Five refreshingly positive graphs about the media's future

It’s refreshing to see some independent data about the media sector that doesn’t double as an obituary.

PwC’s latest media and entertainment sector outlook presents a rather mixed view of digital change in the global media landscape. There is still a lot of doom and gloom for traditional media. Indeed, the report largely confirms what we already knew -- for instance, advertising spend for newspapers and magazines will continue to decline over the next four years. But for some areas there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel.

To highlight this, we dug through the report’s international graph pack and created some of our own charts using PwC’s Australian forecasts. Here are some positive and memorable statistics that sprang out of the report.

First, the local data

1. Good news for those in broadcasting: as a whole, advertising revenue hasn't declined that much over the past five years, and is expected to grow into the future. Spending figures are looking particularly rosy for radio, which has so far weathered the tide of digital disruption. Key players in this segment are insulating themselves by partnering with up-and-coming streaming apps like iHeartRadio. Free-to-air TV advertising is also forecast to rebound in the next four years.

2. Digital advertising is set to overtake the current advertising cash cow of the media sector -- free-to-air TV advertising -- this year. It’s good news for any company looking at online advertising as a source of revenue. But remember this spend will ultimately be divided up among web companies (like Google) as well as publishers and media outlets.

Now to the international figures...

3. Surprise! Global newspaper revenue is tipped to rebound by 2018. But, if you’re a journalist who really wants to avoid digital change, you will need to move to India or other developing countries that are driving this growth.  

4. Digital magazines may make a comeback. Revenue in this sector of the media market is tipped to increase from 2015 onwards on the back of wider tablet adoption around the globe.

5. Despite the ongoing threat of piracy, total global film industry revenue is expected to enjoy steady growth going into 2018. This will largely be driven by a rise in box office revenue as well as increased revenue from digital distribution.

And a bonus graph -- something not strictly tied to the media sector, but still fascinating. PwC’s forecast also includes predictions on films and the interactive games industry. It predicts that more and more advertising revenue will flow into both of these sectors over the next couple of years, so expect to see more obscure (and really obvious) product placements in locally produced games, TV shows and movies.

Got a question? Let us know in the comments below or contact the reporter @HarrisonPolites on Twitter.