A new report out today from Veronis Suhler Stevenson forecasts spending on media and communications will outpace economic growthas consumers invest in mobile and web access and companies pay to reach them there.
Veronis projects 6.1 percent average annual growth between 2009 and 2014 for the media and communications industry, beating the 5.8 percent average annual growth rate for U.S. GDP. This year total communications spending is on track to grow 3.5 percent.
Some key trends:
Growing demand for subscription TV content will drive the entertainment and leisure" sector up an average of 6.3 percent each year, to a projected $353.9 billion by 2014.
This is in keeping with trends we saw from media earnings reports this past quarter — subscription revenues are a crucial and growing chunk of overall results.
It's not all good news: Traditional consumer advertising is projected to continue to decline this year and next as brands shift to alternative advertising. Marketers will continue to move away from traditional ads to targeted, measurable ad formats, like Internet and mobile ads. Still, traditional consumer ads are forecast to grow 2.2 percent annually to $159.3 billion in 2014
"Business and Professional Information and Services" is expected to be the fastest-growing industry sector with 8.2% compound annual growth from 2009 to 2013. This represents companies' push to invest in targeted database software and premium content to make their systems more efficient and their employees better informed.
More on CNBC.com:
