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Hey,
I have been getting constant messages on LinkedIn asking:
“Is influencer marketing dead?”
“Should I start an influencer marketing agency now?”
My answer to all of them is:
“Influencer marketing agencies aren’t dying, but they’re losing their grip because traditional media companies aren’t just booking campaigns anymore... they’re buying the networks that run them.”
The logic is simple: influencer marketing in India is booming (although some Instagram creators will say otherwise)
According to EY, spends are set to nearly double from ₹2.3 - 2.5k crores in 2024 to almost ₹4k crores by 2026.
If influence is the new media, then owning supply is the new control.
The Big Acquisitions
Saregama → Pocket Aces
- First bought a 51.8% stake for ₹174 crores in Nov 2023, then upped it to ~90% in March 2025.
- Total investment: ₹300+ crores.
- Pocket Aces owns FilterCopy, Dice Media, and Clout.
- Revenue slipped to ₹88.6 crores in FY24 (from ₹102.7 cr in FY23).
- Despite that, Saregama paid 3x revenue because they’re betting on long-term creator IP, not short-term cash flow.
NODWIN Gaming (Nazara) → Trinity Gaming
- Acquired in Nov 2024 for ₹24 crores.
- Trinity manages 1,000+ gaming creators.
- Revenue fell to ₹24.4 crores in FY24.
- Founders stayed on, which usually helps retain creators post-deal.
One Digital Entertainment → Acquired for ₹180 crores
- One of India’s earliest MCNs, managing creators across music, comedy, and lifestyle.
- Proves there’s appetite across verticals, not just gaming or youth content.
Build vs Buy
Not everyone’s writing cheques. Some prefer building their own:
Zee Media → Zeefluence (launched March 2025). A platform that gives brands influencer amplification across TV, digital, and print.
Disney Star → Star Creators Network (IPL 2024). Instead of just social collabs, they plugged creators into on-air content itself.
Broadcasters with strong in-house marketing muscle can build, but music labels, gaming, and entertainment companies often acquire to grow.
Why Media Wants MCNs
Let’s talk economics to understand this:
- YouTube pays creators 55% of long-form ad revenue.
- MCNs typically keep 10–40% of that, depending on the services offered.
- Add brand deals, management fees (10–25%), plus bundling with TV/OTT ad sales.
Owning an MCN lets media companies capture ALL of these layers instead of giving margin away to agencies.
How They’re Using Creators
This isn’t just about extra Instagram posts.
Star Sports tapped creators to support live IPL coverage, blending UGC with broadcast, and JioHotstar leaned on creator campaigns to push premium sports subscriptions (e.g., Wimbledon 2025).
The shift that's happening here is that creators are no longer just “campaign add-ons”, they’re being woven into core programming strategy.
The Retention Puzzle
The big question here is, do creators leave after an acquisition?
Not really.
Trinity’s founders stayed under NODWIN, which helped them keep the trust.
Pocket Aces continues to run independently under Saregama, giving the creators the money and freedom.
Retention works because founders stay motivated (deal structures usually demand it), and creators get mainstream distribution in return.
The bigger challenge isn’t churn... It’s whether traditional media culture can blend with fast-moving creator ecosystems.
Market Reality
- India is YouTube’s biggest market globally.
- The creator space is fragmented, which makes consolidation inevitable.
- Digital ad spend is growing 20–25% CAGR through 2026, already surpassing TV in several categories.
So for media, owning MCNs means guaranteed inventory and first-party data in a world where cookies are vanishing.
What’s Next
Expect more ₹50–200 crore acquisitions, especially in:
- Regional MCNs
- Gaming/Esports collectives
- Niche vertical networks (fashion, parenting, vernacular content)
But it’s not just about the size of the creator roster anymore. The advantage will come from cross-platform monetization and data integration.
Risks
The usual suspects here will be:
- creator churn if integration feels heavy-handed
- difficulty measuring across TV + OTT + social campaigns
- harmonizing revenue shares during transition
Another thing to watch will be: regulation.
If India enforces stricter rules on influencer transparency and revenue disclosures, MCNs may have to rethink payout models.
Final Thought
The land grab is on.
Some will buy, some will build, and some agencies will get squeezed in the middle.
Either way, the next phase of influencer marketing in India won’t be about who runs the best campaign. It’ll be about who owns the pipeline.
Leeds1888 TL;DR
India’s creator economy is consolidating, media houses & MCNs are buying up influence.
Independence for creators is shrinking, but scale for platforms & networks is growing.
AI avatars aren’t replacing humans yet, but they’re becoming part of the takeover.
The real question: in 5 years, will your favorite creator still be theirs or a network’s?
What to Watch / Listen
Watch: The mesmerizing BTS shots of Lalbaugcha Raja’s idol-making… every modak, crown, and diya captured in real-time.
Read: A feature on eco-friendly Ganesha idols, which are immensely creative, conscious, and, this year, is a real movement.
Hear: A Spotify playlist of iconic Ganesh Bhajans mixed with modern remixes which are perfect for both your puja at home and that festive vibe.
See you on Saturday,
Vipul Agrawal | CEO & Founder, Mugafi.
Leeds1888.
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