KPMG: Digital and the rapidly growing mobile–related markets biggest drivers

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

According to the results of the annual Media and Telecommunications Industry Business Outlook Survey by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax, and advisory firm, Media and telecommunications executives expect the burgeoning transition to digital and the rapidly growing mobile–related markets to supply the biggest revenue growth drivers during the next one to three years.In a survey of U.S.-based media and telecommunications company management, executives said emerging digital distribution methods will be the biggest revenue growth drivers between now and 2015. The most significant market opportunities include sales of applications and content over smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

For the second year in a row, nearly three-fourths of the media and telecommunications executives expect higher revenue one year from now with 67 percent anticipating moderately higher revenue and 6 percent expecting significantly higher revenue. Moreover, half of them said that the growth rate in their industry would be one to five percent over the next year, and another 21 percent said six to 10 percent, while 12 percent anticipated a decrease.

Additional revenue is a priority for most telecommunications executives when assessing the most significant affect of cloud computing on their organization. Fifty-five percent of the telecommunications execs and said it would provide medium or high revenue growth in the next few years. Another 7 percent said cloud computing would provide low revenue growth. Media respondents were more evenly split – 36 percent said revenue growth would be cloud computing’s most significant affect and 37 percent said cost reduction, while 27 percent said none.

Meanwhile, headcount is moving in the opposite direction of revenues, as only 40 percent of those surveyed, down from 47 percent in 2011 and 53 percent in 2010, anticipated an increase in their U.S. headcount 12 months from now. Regarding the rate of change, 28 percent, compared to 20 percent last year, projected a one to six percent decrease in headcount and 27 percent, compared to 36 percent in 2011, expected a one to six percent increase.