E&M growth goes OTT

After falling 2.3% in 2020, total global entertainment and media (E&M) revenue rose a strong 10.4% in 2021, resuming its trend of outpacing global growth. In 2022, the $2.5 trillion global industry is expected to grow 7.3%, and it should notch a 4.6% CAGR through 2026….

The spending power of the global population is growing arithmetically. But the choices people have among streaming services (and the stated goal of E&M companies to sell them) seem to be growing geometrically. The biggest business stories of 2021 included the launch of Peacock, the debut of Paramount Plus and the organic growth of Disney+ (87.6 million subscribers and counting). In India, where Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Zee account for most OTT revenues, more than 40 other players are active.

Distributors are focusing on more local content – and going even more local within national markets. The dramatic recovery in cinema revenues is being fuelled by growth in developing markets like India. Bollywood films are facing fierce competition from ‘Tollywood’ movies. Regional (mostly

) films such as RRR; Pushpa: The Rise; and Kolar Gold Fields (KGF): Chapter 2 have been major hits. RRR, an action epic with a $72 million budget, set the record for first-day box office revenues in India when it premiered in March 2022.

From ‘Perspectives from the Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2022-26’, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Business Journal