Tier 2+ Cities Drive Growth Of Interactive Media Market

Chennai: The $440 million interactive media market is estimated to grow at 45 per cent CAGR till FY2030. Around 700 million smartphone users, especially the social media consumers coming from tier 2+ locations are driving the growth.

Over 70 per cent of India’s 500 million social media consumers, and roughly the same number of digital transactors, come from tier 2+ locations.

India’s digital entertainment landscape has expanded beyond traditional music and video streaming, audiobooks and podcasts, short form videos and online dating platforms, to emerging localized formats such as micro dramas, audio streaming, vernacular short form videos, social discovery apps, astro, devotional services and AI companion apps.

Kuku FM, Quick TV, Pocket FM, Moj, Josh, FRND, Flutrr, AstroTalk, Astrosage, Rumik AI, Replika AI are some of the platforms.

This evolution has been shaped by the distinct needs and traits of India beyond the metros and is driven by an appetite for bite-sized, regional language, participative, mobile-first content, and connected experiences.

Growing appetite for video streaming, coupled with declining attention span, has contributed to the success of the micro drama format in India. The market is expected to reach $125 million in FY2026 and is projected to exceed $1 billion by FY2030.

While over half of the viewership comes from metro and tier 1 cities at present, the tier 2+ audience base is geared to expand in the next 2-3 years. Over 80 per cent of the revenue is subscription-led, indicating room for ad-based models to emerge.

Audio streaming platforms capitalise on the time that consumers spend away from their screens. They have grown at a staggering rate between 2022 and 2025 and are expected to command a $300 million market by 2030. With 14 million monthly average users, and an average listening time of 95 minutes per day, audio streaming platforms are showing all the signs of growing into a mainstream format.

AI companions like Rumik AI, Bezu AI, and ChaiMate are building Hinglish and vernacular language models. Use cases span virtual partners offering emotional support, tutoring and language learning, wellness coaching, astrology consultations, and parenting assistance.

Astrological and devotional tech services stand out as a primarily urban-first category, with high uptake among Gen Z, millennial, and NRI segments.

A pandemic-induced demand for ‘community connect’ apps and the TikTok ban in India made way for the growth of user-generated short-form content in regional languages and social discovery platforms.