SYDNEY – About 5.5 million Australians, or 3 million households, will own a tablet computer by 2015, according to research by Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

In its Australian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2011-2015, PwC says the rate of adoption of tablets Down Under is likely to be twice as fast as the take-up of smartphones, broadband and other technologies that have preceded it.

Overall the Australian entertainment and media industry will grow 28 percent over the next five years, largely due to growth in consumer spending, especially on interactive gaming, Internet access and subscription television, according to the report.

PwC said this rate of growth should increase the revenue of the entertainment and media industry in Australia to $36.2 billion by 2014.

Analyst David Wiadrowski said consumers are driving the market. “Consumers are the secret to success for individual businesses and the sector as whole,” he said. “Empowerment is what consumers want and businesses who can deliver that will grow successfully in the future.”

He also said the National Broadband Network will drive businesses to empower consumers through greater choice and more competitive broadband prices.

“With machines in homes becoming smarter, people sharing information through social networks and data being stored in clouds, the appetite for content and speed strengthens,” said Wiadrowski. “High-speed broadband connectivity is an opportunity to satisfy consumers’ growing appetites.”

In retrospect, the Australian entertainment and media industry grew by 1.1 percent in 2009, compared to a decline in the global market of 1.8 percent.

The research also shows the interactive games segment was the standout performer of the entertainment and media industry, defying the global financial crisis to grow 7.7 percent.

PwC predicts that over the next five years, the sector will continue its stellar growth, reaching $2.5 billion in 2014.

Over the forecast period (2010-2014), online games are tipped to rise by 20.4 percent CAGR to reach $534 million. Mobile games will increase by 15.7 percent CAGR to $496 million.

The Australian Internet industry (access and advertising) meanwhile is expected to grow from $7 billion in 2009 to $10.6 billion in 2014.

In-home digital downloading of movies is forecast to grow at 117.8 percent per year to reach $126 million in 2014. Demand for rental DVDs is also expected to stay strong for a number of years as kiosks and online subscriptions proliferate.

Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers