The UK is on track to dethrone Germany as Europe’s largest entertainment and media market next year, driven by a surge in internet advertising and a resurgence in cinema and live music, according to new PwC data. Despite a sluggish recovery from a flat 2023, the UK’s entertainment and media sector is forecast to exceed £100bn in revenue for the first time in 2024, with growth expected to reach £121bn by 2028, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2024-2028. The booming internet advertising market is fuelling the growth, with the market set to soar from £32bn in 2024 to £44bn by 2028, as paid search, retail media and video advertising gain momentum, the Big Four firm said.
Dan Bunyan, partner at PwC, warned that the maturity of the UK’s internet advertising market, which is one of the most online-heavy in the world, makes it more sensitive to macroeconomic factors. “Even so, the market is still expected to grow over the next four years with paid search supported by rapid gains in retail media, and video supporting growth,” he said, adding that AI will increasingly shape how ads are created, placed and measured. After being hit hard by the pandemic, the UK cinema and live music sectors are expected to bounce back.
Cinema revenue is predicted to exceed pre-Covid levels by 2027, with box office spending to hit £1.3bn by the end of 2028. Blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer revitalised the box office last year and major releases such as seq.