As technology evolves, the media and entertainment landscape is constantly changing. Here’s how most of us are spending our time interacting across the media and entertainment spectrum.
Globally, consumers spend an average of 463 minutes (over 7.5 hours) per day watching or interacting with some form of media. North Americans are some of the largest consumers of media as many interact with it daily at their jobs.
Media and entertainment continue to evolve quickly into 2022. Not only do we need to consider current sources of media but also disruptors and new forms of content as well. Here’s how we see the most popular forms of media and entertainment landscape today (and where it’s headed tomorrow).
TV and Movies vs. Streaming Services
First and foremost, let’s check out the traditional visual entertainment media like TV and movies and then consider how that category stacks up against streaming services.
Some recent stats about TV and Movies:
In 2021, a total of 403 movies were released in the United States and Canada.
This number is up from the 2020 releases (approximately 334 movies) but lower than pre-pandemic release numbers, which were around 792 titles.
Total box office revenue also doubled in 2021 from the previous year to about 4.5 billion US dollars.
One of the major trends in 2021 was a decline in the overall viewership of awards TV shows (Golden Globes, Oscars, The Grammys, etc.).
Despite there being approximately 122.4 million homes with TV, paid TV subscription rates have declined about 10% in less than five years.
Based on this data, we predict that the media and entertainment category of “Movies” is going to continue to trend upward into 2022 as pandemic restrictions ease off. This is especially true as people look for new and novel ways to get out of the house (where many have been exclusively viewing their movies for over two years). It will be interesting to see if the general prediction that TV rating will continue to fade will be true.
That’s not to say that the average consumer has completely given up on watching TV. According to the below stats - the opposite is true!
Some recent stats about streaming services:
During COVID-19, streaming services like Netflix saw a major increase in new subscribers (36 million in 2020 and 18.2 million in 2021).
Disney has ratcheted up their content spending to $33 billion in 2022 - which almost doubles Netflix’s proposed spend in 2022.
The global streaming market is predicted to be worth upwards of $180 billion per year by 2027.
Consumers seem to prefer spending their time and money on media and entertainment options that give them flexibility, diversity, and access to the most buzzworthy shows around. Streaming giants like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu are all continuing to grow their market share and acquire larger libraries of content to offer to their subscribers. It’ll be interesting to see how the landscape in streaming services media and entertainment continues to innovate and expand.
Music and Live Music Experiences
Over the last couple of years, the music scene has taken a hit in terms of in-person experiences like concerts, festivals, and other gigs. However, with pandemic restrictions easing off, experts are predicting that this media and entertainment landscape is set for a massive boom. Music concerts are ready to make a massive comeback as people are itching to get out and listen to their favourite artists live again.
Some recent stats about music and live experiences:
The concert and live event industry is projected to be worth about $31 billion by 2022.
With streaming services becoming ever-present, live music concerts and performances are the most simple route for music artists to generate significant income.
Podcasts & Radio
Radio and podcasts are the next two media and entertainment categories in this list. Of course, radio is the more “traditional” form of this media, and podcasts are the industry disruptor. Podcasts have been game-changing for many during their commutes.
Radio (and music listening) has been evolving in recent years with innovative technologies such as streaming services or satellite radio. These two allow for more customizable and personal options. They also are accessible anywhere, whereas traditional radio channels are only broadcast in specific regional areas.
Some recent stats about radio:
The average daily time spent listening to the radio has decreased from 111 to 99 minutes over the last few years.
As of 2021, the most popular genres of music on the radio in North America were rock, pop, and country music.
The reasons that many cite listening to less radio over the last year include; less time spent in the car, lifestyle changes, more audio options in the vehicle, and Pandora/Spotify or other streaming services.
Podcasts have taken the average listener’s ear by storm. If there is a topic that a listener wants to learn about, hear an opinion on, or go for an adventure with – podcasts are the way to go. Over the last five years, podcast listenership has boomed.
Some recent stats about podcasts:
It’s estimated that there are currently over 2,000,000 podcast shows with over 48 million individual episodes available across dozens of streaming platforms.
About 75% of US citizens are familiar with the term “podcasting”.
49% of podcast listening is done at home, and about 22% is done in a vehicle.
Social Media
Digital communities have never been more engaging, richer, and more vibrant. More businesses, brands, and people continue to join social media networks every day – especially during times when it’s difficult to connect with friends and loved ones (like COVID-19).
As social media continues its rapid growth through the last decade, it’s been quite the journey of innovation. New social media platforms have risen (TikTok), and others have been the subject of controversy (Facebook). We’re keeping an eye on this landscape moving through 2022 to see how the power shifts and narrative changes in relation to social media.
Some recent stats about social media:
Today, the average daily use of social media is about 2 hours and 27 minutes.
At the end of September 2021, TikTok announced it had passed the 1 billion monthly user mark.
Every month, an average of 130 million social media users engage with branded or shopping posts.
Where are we trending moving into 2023 and beyond?
Some of the trends to watch in the media and entertainment landscape into 2023 are going to include; virtual reality and esports platforms, digital news media, more accessible and engaging website content, experience-focused entertainment venues and events, and more innovation in the technology sphere.
There’s one thing that is for sure in this landscape – media and entertainment may be changing, but it’s not going anywhere in our daily lives as consumers!