Veronis Suhler Predicts Couch Potato Nation Will Grow the Media Economy

Couch Potato Nation finally has something going for it besides unwanted pounds: it is expected to be one of the primary growth engines behind the U.S. media sector over the next few years, helping it outpace growth in the overall economy, per media industry private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. The company said in a report earlier this week that it expects the overall media industry to grow by 6.1 percent annually to $1.42 trillion by 2014 while the overall economy grows by 5.8 percent.

But here's the telling part: even as many media companies, particularly digitally-focused ones, continue to rely on advertising as a chief -- and sometimes only -- revenue stream, it's not advertising, but other things, like subscriptions, mobile services and applications that will be the main drivers. Advertising, which has rebounded a bit from the worst days of the economic downturn, will only grow by 2.2 percent annually. (There be greater growth in other marketing services.)

Overall, what the report means is that when couch potato nation does get off the sofa, it will be to go pay the ever-increasing cable bill or fire up the iTunes store in search of the latest cool app. The biggest sub-category in the media industry will continue to be entertainment and leisure media, which will grow by 6.3 percent on average each year. The grand total will be $353.9 billion by 2014, much of that coming from demand for subscription TV. (Hmmm... which means that next time you complain about your cable bill you should stop to consider that it may be your own damn fault it's so high.)

The biggest percentage growth will be in what Veronis calls the business and professional information sector, which will grow by 8.2 percent annually. Relatively speaking, however, that's a relatively small segment, reaching only $249 billion by 2014.

Here's one additional thing to contemplate about this study: though I couldn't see the whole thing without paying a hefty fee, it doesn't seem to even take into account the money spent on the devices used to consume all this content -- be it an iPad or a new flat-screen TV. Maybe to pay for all this stuff we'll have to cut back on things that were previously considered essentials -- like food. And that would be good news for couch potatoes everywhere.