The drivers that are impacting this transformation are constantly shifting, including how the content is created, the way we share media, our engagement with media, the delivery of media, our consumption of media, and of course, the way that we pay for media.
In the latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook (pdf), Price Waterhouse Coopers projects that the industry will generate $2.6 trillion in revenue by 2023. It is projected that digital media will represent 60% of total industry revenue, and China will be the leading global player.
The key opportunities, trends and challenges that I see shaping the industry’s transformation include:
Volumetric Videos. It is expected that the next key development in media production is the volumetric video, particularly in respect to the evolving Virtual and Augmented Reality markets. It is also likely to become a mainstream tool for certain Animation, Gaming and VFX work, as point cloud and colour data can be used to create virtual sets and models with increasing ease.
5G Wireless Technology. The rollout of fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology across the globe will present a host of new opportunities across the media & entertainment sector. The technology will help further accelerate the already significant consumption of media on mobile devices. It will also support real-time access to higher quality content, along with opportunities for production techniques that increasing rely on cloud services.
Shift in Advertising Dynamics. Over recent years, there has been significant movement in advertising and marketing dynamics between media and entertainment segments. There has been an explosion in the growth of digital content delivered via paid streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify. People are enjoying the breadth of content, to suit their own schedule – along with the options to consume on a range of platforms. This growth in subscription digital content is having a negative impact upon traditional television and radio advertising spending as advertisers adopt other strategies to reach that audience.
Storage of Data. The industry is re-thinking data storage, driven primarily by the massive volumes of digital content that needs to be stored, shared and manipulated in real-time. Disruptive technology is impacting traditional storage solutions, with rapid growth in volumes of data arising from automation, virtual production and machine learning. Resolution, media delivery platforms and consumer demand for unprecedented access to content, are all part of this exponential growth in storage and performance needs.
With this trend projected to continue in the future, data storage will become an issue if not managed properly. The key issue that needs to be addressed is how and where will all this content be stored. Storage platforms must deal with this exponential growth in unstructured data, provide real-time insights into data usage, and handle mixed file sizes, including the proliferation of lots of small files.
Security and Trust. Trust in the media – particularly news media – is at an all-time low, and repeated breaches of security and privacy across social media networks and advertising giants have made customers weary of how much personal information they are willing to share. In the Animation and VFX space, there have been some very significant and well reported network breaches, along with content and personal information theft. The industry is uniquely vulnerable to cyberattacks, due mainly to the value of the product. Threats such as privacy and data breaches can cause irreparable damage to the company and the industry. Fighting these risks are key motivators for the media and entertainment industry to apply state-of-the-art cyber and hardware security.
Partnering in the Industry. Partnerships in the industry are vital for success. The partnership arrangement can be as simple as an agreement between two companies for production and distribution of content or as complex as a merger and acquisition. Recently media production companies have begun partnering with telecommunication companies for the distribution of their content. Both parties are seeking to monetize this content, perhaps bundling with their existing services and generating valuable Data Capital in the process. These partnerships and acquisitions have been occurring in the Animation, VFX, TV, Cable and Advertising spheres, where often, size offers more resources, reach and ultimately opportunities.
With the rapid rate of change, it has never been more important to have strong relationships, built on trust and a genuine understanding of the challenges facing M&E. After 19 years in the media industry, including 15 years at Animal Logic, I joined Dell Technologies because I believe that it is the only end to end technology company that specifically understands the pressures and technology needs specific to the Media & Entertainment industry.
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