Ireland’s media, internet and entertainment industries are predicted to grow by 3.3 per cent annually over the next four years, an analysis by PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) indicates. The consulting firm looked at internet advertising, music, radio, podcasts, newspapers, traditional TV, video on demand, video games, books and out of home (OOH) advertising.
They predict an overall rise in the amount spent across the sectors to reach €7.5 billion by 2029, compared with the current €6.4bn. The figure is behind the predicted global growth rate of 3.7 per cent to €3 trillion in 2029, with slower growth in mobile and video console gaming a contributory factor to lagging revenues here.
The PwC analysis surveyed spending by consumers and advertisers across 54 countries and territories. Internet advertising will grow most aggressively in Ireland, at 9.2 per cent annually, while revenue from music and radio is due to show the most modest growth, at 2.2 per cent. Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to play a greater part in personalisation in advertising.
Portion
Internet service revenue is predicted to grow annually by 2.5 per cent to €3.1bn by 2029, trailing global growth of 2.8 per cent.
Fixed broadband subscriptions, bolstered by fibre rollouts of the National Broadband Plan, Eir and Siro, are a big portion of the revenue. Mobile service revenue is due to increase by 3.4 per cent each year up to 2029, with a value of €1.7bn.
Internet advertising is set to outperform in Ireland over the next four years, growing at a compound rate of 9.2 per cent annually until 2029, with revenues of €1.8bn. The figure is ahead of predicted global growth of 8.4 per cent, showing the commercial strength of new media options compared to traditional media.
The biggest sections within internet advertising revenue in Ireland are paid search (59 per cent), ‘other display’ (29 per cent), video (10 per cent) and classified (three per cent). Video on demand (VoD) platforms, such as Netflix and Disney Plus, will account for 85 per cent of the total market, with advertising-supported video on demand on 11.3 per cent.
Elsewhere, the Irish video gaming industry is set to grow to €503m in 2029, growing at 4.8 per cent a year. It is expected to be lower than the global growth rate of 5.7 per cent. The fastest-growing market category within online advertising will be video
advertising, which will see annual growth of 12.6 per cent to reach €198m in yearly revenue by 2029.
Ireland’s music and radio revenue is set to rise by 2.2 per cent to a total of €517m in 2029, compared to 2.4 per cent growth globally. Ireland’s music revenue accounted for €355m in 2024, with 66 per cent comprising live music revenue. Live music revenue is due to grow at two per cent to reach €266m in 2029, compared with 2.3 per cent globally.
Total newspaper revenue in Ireland will decline by an average of 5.3 per cent per year until 2029, while the global average will be a two per cent annual fall. It will see newspaper revenue decrease from €300m to €228m. The steepest decrease will be in print advertising revenue, where a fall of 13.3 per cent annually is expected.
Drop
Print circulation will also see a major drop at an estimated 11.5 per cent a year. Nevertheless, digital revenue for newspapers will grow at 3.1 per cent per year while digital newspaper circulation is also predicted to grow at 7.5 per cent a year. VoD revenue is expected to grow at almost seven per cent every year, with a total of €309m in 2029.
The market has more than doubled in size since 2020, with revenue of €223mn in 2024. Continued expansion has seen households increasingly combine multiple streaming services. Social and casual online gaming will make up around half of the market, or €240m by 2029, when it will surpass gaming on PCs and games consoles like PlayStation and Nintendo.
Cinema revenue in Ireland is expected to grow faster than the global average, at 4.7 per cent, reaching €126m by 2029. PwC forecasts that the number of cinema admissions in Ireland is set to grow from 11.3 million in 2024 to 12.8 million in 2029, a growth rate of 2.4 per cent. Ireland’s film and TV industry’s gross value added figure exceeds €1bn.
