Entertainment and media spending in Singapore to grow by 5.5%

It’s the golden age of the empowered consumer, with the demand for digital experiences increasing and becoming the norm, according to the latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2011-2015 from PwC. In many markets the Entertainment & Media industry emerging from the recession has been profoundly changed as the ongoing consumer migration to digital has accelerated due largely to the device revolution.

2010 saw the global economy begin to recover from its steep decline in 2009 and these improved economic conditions have played a major role in the recovery of overall E&M spending which rose by 4.6 per cent. Some which countries, notably China and India, were largely unscathed by the global recession and experienced significantly higher growth rates in E&M spending, but others who were, and are still burdened with high government debt or political unease, are struggling to grow at similar rates.

Over the next five years we forecast that aggregate E&M global spending will rise from US$1.4 trillion in 2010 to $1.9 trillion in 2015, a 5.7 per cent compound annual advance driven by economic growth, but masking the economic accelerating shift of spending from traditional to digital platforms. Currently digital accounts for 26 per cent of all spending but by 2015 we expect digital’s share to rise to 33.9 per cent.

Advertising, the most cyclically sensitive of the three E&M spending streams, recorded the largest year sensitive year-on-year swing, rebounding at 5.8 per cent in 2010 from an 11 per cent slump in 2009. Overall global advertising will increase at a 5.5 per cent compound annual rate from $442 billion in 2010 to $578 billion in 2015. Singapore advertising revenue is expected to grow at a 4.8 per cent compound rate to 2015, with online advertising being the fastest growing component.

Consumer/end-user spending also improved, rising 2.2 per cent in 2010 after a fall of 0.4 per cent in 2009. In user after contrast Internet access spending was barely affected by the economic cycle growing at 9.2 per cent in both 2009 and 2010 and is expected to rise from $270 billion in 2010 to $408 billion in 2015, an 8.6 per cent compound annual increase.

By comparison, the Singapore consumer/end user spending will grow at a compound rate of 4 per cent to 2015 consumer/end-user and internet access spending will maintain its strong momentum growing at 10 per cent over the forecast period.

Overall, entertainment and media spending in Singapore is expected to grow at an annual compound growth rate of 5.5 per cent which is comparable to Asia Pacific’s overall growth at 6.3 per cent.

On the outlook for Singapore, Greg Unsworth, Singapore Technology, InfoComm, Entertainment and Media, Unsworth, Leader of PwC LLP, says:

“Singapore will continue to enjoy a rising share of digital revenues in E&M in both advertising and consumer spending. Internet advertising growth of 17.2 per cent in Singapore will far exceed the Global average at 13 percent.”

Digital consumer spending will also out pace most countries and see an increase in overall share in spending from 11 per cent in 2010 to 19 per cent in 2015.

“The high broadband and mobile internet penetrations may have accelerated the way for digitisation in Singapore. However, it is the device revolution with the rise and availability of digital technology and content, particularly through social networking, that has created a new normal in the industry as consumers are empowered like never before.”