PwC has launched its 14th annual Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook Report, deducing the industry must ‘have a go’ to grow.
“Traditional media companies will have to get their growth from non-traditional areas, with streaming radio an example of that, says Editor of the report Megan Brownlow.”
“Some of the more innovative things being done overseas in radio include establishing self-service advertising platforms that allow small business owners to book the ad space, write the text and use templates for the display or the voiceover, the music, and so on,” Ms Brownlow said. “They’re really taking the friction out of the relationship.”
“Static formats will be flat or even negative.”
The report forecasts the Australian entertainment and media market will grow to $43.4 billion by 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 4.2 percent and consumer spending on entertainment and media products is forecast to grow to $27.1 billion by 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 3.8 percent.
Advertising spending to reach $16.4 billion by 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 4.8 percent and by 2019 internet advertising will account for more than 50 percent of he total Australian advertising market.
The time has come for the Australian media and entertainment industry to innovate and ‘have a go,’ with the headwinds facing traditional media players set to continue through to 2019, according to the report.
“…have a go or face terminal pressures on revenues and margins,” says Brownlow.
“The industry is awake to the need to do things differently, and although it’s important to recognise the impact and role of disruptive technologies, true innovation extends to service, relationships, content, distribution, business models and funding,” she says. “Look at what the traditional television and radio companies are doing with streaming services, or the agencies with brand-funded content – all of these are digitally supported but they represent much more fundamental shifts in business model.”
“In terms of growth, when you take out spending on wireless, broadband,mobile internet and internet advertising, the rest of the sector will be doing well to keep pace with inflation over the next five years – so now is the time for industry participants, particularly the traditional players, to innovate themselves back into growth,” he said.
Brownlow believes the plethora of consumer data available through connected devices and wearable technology will be a boon for advertisers.
“Over the last decade we have seen a fascinating shift from PCs, to mobile, to now wearable’s, the connected car, and in the very near future the ‘connected home’ – all of this has and will continue to generate a rich vein of data for advertisers,” she said.
The Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook Launch will be broadcast live on the 18th of June at 3:30pm (AEST) and will be available to replay from 19th June 2015. Click here to register.