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PwC says the entertainment and media industry will be worth £64bn by 2018 IBTimes UK

Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC) predicts that the UK entertainment and media market will be worth £64bn by the end of 2018.

In its Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2014-2018 report, which covers internet advertising, out of home (OOH) advertising and TV advertising amongst other subjects, PwC says that it expects the total market to grow by 3.1% compounded annually up to 2018.

As it stands, the UK, whose market was valued at £58.6bn ($98.2bn, €72bn) in 2013, has the second largest entertainment and media market in the EMEA, sitting only behind Germany.

The report says three-quarters of the British population will have a smartphone by 2018 while half will own a tablet.

The increase in tablets will be the catalyst for the e-book industry, which will more than double in the next four years as 41% of revenue in this sector will be accounted for by e-books – up from 18% in 2013.

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PwC also reports that the UK currently has the largest internet advertising industry in Europe, and third worldwide behind China and the USA.

It is also the fastest-growing and it will be worth £9.6bn by 2018, a compounded annual growth of 9.3%.

"London is widely considered the digital advertising capital of Europe, and linguistic similarities mean that the UK tends to be the first port of call for US publishers and ad tech players entering the European market," said Phil Stokes, entertainment and media lead partner at PwC.

"All of this adds up to a vibrant, and still growing, internet advertising sector," he continued.

The other fastest growing areas in this time-frame will be internet access (2.3% compounded annual interest), OOH advertising (5.2%), video games (5.1%) and TV advertising (3.5%).

"This growth is being driven by the internet and by consumers' love of new technology, particularly mobile technology and applications powered by analytics and the cloud; they demand excellence in customer experience – a social experience as well as a personal one," said Stokes.