Are you wondering what the impact of Covid-19 is going to be on the production, media and broadcast industry?
Those of us in the industry are feeling the negative impact of the virus, particularly when it comes to production, events, advertising revenues and media technology investment.
With technology changing so rapidly and unpredictably very few of us have had the opportunity to attend trade shows and access how technology is impacting our businesses. Losing access to events like IBC, NAB and other trade shows is damaging and will prevent new investments.
With people staying at home and consuming only necessities, there is a lack of demand for many types of goods – and supply – through the lack of demand as well as through increased uncertainty. In the media industry, this is leading to a sharp decrease in advertising spending. This will impact and reduce spending on productions and other audio-visual-related marketing activities.
Apart from the exposure of production companies, local broadcasters will be exposed to declining advertising revenues, in a country where their business model is already suspect. Financial pressure will result in lower budgets for media technology investment as well, and the inability of the digitization programme of the government to take off will further compound their myriad of challenges.
No, I don’t think virtual meetings will continue into the long term, in an industry, where high-value, face-to-face meetings are essential. However, the whole industry needs to temporarily adapt to this moment of disruption and go virtual. As a business, your significant proactive digital presence will be key. This will make our industry more reliant on software, data and broadband access. This a good time for making a temporary move to virtual and future-proofing your ability to deliver some of your services digitally.
The demand and changing references for new, innovative and exciting digital entertainment products will increase globally. Even if economies open up this demand will remain. Streaming consumption has skyrocketed. This comes with opportunities for production companies that create content. An area to look at seriously.
If you have been waiting to see where virtual media technology trends are going, start looking at direct-to-consumer strategies, where the platform becomes the lock, and content the key. For sure we are unlikely to go back to where we were before. After going through a rapid virtual revolution and having experienced the benefits of cloud-based technology, things have changed forever.
The coronavirus crisis has changed our world. All subsections of the media industry have been impacted. There is no real way out of the uncertainty , but it’s worth looking at the glass half full and understand how we can all make the most out of the current situation. As the disruption continues, innovation and creativity will drive survival, as many media and technology providers transit to as-a-service models – truth be told. Adapt or die to these changing dynamics. But there are many positives too. We’ll look at those too when I put my thoughts down again, and very soon too.
