Rounding off its Q1 focus on activities in the content creation and production segments of the BaM Content Chain, IABM has released a comprehensive report on trends in these two dynamic areas at the start of the content chain. The report focuses on the state of the market in these two segments and the business and technology drivers, and then dives deep into the technologies that are powering both segments.
The full report is available for download, and highlights of the report’s findings are:
· Content creation and production were severely hit by production shutdowns and live event cancellations in 2020. The acceleration in the transition to direct-to-consumer (DTC) is also forcing a rationalisation of technology spending in this part of the content supply chain because of its effects on the business models supporting content.
· Media companies have accelerated long-standing technology transitions, such as the move to remote production and cloud, due to the impact of pandemic-induced restrictions. Remote production and cloud are driving new investment in content creation and production, with media companies changing their plans for these transitions out of necessity in 2020.
· Although it is upending business models, DTC is also driving more investment in original programming. This and the importance of content in media companies' strategies are drivers of investment for content creation and production technology.
· Content creation and production technology is becoming more versatile to enable adaptability to different use cases, as part of wider ecosystems of products that work seamlessly together. On the supply-side of media technology, the search for holistic ecosystems has driven increased M&A activity.
· When it comes to the allocation of resources, from both a technology and staffing perspective, the future of production looks hybrid. Hybrid offerings are also translating into geographical and business diversification - through increasing adoption of technology by markets parallel to media.
· More technology products are focusing on data gathering right at the start of the content supply chain to enable automation of routine tasks or track consumer touchpoints through interactive graphics, for example.
“While the coronavirus pandemic clearly hit content creation and production hard, what we have seen as a result in these two segments of the BaM Content Chain is in large part a significant acceleration of trends that were already in process,” said Lorenzo Zanni, head of knowledge at IABM. “However, the pandemic has also forced companies in all verticals to move much more towards high quality video and audio communication, and this has opened opportunities for broadcast and media technology vendors in markets well beyond their traditional scope. The changes we are seeing in content creation and production are also rippling through the entire content chain. I think this report will amply reward time spent reading it.”
