As smartphones continue to be a big part of people’s lives, wider smartphone adoption will create a larger appetite for live streaming and digital content subscriptions, accounting firm Deloitte said in a report.
In its latest annual report on technology, media and telecommunications trends released on Wednesday last week, Deloitte predicts that live broadcasts and events will generate more than US$7.4 billion in revenue worldwide next year, up 47 percent year-on-year.
Observing an increasing willingness among consumers to pay for digital content, Deloitte said that by the end of next year, 50 percent of adults in developed countries will have at least two online-only media subscriptions and by the end of 2020, the average will have doubled to four.
With increasing willingness to pay, there will be over 680 million digital subscriptions by the end of 2020 and about 350 million subscribers, with aggregate spending on digital subscriptions averaging over US$100 per month, the report said.
Due to its strong entertainment demand, the Chinese market could offer significant potential and will likely remain the largest market for live streaming, with US$4.4 billion in forecast revenue next year, up 32 percent from this year, Deloitte said.
“Digital’s rise has augmented, not dented, the public’s appetite for media, which in 2018 will likely include over half a trillion dollars’ worth of all forms of live content,” Mark Casey, who leads Deloitte’s global media and entertainment practice, said in a statement.
By the end of 2023, more than 90 percent of adults in developed countries will have a smartphone, with ownership among 55-to-75-year-olds reaching 85 percent, the report said.
By 2023, smartphone sales could reach 1.85 billion units per year, equivalent to more than 5 million units sold per day, the report said, adding that consumers will interact with their phones on average 65 times per day, a 20 percent increase from next year.
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