Media and Entertainment Industry to surpass $1trillion valuation in 2024

By Zion Rufus

The media and entertainment industry are on track to achieve a groundbreaking milestone, projected to surpass a $1 trillion valuation in 2024. Insights shared by Omdia’s senior research director, María Rua Aguete, during the Future Trends Report panel at Miami’s Content Americas conference, indicate a comprehensive view of the trillion-dollar landscape unfolding within the sector.

The significant increase in valuation is attributed to various segments within the industry. Online video, contributing $345 billion, cinema with $41 billion, music at $44 billion, and games making a substantial $255 billion all play vital roles in propelling the industry forward. This diversity showcases the intricate interplay of consumer preferences, technological advancements, and evolving business models, highlighting the industry’s resilience and adaptability amid changing market conditions.

Advertising remains a cornerstone supporting the media and entertainment economy. Online video advertising is anticipated to become the primary revenue source by 2028, marking a shift in consumer preferences favoring digital platforms over traditional media channels. Projected growth rates of online video subscriptions, TVOD, and online video advertising underscore the strategic significance of ad-supported models in the industry’s evolution.

The Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) market is experiencing rapid growth, with projections indicating a substantial increase in revenues from 2024 to 2028. The U.S. is anticipated to dominate this space, capturing a significant share of the $13 billion FAST market by 2028. This trend reflects the escalating consumer demand for free, quality content and the strategic shift by media companies towards ad-supported streaming services as a pivotal revenue stream and audience engagement tool.

Amidst the proliferation of streaming services, consumer behavior is showing signs of saturation, with paid video service stacking beginning to plateau. The rise of free services as part of the service stacking equation signifies a broader trend towards diversification in content consumption patterns, reflecting the dynamic interplay between paid and free content offerings.

The Latin American market, projected to reach $53 billion by 2028, encapsulates the broader trends reshaping the global media landscape. With online video subscriptions and TVOD growing at 18.2% and online video advertising at 20.5%, Latin America exemplifies the robust expansion of digital media. Gaming’s impressive performance, with a predicted 25.4% increase in advertising, underscores the region’s amplified role in the global media ecosystem’s evolution.

The gaming sector, expected to surpass $250 billion in revenue this year, is rapidly expanding its advertising model. Omdia predicts it will rival Linear TV by 2027, reaching $131 billion in total revenue. Noteworthy adaptations include popular gaming titles such as “Bioshock,” “Fallout,” “Mass Effect,” and “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell.”