The pandemic spares no one: the Entertainment & Media sector in crisis as well

This is confirmed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the second largest company in the world in consulting and auditing services, operating in 158 countries. Their report shows that in 2020 we will see the most drastic drop in the last twenty years, 5.6% less in global revenues compared to 2019. In Italy, for example, according to the estimate of the 12th edition of the PwC report, there is talk of a decrease of -9.5%, with revenues of 30.9 billion euros. Of these, 24.1 billion are related to consumer spending while 6.8 billion to the advertising market, which recorded a decline of -19.7%. A news that might seem unusual, given the enormous amount of “free” time people had during the lockdown. Truth is there is nothing unusual. Let’s see in detail what are the reasons behind this statement.

When we talk about entertainment and media, probably the first things that come to our mind are films and TV series. And after all the hours spent in TV series marathons in front of the television, which among other things brought record revenues to Netflix in the first months of 2020, how is it possible that this sector is in crisis? The answer is very simple. The E&M sector is much larger and covers a number of sub-categories that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Film business, television and out-of-home advertising (that is, the one we find outside such as billboards), newspapers and magazines are some of the segments that recorded the greatest drops.

In the film business alone, with the postponement of the release of so many important films and the closure of cinemas, a drop of about 66% in total global revenues is expected. A fate shared by newspapers and magazines, which have seen their decline acceleration, with more than 14% lower revenues. Even in television advertising, due to the cancellation of live sporting events, revenues are expected to be 14.9% lower than 2019.

Along with the bad news comes the good news.

According to projections, which cover the 2020-2024 period, growth rates will increase by +11.2% in 2021 and by +8.3% in 2022, which will be followed by a normalization phase.

Good news also concern the continuous growth of hitech, which is confirmed as the leading segment of the sector. From e-sport to Virtual reality, from videogames to podcasts: entertainment, with the complicity of the lockdown, is simply transforming and becoming more and more digital. 

PwC Italia TMT Consulting Leader, Maria Teresa Capobianco, explains: “The consumer is more digital oriented[…]. Lockdown has accelerated the trend towards digitization, and technology also plays a fundamental role in improving and enriching the range of services and the overall experience”.