Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

2025 M&E Trends: What's old is (sometimes) new again

13/01/2025

Steve Reynolds, CEO of Imagine Communications, offers a view on the trends he believes will significantly impact the way the media and entertainment industry creates, delivers, and monetises content over the next 12 months and beyond

By Contributor

Published: January 13, 2025 Updated: January 14, 2025

Steve Reynolds, CEO of Imagine Communications, offers a view on the trends he believes will significantly impact the way the media and entertainment industry creates, delivers, and monetises content over the next 12 months and beyond

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Steve Reynolds, CEO of Imagine Communications, offers a view on the trends he believes will significantly impact the way the media and entertainment industry creates, delivers, and monetises content over the next 12 months and beyond

https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/2025-me-trends-whats-old-is-sometimes-new-again title=Share via Email class=share-email>

As the media and entertainment (M&E) industry continues to sound the death knell for traditional TV, I'll make a bold prediction for 2025: Linear will experience a resurgence - of sorts.

I'm not suggesting that the pendulum swing toward streaming viewership will suddenly reverse course, but over the past year, a surprising trend surfaced as media companies - even digital natives - rediscovered linear as a way to drive ROI and TCO.

One high-profile U.S. example was Amazon's live streaming of NFL Thursday Night Football, which they paired with linear ad sales. While Amazon certainly has the capability to sell the streaming inventory as DAI or addressable impressions, they opted to sell the entire audience. Why? Simple economics. Amazon gets a higher ad price for the massive TNF audience than is possible by selling this inventory on an impression basis. This strategy demonstrates the enduring value of linear TV in reaching broad audiences and driving monetisation.

Steve Reynolds, CEO of Imagine Communications With emerging ad tech innovations, it's possible for big brands to purchase ads that guarantee category exclusivity during a commercial break in the digital environment - something that was previously limited to linear TV. Enabling digital to be sold like linear, with broadcast-quality rules and brand protection, strengthens media companies' ability to sell inventory in a direct but automated way, which is the key to maximising streaming revenue. The future of advertising lies in integrating the best of each platform, optimising the user experience while maximising returns for advertisers.

In 2025, the market's focus on the revenue-driving advantages of linear will continue to develop, especially when the goal is to reach large audiences simultaneously. Integrating digital streaming with linear ads is a win-win for broadcasters who can tap into a hybrid model that enables them to engage diverse viewers while leveraging well-established revenue streams. Successful media companies have realised that linear vs. digital is the wrong answer. Linear + digital is the path to profitability.

Is the smart money still on-prem? For over a decade, cloud solutions have been heralded as the future of broadcasting. On the surface, the choice between on-prem and cloud seems a simple one: on-prem systems require significant investments in physical infrastructure and time, while cloud solutions offer rapid deployment without the maintenance headaches. But the choice isn't so clear-cut.

With no Olympics or elections driving advertising revenue in 2025, reducing costs will be a top priority across the media industry. One of the ways broadcasters will navigate the challenge is to do the maths to determine whether it's more cost-effective to run their operations on-prem or in the cloud.

For example, if you're deploying a disaster recovery solution or operating FAST channels that are never going to touch an antenna, it's probably cheaper to do it in the cloud. But if you're running 24/7/365 workflows or have significant investments in studios, IT teams, HVAC systems, and backup generators, on-prem solutions may make better economic sense.

A hybrid strategy may turn out to be the optimal approach, with high-value channels and time-consuming resources run on-prem and the cloud used wherever it makes economic sense, including as a testbed for new ideas and to quickly launch new services. The balance between on-prem and the cloud will change based on percentage of usage, the kind of workflows and solutions needed over time, and the fluctuating cost of the cloud.

A one-and-done calculation won't cut it in a rapidly changing industry. So as we head into 2025 and beyond, broadcasters may need to regularly revisit the TCO maths to determine whether on-prem, cloud, or a hybrid of both will best meet their unique needs and budgets.

Where cloud makes sense (and an on-ramp to get there) While keeping things on-prem makes operational and economic sense for many broadcast workflows, one area where the balance has skewed in favour of the cloud is remote production. Paris 2024 stood out in what was a banner year for sports, which helped accelerate the move toward remote and cloud-based production thanks to SMPTE ST 2110 and the native IP protocols used for contribution to cloud.

One example is the synthesis between 2110 and JPEG XS - basically native IP speaking to native IP via VSF TR-07 and TR-08 technical recommendations - which was proven on the world stage at the Paris Games. We've also seen extensive use of H.264 via SRT in cases where the cost vs. bandwidth trade-off favours higher compression. These advancements not only exceeded expectations, but also established valuable proof points and case studies, which will help drive broader industry adoption.

In 2025, sports broadcasting will cont
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/2025-me-trends-whats-old-is-sometim...
See more stories from tvb

Most recent headlines

20/11/2025

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: NBC's New Three-Year Deal Covers Sunday Night Baseball,' Peacock-Exclusive Games, and More

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: NBC's New Three-Year Deal Covers Sunday Night Bas...

20/11/2025

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: New Deal Will Bring 30 National Games to ESPN's Linear Platform, MLB.TV Exclusively to ESPN App

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: New Deal Will Bring 30 National Games to ESPN's Li...

20/11/2025

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: Netflix Lands Opening Night, Home Run Derby, Field of Dreams

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: Netflix Lands Opening Night, Home Run Derby, Field of ...

20/11/2025

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup Overview: ESPN, NBCU, Netflix Ink Three-Year Deals

MLB Media-Rights Shakeup Overview: ESPN, NBCU, Netflix Ink Three-Year DealsESPN gets new 30-game package, MLB.TV; NBC extends Sunday nights; Netflix adds tentpo...

20/11/2025

SVG Students To Watch: Henry Thuss, Indiana University

SVG Students To Watch: Henry Thuss, Indiana UniversityThe Southern California product has his goals set on the front benchBy Brandon Costa, Director of Digital ...

20/11/2025

Done+Dusted's Guy Carrington on Creating the Spectacular League of Legends World Championship Opening Ceremony

Done+Dusted's Guy Carrington on Creating the Spectacular League of Legends W...

20/11/2025

FIA Extreme H World Cup Host Broadcaster Aurora Goes Inside the Production of the Hydrogen-Fuelled Motorsport

FIA Extreme H World Cup Host Broadcaster Aurora Goes Inside the Production of th...

20/11/2025

Platinum White Paper: Amagi Utilizes Cloud Production for Sports Events - Multi-Camera Live Workflow with Remote Commentary and Graphics

Platinum White Paper: Amagi Utilizes Cloud Production for Sports Events - Multi-...

20/11/2025

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Marc Herklotz, Steady Hand Behind the Scenes

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Marc Herklotz, Steady Hand Behind the Sce...

20/11/2025

NFL Deep Dive: How 32 Cameras at Each Stadium Drive Virtual Measurement, Boundary Replays, and Skeletal Tracking

NFL Deep Dive: How 32 Cameras at Each Stadium Drive Virtual Measurement, Boundar...

20/11/2025

Zodiac Killer Project Refuses to Kill Its Darlings With an Avant-Garde Essay Film

Charlie Shackleton attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Zodiac K...

20/11/2025

5 Ways to Get More out of Your Playlists on Spotify

Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...

20/11/2025

Spotify, Trk mziinin efsanelerine sayg duruu niteliindeki ICON Trkiye'yi duyurdu

Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...

20/11/2025

Spotify and The Hollywood Reporter' Partner on the First-Ever Podcaster Roundtable

For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...

20/11/2025

Spotify and the ARIA Awards Mark a New Era for Australian Music

This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...

20/11/2025

Cracking the Code for Resilient, Secure Space-based Communications

L3Harris has achieved NSA Cybersecurity Directorate certification for its KSV-650 space hub end cryptographic unit, ensuring secure, adaptable communications fo...

20/11/2025

Continued Commitment and Investment in Poland

L3Harris is strengthening its long-term partnership with Poland through the opening of a new facility in Warsaw to serve as a central business hub for regional ...

20/11/2025

Cinegy wins the Swedish Hockey League

15 March 2012 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...

20/11/2025

2012

6 September 2012 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey. At the start of s...

20/11/2025

VIVA Indonesia broadcasting the World Cup Brazil 2014 with Cinegy

25 June 2014 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...

20/11/2025

2014

1 October 2014 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...

20/11/2025

Strictly Come Dancing Goes with a Cinegy Workflow

27 April 2015 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...

20/11/2025

Cinegy announces new Latin America partnership

12 August 2015 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...

20/11/2025

2015

5 November 2015 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...

20/11/2025

Cinegy launches Cinegy Open' initiative

12 February 2016 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany 9 February 2016 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital...

20/11/2025

2016

22 June 2016 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany 21 June 2016 - Cinegy today announced that ABS BROADCAST, one of the largest independentl...

20/11/2025

Cinegy News - nominee of NewBay Media Awards 2016

10 January 2017 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Find us on page 12 of the Program Guide 2016 Tags NewBay Media Awards , Program Guide 2016 , broadc...

20/11/2025

Freeview Thailand deploys Cinegy Air PRO Bundles for multi-channel playout

15 March 2017 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany 15 March 2017 - Cinegy today announced that Thailand's Next Step direct-to-home Free...

20/11/2025

2017

12 December 2017 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany 13 December 2017 - Cinegy today announced that it is making its Cinegy Air Cloud Pack...

20/11/2025

2018

25 June 2018 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich 25th June 2018 - Cinegy today announced that Canada-based Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has implemen...

20/11/2025

2019

27 May 2019 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email The best quality live video from the worst networks - Haivision Although DVB and the World Wide Web are...

20/11/2025

2020

24 November 2020 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email ATV Expand and Increase their Playout and Editing Capabilities using Cinegy Software Munich, Germany...

20/11/2025

Cinegy further commits to Eastern European market with new appointment

1 September 2021 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany, 1st September 2021: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for di...

20/11/2025

2021

20 September 2021 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email ElectronicVerve continues a strong history of supporting Cinegy customers in India Munich, Germany,...

20/11/2025

2022

1 November 2022 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Munich, Germany, 01 November 2022: Cinegy, a premier provider of software technology for digital video...

20/11/2025

Britt Broadcast implements Cinegy Air PRO at TBC (Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation]

31 October 2023 SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Britt Broadcast at TBC...

20/11/2025

Oklahoma Community Television Overcomes ATSC 3.0 Translator Challenge

CINCINNATI Oklahoma Community Television (OCT) has selected GatesAir and Triveni Digital as key technology partners in an ATSC 3.0 deployment that establishes a...

20/11/2025

FCC Launches Wide-Ranging Examination of Network Affiliate Relations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has opened a wide-ranging inquiry into the relations between broadcast networks and their affiliates that could...

20/11/2025

IAB: Creator Economy Ad Spend Now Dwarfs Ad Spend for Total Media Industry

NEW YORK Ad spend in the creator economy has more than doubled since 2021 from $13.9B to $29.5B in 2024 and that amount is projected to reach $37 billion in 202...

20/11/2025

Graduate Spotlight: Krysta Mirsik DePuy

Graduate Spotlight: Krysta Mirsik DePuy The educator from Hackettstown, New Jersey, shares how it took her 11 years to find the right graduate program for her...

20/11/2025

Rise Awards 2025 Celebrate the Industry's Best

LONDON The winners of the Rise Awards 2025, which recognize women and companies whose achievements have stood out in the media technology industry, have been an...

20/11/2025

Lionsgate, Debmar-Mercury Launch MovieSphere Gold Diginet

SANTA MONICA & NEW YORK Lionsgate's Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury have launched MovieSphere Gold in more than 30 million homes....

20/11/2025

Clear-Com Unveils New 4-Channel HelixNet Beltpack

ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has introduced its four-channel HelixNet beltpack, a next-generation advancement of its widely used two-channel model, and anticipates...

20/11/2025

Kiswe Core Aims to Simplify Cloud-Based Streaming Distribution

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. Streaming technology and services provider Kiswe has launched Kiswe Core, a next-generation cloud-based platform designed to simplify the s...

20/11/2025

Dolby Partners Up With Bay Area Super Bowl Host Committee

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Dolby Laboratories has signed on as an official signature partner of the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) for the 2026 Super Bowl and the we...

20/11/2025

Telus TV+ Expands Distribution to Samsung and LG Smart TVs

STUTTGART, Germany 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) has announced that the Canadian multiservice operator Telus has launched its Telus TV+ entertainment platform on Sam...

20/11/2025

MLB Strikes Rights Deals With ESPN, NBCUniversal, Netflix

Major League Baseball has announced deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix covering 2026-2028 that make ESPN the exclusive distributor for MLB.TV, put regula...

20/11/2025

Berklee Presents Holiday Extravaganza: Duke Ellingtons The Nutcracker Suite and GenNext All-Stars' Noel

Berklee Presents Holiday Extravaganza: Duke Ellingtons The Nutcracker Suite and ...

20/11/2025

Football seven nights a week, as Sky Sports secures all UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League rights

Thursday 20 November 2025 Football seven nights a week, as Sky Sports secures a...