I&B sector attracted FDI worth Rs 7,012 crore in FY24: DPIIT

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in India’s information and broadcasting sector rose 87% to Rs 7,012 crore in the year ended March 31, 2024, from Rs 3,745 crore the previous fiscal year, according to data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

At Rs 4,306 crore, the investment of Uday Shankar and James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree Systems in Viacom 18 accounted for more than 60% of the total FDI in the sector. Including this, the sector received around Rs 4,893 crore in the April-March quarter.

Inflows dropped to around Rs 1,165 crore in the second quarter, Rs 332 crore in the third quarter and Rs 661 crore in the last three months of the fiscal year.


Foreign investors that brought fresh investments into the country included ad giants Dentsu Pacific, Havas and WPP, as well as companies like Sony Music Publishing, Crunchyroll India, Warner Music and Cinepolis.

The inflows in the fourth quarter were 24% lower from the year earlier when the sector had received Rs 820 crore.

The major transactions during the quarter were Dentsu Pacific's Rs 463 crore fund infusion in its India subsidiary, Dentsu Aegis Network India, and Ivy Entertainment Holdings' Rs 123 crore investment in its India unit, Ivy Entertainment.

India permits 100% FDI in entertainment channels and TV distribution platforms like cable, direct to home, and headend in the sky (HITS). FDI in print and digital news is capped at 26%, while in TV news and FM radio, it can be up to 49%.

According to a recent Ficci-EY report, merger and acquisition activity in the media and entertainment sectors had slowed down significantly in 2023, with the year recording only 88 deals worth Rs 9,200 crore.

New media accounted for 86% of deal volumes but only 35% of deal value, it said. Comparatively, traditional media deals in TV and film comprised 14% of the deal volumes but 65% of the deal value, led primarily by Bodhi Tree's investment in Viacom 18.

Private equity and venture capital comprised 61% of the deal count and 41% of the deal value in 2023, it said.

In 2022, the media and entertainment sector recorded 126 M&A deals worth Rs 50,000 crore. In the year before that, there were 118 deals worth Rs 67,200 crore.