Dynamics that'll shape media

Debates on new trends, emerging ideas and solutions for the future are deeply embedded in the DNA of the annual summit of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

A vibrant debate was seen on the media industry. While much of it is on the edge of extinction, media industry is also on the cutting edge of radical change. I got a chance to speak to several media and technology leaders on their thoughts. Nobody is willing to predict what will happen next, but let me share three dynamics that will decide the road ahead for media.

Business model: pay per what?
As most media goes online, the issues of being able to earn revenue in a sustainable way is desperate effort across the world. Most media organisations now have no choice but to have a digital presence. While this comes with added costs, there is still not enough revenue to justify the expenditure. Yes reach is up, but not paying viewers. Apart from subscription and advertising, other streams of revenue are being planned. Transactional revenue that allows one-time cost of buying archival data. Special ground events that leverage brand and platform and help the media house earn sponsorship revenue. Content partnerships with event organisers and content consuming institutions. Device applications that replicate the physical experience of reading publications or watching TV are already showing the way ahead.

Who earns, who loses: new alignments
Online content is not free. Well, the content may be free but accessing is not. Consumers are willing to pay  for high speed data access. So even if the media house does not earn much, the telecom companies that offer the bandwidth will profit. It is in the interest of these telecom companies that a continually increase stream of content is available online. If those basic service shrinks, people will have lesser reason to buy bandwidth. It is too early to predict how but the telecom service providers will have to be part of the solution for ensuring that content remains vibrant online.

Content curation: Known and the unknown
The biggest enemy of content is personalisation. Some media houses and gurus say that content personalisation will help provide better value to consumers. This may be true in the short term, but in the long term it would seriously impair choice for consumers. It will skew content creation in a way that free flow of information will be undermined. There is a surprise element in reading news in physical or an online newspaper. We don’t know what we don’t know. Personalisation of content will take consumers down a premeditated path that will limit the spectrum of news absorption.

Popular choice: Premium or tabloid
There is a big debate that commodification of content will kill it. A search engine can bring the best of content of a subject to consumers. So only the best will be consumed. The rest will be lost, wasted and will not earn for the media company. Tabloid content that appeals to select groups will thrive, too. But there is another category of content that will survive and perhaps be monetisable. Content that filters global development for local consumption is unlikely to go out of business. Country or region based consumers will always pay for content that is relevant to them. In fact such content offered in local languages will be even more popular. This could also offer cleared defined consumer sets that could be targeted while launching paid content services.