A new report on the Irish entertainment and media industry has predicted that revenue in the sector will drop by 3.3% this year, with a fall of almost 14% in the advertising market.
Consulting group PwC's outlook says there will be a return to 'modest' growth in 2011, giving total growth of 2.7% for the five years to 2013. But in the same period, advertising will show a decline of 1.3%, bringing revenue back to 2006 levels.
PwC says traditional advertising will suffer most, but internet advertising will grow by almost 7% over the five years. Even internet advertising will show a fall this year, however.
The report says a number of areas will show strong growth over the five-year period to 2013. These include television subscriptions - up 6.4% - and video games, which are forecast to grow by 7.5%.
Bartley O'Connor, senior manager at PwC Ireland's entertainment and media division, said the recession would accelerate a trend towards digital technologies and platforms such as on-line communities and social networking sites.
'As audiences continue to fragment in the years ahead, we will see a structural change in the advertising world,' he said, adding that entertainment and media businesses would have to identify the right models to adapt to this change.
