Taiwan’s entertainment and media industry could post a 5 percent increase in revenue to US$16.3 billion this year on the back of a low base last year, but a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert has caused uncertainty, a report released yesterday by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan showed.
The local industry took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic last year when overall revenue shrank 1.7 percent to US$15.5 billion, better than the global decline of 3.8 percent to US$2 trillion, the worst in 22 years, PwC Taiwan said.
Typically, entertainment and media industries fare better than the economy as a whole, PwC said, adding that the global economy shrank 5.1 percent last year.
While movie box office revenue plunged 71 percent last year, US over-the-top content platform and production company Netflix attracted a record 37 million additional subscribers, pushing its number of subscribers past 200 million.
As consumers stayed home and in-person venues shut down, the use of in-home digital services soared, the report said.
Consumers’ embrace of all things digital helped offset revenue losses across the entertainment and media sector globally, it said.
PwC expects revenue worldwide to increase 6.5 percent this year, as more territories emerge from lockdown. The growth rate could reach 5 percent in next five years, it said.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese companies could put in a strong showing in consumer and advertising spending, thanks to effective virus controls, with cinema revenue expected to grow 21.8 percent, over-the-top services 11.04 percent, music and radio revenue 10.2 percent, out-of-home advertising 8 percent and Internet advertising 5.5 percent, PwC Taiwan said.
PwC Taiwan said that it made the forecast before Taiwan issued the level 3 alert in May, increasing uncertainty.
Over the next five years, growth in global entertainment and media revenue would be the norm in all 53 territories PwC analyzed, with Japan having the lowest growth at 3.1 percent, it said.
India, where consumer and advertising revenue fell a mere 0.2 percent last year, could have the highest growth of 10.4 percent, it said.
India should surpass China next year to become the world’s most populous nation and it has immense potential for expansion, it said.
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