Media sector set for growth

Internet and TV advertising will provide a boost to global entertainment and media (E&M) expenditure over the next few years, a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has suggested.

The business services firm's new Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2012–2016 forecasts that the sector will rise in value to $2.1tr worldwide in 2016, up from $1.6tr in 2011. This implies annual growth of +5.7% over the five-year period.

PwC predicted that E&M growth will lag behind GDP expansion, which is forecast to average +6.6% over the five years to 2016. The report cited the general shift to lower-cost digital distribution of media content as a key reason for this underperformance.

Further, PwC suggested that the industry is in the process of adapting to the "new normal", with expenditure shifting not just from print media to digital media, but from fixed-line to mobile consumption, and from mature markets to fast-growth economies in the global south.

Commenting on the report, Phil Stokes, lead entertainment and media partner at PwC, said: "E&M companies have reached what we're calling the 'end of the digital beginning': they've made the commitment to a digital future, and are now striving to make the necessary changes to their products, distribution and organisations to deliver sustainable – and profitable – growth."

...............Nevertheless, EMEA is set to retain its position as the world's largest entertainment and media region, with $678bn spent there in 2016. North America will also remain in second place, rising +5.3% per year to reach $658bn, while Asia-Pacific will hit $651bn following annual growth of +7.1%. 

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