Creativity to play an even-greater role for content industries in a world powered by AI, says 2018 CMF Trends Report
Toronto, January 31, 2018—The Canada Media Fund (CMF) released today its 2018 Trends Report, Future Shock is Now. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the trends affecting the audiovisual industry in Canada and elsewhere, specifically how the relentless march of technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics are shaping the creative industries.
This latest edition presents four major trends that have originated from the convergence and interaction of various phenomena, which are developing at great speed.
Finding a counterbalance to online giants - The year 2017 could be considered a year of awareness, as we noticed the digital giants’ strangleholds and many flaws. The year 2018 will be a year of enlightenment, where content creators, producers, and broadcasters will learn to better negotiate their presence on and collaboration with the super-platforms, while making better use of the technologies that define our digital landscape.
Appropriating technology for creative purposes - Where some see threats, others see opportunities to foster creativity. The ubiquity of social media and the rapid rise of technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are being ingeniously explored by storytellers.
Audio’s revenge - As we reach a point of saturation, online and traditional media now compete to capture users’ attention. Media consumption can now increase only if users are not confined to keyboards and screens; instead, they must be given options to consume and interact with content while doing something else. Harnessing the power and versatility of audio is a way forward.
Business models: advertising’s about-face - The online advertising model needs to be reviewed to improve transparency, demonstrate more efficiency, and better meet users’ needs and expectations. A handful of giants increasingly control the online advertising market. Content industries must find revenue alternatives, considering the increased rejection of online advertising.
To develop a better understanding of the four key trends, the Trends report provides the reader with useful dashboards to appreciate the evolution of some major indicators of the digital economy in Canada. New this year, the report also provides 10 appendices that explain the phenomena associated with each trend. Each appendix includes an “Attention Barometer” to help Canadian content producers assess how attentive they should be to the phenomena within the scope of their professional activities.
Trends reports are published twice a year. They can be viewed on CMF Trends, along with a range of research reports published, curated and supported by the CMF.
About CMF Trends
CMF Trends is a fully bilingual site developed by the Canada Media Fund (CMF). It provides in-depth analyses of the transformations underway in the world of television and digital media. The site is intended as an information curator that filters news and synthesizes all of the noise generated by the overabundance of available data. Readers will find hundreds of blog posts written by the CMF’s Industry and Market Trends team as well as by collaborators and experts based in Canada and abroad; dozens of research reports including our semi-annual trends reports that provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities for Canadian producers and creators and data on Canadians’ media consumption patterns and on major global trends.
About Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. It also guides Canadian content towards a competitive global digital environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Please visit cmf-fmc.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
André Ferreira
Communications Manager
Canada Media Fund
416-554-2768
[email protected]
