Digital Takes Center Stage: Karan Taurani on the Future of India’s M&E Industry

By Pickle November 10, 2025

As India’s top-ranked media and entertainment analyst, Karan Taurani, EVP of Elara Capital, shares his deep insights on the sector’s digital pivot, investment climate, and the road ahead for companies and investors. Karan Taurani chats with Pickle

The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry is in the midst of a profound transformation. With digital media now driving the lion’s share of growth and traditional segments facing mounting challenges, the sector’s future hinges on how quickly and effectively companies can adapt to new realities. At the forefront of this shift is Karan Taurani, Executive Vice President at Elara Capital, who has been recognized as India’s number one M&E analyst by the AsiaMoney Brokers Poll for three consecutive years. In this exclusive interview with Pickle, Taurani unpacks the latest trends shaping the industry in 2025, offers practical advice for founders and investors, and shares his perspective on where real value and opportunity lie in a rapidly evolving market.

Pickle: What’s your take on the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry’s growth in 2025 compared to previous years?

Karan Taurani: This year, the M&E industry is witnessing a strong extension towards digital. The shift from traditional to digital is continuing in 2025. The TV segment, in particular, is clearly struggling, while print has somewhat managed to sustain its market share. However, TV is losing significant share, and most of that is moving rapidly to digital, with some also going to connected TV.

“Digital is expected to contribute nearly 90% of the incremental growth in India’s M&E sector in 2025, overshadowing traditional segments like TV and print,” says Karan Taurani, underlining the industry’s accelerating shift to online platforms.

By my assessment, due to the GST consumption push towards the end of CY25, there will be some respite, and the industry might end up growing in the range of 8-10%. But, net-net, about 90% of this incremental growth is going to come from digital, especially as e-commerce and quick commerce have scaled up aggressively.

Pickle: Elara Capital has collaborated with the CII Global M&E Investor Meet as part of the CII Big Picture Summit 2025. How do you see the M&E investment climate as we speak now?

Karan Taurani: The investment climate is a mixed bag right now. Traditional businesses need to reinvent themselves to scale up on digital; many still have less than 10-15% of revenue coming from digital. This is precisely why the climate is mixed. Investors want to bet on digital models where digitization is mature. For instance, in the music industry, about 80-90% of revenue now comes from digital, making it the only media segment with such a high level of digitization.

As a result, valuation multiples are higher there. Traditional companies, even with healthy cash flows and premium EBITDA margins, are not able to command high valuations because their growth rates are stagnating, with overall market share converging. Thus, both investment and valuation challenges persist for traditional businesses.

Pickle: What would convince institutional investors looking at the Indian M&E sector, with digital media now contributing 32% of sector revenues?

Karan Taurani: Digital media is definitely driving growth. What will convince investors are, first, the growth rate in the specific digital segment—whether that’s OTT, influencer marketing, gaming, or something else. Second is the path to profitability. Investors are especially interested in micro-segments of digital where there is consolidation and less fragmentation. Real money gaming, for example, is having a negative impact on overall advertising, though some of that is offset by the recent GST boost.

“The investment climate is a mixed bag—traditional media struggles to attract high valuations, while mature digital businesses, particularly in music and select micro-segments, are commanding premium multiples due to their scalability and profitability.”

Overall, the media industry’s advertising growth rate won’t be more than 7-8%, with 90% of that coming from digital. Investors are now selective, avoiding OTT platforms in heavily fragmented markets without a clear path to profitability, especially as they lose ad revenue to e-commerce and quick commerce platforms.

Pickle: You’re ranked #1 by AsiaMoney Brokers Poll for three consecutive years in Indian M&E coverage. Where do you see the biggest disconnect between how institutional investors view India’s M&E sector versus how you believe it should be valued?

Karan Taurani: The biggest disconnect is that investors are looking for companies that balance growth with profitability. In traditional media, growth is mostly absent, so all that’s left is premium margins. Investors want to see traditional companies scale up digital revenues—think 25-30% of their revenue from digital.

They also want to see how these companies can maintain profitability even as they expand into digital, since digital growth often comes with losses. If a company’s digital business is growing but isn’t profitable, valuations remain suppressed. Ideally, investors want M&E companies with scale in digital, better growth in the traditional segments they operate in, and margins that aren’t compromised by digital expansion.

Unfortunately, that perfect mix is rare, and most traditional businesses are declining. So, the major disconnect is that stable businesses with healthy profitability aren’t growing, and those aggressively pursuing digital see margins fall and valuations remain depressed.

Pickle: Of the ₹2.5 trillion M&E market, listed companies represent approximately ₹1 trillion in market cap. This means 60% of the sector remains private and fragmented. What’s the thesis for professional investors to focus on private investments and consolidation plays in M&E versus buying listed names?

Karan Taurani: Listed companies haven’t seen much uplift in valuations. If you look at radio, print, and TV, their valuation multiples have actually gone down due to digital media scale losses, lower profitability, and fragmentation. Many market caps are significantly down—Zee, for example, has lost 70-80% of its market cap since pre-COVID, and Sun TV is down 30-40%.

“With over half the sector unlisted and highly fragmented, Taurani sees a major opportunity for private investors to back aggregation and partnership models: ‘Aggregation is the way ahead; consolidation and collaboration with larger platforms will drive real value.’”

Print has been more stable, maintaining 5-6% growth with healthy margins, so the erosion isn’t as steep. Digital isn’t scaling dramatically, but at least the growth rate is maintained at 6-7% because of regional strength. Radio has also seen major market cap erosion.

Clearly, listed companies have suffered for being unable to scale digitally and facing digital competition. So, the thesis for professional investors should be to focus on private investments, particularly in high-growth segments like gaming or niche OTT platforms with proven economics. For example, in India, the OTT business as a whole lacks unit economics, which is a problem.

Pickle: More than 50% of India’s M&E sector remains unlisted, with thousands of independent production companies, regional players, and digital startups outside the listed universe. For aggressive investors seeking scale and differentiation, what’s the optimal approach: backing listed companies, acquiring unlisted producers, investing in new platforms, or co-investing in specific IP?

Karan Taurani: The market has a long tail, with many production houses and OTT platforms operating on a small scale. Aggregation is the future—bringing these players under one umbrella, partnering with larger OTT platforms like Amazon or Netflix to leverage and upsell to their subscriber base. We saw this with telecom, where direct-to-consumer acquisition was too costly, so platforms partnered with telecoms to scale subscribers. This needs to happen again.

Production houses should tie up with OTTs or big studios to scale content, as the ecosystem is about partnerships and aggregation. Producers alone can’t finance, distribute, and sell content at scale—they need partnerships for bargaining power and to leverage each other’s strengths.

Pickle: What specific deal characteristics—revenue scale, profitability, growth rates, management pedigree—would institutional investors demand before deploying capital into Indian M&E at the same conviction levels as fintech, SaaS, or healthcare?

Karan Taurani: Investors look for revenue scale, the total addressable market (TAM), growth rates, positioning, execution, strategic differentiation, ability to scale market share, and track record. They want a blend of growth, profitability, and good execution. For instance, a company growing at 50% but burning ₹1,000 crore a year isn’t attractive. The focus is on companies with balanced growth and profitability and a proven track record.

Pickle: Do you foresee a wave of M&E IPOs, similar to the early 2000s, with listings like JioStar, Applause Entertainment, Green Gold Animation, and others?

Karan Taurani: There could be a wave of IPOs, but for companies like JioStar, you can already play that exposure through Network18. Applause, Green Gold, and others could be candidates. Smaller content production houses might also list. However, getting the right valuations is a challenge because content is a high-risk business.

“Investors are looking for the sweet spot: companies that have digital scale, steady growth in traditional segments, and profitability that isn’t compromised by digital expansion. Execution, track record, and a tech-first approach are critical.”

Most work on a cost-plus model with OTTs, so there’s limited margin upside. Also, the ability to create shows is constrained by creative bandwidth. Content is risky—only a small portion succeeds, while most does not.

Pickle: Micro-dramas and short-form fiction are exploding globally (with companies like Rusk Media, Chai Bisket, and Flick TV raising over $20 million collectively). Is this a trend or fad? Should investors pursue this segment or wait for consolidation?

Karan Taurani: (Implied from overall comments on digital and fragmentation) The high growth and innovation in digital formats like micro-dramas are attracting attention, but investors should focus where there’s less fragmentation and clearer paths to profitability. Consolidation and partnership with larger platforms will likely be the path to sustainable growth.

Pickle: The animation film ” Mahavatar Narasimha” has seen phenomenal success, and over two dozen animation movies are now in the works. What’s your take?

Karan Taurani: (Implied from earlier comments on content and production) The success of animated content signals new hope, but scaling this model will require partnerships and a focus on quality, given the inherent risks in content creation and the need to appeal to broad, even global, audiences.

Pickle: The film sector also saw a spurt in 2025?

Karan Taurani: The film sector has been volatile. There might have been a minor spurt in 2025, but the concerns remain; the industry is heavily reliant on large-budget films, making it risky. Small and medium-budget films are not performing well, and the overall number of films has also come down. We aren’t making enough pan-India hits, which is a problem.

Pickle: From Elara’s perspective as both a research house and investment banking platform, what ‘homework’ must M&E founders, producers, and studio heads complete before credibly approaching institutional capital? What separates companies that attract investment from those that don’t?

Karan Taurani: The thumb rule is that companies must be capable of scaling digitally, as digital is becoming mainstream. They must demonstrate great quality content and a strong track record. Having the right people to execute and compete is crucial. Companies must be tech-first, with a digital approach, strong creative capabilities, and quality people behind them, because in M&E, you’re competing with global tech giants.

Pickle: Do you see a connection between the Indian creator economy and mainstream media?

Karan Taurani: Absolutely. There is a strong connection, and it’s crucial for the industry to scale aggressively by creating content that appeals not only to one region but globally. Given India’s diversity in language and culture, content must resonate widely. Indian creators need to think differently and at a global scale.

“To attract institutional capital, founders must demonstrate an ability to scale digitally, deliver top-quality content, and assemble strong execution teams. ‘It’s not enough to be creative—you need the right people, digital strategy, and proven results to stand out,’ Taurani emphasizes.”

Pickle: Finally, how does Elara Capital facilitate connections between global/domestic institutional capital and India’s fragmented M&E ecosystem? Walk us through a typical engagement, such as how a regional production house or high-growth digital startup would engage through the CII M&E investor meet.

Karan Taurani: At Elara, we have a wide network of investors, from small to large, both Indian and international. Companies can access a broad spectrum of investors with varying appetites and criteria. Each company, whether a regional production house or a digital startup, can highlight its unique edge—be it in creativity, content, or scale. Through platforms like the CII M&E investor meet, these companies can connect with investors who are best aligned to their strengths and growth potential.