Trends Report 2015 – The Big Blur Challenge

As digital life online continues to spread globally, the US market reached a tipping point this year: there are now more subscribers to the internet than to cable TV. It seems that a new balance is in the works.

For the audiovisual sector in particular, it’s time to look at national industries in the context of a) an internet filled with new multinationals; b) an escalating quantity of content versus shrinking attention span and c) a globalization of tastes supplanting cultural differences.

This year’s main challenge for national TV industries will be to carefully pick their battles and their positioning: the time for trials and errors is coming to an end. Doing otherwise could potentially pit business profits and national interests against web empires.

Six key trends

Six key themes are outlined in this document:

1. There are fewer entry points for a growing number of overwhelmed users;
2. The blending of TV and online consumption continues;
3. Game watching and e-sports hold a growing place in the entertainment industry;
4. YouTube is becoming more professional, with some user-generated content achieving pro standards;
5. There are fewer and fewer intermediaries in revenue generation, and fan labour is becoming a major promotion source;
6. Worldwide, a few giants hold a growing share of the media properties and competition is intensifying.