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MUMBAI: The pink slips keep coming. Budgets are being slashed from studio lots to streaming suites. And yet the business of entertainment has just overtaken the car industry.
Entertainment is now the world’s second-largest business sector by brand value, according to consultancy Interbrand’s latest Best Global Brands report, as The combined value of entertainment brands stands at $332.5 billion, up 12.4 per cent on last year. The carmakers are now in the rear-view mirror
Netflix’s brand value jumped 22 per cent. Interbrand puts that down to its push into live entertainment and sport. The growing ad business has helped too.
That is sweet music for Netflix bosses. Wall Street has been giving them a rough ride over the latest set of numbers and over viewers who are not sticking around long enough.
Instagram at number seven and YouTube at number ten are the only entertainment names in the overall top ten. Further down the table, Disney sits 21st and Netflix 23rd, with Sony at 35th and Spotify at 39th. Interbrand’s view is that these firms are no longer just content shops. They now shape how people spend their time and their money.
Gamers had their moment as well. Nintendo and PlayStation both pushed up their brand values.
Interbrand global chief executive officer Gonzalo Brujó says growth now comes from “making stronger choices about where and how a brand creates value”. With content everywhere and attention scattered, he argues the edge is shifting from the size of the library to the strength of the brand.
He told Deadline that as AI changes how entertainment is made, delivered and watched, technology on its own will count for less. The winners, he reckons, will be the brands that keep people coming back, “creating habits, not just moments”.
The top of the table is a tech party. Apple is number one, followed by Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Samsung. McDonald’s and Coca-Cola ranked high. So did Toyota, which will take some comfort as its sector slips down the pecking order. Larry Ellison’s Oracle comes in at 13th.
Omnicom-owned Interbrand ranks brands on available financial data. To make the cut, a company must earn significant revenue outside its home market and score 50 or more on Interbrand’s Brand Strength Score. Long-term profit forecasts go into the mix as well. The research was carried out by Paradigm Sample.
So the layoffs roll on and the brand values climb. Hollywood’s accountants will be scratching their heads. The carmakers will be scratching harder.

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