The global media and entertainment industry is predicted to contract by 5.6 per cent during 2020 according to the annual Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020–2024 report by PWC.
According to the analysts, amid a global recession, 2020 will see the sharpest fall in global E&M revenue in the 21-year history of its research, dropping more than $120 billion in absolute terms. In 2009, the last year the global economy shrank, total global E&M spending fell by just 3.0 per cent.
However, the company does predict the industry’s fundamental growth trajectory remains strong, and the report states that after the challenges of 2020, it expects the industry to reassume its growth, predicting that in 2021 entertainment and media spending will grow by 6.4 per cent.
Across the five-year forecast, PWC forecasts overall revenue growth running at a 2.8 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
With the surge in OTT revenues brought about by the worldwide lockdown, PWC predicts they will almost double in size from $46.4 billion in 2019 to $86.8 billion in 2024.
Not surprisingly given the rise of streaming, global data consumption is another beneficiary of the digital acceleration powered by Covid-19. It will jump by 33.8 per cent in 2020, and will more than double from 1.9 quadrillion megabytes (MB) in 2019 to 4.9 quadrillion MB in 2024.
Werner Ballhaus, global entertainment and media industry leader at PwC, said: “It’s clear that Covid-19 has accelerated consumers’ transition to digital consumption and triggered disruptive change – both positive and negative – across many forms of media. Yet it’s equally evident that the E&M industry’s underlying strengths and appeal to consumers remain as strong as ever.
“While there will still be challenges for E&M companies as we move beyond the pandemic, the digital migration that it has pulled forward will also generate opportunities in all segments – not only those that have benefited from its impacts to date.”
The full report is available to download at PWC’s website.
