16 February 2009

Mobile entertainment industry confident in face of economic downturn

MEF has launched the first quarterly Business Confidence Index (BCI) for the $32bn global mobile entertainment industry. It reveals that the industry is confident it will continue to grow despite the economic downturn, with MEF members predicting an average revenue growth of 27% in 2009.

The MEF BCI, compiled in collaboration with KPMG, is the first of its kind and was undertaken to gauge the confidence of the mobile entertainment industry and to highlight specific trends over time. Every quarter it surveys MEF members across the globe, representing the entire mobile entertainment value chain.

News of the BCI has already appeared in publications such as Mobile Entertainment and mocoNews.net,  and the report can soon be accessed by MEF members at www.m-e-f.org.

"I believe that the BCI’s positive outlook reflects ROI that our industry expects to see in 2009 and beyond after almost a decade of investment in mobile media. With growth anticipated across key segments of the industry, MEF will be working with our members to help them capitalise on new opportunities and address existing bottlenecks presented over the next twelve months.”
Rimma Perelmuter, Executive Director at MEF


As well as being optimistic about the growth of the industry as a whole, the MEF BCI identified a number of areas within mobile entertainment which are set to grow throughout 2009. The top five areas of growth were cited as:
  1. Social Networking
  2. Music
  3. Video
  4. Games
  5. Infotainment

When asked whether demand for mobile entertainment consumption would be impacted by the credit crunch, over half of respondents said they saw mobile entertainment as a 'feel good' affordable purchase and it would therefore be resilient to the effects of the downturn.

The MEF BCI also reveals the spread of mobile entertainment revenues across the globe, with China and Central & South America being seen as hotspots over the next twelve months and respondents predicting growth in excess of 50% in both regions.

“We believe that the quarterly BCI will make a great contribution to the industry, at a time when companies face great uncertainty in their forecasting and budgeting. It is an example of how MEF offers leadership in illuminating the status and trends of our industry. We appreciate the support of KPMG in running this large scale and highly confidential operation.”

Andrew Bud, Global Chair of the MEF

The MEF BCI will be conducted on a quarterly basis moving forward. A report on the findings of the first Business Confidence Index can soon be accessed by MEF members at www.m-e-f.org.

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