Forecasts for UK Media Market

According to a new report by media analysts Screen Digest and investment bank ABN Amro, British consumers are spending more time and money on media than ever before. Indeed, the total media market could be worth a staggering £56bn by the end of the decade. However, whilst the winners are electronic and online media, the losers are printed media.

In 1985, the total market for all forms of media was £7 billion, nearly half of which was spent on newspapers, books, magazines; one quarter was on electronic hardware and 18 percent on music, film and software, with just 11 percent being spent on media subscriptions - primarily TV licences. By 2010, those ratios are set to be completely reversed: just 16 percent of all consumer spending on media will be on printed matter; 19 percent on electronic hardware; 14 percent on music, film and leisure software whilst subscription media (e.g. mobile, Internet and pay-TV) will take the lion's share with 51 percent of all spend on media. Screen Digest/ABN Amro estimates that the total market for all forms of media by 2010 will be £56 billion but could reach £84 billion if new media opportunities can be fully exploited and if technological innovations create new forms of media.

In terms of time, the average Briton spends 53 hours per week consuming media, making it by far the largest use of our leisure time. By 2010, reading books, magazines and newspapers combined will account for just 72 minutes per week, while we could be spending eight and a half hours per week on either mobile telephony, online or using leisure software.

Mediaphile 2010 is the first report to analyse all aspects of consumer spend on media, combining comprehensive historical data with 10-year forecasts for every sector. According to co-author Dr Elizabeth Phillipson, 'this is one of the most ambitious media research and forecasting exercises ever attempted. It is the first comprehensive analysis of the entire spectrum of consumer media, entertainment and communications markets - hardware and software.'

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.