PwC report: Romanian media and entertainment industry to reach $3BN in 2019

Cristina Blanaru Business, Marketing, Media, Studies

Romanian media and entertainment industry will reach $3BN in 2019, up 7.1% compared to 2018, but will remain the smallest market in Central and Eastern Europe, states the 20th edition of the PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023 (GEMO) report. By 2023, the yearly average increase rate will be of over 6%, with the market value predicted to reach $3.8BN.

Following the global trend, customization and digitalization are adopted faster and faster also on the Romanian media and entertainment market, with the report’s estimates showing that this segment will have the highest rates of growth by 2023. This development will generate an increasingly aggressive competition on the market, but also a wave of investments in innovation. The result will be a media world in which consumers, including the ones from Romania, will be able to control and select on a larger scale the type of content they wish to have access to by using more and more diverse ways, intelligent devices, Over-The-Top (OTT) solution, intelligent homes or cars connected to internet

Florin Deaconescu,

Partner and leader of Technology, Media and Telecom division, PwC România

The value of OTT services market (such are Netflix and HBO Go) in Romania had the highest increase on the entertainment and media market, by five times since 2014 to present and is estimated, this year, at $24M. By 2023, it will continue to be the most dynamic sector on the media market, with an annual growth rate of 18,7%, to $44BN.

The second biggest increase at the level of the Romanian market is estimated for the video games and e-sports segment, with a predicted growth of 10,79%,  to $136M in 2019 and $187 in 2023.

The third place is occupied by online advertising, with an annual increase of 9,5%, up from $112M in 2019 to $157M in 2023.

In Romania, the amounts spent for internet access continue to dominate the top, with 43,5% share from the total, $1.31BN. By 2023, the amount will reach $1.77M and will represent 46% of the total market.

TV and video content consumed at home will post a slight increase, predicted to be of 1.56%, and will generate $537M in 2023, from $506M in 2019. This is the second most important segment in Romania in terms of generated revenues, after the access to internet.

In this context, the revenues from TV advertising will increase to an estimated level of $384M in 2019 and will reach to $529M in 2023, with a predicted growth annual rate of 8.5%.

After 2 years of decrease, the radio, music and podcast segment is expected to increase from $35M this year to $41M in 2023. On the other hand, printed newspapers and magazines segment in Romania will continue to fall, from $89M this year to $77M in 2023. According to Reuters Institute Digital News Report, only 18% Romanians are still reading printed news, with online sources and social media dominating the consumption. Although they read news mainly on digital devices, only 11% readers are paying for online news.

The book market in Romania will go up from $109M this year to $119M in 2023, while the tickets sales will remain the main source of revenues for the cinema industry, which will reach $97M by 2023, with an annual progression rate of 4.67%.

The B2B media segment in Romania, including annuals and catalogs including info on businesses and advertising, niche magazines, professional books, fairs and exhibitions, was evaluated to $265M this year and is predicted to go up to $304M in 2023.

Outdoor advertising market is predicted to have 4 years of growth, with an annual rate of 5.7%,  from $41M in 2019 to $51M in 2023.

By comparison, at Central East European level, the media and entertainment market will have an average growth rate of 5.7% and will reach to total revenues of circa $77BN in 2023. Russia is the biggest market, followed by Poland and Turkey.