65% of consumers in India are cancelling and resubscribing to services based on the availability of desirable content: report

Accenture has launched its Media Thrive Index to assess the impact of reinvention strategies on media and entertainment companies’ ability to succeed financially and strategically in an increasingly challenging industry.

The Media Thrive Index is a response to the findings of Accenture’s third annual 'Reinvent for Growth' global entertainment study, which surveyed 6,000 consumers across 10 countries including India about their media consumption behaviors. The study highlighted a complex landscape of challenges facing traditional media companies in which marginal strategies won’t restore them to economic or strategic health.

“While the media industry is growing, the industry players are not. This essentially means that the value is shifting elsewhere. It is amply clear that incremental actions taken with a survivalist mentality will not help media companies thrive in the future,” said Neeraj Sharma, MD and Lead for Accenture’s Media industry in Growth Markets. “For media companies, the need of the hour is to place big bets, go where consumers want to be while exploring new avenues of growth, redefining new roles in the entertainment value chain, and tapping new sources of revenue.”

The Media Thrive Index assessed 50 different strategic options for reinvention, identified from a range of initiatives launched by companies and from Accenture’s own strategic analysis. The assessment found most options so far are modest adjustments, which do not substantially alter a company’s economic profile. Only radical moves show a path for legacy media companies to secure the sound financial footing needed to thrive and sustain success.

Key findings from the study highlight some of the challenges facing media organizations:

• Tired of Browsing – More than 35% of consumers in India say they struggle to navigate between different entertainment services, apps and devices while 72% say recommended content does not match their interests.

• Serial Churners – Nearly 65% of consumers in India are cancelling and resubscribing to services based on the availability of desirable content. In 2023, 63% of consumers in India cancelled more subscriptions than the previous year.

• Shifting Preferences – Two-thirds of consumers in India consider user-generated content to be as entertaining as traditional forms of media. In all scenarios presented to consumers, such as “when I want something funny” or “when I want to relax,” social media and social video platforms were consistently picked over streaming video services as the media of choice.

The study also found opportunities for media organizations to expand beyond traditional content offerings, including aggregation platforms and lifestyle bundles. A majority (89%) of consumers in India said they would be inclined to use a single app to access all their digital services across both media and non-media categories. Additionally, Accenture projects lifestyle bundles to reach USD 3.5 trillion in consumer spending by 2030 with technology brands better positioned over traditional media brands to be the creators of these bundles.