Mobile Entertainment Market

Market Overview

Owing to the massive amount of content provided by global mobile entertainment, the market is estimated to register a growth rate of 12% CAGR during the forecast period.

The advent of smartphones, tablets, and PCs disrupted the mobile entertainment industry and user lifestyle. Video streaming, mobile TV, and online games re-defined digital entertainment by providing an enhanced experience to the new generation. There is a wide range of availability of games and apps, broadening the customer base for the mobile entertainment market. The entertainment industry considers mobile as a crucial medium to make content production and distribution cost-effective. Large touch screens and rich multimedia functionalities supported by a wider bandwidth has allowed the content access anywhere and anytime. This has drastically influenced consumer demand; like movies, sitcom, news, or any other TV program that can be easily accessed on a smartphone or a tablet. Applications, on the other hand, have revolutionized the way people discover content. Movies, music, and games are establishing their own app versions, offering an access point for users to explore the content. Mobile content, which was limited to value-added services like ringtones, caller tunes, and wallpapers, is now dramatically shifting toward video streaming, high-end gaming, social media tools, and other entertainment apps. 

Social Media Supplanting TV Programs and Movies

TV programs and movies are now getting superseded by the internet as the primary source of entertainment. Social media and messaging apps are increasing in popularity and quality; Facebook, for instance, has been evolving since its arrival with more features and services in line to offer. It was initially used for tagging and poking friends, but nowadays, it has become a great avenue to entertainment where you can share videos, play games, check-in at venues, make online purchases, etc. Although communication is the predominant intention of facebook, entertainment makes it more user-friendly and popular. Gaming is setting a new benchmark in the entertainment industry. It has increasingly become an entertainment platform that seems to be the goal of every social media site. Gaming apps can also be used as a social networking site where gamers can communicate. There is a wide range of different kinds of games to choose from the play store, which are often offered without any charges.

Global connectivity with social media is just a click away. LinkedIn, a professional social media platform has widespread popularity among companies. It provides job searching and allows employees of different companies to connect with each other. On social media, users can share interests, check profiles, and find individuals with similar interests. Social media, like any other socializing platform, has its risks and disadvantages, including scams. However, its overwhelming advantages prevail over this downside.

High-Speed Internet Complements Mobile Entertainments Services

The increasing population of smartphones and tablets users across the world is the pivotal factor driving the global mobile entertainment market growth. Furthermore, network providers offering high-speed broadband services are also significantly contributing to the market growth. Video-on-demand, mobile TV, and online music are some of the free services accelerating market growth. Photo sharing and editing applications such as Snapchat, Instagram, and PicsArt have gained widespread popularity regardless of the consumer’s age group. Daily use of social networking sites, e-commerce websites, blogs, and sophisticated games has further revolutionalized the global mobile entertainment market. However, privacy and security concerns and hacking are hampering market growth as these applications have complete access to personal information, such as contacts, location, and others. Poor network connectivity in some geographical areas and the high prices of some services are few other determinants impeding market growth. On the other hand, upcoming trends in technology, such as an increase in the adoption of cloud services for music streaming apps, are foreseen to bring forth novel opportunities for the market in the forthcoming years.

High-End Games on Smartphones

The gaming segment has been the highest revenue generator in the past years and is expected to continue to dominate during the forecast period. Companies like Gameloft, Ubisoft, EA Sports, and others, are developing high-definition graphics games that are playable on smartphones. However, the music and TV segment is expected to show a marked growth, owing to the increasing use of music and entertainment apps. Music, media, and entertainment applications in 2018 witnessed the biggest usage rate due to the rise of tablet devices and better Internet connectivity in India.

In-App Advertising – An Effective Monetization Strategy

The in-app advertising segment is presently dominating the market due to the burgeoning number of apps coming free of cost. Most app developers offer a free version with in-app advertisements and reduced content, which the user can later upgrade to a premium version. The segment is envisaged to stay the most significant contributor to the mobile entertainment market’s revenue generation for the next few years. Social media advertising and online video advertising segments are projected to show a remarkable growth rate due to the increasing number of video streaming services and online viewers.

Regional Analysis

Asia-Pacific’s Widening High-Speed 5G Infrastructure

Asia-Pacific’s market dominance is ascribed to the growing penetration of smartphones in tandem with the arrival of high-speed 5G networks in countries such as South Korea. Prominent vendors in the APAC region considerably earn from video consumption. Telcos and service providers have entered into strategic partnerships with brands offering multiple services and discounted subscriptions to users. Airtel and Vodafone collaborated with Amazon Prime and Netflix, respectively, to provide low-cost video streaming services. According to a study, Indian youth spends more than 50% of the time on applications like Facebook and WhatsApp, and music and entertainment apps.

Latin America’s Increasing Smartphone Penetration

In Latin America, smartphone penetration per capita accounted for 7.6% in 2016. The smartphone penetration per capita is projected to reach 39.1% by 2029. This indicates the potential growth of the smartphone market in Latin America.

Europe’s Rising Purchasing Power and MEA’s Changing Lifestyles

Europe is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period, owing to the rising purchasing power and technological awareness among the population. The Middle East and Africa region is likely to witness moderate growth for the mobile entertainment market during the forecast period. Changing lifestyles and shifting technological preferences among the youngsters is expected to fuel the mobile entertainment market in these regions.

Recent Developments

• AT&T started the roll out an app update for DirecTV, which is now an Internet-TV streaming service. It provides DVR access coupled with 20 hours of storage with no extra charge
• Epic Games, the company which made Fortnite, announced the launch of the game for iOS mobile devices. Also, the company announced the same for an android version and is set to be launched shortly.