Print publishers will cede ground to new media over the next four years, predicts PricewaterhouseCoopers in a new report, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009.
PwC, which numbers among its accounting and consultancy clientele the aggressively marketing-oriented Internet Advertising Bureau, predicts that growth of broadband services and the internet as a whole will rocket the value of the global entertainment and media industries to $1.8 trillion (€1.48tr; £986.84bn) by 2009.
The report calculates that spending on media and entertainment around the world grew 8% to $1.3 trillion in 2004 - the largest gain since 2000. Fastest growing medium was the internet, with online advertising up 36% and access revenues up 21%, fuelled by the rise and rise of broadband.
The web medium will continue to outpace other media, as more consumers and businesses convert to broadband, which in turn will trigger a surge in online shopping. While PwC's Ouija board foretells that internet advertising will increase by 16% to $32bn in 2009, as marketers take advantage of the many new media formats made possible by broadband.
As to long-term global advertising growth, the beancounters predict six per cent annual compound growth to $477bn through to 2009.
TV will still attract the bulk of future global adspend, expanding 6% annually to $186bn - almost six times the size of online ad revenues. Growth among newspapers and radio will trail electronic media, respectively notching 4.3% and 4.7% , although losing share to the small-screens.
PwC also believes consumers will spend more on internet access, subscription TV and video games but less on filmed entertainment as the DVD market reaches saturation.
Data sourced from MediaGuardian.co.uk; additional content by WARC staff
