Perhaps no industry has been affected so deeply, so rapidly by the cloud economy as media, publishing and entertainment. Barriers to entry are down and talent abounds. In 2017, we can expect that change will continue as consumers will be flooded with rich content and an array of choices on how to consume and pay for it. We expect 2017 to see some early innovations in virtual reality hardware as costs come down and augmented reality become more of a factor. In the news world, we expect traditional media to position itself as authentic news against the onslaught of near-news outlets.
Amidst all this upheaval, here are the five most important trends we see for media, publishing and entertainment companies in 2017.
Content Discoverability
Amidst this sea of options for consumers, the ability to discover it will become a critical factor for success. Barriers to entry for content creation have continued to fall and distribution models have increased, which makes content overwhelming for many consumers. As technology creates more searchable video with richer resolutions, we expect video-focused content to dominate over digital and print.
Deep Polarization Between Premium and Non-Premium Consumers
With barriers to entry down, more players are entering the market at every minute. Most recently, the CDN’s, Verizon’s and COX Communications of the world are pushing out content as are Amazon. Meanwhile, over-the-top (OTT) challengers like Netflix/Hulu continue to evolve and emerge. With ad supported free video driving cord cutting, millennials are making different choices. This will create two classes of consumer, those who will pay for content and/or consume advertising and stay loyal and those who will not. We expect traditional cable bundlers to become more agile with skinny bundles leveraging their offerings in the live sports they own.
Demand for Richer Content Experiences
As technology evolves and the choice in providers and delivery models proliferates, media, publishing, and entertainment companies will need to provide even greater experiences, with a greater understanding of their preferences. Content providers will need a deeper understanding of their consumers through data management platforms that store consumer preferences and demographics.
The Fight for Premium Consumers
As the gap between premium and non-premium consumers widens, there will be significant pressure to acquire and keep the premium consumers. That’s going to result in a battle for access that will play out across social and other digital channels.
Increasing Cross Device Targeting & Technology
Ad supported technology providers (“ad-tech”) will see greater demand for cross device technology and targeting. Increased sophistication with Smart TVs, mobile phones and display advertising brands will require ad campaigns that target consumers in multiple locations across singular demographics.
NetSuite continues to invest in our media and publishing offering to address the changes coming to media, publishing and entertainment businesses in the year ahead, so stay tuned for additional insights throughout the year. To learn more or see past posts visit our media and publishing industry section.