Entertainment Named Second Most Valuable Sector – Interbrand Report

Hollywood is struggling with layoffs and budget cuts, but entertainment just overtook the automotive industry to become the world’s second-largest business sector.

That’s according to consultancy Interbrand, whose latest Best Global Brands report pegs the cumulative value of entertainment companies at $332.5B, an increase of 12.4% year-on-year.

Within that, Netflix‘s brand value grew 22%, which Interbrand considers as reflecting pushes into live entertainment, sport and advertising. That should be soothing mood music to Netflix execs, who’ve been under fire from Wall Street over its latest round of financials and for a lack of user engagement.

Netflix is ranked the 23rd most-value brand in the world, with Instagram, at seven, and YouTube, tenth, the only entertainment brands in the top ten overall. Disney is 23rd and Sony 35th, while Spotify is ranked 39th. Interbrand’s assessment is each has moved beyond their original role as a content platform and become businesses that shape consumer behavior.

According to Gonzalo Brujó, Global CEO at Interbrand, “Entertainment’s growth reinforces one of the defining themes of this year’s ranking: Growth comes not from doing more, but from making stronger choices about where and how a brand creates value. In an industry where content is abundant and consumer attention is fragmented, competitive advantage is shifting from the scale of content to the strength of the brand.”

Brujó told Deadline that as AI “transforms how entertainment is created, distributed and consumed, technology alone will be an increasingly weaker source of differentiation,” and that “the brands that win will be those that understand the role of brand in driving choice, identify new arenas for growth, and consistently give people reasons to come back, creating habits, not just moments.”

Interbrand’s list was dominated by tech giants, with Apple top, Microsoft second, Google third, Amazon fourth and Samsung fifth. Other consumer brands such as McDonald’s, Toyota and Coca-Cola ranked highly, with Larry Ellison’s Oracle 13th. Gaming brands such as Nintendo and PlayStation also increased their brand values.

Omnicom-owned Interbrand’s annual report weights companies based on available financial data and requires them to have significant revenues outside their home territories, along with predictions of profits over the long-term and a ‘Brand Strenth Score’ equal to 50 or above. Research was conducted by Paradigm Sample.