Introduction The Indian Media and Entertainment industry continues to grow at a healthy pace.

The rising rate of investments by the private sector and foreign media and entertainment (M&E) majors have improved India's entertainment infrastructure to a great extent. Producing more than 1,000 films yearly, India is the largest producer of films in the world and there are over 500 Television (TV) channels in the country. Digitisation and technological improvements across the value chain have provided the required impetus for improving the quality of content and its ability to reach the masses. Growing broadband penetration is expected to attract more content online. As the second-largest mobile telephony market in the world, India has provided a new platform for content delivery. The Government, has also taken various positive measures including liberalization of the foreign investment regime and is currently working on other policy initiatives to boost the Media and Entertainment industry. Television The television industry is estimated to grow by 12.9 per cent cumulatively over 2009-14, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Growing popularity of the direct-to-home (DTH) services is an interesting concept in the Indian television industry. By 2012, Indian Railways will redefine the travelling experience of passengers on premium trains by providing live television services on-board. Discovery has received permission from Government of India to launch four new channels, but their launch in India is expected to take more than a year. Discovery Kids, Military Channel, ID and Discovery Home and Health are the channels that have received the permission. Music The music industry is projected to benefit from consumption through mobile value added services (VAS) and phase three of FM radio licensing. It is expected to grow from Rs 950 (US$ 205.38 million) crore in 2010 to CAGR of 17.6 per cent to touch Rs 2,140 crore (US$ 462.69 million) in 2015. Radio Many radio stations are encouraging their radio jockeys (RJs) to reach out to listeners using social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and Orkut in order to build up a fan base for the radio station. This allows the listeners to engage with their favorite RJs even after the airtime. Furthermore, the FM stations have their fan page where the listeners can connect with the station. My FM is one such station which has taken these initiatives and has elicited an extremely favorable response. Radio Citys online venture Planetradiocity.com has launched their internet radio station some time back.

In order to increase the reach of private radio channels, the Union Cabinet has approved eauction of licences under the third-phase expansion of FM radio. Digitisation Reliance MediaWorks (RMW) has partnered with visual effects house Digital Domain to create a digital production pipeline that will make it possible for the company to work on major Hollywood projects. Reliance will have possession of the studios in Mumbai and London, while Digital Domain will manage the facilities. Airtel digital TV, the DTH service by Bharti Airtel recently announced that it has entered into a partnership with Viacom 18-Colors to launch its first subscription service offering 24|7 movie and video content. Print and Publishing The Indian print media industry is expected to grow by 9.6 per cent over the period 2010-15.The newspaper industry is also projected to perform well for the next five years growing at a CAGR of 10.1 per cent according to a report titled India Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011 by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Internet India is one of the fastest growing internet markets around the world. The advent of 3G services, availability of low rental data plans and low cost handsets have enabled a lot of users to access internet through their mobile phones. Mobile internet users are likely to touch the 46 million mark by September 2011, according to Mobile Internet in India report published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and market research leader Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB). The report also shows that Mobile internet usage has been witnessing a 15 per cent growth quarter on quarter. Internet advertising industry is projected to grow from Rs 6 billion (US$ 129.75 million) in 2009 to Rs 15 billion(US$ 324.33 million) in 2014 showing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent over the next five years. With increasing spread of mobile and broadband services and with the arrival of modern technologies like 3G, the industry might even witness a higher growth rate than what has been projected so far. Recent Investments The India Innovation Fund (IIF), an early stage venture capital fund, has invested in SureWaves MediaTech, a Bengaluru-based start-up operating in the digital media-technology space. IIF and Accel Partners have invested Rs 10 crore (US$ 2.16 million) as part of Series A investment. The Bengaluru-based company InMobi has acquired US-based Sprout, which creates rich media mobile advertising, for an undisclosed amount in cash and stock.

Government initiatives Government has permitted 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the advertising sector through the automatic route and the government has also liberalised the conditions for 100 per cent FDI in the film industry. Indias largest public sector broadcaster, Prasar Bharati is set to expand All India Radios FM operations to 210 new cities and towns. That would make it the largest player in the space. Road Ahead Backed by increasing media intake and increased advertising spending, the Media and entertainment industry in India is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 per cent to touch Rs 1,27,500 crore (US$ 28 billion) by 2015, according to a report by KPMG and a leading industrial body.

Entertainment Companies of India

Entertainment industry in India encompasses the film and television industry. One of the fastest growing sectors in India is the entertainment industry. Initially there was a single television network owned by the state but now there are about 300 regional,national and local channels. The entertainment companies have pooled 6 million people for livelihood. Television and movies are a stress release booster and reaches out to about 100 million households in India. The list below will provide the names of the best entertainment companies in India.

Top Entertainment Companies of India:

Sony Pictures :
This is one of the leading entertainment companies in India. The company specializes in Movies,Television,Home Entertainment,Games and Mobile. Sony Pictures Entertainment is the subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. Sony Pictures is available on the World Wide Web and is provides entertainment to about 130 countries.

Zee Televisons:
This major entertainment company of India reaches to about 500 million viewers across the world. The flagship channel of the company is Zee TV which was launched in the year 1992 keeps tab with 167 countries in the world.This channel is the key driver of the growth of cable and satellite industry in India for the last 16 years.

Star TV :
This is renowned and significant name among the Indian Entertainment companies. The variant channels of the entertainment company are Star Plus,Star One,Star Movies,Star Jalsha,Star News,Star World,Star World,Star 57827 and many others.

Pritish Nandy Communications :

This entertainment company of India is one among the first corporate entities in the Bollywood industry. This company was the first one among the media and entertainment companies in India to go public in the year 2000.It has set new standards in Bollywood with the Indian movies like Kaante, Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi and many others. It also some TV programs in its kitty like Mr Gayaaab, Maneka' ark etc.

Cinevistas :
The company is the pioneer in the entertainment industry in India. The company is 23 year old and specializes in a wide array of the entertainment and media industry. More than 3000 hours of television softwares is owned and created by this company. It has 10 hours for programming every week on the channels like Sahara One,MTV, Sony TV etc.

Sahara One Media And Entertainment Ltd.:

It is one among the largest conglomerates of entertainment and renders services in Television arena and Motion Pictures.It is one of the biggest movie production houses of India in marketing,distributing of the motion pictures in the regional languages and Hindi. The three television channels of the company are Filmy(a Hindi movie channel),Firangi and Sahara One.

Saregama India Ltd :

It is one of the premier entertainment companies in India in the arena of Entertainment and music space. It is one among the biggest music archive in the nation. The integrated entertainment company is associated with movies,television software,home video etc.

UTV Software Communications Ltd.:

This entertainment company of India is the major Media and Entertainment company in India. The company is a topper in TV Content,gaming,Motion Pictures etc. It markets the television programmes in different languages.

Balaji Telefilms Ltd.:

It ranks among the most successful and established media companies. It is also the content provider of fictions. It has given the block busters like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, Kasauti Zindagi Kay etc.The company is the provider of famous software of television entertainment for multiple Indian languages.

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.:

The company has made a remarkable growth in the Indian Film industry. It is synonymous with the new way of Indain Cinema. The company is one of the leading Movie Distribution and Production Company in the country. Some of the releases by the production houses are Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya,Golmaal and many others.