PwC: advertising to overtake consumer spending and reach $1.4tn by 2030.
Global advertising revenue passed $1 trillion for the first time in 2025 and is projected to reach $1.4 trillion in 2030, according to PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026–30. PwC expects advertising to overtake consumer spending on entertainment and media in 2026.
Advertising is the fastest-growing of the three big segments, at 5.6% a year to 2030, against 2.5% for consumer spending and 2.3% for connectivity, which rises from $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion. Internet advertising grew 12.2% in 2025 to $755.6 billion and is forecast to grow 7.2% a year. PwC credits AI-powered personalisation, which makes ads more targeted and lets them command higher prices. The whole industry reaches $4.2 trillion in 2030, growing 3.4% a year.
Streaming revenue grows 6.1% a year, and ads take a growing share of it, from 19.4% today to 22.6% by 2030, as subscription fatigue pushes platforms towards bundles and ad-supported tiers. Traditional TV revenue fell 2.7% in 2025 to $360.5 billion and is forecast to shrink to $341.2 billion by 2030. Box office grows 3.5% a year to $39.5 billion, mostly through higher prices, with EMEA rising from $8.6 billion to about $10.1 billion. Online betting, measured in ten markets, more than doubled between 2021 and 2025 to $79.5 billion, is heading for $119.7 billion by 2030 and is already larger than cinema.
The Outlook covers 53 countries and territories and 12 segments, built from third-party data, and was published on 22 June 2026. The headline figures are public, and the full data is sold by subscription. The release's only regional split is for box office, so it says nothing specific about Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Bart Spiegel, PwC's global entertainment and media sector leader, calls advertising "a powerhouse" for the industry.
For Gulf marketers, the direction matters more than the global totals. The growth is in digital advertising, ad-supported streaming and live experiences, while traditional TV shrinks, and if PwC is right that AI-targeted ads command higher prices, buying audiences will get more expensive.
Why it matters
Advertising is the fastest-growing of media's three big revenue segments, pushed by AI targeting and ad-supported streaming. PwC's release gives no Middle East figures, so Gulf marketers should treat these as global benchmarks.
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