Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

THE entertainment and media (E&M) market of China is on course to climb to US$101 billion in value over the next five years, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2 percent, up to US$343 billion by 2020, said accounting firm PwC.

Digital revenue, which already accounted for almost 60 percent of all E&M revenue in China in 2017, is estimated to rise at a CAGR of 9.4 percent over the next five years, according to the report released by the company.

Statistics show that China’s E&M market will see Internet access become an increasingly significant revenue driver, with a 6.3-percent CAGR up to 2022.

High-speed services will be key to growth in both the fixed and the popular mobile Internet sectors. Advertising and consumer segments are also seeing major growth dynamics with digital advancements.

“Smartphones are reshaping the global E&M market, leading to a refocus of spending on access and advertising, as well as how consumer revenue is garnered,” said Wilson Chow, PwC’s global and China TMT (technology, media and communications) partner.

With over 580 million gamers nationwide, China is on course to supersede South Korea to become the second-largest market globally by 2021, said the report.

Growing at a CAGR of 9.7 percent over the next five years, revenue of the domestic gaming industry is expected to swell from US$20 billion in 2017 to US$31.7 billion by 2022.

It is also estimated that the revenue models of China’s OTT (over the top) video industry over the next five years will be shifting from free-to-air to premium, with incremental services adding US$2.7 billion to revenue.