Ghana’s Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry has more than tripled in value since 2013, with the total revenue reaching $752 million in 2017, a PwC report has said.

According to the entertainment and media outlook: 2018 – 2022, this should reach $1 billion in 2019 to total $1.5 billion in 2022, increasing at a 14.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

As with Nigeria and Kenya, Internet access spend in Ghana accounts for much of this revenue, and growth. The country’s telecom market, in general, is projected to maintain high growth over the next five years to 2022. 

The digital services segment, comprising mobile data, mobile financial services, e-commerce and ICT enterprise, among others, will remain a key revenue driver for service providers. 

As such, the competition will shift from voice to mobile financial services and broadband segments in future. Ghana has also commenced the rollout of the 4G spectrum in the 800MHz band through public auction. 

MTN Ghana was the first operator to be granted a licence and has since launched a commercial 4G LTE network, with other operators later following suit. Mobile Internet access revenue alone will exceed $1 billion in 2022, growing at an 18.1% CAGR. 

TV and video revenue

TV and video revenue was the only other segment to have exceeded $100 million in 2017, but within this number, pay-TV is struggling for growth, with subscriptions relatively flat and additions primarily focused on entry-level low ARPU packages. 

This leaves the Ghanaian market relying on consistent economic growth and strong business confidence for advertising to thrive, but with GDP growth on a strong path to 2022, TV advertising revenue will rise from $73 million in 2017 to $112 million in 2022, an 8.9% CAGR. 
With overall double-digit growth seen in video games and music and continued momentum to the radio market, growth to 2022 without Internet access will still be robust.

For the consumers of the countries covered in this Outlook, countless new entertainment and media (E&M) options are becoming available thanks, in major part, to the unstoppable rise of mobile Internet. 

As the mobile device cements itself as the pre-eminent source of the E&M experience, the most disruptive, forward-thinking companies are striving to create an integrated ecosystem suited to this consumer-driven dynamic – one in which social media and e-commerce are interlinked with the entertainment experience itself. This is a model, pioneered by Chinese companies, that could be replicated anywhere in the world. 

Meanwhile, as big tech compete ever more fiercely in the entertainment and media spaces that have the most promising digital revenue prospects, such as OTT video and music streaming, new fronts continue to appear – from artificial intelligence to smart home services to virtual assistants. 

There is growing convergence across the entertainment and media industry, and boundaries between previously distinct sectors are now blurring in the battle for the attention of the consumer in a world which is rapidly digitising. 

Globally, the past 12 months have been marked by a number of significant developments. 

Firstly, streaming services, TV companies and social networks competing simultaneously over both conventional sports and e-sports rights and TV companies, telcos, tech companies, OTT operators and movie studios competing to provide TV content. 

Secondly, radio stations, podcast companies and streaming services competing to provide radio and podcast content and Google, Clear Channel and ad tech companies competing to provide digital OOH services. 

Thirdly, news publishers transforming into media companies by hiring VR teams and video experts, and even automobile manufacturers and radio providers working hand in hand. 

The ever-increasing use of mobile phones also requires companies to angle services and products towards E&M, a trend which demands industry-wide cooperation. Now that the most prized assets in the digital age have been determined, competition for those assets is coming from every conceivable direction. 

There is an increasing pressure on key players in the entertainment and media market to diversify their offerings and develop new revenue streams in order to keep subscriber figures, print sales, admission numbers and advertising investment buoyant; driving this convergence across the industry. To meet these growth targets, companies are also converging geographically, often targeting global markets, rather than regional ones. 

An already complicated E&M world is growing ever more so. Decision makers need data of unprecedented detail and granularity to navigate this world and inform their business plans. Within these pages are some of our many findings from such data – the Entertainment and media Outlook 2018-2022 – an African perspective.

The PwC’s outline is an in-depth analysis of the trends shaping the entertainment and media industry in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.