This projection comes from PwC’s newly released Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2025–2029, which shows a seismic transition in how the industry earns and evolves, powered heavily by artificial intelligence and changing consumer habits.

At the core of this growth is a gap between consumer spending and advertising revenue. While consumer expenditure across E&M is projected to grow at a modest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2%, advertising is surging at 6.1% CAGR, three times faster. 

This shows that the commercial logic of the industry is changing, people may be spending less, but advertisers are spending more to reach them.

AI is driving this growth from several angles. From hyper-personalised targeting across platforms to real-time analytics and automated video editing, artificial intelligence is trimming production costs and enabling producers to deliver content tailored to specific markets in ways that weren’t possible five years ago.

Digital advertising, which made up 72% of the total ad revenue in 2024, is expected to reach 80% by 2029. That growth is being driven by retail media, mobile and social video, and notably, connected TV (CTV) advertising, which is changing traditional broadcast models. 

PwC forecasts that CTV ad revenue will climb to $51 billion by 2029, up from a minor share in 2020, thanks largely to AI-powered personalisation that enables precision targeting across streaming services.

Meanwhile, the video gaming sector is proving to be a revenue juggernaut of its own. By 2029, it is projected to pull in nearly $300 billion, surpassing the combined earnings of the global film and music industries. Much of that growth will be fuelled by in-game advertising, branded content, and the meteoric rise of mobile and e-sports markets.

Some of the most explosive growth is happening outside traditional Western strongholds. Emerging markets like India, Indonesia, and Nigeria are overtaking global averages with CAGRs above 7.5%. In India, internet advertising alone is growing at nearly 16% per year, driven by increasing access to 5G and surging demand for short-form video.

Beyond revenue numbers, AI is becoming integral to the creative process. Scriptwriting, localisation, audience analytics, and video editing are all being automated and optimised, reducing turnaround time and enabling production teams to serve highly segmented audiences without ballooning costs.

Bart Spiegel, Global Entertainment and Media Leader at PwC U.S., said: “There’s certain general macroeconomic pressures on individuals, families and advertising starts to subsidize a lot of that.” 

He added, “[The industry] has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, but companies will need to remain nimble and proactive to embrace the future and satisfy consumers in an ecosystem that rewards creativity and tailored content.”

This follows years of speculation and denials, pointing to Meta’s thriving urgency to turn WhatsApp’s massive user base into a revenue driver.

The messaging platform, which now serves over two billion people globally, is rolling out three commercial tools designed to help creators, businesses, and organisations promote content and generate income. 

These include paid Channel subscriptions, promoted listings for Channels in the app’s Discovery section, and targeted ads inside WhatsApp’s Status feature.

The changes will be limited to the Updates tab, which hosts both Channels and Status updates, and not the main chat interface where users exchange personal messages. 

Meta says this strategy aims to avoid disrupting the private, ad-free chat experience WhatsApp is known for.

“We’ve been talking about our plans to build a business that does not interrupt your personal chats for years and we believe the Updates tab is the right place for these new features to work,” WhatsApp said.

According to the company, the rollout is phased and may take several months to reach all users globally. While the features are business-centric, Meta insists that privacy is unchanged and personal messaging will not be affected or monitored for advertising.

“I want to be really clear about one thing: Your personal messages, calls and statuses will remain end-to-end encrypted. This means no one, not even us, can see or hear them, and they cannot be used for ads,” said Nikila Srinivasan, vice president of Product Management at Meta.

Instead, ads and suggestions will rely on basic device-level data such as language, city, and how users interact with the Updates tab. 

For those who have linked WhatsApp to Meta’s Accounts Centre, their ad preferences and Meta-wide activity may influence what they see, though not their phone numbers, private messages, or group activities.

“To show ads in Status or Channels, we’re going to use basic information like your country or city, your device language and your activity in the Updates tab,” Srinivasan added.

With this new development, Meta wants to transform WhatsApp into a multi-layered platform, one that accommodates both personal communication and business engagement. 

Until now, WhatsApp’s monetisation exertions had been largely restricted to business messaging tools and minimal ad tests.

This is the first time WhatsApp will allow businesses to push sponsored content in ways similar to Instagram Stories, while creators and public figures can charge subscribers for exclusive content via Channels.

The timeline for full global availability is not yet known but Meta has already opened up access to the features through its WhatsApp Business tools.