Ireland’s Entertainment & Media (E&M) industry is on track to grow steadily over the next five years, with total revenues expected to climb from €6.4bn in 2024 to €7.5bn by 2029. That represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3%, slightly below the global forecast of 3.7% CAGR over the same period.
The findings are contained in PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2025–2029, the consultancy’s 26th annual analysis of E&M spending across 54 countries. The report tracks performance across sectors including cinema, internet advertising, video-on-demand (VOD), connectivity services, music, radio, podcasts, newspapers, consumer magazines, books, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, video games and traditional television.
Globally, the E&M sector is projected to expand from €2.5trn in 2024 to €3trn in 2029.
Resilience Amid Uncertainty
Despite a backdrop of slower consumer spending, heightened competition, and ongoing economic uncertainty, Ireland’s E&M industry recorded a 3% revenue increase between 2023 (€6.2bn) and 2024 (€6.4bn). PwC says the steady growth underlines the resilience of the Irish market, even as its trajectory lags behind the global average, largely due to weaker performance in traditional gaming.
Amy Ball, Partner at PwC Ireland’s Entertainment & Media Practice, said the sector is at a pivotal point.
“As the E&M industry continues to be impacted by broader economic uncertainty and slower consumer spending, the Irish E&M industry continues to show steady growth and resilience,” she said.
“Advertising is emerging as the leading powerhouse of the Irish entertainment and media industry’s revenues – a transformation expected to continue as AI transforms delivery models, democratises content production, serves highly curated content experiences and reduces barriers to entry. The E&M industry has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, but companies will need to remain nimble and proactive to embrace the future and satisfy consumers in an ecosystem that rewards creativity and tailored content.”
PwC highlights three main drivers of growth in Ireland’s E&M market between now and 2029: connectivity, internet advertising, and video-on-demand.
Connectivity services: Internet services remain the single largest contributor to Irish E&M revenues, generating €2.6bn in 2024 – 42% of the total. That figure is forecast to grow to €3.1bn by 2029 at a CAGR of 2.5%.
Mobile service revenue will rise at 3.4% CAGR to €1.7bn by 2029, while fixed services will grow more modestly at 1.4% CAGR to €1.3bn. The expansion of 5G is a major factor: since 2020, all Irish operators have rolled out commercial services, and by 2025 5G subscriptions are expected to overtake 4G. By 2029, penetration will hit 182%, meaning more than one active SIM-connected device per person in Ireland.
Internet advertising: Internet advertising is the fastest-growing sector in the Irish market, with revenue projected to rise from €1.1bn in 2024 to €1.8bn in 2029, a CAGR of 9.2% – outpacing the global average of 8.4%.
Video advertising is the standout performer, forecast to expand at 12.6% CAGR to €198m by 2029. Other display formats will grow by 9.2%, while paid search – the largest category, accounting for nearly 59% of the market in 2024 – will climb 8.3% annually. Classifieds will see more modest growth at 4%.
PwC notes that by 2029, advertising revenue in Ireland (€2.3bn) will overtake consumer E&M spend (€2.2bn). In 2024, consumer spend still outpaced advertising (€2bn versus €1.7bn).
Video-on-Demand (VOD): Ireland’s VOD market has more than doubled since 2020, reaching €223m in 2024, and is set to expand at 6.7% CAGR to €309m in 2029. Subscription-based services (SVOD) will continue to dominate, accounting for 85% of the market, while advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) will capture 11%.
Irish households are “stacking” multiple streaming services, with subscriptions expected to rise from 1.9m in 2024 to 2.6m in 2029. While Irish SVOD platforms have not yet adopted advertising tiers, PwC highlights the global shift towards hybrid models as providers prioritise profitability over pure subscriber growth.
The PwC report also identified a number of other notable trends.
Gaming: The Irish video games market is forecast to grow from €397m in 2024 to €503m in 2029 (4.8% CAGR), slower than the global rate of 5.7%. Social and casual gaming is set to overtake traditional console and PC gaming by 2029, marking a significant shift in market dynamics. In-app advertising will play a bigger role, reaching €51m by 2029.
Cinema and live entertainment: Cinema revenues reached €101m in 2024 and are projected to climb to €126m by 2029 (4.7% CAGR), outpacing global growth of 4.1%. Admissions will rise from 11.3m to 12.8m over the same period. Ireland’s Section 481 tax credit continues to attract international film and TV productions, supporting over 15,000 jobs.
Music and radio: Revenues will increase modestly at 2.2% CAGR to €517m by 2029. Live music remains the dominant segment, accounting for two-thirds of the €355m total in 2024.
Shifting value: Digital advertising dominates growth, while physical media continues to decline. Print advertising, physical PC games, and magazines are among the fastest-declining segments.
AI: A Transformative Force
The report underscores the growing role of artificial intelligence across the industry. “In advertising, AI is enabling hyper-personalised campaigns and more efficient content creation. In gaming, AI is being used to predict churn and deliver targeted ads. In film and music production, it promises faster, cheaper development cycles,” the report notes.
Sounding a note of caution, PwC “stresses the need for robust regulation to protect intellectual property and creative rights as the technology becomes more deeply embedded in workflows.”
Naomi Ryan, Senior Manager with PwC Ireland’s Entertainment & Media Practice, said businesses must adapt to this rapidly evolving landscape:
“Consumers have never had as numerous or diverse choices of entertainment services on offer, but this competition, paired with economic uncertainty and rising costs, is seeing consumer E&M spend growth slow. If entertainment and media businesses are to capture new audiences and generate growth, they must be thinking about the connected ecosystems in which they operate.
They must leverage the power of advertising and AI, the combination of which is allowing for far more cost-effective and personalised content creation and engagement models.”
