Annual PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2005 - 2009 released today.
The Australian entertainment and media sector grew by 10.5 per cent to $20.8 billion in 2004, driven by a strong economy and a compelling range of entertainment and media alternatives.
PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that by 2009 the Australian sector will be worth $29 billion, having grown at seven per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate).
"Spending will remain strong in many parts of the sector as Australians reward themselves with small indulgences such as DVDs, magazines and interactive games," said Steve Bosiljevac, leader for entertainment & media, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"We expect growth to slow a little over the next four years due to slightly higher interest rates, rising fuel prices and falling consumer confidence."
Matthew Liebmann, PricewaterhouseCoopers director and Outlook author said: "One of the great changes facing the industry over the next five years is the rise of amateur content, in the form of home movies, blogs, podcasts and digital photos.
"The challenge for professional content creators is to integrate their content with the amateurs’ for a fee. Songs purchased from legitimate download services and added as the soundtrack to home movies is just one opportunity."
Steve Bosiljevac said: "An emerging trend is the rise of what we call ‘content fodder’ - when entertainment content is used by organisations to sell other products: Apple uses its iTunes download service to drive iPod sales; deep discount retailers loss-lead with DVDs, CDs, interactive games and books to drive store traffic and sales.
"The next five years will bring a changing of the guard within the sector. While continuing to perform strongly, the growth of recent stars such as DVDs, subscription TV and internet access will reach maturity. At the same time, emerging products such as online and wireless gaming, digital and mobile music, online film rental subscriptions and video on demand will begin to step up."
Matthew Liebmann said: "Australia’s entertainment and media organisations should be encouraged to experiment with new technology today in order to achieve first mover advantage tomorrow."
Liebmann cited online film rental subscriptions as an example. "Today, online film rental subscriptions combine the internet for ordering with snail mail for delivery. Tomorrow, first movers will use their customer databases and knowledge to offer digitally-distributed films."
The Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2005 - 2009 examines the issues that will influence the local entertainment and media landscape and forecasts the likely impacts on consumer spending, advertising revenues and industry structure over the coming five years.
It includes comprehensive analysis across 11 industry segments: filmed entertainment, free-to-air television, subscription television, radio, out-of-home advertising, newspapers, magazines, recorded music, internet, interactive games and books.
Share of Consumer Spending
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2005 - 2009
Share of Advertising
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2005 - 2009
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Contacts
For media inquiries:
Bethany Poore
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Tel: + 61 2 8266 3473
Mobile: 0407 576 501
Email: bethany.poore@au.pwc.com
