Is Indian Media Really Competitive -Analyzing the Market Using Economics

The growth of the media industry in today’s times has become a good enough barometer of economic development and in the Indian context it is exemplified by the rapid surge in the number of private media corporations post the 1991 Economic Reforms ; wherein options available to the Indian consumer grew by leaps and bounds with the public broadcaster, Doordarshan being forced to change ways to compete in the new age. Likewise, the number of newspapers catering to specific content and region have grown in addition to the number of television channels and cable TV providers. In light of the above, the economics of media has changed considerably over a period of time demanding a review of the media market structure, which is the main objective of this paper.This paper is a collaborative effort combining the conceptual frameworks that exist in economics and media (with specific reference to organization of media) and to study the market structure in India media through the lens of economics. The study becomes relevant because given the emergence of new media avenues, there is an assumption that it is a ‘free market’ where anyone, anywhere can share information on any platform (this has also increased after the growth of social media). This also raises the question whether viewers really have many options or are they made to choose different faces of the same media organization (limited from the perspective of ideology and impact). This hypothesis is put to test in this paper by considering the Indian media’s transformation over the decades and we find through economic analysis, that it is not a free market as it is made out to be and has barriers of entry in terms of content reach, finances, business models and relevance