(Yicai Global) Oct. 22 -- China's subscription video-on-demand revenue is expected to exceed movie theaters' takings for the first time this year, according to a new report.

Thanks to the advent of fifth-generation mobile networks and other advanced technologies, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a shift from traditional to digital channels, US accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a report released today.

"In order to meet consumers' demand for home entertainment, distributors have changed their distribution models to directly release on Over-The-Top streaming media platforms," according to the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2020-2024: China summary.

The compound annual growth rate of China’s OTT media services, which are streaming services offered directly to viewers through the internet, will reach 12.2 percent from this year to 2024, and should bring in revenue of USD16.1 billion by 2024, it said.

Meanwhile, the movie industry is set to grow at a compound annual rate of 37.8 percent from this year to 2024 and should rake in USD8.1 billion in 2024, still USD2.2 billion less than last year's takings.

"The pandemic has battered but not killed China's movie industry," the report said, adding that 2020 is the worst year on record. Revenue is likely to plunge 78.1 percent from the year before to USD2.26 billion as audience numbers shrink to 400 million from 1.8 billion, the report said.

China's early positioning in fifth-generation network technologies is incubating more demand for online services, Wilson Chow, PwC Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry Leader, told Yicai Global.

China now boasts the world's most users of home-based fixed broadband and mobile Internet. Online ads tend to favor mobile terminals due to the spike in online traffic. 5G technologies will also further increase the contribution of advertising through live-streaming services to revenues.

Live-streaming services have grown into a sales channel worth over CNY100 billion (USD15 billion). Its compound annual growth rate is expected to be 115 percent from 2018 to 2022, PwC said.

Video games will remain very popular, the report said. The CAGR of gaming will be 5.4 percent from this year to 2024, and revenue could reach USD38.5 billion by 2024.

There were 690,000 5G base stations in operation in China as of the end of last month, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou in particular are leading the way in terms of complete 5G coverage.

Editors: Xu Wei, Kim Taylor