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Entertainment | Media

According to a report carried out by PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023 – 2027 (GEMO), the media and entertainment industry in Romania would grow by 7% in 2023, compared to 2022, to a value of 4 billion euros, most segments to register increases. Forecasts show maintaining a growth rate of between 6 and 7% per year until 2027.

The Global Entertainment & Media Outlook Report analyses 13 segments of the media and entertainment industry in 52 territories and facilitates the comparison of consumer data and advertising expenses. The segments covered by this report are; books, B2B media, cinema, internet access, internet advertising, newspapers and magazines, music, radio and podcasts, outdoor advertising, OTT video, traditional television and home video consumption, TV advertising, video games and e-sports, virtual reality .

According to PwC data, Romania has the highest estimated industrial growth among the countries in the Central and Eastern Europe region included in the report. For example, in Poland the sector would increase by 6% in 2023, in Hungary by approximately 4.3%, and in the Czech Republic by 4.2%.

Among the 11 segments analyzed in the report for Romania, estimates show that the biggest percentage increases will be recorded in 2023 by outdoor advertising, with 33.5%, OTT services (Netflix, HBO Max, Disney, etc.), with 32% , and cinema, with 24%. At the opposite pole are printed newspapers and magazines, with an estimated advance of only 0.36%.

The cinematographic industry, the segment most affected by the pandemic, had the highest growth in the media and entertainment market in Romania in 2022 , with an advance of 91%, to 43 million euros, due in particular to the launch, in December 2022, of the production "Avatar: Drumul apei" which obtained the highest receipts in the history of this sector on the local market. For the year 2023, the increase is estimated at 54 million euros, approaching the pre-pandemic level of 59 million euros (2019).

Over-the-top (OTT) services market in Romania recorded the second growth in the market in 2022, of 24% , reaching a value of 56 million euros and will continue to grow in 2023 with an estimated rate of around 32%, up to 74 million euros. Romania still remains the smallest OTT market in the Central and Eastern Europe region, despite impressive growth rates in recent years, but the competition between OTT providers present in Romania is increasing.

Forecasts show that the Internet access sector in Romania will have the third fastest growth in the world in the next five years. In 2022, it increased by 11% to 1.27 billion euros compared to the previous year, and the report indicates an advance of around 13% in 2023.

Internet advertising rose by approximately 21% to 224 million euros in 2022. The segment will continue to grow in 2023 , but at a much slower rate, of around 5%, according to estimates. The mobile sector dominates the market, accounting for 74% of all Internet advertising revenue. Google and Meta are the leaders in Internet advertising with just over half of total revenue. Google is the main player in the search market and Meta takes most of the revenue in the social network segment. TikTok follows behind, being preferred by 63.2% of online users aged 16 to 64.

Television (advertising plus TV subscriptions) stagnated in 2022, with revenues of 862 million euros, and for 2023 this is estimated an advance of about 2.7%.

Printed newspapers and magazines in Romania had an increase for the first time since 2018, of approximately 16% and 24%, respectively, but not a similar trend is predicted for 2023, but rather a decrease. At the same time, book sales have stagnated at revenues of 142 million euros, and a modest increase of up to 144 million euros is expected for 2023.

The Radio, Music & Podcast segment continued to grow in 2022, having advanced 12% last year to 34 million euros and is estimated to rise to 36 million euros in 2023.

The B2B media sector surpassed the pre-pandemic level with an advance of over 19% in 2022, reaching 153 million euros. The outlook remains optimistic for 2023 as well, although growth of more than 8% is not expected.

Outdoor advertising continued to rise in 2022, by about 7%, to 32 million euros, but in 2023 it would follow to advance by 33.5%, up to 43 million euros, the highest rate among all analyzed sectors.

The video games and e-sports (electronic sports) segment had an increase of 6% in 2022, reaching revenues of 218 millions of euros. For 2023, an advance of only 3.3% is estimated, up to 226 million euros.

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