Following a year of decline in 2009, the global entertainment and media market, as a whole, will grow by 5% compounded annually for the entire forecast period to 2014 reaching $1.7 trillion, up from $1.3 trillion in 2009, according to the latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2010-2014, from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Fastest growing region throughout the forecast period is Latin America growing at 8.8% compound annual rate (CAR) during the next 5 years to $77 billion in 2014. Asia Pacific is next at 6.4% CAR through to 2014 to $475 billion. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) follows at 4.6% to $581 billion in 2014. The largest, but slowest growing market is North America growing at 3.9% CAR taking it from $460 billion in 2009 to $558 billion in 2014.

Consumers are embracing new media experiences with staggering speed. The advancing digital transformation is driving audience fragmentation to a level not previously seen. However, the current wave of change is of a different magnitude from previous ones both in its speed and its simultaneous impact across all segments.

Advertising revenues have been particularly hit by the turbulent markets and while there are signs of a rebound, this is still fragile in nature. Spend is unlikely to return to former levels. By 2014, the US advertising spend is expected to still be 9% below its level in 2006. Overall, global advertising will increase at a 4.2% CAR from $406 billion in 2009 to $498 billion in 2014. Internet advertising will join television in 2014 as the only media with spending in excess of $100 billion.

Consumer feedback and usage provides the only reliable guide to the commercial viability of products and services, and the global consumer base is being used as a test-bed for new offerings and consumption modes. However, as responses are still evolving it is up to the industry to anticipate and identify where they are heading and pre-empt the needs and wants of consumers. PwC believes that three themes will emerge from changing consumer behaviour:

The rising power of mobility and devices Advances in technology and products will see increasingly converged, multi-functional and interoperable mobile devices come of age as a consumption platform by the end of 2011. Consumers are increasingly demanding “ubiquity”, with content flowing across different devices to support ever-greater interactivity and convenience. They are using mobile in new ways, and downloading ever-increasing numbers of mobile applications (“apps”) to support their lifestyles. The ability to consume and interact with content anywhere, anytime – and to share and discuss that content experience with other people via social networks – will become an increasingly integral part of people’s lives.

The growing dominance of the Internet experience over all content consumption Using the Internet is now one of the great unifying experiences of the current era for consumers everywhere—and their expectation of Internet-style interactivity and access to content will continue to expand across media consumption in every segment. This trend is initially at its clearest in television. Equally, people are already consuming magazines and newspapers on Internet-enabled tablets, and streaming personalised music services such as Pandora in preference to buying physical CDs or even digital downloads.

Increasing engagement and readiness to pay for content – driven by improved consumption experiences and convenience Ongoing fragmentation means that media offerings will need greater consumer engagement and quality to get themselves heard - and paid. Consumers are more willing to pay for content when accompanied by convenience and flexibility in usage, personalisation , and/or a differentiated experience that cannot be created elsewhere. Local relevance will also become important once again as an aspect of convenience and relevance.

Digital migration and the changes in consumer behaviour have put extreme pressure on existing business models. This results in individual companies searching for where to position themselves in the new digital world. Partnering with other organisations is becoming imperative in order to create viable commercial content offerings while sharing the costs and risks. Increasingly potential partners are being found from a diverse set of industries.
Whatever the partnership or collaboration we see seven critical factors for operating succesfully in the new value chain:
- Strategic flexibility
- Delivery of engagement and reationship with the customer through the consumption experience
- Economics of scale and scope
- Speed of decision-making and execution, with the appetite to experiment and fail
- Agility in talent management
- Ability to monetise brand/rights across platforms
- Strong capabilities in partnership structuring and M&A targeting and integration

More numbers
There were 12 countries in 2009 with entertainment and media spending above $20 billion, led by the United States at $428 billion and Japan at $164 billion. Of the leading countries, the People’s Republic of China will be by far the fastest growing with a projected 12% compound annual increase, fuelled by a vibrant economy and large increases in broadband penetration that in turn propel other segments. Japan will be the slowest growing of the leading countries at 2.8% compounded annually.

Internet access is a key driver of spending in most segments. Increased broadband penetration will boost wired access while growing smartphone penetration and wireless network upgrades will drive mobile access. Spending on wired and mobile Internet access will rise from $228 billion in 2009 to $351 billion in 2014.

PwC expects a relatively flat market in aggregate global advertising and consumer/end-user spending in 2010, improved growth in 2011 and a return to mid-single-digit gains during 2014. Overall global advertising will increase at a 4.2% CAR from $406 billion in 2009 to $498 billion in 2014. Overall consumer/end-user spending will rise from $688 billion in 2009 to $842 billion in 2014, a 4.1% compound annual increase.

Globally, the video game market will grow from $52.5 billion in 2009 to $86.8 billion in 2014, growing at a compound growth rate of 10.6 per cent. This will make it the second fastest-growing segment of E&M behind internet advertising wired and mobile, but will be the fastest-growing consumer/end user segment ahead of TV subscriptions and license fees.

The global television subscription and license fee market will increase from $185.9 billion in 2009 to $258.1 billion in 2014, a CAGR of 6.8%. This will outpace TV advertising, which will grow at a CAGR of 5.7%. The biggest component of this market is subscription spending and this will increase at 7.5% CAR to $210.8 billion in 2014. Asia Pacific will be the fastest-growing region with a 10% compound annual increase rising to $47.1 billion in 2014 from $29.2 billion in 2009.

Total global spending on consumer magazines fell by 10.6% in 2009. We project an additional 2.7% decrease in 2010, a flat market in 2011, and modest growth during 2012–14. As a result, spending will total $74 billion in 2014, up 0.7% compounded annually from $71.5 billion in 2009.

Electronic educational books will grow at a CAGR of 36.5% globally throughout the forecast period yet will still only account for less than 6% of global spend on educational books in 2014.

Story filed 17.06.20