Irish entertainment and media industry to grow to €7.6 billion by 2028 – The Irish Times

Mobile internet services, online advertising and video streaming subscriptions will drive a “strong” expansion of Ireland’s entertainment and media industry over the next five years, according to a PwC report.

The Irish entertainment and media industry is expected to grow by 2.9 percent annually, the professional services giant predicts in its latest outlook, which covers the period 2024-2028.

As a result, Irish industry will be worth €7.6 billion in 2028, up from €6.6 billion in 2023.

The growth rate is below the global average, which is expected to be an average annual growth rate of 3.9 percent over the same five years, bringing industry sales to EUR 3.1 trillion.

The report examines sectors such as connectivity services, internet advertising, music, radio and podcasts, cinema, newspapers, consumer magazines and books, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, video-on-demand, traditional television and video games.

Despite economic headwinds, technological disruption and increasing competition, Ireland's entertainment and media industry demonstrated “resilience and growth” in 2023, PwC said, with total revenue increasing by 4.8 percent.

However, forecast growth over the next five years remains below the global average, primarily due to expected slower growth in the video game segment.

“As the global entertainment and media industry continues to grow, market participants face risks and opportunities. Changing consumer preferences and uncertainty around the ongoing impact of digital transformation and new and emerging technologies such as generative AI are driving a wave of business model redesign,” said Amy Ball, partner in PwC Ireland’s entertainment and media practice.

Conor Forde, head of the practice, said the industry's use of generative AI has so far focused on speed and efficiency.

“Looking ahead, the industry needs to focus on how generative AI can create greater value by experimenting, iterating and scaling new solutions and processes in a safe manner and in line with the new EU AI law,” he said.

The report predicts that revenues from mobile internet services will reach €1.6 billion by 2028 and that 5G will be the main mobile access technology next year. Revenues from online advertising will reach €1.8 billion by the end of the period, driven by the growth of video advertising.

The video-on-demand market has more than doubled since 2019, reaching total revenues of 196 million euros in 2023. According to PwC forecasts, this figure will continue to rise to 299 million euros by 2028.