Mark Harrison, CEO, DPP, reports on the findings from the first ever detailed research into hybrid working in the media industry, alongside partners Signiant and Wasabi
By Contributor
Published: October 12, 2023
Mark Harrison, CEO, DPP, reports on the findings from the first ever detailed research into hybrid working in the media industry, alongside partners Signiant and Wasabi
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
It has been commonplace in the media industry, ever since the pandemic, to claim that employees prefer hybrid working to office working, and that the hybrid world is here to stay. But do we actually know this to be true?
The DPP, in partnership with Signiant and Wasabi, has conducted the first ever detailed research into hybrid working in the media industry. The project, which combined a detailed survey of 80 companies with workshops and interviews, looked at all aspects of hybrid working: from the enterprise toolsets required to enable collaboration across a distributed workforce; to new technologies and workflows in both live and recorded production; to workforce behaviours and attitudes.
The findings have now been published as Hybrid Working in the Media Industry: Are we equipped? And what emerges is a startling picture of a divided workforce.
The first myth to be exploded is the idea that we have settled into a new, and enduring, way of working. In reality, most of the respondents in the research believe we are simply living and working in another phase; one that will surely change. When asked if they thought their organisation would be working the same way in five years' time, 72 per cent of respondents said no. When asked about how hybrid working has impacted various aspects of working life, the first signs of disharmony appeared.
It became evident that, while hybrid working is seen as having a positive impact on the wellbeing, morale, and even productivity, of individual employees, it comes at a cost to the collective. Many feel that company culture and engagement has suffered.
Any senior manager - or HR director for that matter - would tell you that if the personal and collective are in opposition within a company, tensions will eventually arise. And perhaps that partly explains the differences in response when different functions expressed their preferences. Those in senior management prefer more time in the workplace. And so do those that work in the creative part of the industry; in production and post production.
All the evidence of this research project indicated that those who work in production have returned almost completely to pre-pandemic ways of working. This doesn't mean creatives have rejected the tools and technologies that enable remote working. Far from it. Those capabilities have simply fed the magpie nature of production: show a producer a new workflow, and you'll just have just added to their options.
However they are working, and whatever tools they are using, people engaged in the collaborative endeavour of storytelling, and the hugely complex project that is the production process, need to be together.
Funnily enough that gives them something in common with senior management, who also tend to be focused on a collective endeavour in pursuit of a particular goal. And that may explain their similar preference for the workplace.
Does it really matter that some groups in the media industry want to work differently from others? In many ways it has to be a good thing that people get to work in a way that suits them. But the reality of running organisations in periods of constant change makes this benefit not entirely simple.
The industry is in turmoil; unable to match the manufacture and supply of content to the price the market is prepared to pay for it. But repeatedly, across different pieces of work, the DPP hears of challenges with driving change through all areas of media companies.
The number of media companies that are both producers and publishers has been steadily declining for years. So perhaps we are seeing a gradual separation of production and non-production cultures, with the publishers reshaping as more corporate entities. If so, I can't help but feel something is being lost. One only has to look at how little the writers' and actors' strikes in the US, and the commissioning slowdown in the UK, have been discussed outside the production community. It has sometimes felt horribly like the indifference of those inside the walls to those outside.
Historically, the studio, broadcaster, or network that both made and distributed its own content, from its various physical locations, held the various working cultures of the media industry together. It was always an uneasy harmony. But ultimately everyone was united by a common purpose, and common passion for the creative output.
If we lose the common passion then do we lose the joy?
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Mark Harrison, CEO, DPP, reports on the findings from the first ever detailed research into hybrid working in the media industry, alongside partners Signiant and Wasabi 
