PwC Revises Global Entertainment & Media Outlook

NEW YORK: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has revised its Global Entertainment and Media Outlook for 2011-2015 for the first time, citing weak consumer spending but a steady television market.

PwC says that "the slower economy is adversely affecting advertising, but by no means uniformly. The print media are the most vulnerable because they tend to be more cyclically sensitive than other sectors and because their declining audience share exacerbates the impact of the weak economy. Television, radio, out-of-home and cinema are holding up reasonably well while Internet advertising is booming."

Comparing forecasts by advertising segment, the updated Outlook has comparable growth estimates for the Internet and radio, lower forecasts for television and out-of-home, and higher forecasts for print and cinema.

TV viewing and advertising are benefiting from social networking, according to PwC, stimulating interest, and live viewing, in shows. In the U.S., subscriptions are down and cable companies are introducing discount packages to retain subscribers. In the U.K. and Italy, however, the subscription market is doing well despite their weak economies. The subscription market is strong in China and India, with India’s surging DTH market expected to come in a bit  higher than originally projected.