Key trends shaping Ireland’s E&M industry
Despite facing economic headwinds and increased competition, the Irish E&M sector has shown resilience, with total revenues rising by 4.8% in 2023. This comprehensive report explores the key growth drivers, including internet services, internet advertising and video-on-demand (VOD), while examining the impacts on other sectors such as video gaming, cinema, live music, and radio. Additionally, it delves into the transformative potential of Generative AI (GenAI) and outlines actionable strategies for businesses to thrive in this evolving landscape.
Global and Irish E&M industry growth trends
Globally, the E&M industry is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from 2023 to 2028. This growth will elevate the industry’s global revenues from €2.6 trillion in 2023 to an estimated €3.1 trillion by 2028. These projections are detailed in PwC’s latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024-2028, the 25th annual analysis and forecast of E&M spending by consumers and advertisers across 53 countries and territories.
The Outlook encompasses Ireland’s E&M industry, covering connectivity services, internet advertising, music, radio and podcasts, cinema, newspapers, consumer magazines and books, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, VOD, traditional TV, and video games.
Despite facing economic headwinds, technological disruption, and increased geographic and industry competition, the Irish E&M industry has demonstrated resilience and growth in 2023. Total Irish revenues rose 4.8% to €6.6 billion in the past year. However, the projected growth in the Irish market, with a CAGR of 2.9%, lags behind the global forecast of 3.9% CAGR. This discrepancy is primarily due to the slower growth observed in the video gaming segment.
Irish Entertainment and Media Revenues
Critical drivers of E&M growth in Ireland
The E&M industry in Ireland is poised for growth, driven by three key factors:
1. Internet service revenues
In 2023, Ireland’s internet service revenues reached €2.7 billion, over 40% of the country’s total E&M revenue. This figure is expected to rise to €3 billion by 2028. The fixed broadband market held the largest share of this revenue until 2021. However, the mobile service market has shown continued and accelerated growth, with its share of total revenue projected to increase from 51.3% in 2023 to 54.5% in 2028.
Mobile service revenue is set to increase at 3.2% CAGR, growing from €1.4 billion in 2023 to €1.6 billion in 2028. In contrast, fixed service revenue will experience slower growth, with 0.6% CAGR, reaching €1.4 billion by 2028.
The evolution of mobile technology, particularly the adoption of 5G, will play a crucial role in this growth trajectory. By 2025, 5G is expected to become the primary access technology in the mobile sector. By 2028, 5G will account for 82% of Ireland’s ten million mobile subscription base.
Irish Mobile vs Fixed Service Revenue
2. Internet advertising
Internet advertising is a significant growth driver in Ireland’s E&M industry, with revenues projected to reach €1.8 billion by 2028. This represents a robust CAGR of 9.5% from 2023 when revenues stood at €1.2 billion.
The fastest-growing segment within internet advertising is video advertising, which is expected to increase at an impressive CAGR of 11.5% over the forecast period. This growth reflects the rising consumer preference for video content, making it a crucial area for advertisers to invest in.
Paid search advertising will also experience strong growth, with a projected CAGR of 10.2%. This category remains the largest in terms of revenue, accounting for just over 59.1% of the total internet advertising revenue. Other display advertising (traditional non-video ads) will grow at a 7.8% CAGR, while classified advertising (ads posted in a categorical listing of products or services) will see a more modest increase at a 3.6% CAGR.
In revenue terms, paid search advertising leads the market, followed by other display advertising, which makes up 28.2% of the total revenue. Video advertising and classified advertising account for 9.2% and 3.4% of the total revenue, respectively.
Irish internet advertising revenues
3. Video-on-demand
Ireland’s VOD market is poised for significant growth, with revenues expected to reach €299 million by 2028, reflecting a CAGR of 8.9%. In 2023, the market reached a total revenue of €196 million, more than doubling in size since 2019. This initial surge was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which spurred households to seek home entertainment. Additionally, new launches from major international players have increased the tendency for consumers to “stack” multiple streaming services.
The subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) segment will dominate the market, accounting for 88% of total VOD revenue by 2028. Despite this growth, service providers face increased competition and challenges convincing consumers to pay more for digital goods and services. Irish subscriptions to VOD services are anticipated to rise from 1.8 million in 2023 to 2.6 million in 2028, representing a 7.7% CAGR — higher than the global CAGR of 5%.
However, the average revenue per VOD subscription in Ireland is expected to grow slowly, with a projected CAGR of 1.7%, increasing from €93.23 in 2023 to €101.64 in 2028. Globally, revenue per subscription is expected to plateau, with average revenue per VOD subscription rising modestly from €59.15 in 2023 to €61.57 in 2028.
This slow revenue growth is pushing leading streaming services to rethink their business models and seek new revenue streams beyond traditional subscriptions. Strategies include introducing ad-based variants (offering reduced subscription fees with ad-filled content), cracking down on password-sharing, adding live sports to their offerings, and pursuing industry consolidation. In developed markets, this consolidation often involves bundling subscription service providers.
Revenue Per Subscription Revenue
Other areas of interest
Video gaming
The Irish video gaming industry continues to thrive, reaching €465 million in revenue in 2023, up 4.8% from 2022. While this growth is below the global rate of 8% CAGR, it aligns with the Western European CAGR of 4.1%. By 2028, Ireland’s total video game revenue is expected to exceed €545 million, increasing at a CAGR of 3.2%.
Year-on-year growth in 2023 marked a return to positive territory following a contraction of -2.7% in 2022. Growth is expected to accelerate to 6.3% in 2024 before gradually slowing to 2.0% by the end of the five-year forecast period.
In contrast to global trends, traditional gaming remains the largest sector in Ireland’s video games market. In 2023, traditional gaming generated €242 million, accounting for 52% of the total video games revenue. However, this sector is expected to shrink in 2026, ultimately falling to €234 million by 2028, at a CAGR of -0.7%. This decline is driven by a sharp reduction in physical console games revenue, which is projected to decrease at a -11.3% CAGR, and a smaller contraction in digital PC games sales, which will decrease at a -0.8% CAGR.
Conversely, social and casual gaming is anticipated to grow steadily, rising from €198 million in 2023 to €283 million in 2028, at a CAGR of 7.4%. This growth is primarily fueled by the rapid increase in in-app games advertising revenue, which is expected to almost double from €59 million in 2023 to €110 million in 2028, reflecting a 13.4% CAGR.
Traditional vs Social/Casual Gaming Revenue
Cinema
Ireland’s cinema industry is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 5.6%, reaching €145 million in revenue by 2028. In 2023, Irish cinema revenue totalled €110 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 15.9%. This growth, while robust, represents a slowdown compared to the significant recovery seen in 2021 and 2022, which experienced year-on-year growth rates of 65.4% and 90.2%, respectively. On a global scale, the cinema industry is expected to grow at a slightly higher CAGR of 6.3% over the same period.
The number of cinema admissions in Ireland is projected to increase from 12 million in 2023 to 14.3 million by 2028, reflecting a CAGR of 3.4%. Most of Ireland’s 2023 box office revenue was driven by the summer releases of Oppenheimer and Barbie. These films were significant cultural events globally and the highest-grossing films in Ireland. Oppenheimer, featuring Irish actor Cillian Murphy, contributed significantly to this success. Murphy has achieved worldwide recognition through his collaborations with director Christopher Nolan and his work on the television series Peaky Blinders.
Live music and radio
Ireland’s live music revenue experienced significant growth in 2023, increasing by 23.5% year-on-year. The country’s total music and radio revenue reached €465 million in 2023, up from €416 million in 2022. This overall revenue is forecasted to rise at a CAGR of 2.7%, totalling €530 million by 2028.
In 2023, Ireland’s music revenue amounted to €354 million, with live music making up 69% of this figure. Live music revenue reached €243 million, up from €197 million in 2022. This sector is expected to grow at a 2.8% CAGR, reaching €279 million by 2028, compared to a global growth rate of 2.5%.
The report underscores the importance of in-person, real-life, tech-powered experiences such as live music and cinema as crucial growth industries. In 2023, movie box office and music ticket sales represented 38.6% of the net increase in consumer spending worldwide. Driven by large events such as musicians’ world tours, global live music revenues rose by 26%, accounting for more than half of the music market.
GenAI’s impact on business models
In 2023, GenAI surged into public awareness and began integrating into products hundreds of millions of people used daily, particularly in large language models and image generation. According to the PwC CEO Survey, 63% of Irish CEOs expect GenAI to significantly alter how their companies create value within the next three years.
However, the question remains: how will GenAI translate into higher revenues and help companies accelerate their pursuit of new revenue streams? One high-potential area is advertising, the highest-growth sector. GenAI is increasingly being incorporated into content creation and advertising tools. Initially, its application has focused on extracting small pieces of information and generating summaries in sub-sectors such as sports media.
In media production, AI-generated content is rapidly replacing stock media in low-budget video production. GenAI enhances artificial narrators with more realistic voices, provides supporting images and videos, and powers avatars that present videos. This technology is transforming how media content is created and consumed, offering new avenues for innovation and efficiency.
Key actions for business success
1. Rethink your business model
Business model reinvention (BMR) and transformation is crucial for capturing a share of the growing revenue pools. Companies need to reimagine how they create, deliver, and capture value. This involves leveraging the growth of advertising and harnessing the powerful opportunities presented by AI. As consumers increasingly consume content online, businesses must diversify their product offerings and connect with consumers on the platforms where they spend most of their time.
2. Embrace GenAI
GenAI promises to deliver efficiency and productivity gains while introducing new business methods across multiple industries. The global E&M industry is looking to GenAI to drive new revenue streams and transform business models. Companies should explore how GenAI can be integrated into their operations to enhance innovation and meet evolving consumer demands.
3. Explore high-growth areas and markets
The E&M report highlights high-growth segments and geographies worldwide. As the growth potential in video gaming varies by region and country, similar opportunities exist across different E&M markets. The report also emphasises the importance of real-life, in-person, increasingly tech-powered experiences such as music performances, theatre, cinema, and sports. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-real-life (IRL) events have enjoyed a revival. Read the report to identify these high-growth areas and capitalise on the opportunity.
We are here to help
The Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) team at PwC Ireland is dedicated to helping you navigate the rapidly evolving E&M landscape. Whether you need tailored strategies to capitalise on growth opportunities, insights into leveraging GenAI, or guidance on reinventing your business model, we are here to support you. With our deep industry expertise and innovative solutions, we can help you stay ahead of the curve and achieve your strategic goals. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you harness the full potential of these insights.
Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024–2028
Five-year consumer and advertiser spending projections.
