Irish media market to grow 2.7%

The Irish entertainment and media market is set to grow by 2.7% and reach more than €4.37bn in value, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) latest global entertainment and media outlook.

The research by PwC points to the majority of the growth being driven by digital sectors as the traditional media business model declines.

Internet advertising is the only segment of the media market where PwC foresees double-digit growth.

In 2011, the Irish internet advertising market was valued at €148m; this is predicted to grow to €304m in 2016.

If internet advertising achieves this growth, it will become the largest advertising channel in Ireland, representing almost 30% of the total 2016 advertising market.

PwC predicts that other digital distribution channels, such as internet access and TV subscriptions and license fees will also record growth of between 5% and 9% over the next five years.

The growth in these media channels will be driven by new consumer products, such as tablets and smart devices that have continued to sell strongly in the face of the economic downturn.

Entertainment and media partner at PwC Ireland, Susan Kilty, said the beginning of digital was over: “Entertainment and media companies have reached what we’re calling the ‘end of the digital beginning’: they’ve made the commitment to a digital future, and are now striving to make the necessary changes to their products, distribution and organisations to deliver sustainable — and profitable — growth.”

Newspaper publishing remains the largest segment of the Irish entertainment and media market valued at €717m in 2011.

PwC said the print segment continues to decline as circulation falls, leading to a decline in print advertising.

PwC predicts a 1.5% annual decrease during the next five years to €698m in 2016.

PwC believe that entertainment and media companies need to make changes to harness the rapid and irreversible changes underway in the behaviour of consumers and employees.

The head of PwC Ireland’s technology and media consulting practice, Bartley O’Connor, said: “The new world is hugely more complicated than the old world and companies have to work harder and faster to stay relevant to consumers.

“However, we’ve reached a time when talking specifically about ‘digital’ increasingly misses the point.

“As digital becomes a fully established part of structures within companies and the services offered to consumers, its rising penetration ceases to be a topic for discussion in itself.

“What matters now is how companies capitalise on it and operate within it,” he said.