Forecast: U.S. Communications Industry to Accelerate Growth, Hit $1.46 Trillion in 2016

Investment firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson expects the U.S. communications industry to see a compound annual growth rate of 5.2 percent over the next few years to reach $1.455 trillion in revenue by 2016, almost twice the 2.7 percent growth rate over the past five years.

Entertainment media spending, a segment that includes box office and recorded music, will accelerate its growth, while subscription TV will expand more, but see its growth rate slow. In unveiling its latest annual forecast, Veronis spoke of a "return to spending levels not seen since before [the] global economic downturn." And the firm said: "While digital has been a growth driver in select pockets of the Industry in the past, the new data show that digital communications and services - encompassing content, technology and user access - has firmly established itself as the driving force of the industry." Spending on entertainment and leisure media will increase 4.9 percent to $293.49 billion this year, with strong gains in subscription TV spending expected to offset weaker growth in the entertainment media segment.