With the 103rd season of the NFL now underway, fans are already beginning to get their NFL picks ready for the upcoming Super Bowl, and you might have found yourself consuming more media then usual lately. Regardless of whether it is live sports, online sports wagering or movies and TV, the autumn months are an important time of year in the entertainment calendar.
As the weather changes from the heat of the summer months to the cooler days and shorter nights of autumn and winter, many of us find ourselves spending an increasing amount of time indulging in indoors entertainment. For those in the entertainment industry, the autumn and winter months are by far the most important in terms of viewing figures and sponsorship revenues.
Although our consumption of media and entertainment might be cyclical — with this reducing in summer and increasing in winter — this does not necessarily mean the entertainment industry itself is. In fact, media and entertainment is one of the most dynamic sectors, with consumer tastes and preferences constantly changing.
In 2021, the media and entertainment industry saw dramatic changes in consumption patterns due to a combination of technological developments, evolving generational behaviors and the ongoing impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, people seemed to be consuming more media and entertainment at home in preference to in-person events.
However, as the pandemic subsides and the world looks like a very different place compared to last year, what is the current state of the entertainment industry and what sectors can we expect to grow the most in the coming months?
Streaming and video on demand services: What’s next?
As we head into 2023, we can expect to see increased competition between streaming and video on-demand providers. However, although demand for video on-demand services has never been higher, consumers are beginning to appear increasingly reluctant to juggle multiple subscriptions in order to access the content they want.
The leading video on-demand providers have invested billions of dollars into content development in recent years as a way of driving market share growth and international expansion. However, in a more difficult economic climate, this model may prove unsustainable — particularly when coupled with the need to increase subscription prices.Â
So-called ‘subscription churn’ is a growing trend within the industry, where users are beginning to shed what they now view as a wasteful subscription. In this context, providers may find themselves facing a difficult dilemma of having to increase subscription prices despite stagnating or diminishing subscriber counts, while also needing to fund further content creation to attract and retain customers.
Providers face this dilemma while competition is at an all-time high, which creates an even more difficult environment to operate in. Adding to this is the return of in-person theatrical releases, which will eat into some of the exclusive release rights that streaming services have benefitted from during the pandemic.
NFTs: Here to stay?
Although cryptocurrencies haven’t been taking up too much attention in the headlines lately, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will likely continue to generate new innovations and revenue streams in the entertainment industry in the year to come.
Many are already predicting that 2022 and 2023 will lead to NFTs evolving from being a novelty to a utility, with growth in the sector opening the door for more innovation in NFTs, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
We can expect to see entertainment companies and content creators experiment with this exciting new technology.
Social media will become more ecommerce friendly
Another sector within the entertainment sector we can expect to see grow in the next year is ecommerce.
Although ecommerce figures have never been higher — with one recent industry report estimating that ecommerce sales reached $870bn in the US alone in 2021 — social media still represents a surprisingly untapped market for companies.
This is something social media platforms are acutely aware of. In the months and years to come, we can expect to see them capitalizing on this relatively under-served revenue stream. In particular, we can expect to see more integrated buying and selling experiences launched by social media platforms.
This could lead to you encountering a product on social media and purchasing it in a matter of a few taps, rather than having to leave the platform to make the purchase. For companies looking to sell goods, these integrated experiences provide an opportunity to reach customers more directly and to increase engagement and brand loyalty.
Shoppable social media may also shift the ecommerce ecosystem towards smaller companies rather than the larger established brands.
I am an experienced journalist, writer, and editor with a passion for finance and business news. I have been working in the journalism field for over 6 years, covering a variety of topics from finance to technology. As an author at World Stock Market, I specialize in finance business-related topics.
