Practice Area: Entertainment & Media

Bollywood Calling

Cross pollination and crossover markets abound in the media and entertainment space. India's film and television industry generated revenues of US$7.7 billion in 2008 and the figure is expected to top US$13 billion by 2015, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study.

The figures are dwarfed by the major Hollwood studio's total annual revenue of US$ 40 billion, but the film audience on the subcontinent dwarfs its western counterpart. Last year, over three billion movie tickets were sold in India, compared to 1.5 billion in the United States, according to a Crisil media and entertainment report.

We have seen a greater number of global teams as more animation and post production work is being done in India. Increasingly, the Indian public has developed a taste for cutting edge entertainment and greater sophistication. A sizeable market for US players to step in and entertain. Apart from traditional theaters and television, multiple avenues are now available across mobile devices, video games, interactive options, and online delivery.

In November 2010, Hollywood and Bollywood, the world's largest movie industries, signed a pact that will boost cooperation for producing and distributing films. The historic declaration between the City of Los Angeles and the Indian film industry strengthens commercial ties and will move to increase the number of Indian productions that are filmed in Southern California, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) said in a statement.

The two industries account for the majority of the world's cinema, and cooperation between them has already grown strongly in recent years.