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A set of line charts showing the change in select entertainment stocks from August 2, 2021 to August 3, 2026. In general, theme park and social entertainment stocks have underperformed the S&P 500. Many sports stocks have outperformed the S&P, while venue and theater stocks are mixed.

2026-08-13-entertainment-stocks

Data: Financial Modeling Prep; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Live entertainment is booming and one of media's biggest growth bets.

The big picture: A scarcity of events offers companies more leverage to upsell fans and Wall Street has taken note.

Live is also more resilient to some of the AI-driven disruptions to digital media business models.

A stacked bar chart shows annual U.S. live media and entertainment revenue from 2022 to a forecast for 2030. Revenue categories include trade shows, out-of-home advertising, live music, and cinema. Total revenue is forecast to approach $150 billion by 2030.

Annual U.S. live media and entertainment revenue

Data: PwC Global Entertainment, Media & Telecoms Outlook, 2021-2030; Note: Cinema revenue includes box office and in-cinema advertising; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios

By the numbers: Global revenue across cinema, live music, out-of-home advertising and trade shows has nearly doubled since 2021 to roughly $149 billion in 2025, per PwC.

The growth is now stabilizing. But PwC forecasts revenue will keep climbing to about $174 billion by 2030.

Zoom out: Those numbers have Wall Street rewarding live event companies, although not evenly. 

Publicly traded companies focused on scarce events, such as sports, premium movies and live performances, have generally outpaced the S&P 500 over the past five years, according to an Axios analysis.

PwC partner Bart Spiegel says attending live events has become a form of "social currency" for younger consumers especially. Being at a concert or game becomes part of a person's online identity as soon as they post it to Instagram or TikTok.

Meanwhile, publicly traded firms that support evergreen activities, such as theme parks and social entertainment (i.e. bowling and arcades), have lagged the S&P 500 in the past five years.

Macroeconomic factors are likely to blame, with companies like Dave & Buster's and Comcast/NBCUniversal citing higher fuel prices and airfare among factors impacting their most recent quarterly earnings. 

State of play: Media giants are looking to extract more value from each event through premium experiences, advertising and new forms of engagement.

Leagues are selling more sponsored jersey patches. Theme parks are leaning into premium passes that go beyond line-skipping. Movie theaters are installing reclining seats and offering full meals. Stadiums are adding more digital billboards.

A focus on upselling families has also proven effective. Disney has become an outlier in the theme park sector, in part due to a targeted discount strategy focused on families with young kids. 

Yes, but: The boom has limits, especially in an inflationary environment. 

Pricing power ultimately depends on the value of the experience, PwC principal CJ Bangah tells Axios. Companies get into trouble when they keep raising prices while consumers feel the experience isn't improving or even getting worse.

An example of this occurred in 2022, when Six Flags raised ticket prices and cut discounts to attract higher-spending visitors. Attendance, and subsequently earnings, sank. 

Another risk is saturation. A series of immersive Van Gogh art exhibits gained huge traction in 2021 and 2022. But too many competing shows ultimately led to over-supply, and the company behind the most popular "Immersive Van Gogh" show filed for bankruptcy in 2023. 

Context: The money surrounding live events in many cases has outpaced ticketing. 

This is especially true for sports, as U.S. media rights have doubled over the past decade.  

While movie theaters make more top-line revenue from ticket sales, concessions are what's driving profits. 

What to watch: Analysts expect the live experiences boom to continue driving deals. 

IMAX has engaged in sale talks. SeatGeek filed confidentially for an IPO. National CineMedia, a theater advertising company, on Thursday said it's acquiring out-of-home ad company Captivate. 

The infrastructure supporting the live boom is ripe for consolidation, says Jeff Kaplan, CEO of Hovercraft Ventures. Live events often require separate creative, production and technology vendors. Kaplan's firm is buying specialist shops, betting companies want an end-to-end provider.

It's been six years since COVID emptied theaters and stadiums.

The bottom line: "We're way past the post-pandemic rebound at this point," SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger says. 

"It's more just the new normal. If anything, AI fuels all of that because people value what is real versus synthetic. People want real experiences to balance themselves out."

Live events boom as counter to AI disruption

The scarcity of events offer firms more leverage to upsell fans.

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Live events boom as counter to AI disruption

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