We could be on the verge of a future where the Chinese entertainment industry is equal to, or even surpasses, that of the domestic US industry. With recent growth in the local industry, PWC's Global Outlook now believes this may happen sooner rather than later. Our local expert, entertainment attorney Brandon Blake of Blake & Wang P.A., shares this exciting (and unexpected) development with us.
Brandon Blake
Analyzing the PWC Report
It will be no surprise to anyone in the entertainment industry that, in the post-COVID period, China has increasingly focused on its own domestic entertainment industry. As the second most populous country in the world, second only to India and just ahead of the US itself, it has immense potential to leverage that population to improve its global standing in the industry, too. According to the latest Global Outlook report released by PWC, it could close the gap with Hollywood within the next 4 years.
The report predicts a 7% growth, equating to $362.5B, by 2028. This is nearly twice as much as the US growth rate, although the US industry figure for the same period sits at $808.4B. This is natural for a mature market, where slower growth is almost inevitable, and the US today remains responsible for over one-third of global entertainment spending.
Beyond the Chinese Expansion
However, this will be the first significant challenge to the US supremacy we've seen globally. If those growth benchmarks are met, we will see a significant closure of the gap with the US currently in terms of market size. Of course, this doesn't negate the strict governmental regulations the Chinese market faces, which significantly dampens investment in the Chinese entertainment space, especially for outside and foreign investors.
Interestingly, China still won't be one of the fastest-growing markets tracked by the report over the same period. That title goes to India and Indonesia, where exceptionally rapid growth is expected. India, in particular, is also worth highlighting as the world's fastest-growing OTT video-streaming market. This has been driven mostly by a large, significantly dispersed population with a love of sports content and easier internet access than access to traditional broadcast services. India is predicted to grow by 8%, finishing around the $100B mark in 2028.
Looking more globally, ad revenues from streaming are also predicted to double between 2020 and 2028, closing around the $1 trillion mark. The global media and entertainment industry revenue is currently projected to hit $3.4 trillion by 2028.
While predictions can always fall short, the overall trend here is worth noting. Entertainment has moved from a space dominated only by Hollywood output to one in which vibrant local entertainment industries have a real role to play in shaping what gets made and for what audiences. This global focus is set to expand significantly as we move forward into the mature streaming era, and is one which producers, distributors, streamers, and studios need to take careful note of if their content is to remain fresh, relevant, and interesting to potential markets.
