Mobile entertainment has completely revolutionized the way we waste time. A nearly endless amount of games, videos and music means that if we don’t want to make eye contact with another human on our morning commute, then we never have to.
Stuck in line at the grocery store? There’s probably an app for that.
Waiting to see if your Tinder date stood you up? Might as well kill a few levels of Two Dots to pass the time.
There’s a massive industry surrounding mobile entertainment, and it’s evolving—a lot. The global mobile entertainment market is expected to top $80 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 17.68% through the forecast period.
The market is loosely segmented into mobile games, music and TV, and it’s some key trends in these areas that are expect to create the perfect conditions to support market growth through 2019.
Top Trends in Mobile Entertainment
Change in User Demographics
A change in demographics has primarily been seen in the games segment of the market. Going mobile has opened the world of gaming to a much broader user base, which extends well beyond traditional console gamers.
This has opened up major opportunities for vendors to explore new revenue models, as the focus has shifted from traditional sales to sales of virtual goods, subscription-based games, ad-based games, and games as a service.
Increase in Adoption of Cloud Services for Music Streaming
Subscription services like Spotify are making it easier than ever for consumers to access huge amounts of (legal) music. And since it’s all stored in the cloud, one subscription gives you access to your music collection regardless of the device you’re using.
Companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon are now focusing on cloud music from a storage perspective, providing a remote locker for downloaded tracks. Such innovations are expected to help companies generate higher revenues on the digital front through the forecast period.
Wearable Technology
Smartphone manufacturers are developing and introducing various wearables that can connect to smartphones. The Apple Watch, for example, can display the time as well as allowing users to track their health, view maps, access Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and stream music. It is expected that vendors will develop applications and interfaces that will enable wearable smart devices to access various mobile entertainment applications on the wearable device.
Popularity of Multiplayer Mobile Gaming
The evolution of better, more innovative mobile devices is expected to foster the growth of multiplayer mobile gaming during the forecast period. This sub-segment of gaming is still in its infancy, but increased adoption and popularity of MMORPGs is also expected to drive the growth of this market during the forecast period.
Growing In-App Advertising
Ad revenues are down across traditional media, which means that many companies are looking to pick up the slack in the mobile sphere. Luckily for them, most consumers now carry around an advertising goldmine in their pocket.
In-app advertising has increased exponentially in recent years, in tandem with the number of smartphone and tablet users. These in-app ads help generate additional revenue, which is boosting the mobile ad spending market and providing a solid base for growth in mobile entertainment.
