Deloitte recently released their predictions for the media & entertainment industry. As you might imagine it is somewhat gloomy particularly for traditional media industries struggling to get to grips with digital distribution (e.g. print media and the music industry). However there are some silver linings in there:

Quick fix digital entertainment (not including music sales which are considered pretty much screwed):

the last two times the economy experienced a downturn, movie ticket and DVD sales went up. It is likely that people will continue to indulge themselves in the small pleasures of DVD consumption, interactive game-playing, online entertainment, books, social networking and television while eschewing big-ticket items such as cars, refrigerators and computers.

Advertising:

Advertising, which is a critical revenue source, is both under threat and faced with incredible opportunities. The traditional advertising segment has been struggling for some time and will continue to struggle into 2009 with the conclusion of the U.S. presidential election and the turmoil in the automotive and financial sectors, which are among the top advertising spenders. Online advertising is growing fast, as evidenced by 26 percent growth in 2007.³ Yet with some advertising budgets locked into longer term contracts, the ability to shift more advertising spend online could be limited. Mobile advertising, which to date has failed to gain traction, could offer the much-needed growth opportunity in 2009.

Advertising budgets will go down, but guerrilla marketing and other innovative platforms for reaching consumers may thrive.