PWC Media Outlook for 2020-2024

PwC has released their PwC Media Outlook for 2020-2024 which examines the impact of COVID-19 this year as well as projected ramifications across the next three years. The report looks at Media in terms of consumption habits, consumer revenue and advertising revenue and the industry as a whole.

Key takeouts from the PWC Media Outlook include:

• The Australian entertainment and media industry is set to contract in 2020, with advertising revenue showing a decline of 11.3%. This is primarily due to economic pressures on marketing budgets and limits placed on industries due to the pandemic (eg. Travel)
• However, there is some optimism with forecasts for 2024 expecting advertising revenue to grow to $17.9 billion in 2024 at compound annual growth rate of 1.37% a year.
• Across key channels, the Outlook reported:
  • FTA Television: Strong viewership was maintained through COVID-19 driven by news and local reality programs. However, ad revenue dropped in 2020 by 13.9%.
  • Subscription TV: Subscription TV is changing consumer behaviour and expectations with consumer revenue expected to surpass advertising revenue in the forecast period. This is driven by the diversity of available subscriptions including Netflix, Kayo, Stan, Disney+, Apple TV+, YouTube Premium, Binge and Amazon Prime, as well as a rise in Australians paying for news content.
  • Newspapers: Publishers are seeing an industry-wide focus on digital transformation both due to online consumption of media and to drive monetization through digital subscriptions and paywalls – with digital subscription revenues to grow to $535 million in 2024 at 11.93% a year.
  • Audio: Podcasts are steadily growing even during COVID-19, both in monthly listeners and advertising revenue. Music streaming is also expected to surge during the forecast period.
  • Out of Home: While OOH was heavily impacted during COVID due to lockdowns and self-quarantine, the industry in well positioned to bounce back with people eager to be out and about once restrictions lifted.
  • Gaming & eSports: Gaming & eSports was an attractive form of entertainment during COVID due to more time spent online, sporting hiatuses and more people looking for ways to connect with friends, family and coworkers. Australia is also one of the highest per capita spenders on video games in the world with $3.17B revenue in 2019 and forecast of $4.4B in 2024.