The media and entertainment industry has become an integral part of most people’s lives. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted significantly on the entertainment industry resulting in losses to the live entertainment sector, online and mobile entertainment has grown by leaps and bounds as a result.
Entertainment and media are now primarily accessed on our mobile devices and the idea that fun has gone mobile is now fact. Most people in the world today will access some form of media and entertainment on their mobile devices during the course of a day. This article looks at how and why this is the case and whether it is expected to continue.
Mobile entertainment
The USA accounts for the largest market of streaming video on demand (SVoD) in the world. With more than 40% of all streaming revenue coming from the US, it dominates the SVoD by a long way. The rise of video streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney and Amazon Prime have contributed billions to the entertainment and media industry and particularly over the last 18 months.
Those in the media and entertainment industry are also predicting that online and mobile entertainment will very soon go beyond just SVoD and move into other high revenue sectors. Netflix, for example, is looking at the podcast and gaming sectors as possible avenues for expansion. While this may take some time, the Financial Times reports that “companies that can make serious investments in new markets without feeling any pressure to reap an immediate return will have a big advantage.”
Changes in media consumption
It is undeniable that we are spending more time engaging with entertainment online and the reasons vary. Restrictions on outdoor activity have certainly contributed, but the diversity of what is available online is another key factor. That you can find pretty much any kind of movie, series, documentary, mockumentary, reality TV show or news show online is a testament to that diversity. And this fuels the shifts in media and entertainment consumption.
Research shows that US adults will consume around 11 hours of overall media per day. This is a 20% increase across all media sectors since 2011. More surprising is not only a significant increase in media consumption but the shift from online to mobile consumption. In 2011, US adults consumed around 45 minutes of media on their mobile devices compared with just over 5 hours on their televisions. In 2021, we spend just over 4 hours consuming media on our mobile devices and around the same amount of time on television. This is a significant increase in online consumption of around 460%.
Why Media and Entertainment have Gone Online
- Convenience is a key factor
If there is ever a time you don’t have your mobile phone close to you or know exactly where it was you probably feel a mild sense of panic. Having a device that we are in constant contact with, is familiar to us and understands our wants and demands means that it has become a key source of entertainment and media consumption.
The innovation of mobile apps is also driving the growth of mobile media and entertainment consumption as there are now more and more apps target the media industry. It is now possible to use a live streaming app to access live episodes of your favorite TV show, sporting event or news event. This means you no longer have to stay home to watch a live event or TV show and can instead watch it from anywhere with your mobile device.
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The variety
The number of options available has also driven the move from online to mobile entertainment. From the Zoltar Speaks Slot game to Fantasy sporting leagues of all sports all over the world, these are now all available on mobile devices and accessible from anywhere. Mobile gaming is a growing and significant source of revenue in the media industry. Of the 2.7 billion people that play video games, 2.5 billion are mobile gamers. Partly driving this impressive market is the variety and diversity of what is available for mobile gamers.
There is something available for everyone but finding it may not always be as easy as we think. However, the rise of social media has meant that finding the kind of content that suits you is also not difficult. If you have found your niche group or follow a particular kind of influencer on social media, then you are likely to come across the kinds of mobile entertainment that will suit you. Using your mobile phone to trawl social media platforms to find mobile entertainment is the epitome of mobile consumption for any generation.
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The demand
More people than ever now access all their media and entertainment using a handheld device, smart phone or tablet. The mobile entertainment sector is expected to grow more than any other entertainment sector in the coming years and this will arguably double the demand for content over the next five years. The demand for content that is optimized for mobile has been phenomenal as people now want to have the news, entertainment and sport at the tip of their fingers. The growing proliferation of smart devices and phones across the globe has means that there was huge demand for content and as such the media and the entertainment industry has acquiesced and there is suitable provision to meet this demand. The big players in the entertainment industry like AT&T, Epic Games, Amazon, Apple and Facebook have all come to the party in a big way and the drive is now to produce enough quality content that will all be mobile based and suited to iOS based devices and more.
The fastest growing market at the moment is the Asia Pacific region and this seems to mirror the growth in smart devices and the rise in the number of people who can now afford these devices.
The growth of mobile entertainment via the internet is the leading use of smart devices and as they increase in number, and the users get younger, there will be more media and entertainment content on the internet designed to be accessed via mobile devices.
