The entertainment and media sector is amongst those hit hard by the pandemic.

Hong Kong’s entertainment and media (E&M) sector is expected to grow US$10b annually by 2025, the PwC projected in its Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2021-2025 report.

The city’s E&M revenue is seen to rise by 7.56% year-on-year (YoY) to US$8.4b in 2021, rebounding from the US$7.8b revenue in 2020, which is an 11.1% YoY drop.

“Rapid growth for industries was boosted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers flocked to digital platforms, fuelling a rebound in 2021,” PwC Mainland China and Hong Kong Media Leader Cecilia Yau said. “Driving this change in consumer behaviour, as they found new sources of internet-reliant entertainment.”

Digital platforms, such as OTT video, video games, and internet advertising, were not as severely affected by the pandemic, compared to live music, cinema, and out-of-home advertising sectors.

OTT video revenue in Hong Kong saw a rapid growth through the year at a 10.32% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to hit US$305m in 2021 and projected at a 9.12% CAGR by 2025.

Moreover, Hong Kong has a large video games market with total revenue reaching US$991m in 2020. The segment is poised for robust growth with revenue reaching US$1.2b at 4.11% CAGR in 2025.

“OTT and video games got a boost from the lockdown as online viewing habits stayed, OTT providers met the high demand by expanding the breadth and depth of content to lock in viewers,” PwC Hong Kong Consulting Leader Edmund Lee said.

“Hong Kong OTT market remains saturated, so with little room for subscription growth, new revenue sources will come from the premium content bundle, higher definition or niche content offerings.”