2020 will see sharpest fall in global entertainment and media revenue – PwC Report
03 September 2020: Amid a global recession, 2020 will see the sharpest fall in global entertainment and media (E&M) revenue in the 21-year history of this research, with a decline of 5.6% from 2019 more than US$120bn in absolute terms, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020–2024 survey.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated and amplified ongoing shifts in consumers’ behaviour, pulling forward digital disruption and forging industry tipping points that wouldn’t have been reached for many years. The E&M world in 2020 has become more remote, more virtual, more streamed, more personal and more centred on the home than anyone anticipated at the start of the year, the PwC’s report stated.
The shockwaves from 2020 will continue to ripple through the global economy. PwC’s projections show that in 2021, E&M spending will grow by 6.4%. Looking across the five-year forecast period, from 2019 to 2024, we’re forecasting overall revenue growth running at a 2.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
With people staying at home, the over-the-top (OTT) video has seen global revenue surge by 26.0% in 2020. And it will keep rising strongly in the coming years, almost doubling in size from US$46.4bn in 2019 to US$86.8bn in 2024. The launch of the Disney+ streaming service in late 2019 could hardly have been better timed: having projected between 60mn and 90mn paying subscribers by 2024, Disney+ reached 60.5mn in early August 2020.
Amid reports of book sales booming during lockdowns, total global consumer books revenue is projected to continue its upward trajectory, rising at 1.4% compounded annually between 2019 and 2024 to reach US$64.7 billion.
Live physical events is another long-standing segment looking to adapt to the reality of an accelerated digital world. With concert halls, exhibition centres and stadiums closed for much of the year, some live events are using digital platforms to stay connected to their audiences.
Werner Ballhaus, Global Entertainment & Media Industry Leader at PwC, comments ” 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.”
www.pwc.com/outlook.
