Mobile internet services, online advertising and video streaming subscriptions will drive “strong” growth in Ireland’s entertainment and media industry over the next five years, according to a PwC report.
In its latest outlook for 2024 to 2028, the professional services giant predicts Ireland’s entertainment and media industry will grow by 2.9% per year.
As a result, Ireland’s industry will be worth €7.6 billion in 2028, up from €6.6 billion in 2023.
This growth rate is below the global average, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9% over the same five-year period, bringing industry revenues to €3.1 trillion.
The report examines sectors including connectivity services, internet advertising, music, radio, podcasts, movies, newspapers, consumer magazines and books, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, video-on-demand, traditional television and video games.
PwC said that despite economic headwinds, technological disruption and increased competition, Ireland’s entertainment and media industry will show “resilience and growth” in 2023, with total revenue up 4.8%.
However, the projected growth rate over the next five years is below the global average, primarily due to a decline in the expected growth rate of the video games segment.
“As the global entertainment and media industry continues to grow, market participants face both risks and opportunities. Changing consumer preferences and uncertainty around the ongoing impact of digital transformation and emerging technologies such as generative AI are driving a wave of business model reinvention,” said Amy Ball, partner in PwC Ireland’s entertainment and media practice.
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Conor Ford, director of the division, said the industry’s use of generative AI has so far been focused on speed and efficiency.
“Going forward, the industry will need to focus on whether generative AI can lead to greater value creation through experimentation, iteration and expansion of new solutions and processes in a safe and secure way, while complying with new EU AI law,” he said.
The report predicts that revenue from mobile internet services will reach €1.6 billion by 2028, with 5G becoming the leading mobile access technology by next year. Online advertising revenue is expected to reach €1.8 billion by the end of the period, driven by the growth of video advertising.
Meanwhile, the video-on-demand market is expected to more than double in size since 2019, reaching total revenues of €196 million in 2023. PwC forecasts that this will grow further to €299 million by 2028.