pay TV market and will be for a while,” said Uday Shankar on Thursday as he spoke about the evolving Indian media and entertainment landscape at the first edition of the summit. 

Shankar attributed previous stagnation to a false belief driven by external narratives, where companies stopped investing in Pay TV. 

“In contrast, JioStar doubled down,” he said, adding that more households still subscribing to cable and satellite services, there’s clear momentum and significant growth potential, still untapped.

‘Streaming growth is real, but content must keep up’

Moving to the digital space, Shankar acknowledged the meteoric rise of streaming in India, particularly since the launch of Hotstar nearly a decade ago. 

“For my own company, JioStar, today we have half a billion people coming to the platform, and we have a large number of people subscribing and paying for it,” he said, adding that to take it to the next level, content has to keep pace with aspirations and viewer requirements.

Shankar said that in 2024 the two companies spent Rs 25,000 crores on content alone and in 2025 that number went to Rs 30,000 cr, and the number next year will be over Rs 32,000-33,000 crore.

But Shankar sounded a note of caution. He said that there is a need to make lots of more content, which is tailored for the Indian market and it should travel to the world. 

While the distribution infrastructure, especially in sports, is expanding effectively through regional languages and dialects, content innovation hasn’t always matched audience expectations.

“Viewers are far ahead of where providers are. We still think that importing global content is enough. But India needs a massive volume of content tailored to Indian tastes—regional, cultural, linguistic. And ideally, it should be strong enough to travel globally,” he said. 

Cinema in crisis: Rethinking the theatrical experience

Shankar offered a critique of the Indian theatrical industry, particularly the challenges faced by Hindi film industry. 

In his opinion, while Southern markets like Tamil and Telugu film industries still enjoy a robust theatrical culture—helped by lower ticket prices—North India has seen a steep decline.

“Hindi movies have taken a huge hit. The cost of going to a theater is high. The creative output is lacking. And many decisions are made for an aging audience. That’s a mismatch in a country where the majority is young and diverse. 

He noted that theatrical content must better reflect “new India”, its stories, aspirations, and price sensitivities. Without addressing distribution, creativity, and audience engagement holistically, the film industry will continue to struggle, he asserted.

“Theatrical in North india has taken a huge dip and Hindi movies also have taken a huge hit. Bollywood is frozen in time in terms of the nature of product it creates, while consumers have moved forward. 65% population is under 35 years of age,” he said. 

The challenge of monetisation innovation

Shankar emphasised on the lack of innovation in monetisation.

“We’ve had enormous innovation in content and distribution, but almost none in how media is monetised,” he said. 

With advertising revenues under pressure, thanks to non-traditional players like e-commerce platforms and short-form video apps, Shankar believes media companies must urgently explore new revenue models.

“If you’re only selling to 15-20 million people, you can charge high. But if your goal is to reach 300 million or half a billion, affordability has to be central to your strategy. Price sensitivity isn’t a weakness—it’s the reason television grew so fast in India,” he said. 

India’s creative economy: Building from the ground up

Shankar emphasised that India’s creative economy, built largely by cable and satellite pioneers, must now evolve to address deeper levels of the consumer pyramid.

“Most of the investment in India’s creative system has come from local companies targeting local audiences. That’s essential. But we must also help India’s tier 2, 3, and 4 cities grow—by helping local economic activities become brands, scale up, and participate in the value chain,” he said.

According to him, India has only seen the first wave of brand-building. The next frontier lies in empowering smaller regions to grow, monetise, and connect with national and global markets.

He also said that “Most media companies haven’t changed. They’re still dependent on advertising and subscriptions. Global giants succeed because they monetise better and innovate beyond content.”

He noted that content innovation is just the beginning. The real value creation and future global standing will come from reimagining how media businesses generate and sustain revenue.

On regulation: “One-size-fits-all will kill value”

Shankar also shared his views on regulatory frameworks. As India grapples with how to govern traditional TV and digital platforms, he cautioned against homogenising rules across different media.

“TV is a household experience. Digital is personal. They serve very different purposes and are at different stages of maturity. Trying to regulate them with the same brush will destroy value in both.”

Instead, he urged regulators to support innovation and competition while respecting the unique characteristics of each platform.

The road ahead

In conclusion, Shankar painted a picture of a vibrant, fast-evolving media landscape in India—but one that must embrace content diversity, pricing sensitivity, and monetization innovation to unlock its full potential.

“This market is enormous,” he said, adding, “If we innovate the way we should on content, product, and business models. There’s no reason why Indian media can’t double in size or produce global giants.”