The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how I and the rest of the world get our entertainment and watch TV. Who hasn’t watched a whole season of a show in the last 18 months? People are watching more online content from the comfort of their homes because of a mix of luck and choice. In the work-from-home economy, there has been a big rise in subscriptions to major Ott services like Disney+ and Netflix. Based on a PwC report, Disney+ had 60,500,000 paying subscribers as of the beginning of August 2020. Earlier estimates said that Disney+ would have between 60 million and 90 million paying members by 2024.
We can’t get enough digital media and entertainment, and this is only going to get worse as more content becomes accessible direct-to-consumer (D2C) through streaming sites from major studios. As the number of people who stream content grows, content creators, broadcast networks, and publishers should diversify and personalize subscription services and use more ad-supported models to meet the needs of an audience that is becoming more cost-conscious.
In this paradigm, organizations must focus on constant and aggressive advancement to keep up with trends and change to stay in business. The main focus will be on how technologies are coming together, since modern consumers like change and want to build personalized media environments.
We see opportunities in the networking and telecom space, including 5G, where we see accelerated investments.
Systemic Changes Driving Technology Adoption
After COVID-19, the big companies in the Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry are moving to different business models, such as license agreements. The whole industry is trying to change its processes and business models so that they are based on operating costs instead of capital spending. E&M, in particular, needs to become more flexible so that it can provide both rural and urban people during a pandemic and meet the growing demand for digital services. This will help cut costs and increase popularity. Digital will be used more and more in publishing, entertainment, playing games, and media environments in an age of social distance and strict rules. Such digital experiences will be a big part of our lives. They will use the fast-paced advances in technology that have come about because of the need for them.
Industries are rethinking technology to make it better and more inclusive, paving the way for the personalization and tech connectivity we want. I think of the game Fortnite, which is owned by Epic Games and has 350M users. They recently had a performance by Travis Scott in the game world. More than 12 million players watched his first set at the April 2020 show. With this, Fortnite turned the gamespace into an integrated event space that could host big live music shows, movie screenings, and other shows in a highly digitalized setting.
Innovating A Better Experience
The entertainment and gaming businesses are using 5G and blockchain to make better experiences for their audiences in a world where people are becoming more and more isolated. Their main goal has been to make immersive experiences, which is where AR, VR, and XR, which are all powered by 5G, come in. Several sports events have used these technologies to give their audiences a more interesting experience. They can video chat with friends on their phones while watching the game happen in real-time. By combining 5G and XR, businesses can find new opportunities faster and with less downtime. But XR is good for more than just entertainment. As the pandemic forced schools to close and virtual classrooms to open, XR helped students learn by doing by replicating the frog dissection as if they were in a biology class. Imagine what could happen!
They not only put together experiences, but they also change the market where these entertainers work. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) make it possible for anyone to own famous moments like “Top Shot.” All they have to do is register for an account on the NBA website. Even though NFTs have been around since 2014, they have only recently become very popular because of 5G and the way the market is changing.
The Reigning Theme
People are at the center of the new market, which is a mix of different industries. The combination of shopping and entertainment, made possible by flexible technologies, has changed the game. Players have bent the rules to give customers what they want: an integrated marketplace.
Gaming is becoming more and more a part of e-commerce, and the recent closure of a number of physical stores has made it possible to try new things. Consumers want to change, which is shown by how much they want gaming and e-commerce to work together.
Final Verdict
So, to sum up
Because of the pandemic, M&E companies have had to be brave, which has inspired them to tell stories about our future right now. There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has had a big effect on many different fields and made changes that can’t be undone in how they work, think, and plan. Even though consumer habits aren’t always easy to spot, companies are putting plans into action in the form of application areas to change their products, cut costs, and reach more people.
At this point, businesses that are looking to the future and have embraced innovation, agile innovations, and cross-platform science and technology intervention are starting to see the benefits. The key to steady, long-term growth is to use the best parts of a few current technologies and build new business models around new technologies that can adapt to changes, threats, and opportunities in the market. They not only put together experiences, but they also change the market where these entertainers work. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) make it possible for anyone to own famous moments like “Top Shot.” All they have to do is register for an account on the NBA website. Even though NFTs have existed since 2014, they have only recently become very popular because of 5G and the way the market is changing.
People are at the center of the new market, which is a mix of different industries. The combination of shopping and entertainment, made possible by flexible technologies, has changed the game. Players have bent the rules to give customers what they want: an integrated marketplace.
Gaming is becoming more and more a part of e-commerce, and the recent closure of a number of physical stores has made it possible to try new things. Consumers want to change, which is shown by how much they want gaming and e-commerce to work together.
