
TORONTO – Canadian consumers want more flexibility, freedom and convenience in when and how they consume their preferred content, and regard any distinction between 'digital' and 'non-digital' as irrelevant, says a PwC report released Wednesday.
According to Global entertainment and media outlook 2015 – 2019, Canadians are migrating to offerings that combine relevance and convenience – attractive content, easy discovery, social community – with an inspiring, personalized experience, however it's delivered. As a result, while global revenue from digital media will continue to exhibit stronger growth, non-digital media will still contribute 88% of Canadian consumer revenue in 2019, indexing higher than the 80% expected globally.
A key feature of this multifaceted environment is the resilience, and in some cases resurgence, of aspects of 'traditional' media, including the shared, live experiences that consumers still love. Spending on live music ticket sales and cinema box office will rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% and CAGR of 3.4% in Canada respectively, outpacing overall consumer spending at 1.9%.
Turning to advertising, Canadian advertising revenues will rise at a CAGR of 3.6% to 2019, compared to a CAGR of 4.7% globally. There is a clear move towards digital, a fact underlined by Internet advertising's position as the fastest-growing segment of advertising through to 2019, overtaking global broadcast TV advertising. By that year, digital advertising as a whole, including digital out-of-home, will account for 44.5% of total Canadian advertising revenue, up from just 19.2% in 2010. A primary driver of digital advertising throughout the forecast period will be rapid rises in mobile and video Internet advertising.
Alongside Internet advertising, digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) will be another high-growth area, with revenues rising at a 10.9% CAGR in Canada. Given the high costs of upgrading OOH to digital formats, the most lucrative markets for DOOH advertising will be major cities. By 2019, Canada will see DOOH advertising account for 45.6% of total OOH advertising revenue.
Canadian traditional TV penetration is forecast to fall from 75% in 2012 to 64.5% in 2019, the report continues, as viewers demand high-quality original programming in a flexible, on-demand manner across numerous devices that over-the-top (OTT) services provide.
"As the landscaped continues to shift and evolve, media companies need to continue to focus on the user experience as well as delivering community based relevant content rather than taking a global "one-size-fits-all" approach", said Lisa Coulman, partner, Audit and Assurance at PwC, in the report’s release. "In order to meet the changing needs of consumers, companies need to be focused on innovation when it comes to the user experience, facilitate consumer relationships across distribution channels and increasingly focus on mobile in keeping with the migration of consumers to that platform."