HAMPSHIRE, U.K. — The mobile and online entertainment industry — including mainstream, gambling and adult services — will see revenue in excess of $300 billion annually by 2019, up from $195 billion this year, according to a new study released by Juniper Research.
In the study, Juniper said that the online adult industry is forecast to see more than 182 billion video views by 2019, but as a proportion of entertainment revenues, it will fall to just two percent by that time.
Gambling will retain its position as the third largest source of entertainment revenue throughout the forecast period, with ongoing legislative changes in the U.S. and Italy seen as key to greater service adoption, the study said.
The research also found that while video game revenue will capture the lion's share of the digital entertainment market opportunity in 2015, this sector is comparatively mature.
The research observed that growth in the market would be driven by increased adoption of online TV and video services, with the industry accounting for more than 60 percent of the net increase in market value over the next five years.
Juniper’s new white paper, “Digital Content — Now That's Entertainment,” found that OTT (over the top) service providers such as Netflix and Hulu are likely to prove increasingly attractive through a combination of third party and home grown content, with a subscription-based model supplanting the on-demand approach.
Meanwhile, Juniper observed that while OTT content provider services pose an increasing threat to broadcasters, MNOs (mobile network operators) have the opportunity to monetize content through the provision of carrier billing solutions.
Juniper’s study found that where carrier billing was offered as an alternative to credit card billing, there was a dramatic rise in conversion rates. It also observed that with smartphone adoption spreading rapidly in developing markets, carrier billing offered the prospect of monetizing the unbanked and underbanked for the first time.
The whitepaper, “Digital Content — Now That's Entertainment,” is available to download from the Juniper website.
