Global consumer spending on overall media content and technology grew at a 4.4% rate in 2024 to $2.371 trillion. This, says PQ Media, marks the third consecutive year of decelerating growth after a 4.5% increase in 2023, and that followed the strongest growth in consumer media spend in a decade the prior year.
As PQ sees it, growth slowed by more than expected in 2024, as certain categories underperformed — particularly movie admissions, which rose at mid-single-digit rates in most markets when a double-digit gain had been projected.
Global consumer spending on overall media content grew 8.1% in 2024 to $1.075 trillion, while total media-related technology spending rose only 1.4% to $1.296 trillion. Consumer spend on digital media content and tech worldwide increased 5.7% in 2024 to $1.783 trillion, while end-user spend on traditional media content and tech inched up 0.6% to $588.56 billion.
Growth might have been even worse if not for select media platforms that outpaced expectations, most notably consumer books, with a cadre of unexpected adult trade books that became bestsellers, and a spike in Western European spending across multiple media categories, helped by the Summer Olympics in Paris.
While global trends are lackluster, the United States remained the largest consumer media and related tech market in the world with total expenditures of $544.18 billion in 2024.
Global consumers spent an average of $395.43 on all media content and related tech in 2024, a 3.9% gain over 2023, of which $297.29 was spent on digital media and $98.14 on traditional media.
Yet, clouds are building on the horizon. PQ Media’s research indicates that consumer expenditures on media are expected to decelerate during the 2025-2029 period, as numerous media categories become obsolete, such as dial-up internet; feature mobile phones; music CDs and CD players; single music downloads and MP3 players; and video DVDs, DVD players and home video subscriptions. “Many digital tech categories will post declining growth rates during the forecast period, including tablets, smartphones, laptops, PCs and home networks & storage,” PQ Media says, adding that 14 of the 16 traditional media categories will post declines as well. There are two exceptions: public radio and public TV license fees. Furthermore, other media categories that once boasted annual double-digit gains will exhibit only single-digit growth rates by the end of the forecast period, such as digital games, apps & microtransactions; e-books & m-books; video-on-demand; wireless data subscriptions; digital audio receivers; entertainment & workflow software; and security software & services.
“Consumer confidence has fallen in most markets to the lowest level since the pandemic, which will result in consumers trimming discretionary spending in 2025, and possibly beyond dependent upon unforeseen Trump policies in the remaining years of his term. While consumer spending on media will accelerate in even years, the growth rates will be significantly lower than previous years that international sporting events were held,” said PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn. “The tariffs are impacting both developed and emerging markets, particularly relating to electronically delivered content and the devices that are used to upload the content.”
While AI is the latest innovation shaking the media economy, it’s not having much of an impact on consumer media spend, other than the category of entertainment & workflow software. AI has not yet materially grown the amount of time people spend with media, but appears to be making some tasks, like search, more efficient.
