
By Stuart Almond, head of marketing and communications, Sony Professional, Europe
Author:
ContributorPublish date:
Dec 20, 2018
2019 is going to be a transformative year and this transformation is a direct reflection of how current trends are reshaping our industry. However, you don't need me to tell you what you already know; yes, the media landscape is changing. But in the last year, we've not seen industry predictions change. What we've seen is the speed of that change accelerate.
The significance of traditional TV is decreasing as consumers are starting to favour on-demand streaming services. SVoD subscriptions have overtaken pay-TV for the first time ever, and nearly 765 million people worldwide are expected to watch content on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. In addition, by the end of this year, the global OTT market is expected to grow by a staggering 24 per cent. The appetite for OTT services has clearly exploded.
And disruption continues as viewing habits of modern audiences continue to change. Globally, about 20 per cent of content viewed on Netflix is currently accessed through mobile devices, with 20-25 per cent of that viewing happening across mobile networks. And with 5G networks just around the corner, these numbers are only going increase.
But swim up the supply chain and there you will find a big difference as 4K production has become the de facto industry standard, as more and more consumers are demanding 4K content in their own homes. In fact, the Worldwide TV Market Report from Futuresource Consulting highlights 4K UHD TV sets will ship over 80 million this year alone, whilst high dynamic range is present in 60 per cent of those. Content will remain king, with rights owners taking back more control.
So where do we go in 2019?
1. Deeper audience engagement / Consumer-driven change
Mixed reality will continue to be a big area of exploration for content providers as they look to engage audiences at a deeper level especially around live content. The VR market is quickly transforming into an entertainment and productivity platform, and when we look at the introduction of mixed reality in this last year, we can see why the fastest growing revenue segments will be VR and OTT.
In 2018 we've helped customers achieve deeper audience engagement through second screen services; for example, Sony helped Sky and the BBC connect with their audiences in a much deeper way, delivering live sports through VR with PlayStation VR. The success of this shows the demand for unique and personal experiences will continue.
2. Content is emperor! / A rethink of commercial models
As 4K HDR content becomes a demanded de facto benchmark in people's homes, the width and breadth of quality content will continue to grow. Access to technology that will allow for big budget content in an agile and cost-effective way will open new market players and strengthen partnerships like the Netflix Post Technology Alliance Program which Sony is already proud to be part of.
At the same time, when this is mixed with a change in consumption platforms we will see more non-traditional brands creating content to engage the same audiences that M&E companies are after, meaning the future of content control will sit with the rights owners more so than the traditional commissioning/buying supplier.
3. Streaming services 2.0 / Connected devices and IoT in M&E
With the signs of early introduction of 5G and the move of an industry that will depend on virtualised production and streaming services, mobile connectivity changes what's possible in terms of the experiences faster broadband will facilitate. And in response, we will see a boom in services offered in this space!
As a rapid growth area now that cloud services and opex models become clear advantages for production speed, cost efficiency and audience reach, more and more productions will benefit from decentralised curation as content can be created, shared, collaborated on, and published from anywhere, anytime. This means teams will be free to work in a more decentralised way, creating advantages, specifically in news production, allowing for more field-based journalism. This will reinstate traditional news providers with the ability to produce and quickly deliver content from wherever it's happening, supporting the integrity of the brand in the age of fake news'.
4. Data. Data. Data - and the acceleration of AI
As PwC predicts data traffic levels will grow by 22.3 per cent reaching 398 trillion megabytes in 2022, we know that the amount of data produced is going to drive even more insights about audiences, consumption, content and production methodologies. However, the key, and maybe obvious prediction, will be the continued acceleration of how this data will feed more AI adoption across the industry in 2019.
2019 will see the increased use of AI in the content creation side of the supply chain, not only automating more processes and workflows, but used in acquisition and pre-post production to both speed up delivery time across multiple platforms and pre-create content for a desired audience data preference.
5. Knowledge economy / The skills cliff edge is coming!
Finally, 2019 will see the need for knowledge, as a whole range of new roles are required across the industry. The desire for broadcast engineers who understand IT as well as video over IP, who understand digital distribution, who understand multi-platform audiences, is the utopia role many are seeking.
As the industry continues to transition in 2019, associations, bodies and partnerships to not only define standards, but collaborate on knowledge, will be essential. Individual content and media organisations will be looking for partners to consult, support and, very honestly, go on this journey with them together. It's a transformative ho
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
02/04/2026
HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...
02/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...
02/04/2026
Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...
02/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...
02/04/2026
Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...
02/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...
02/04/2026
LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...
02/04/2026
Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...
02/04/2026
Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...
02/04/2026
The Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports have announced that ION will broadcas...
02/04/2026
ESPN will debut Courtside at the Women's Final Four Presented by AT&T, an alt-cast airing Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and Sunday, A...
02/04/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are ...
02/04/2026
ESPN's MegaCast Coverage of 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four Begins Friday, ...
02/04/2026
DAZN has announced the launch of DAZN Playmakers, a global influencer program designed to build a network of sports content creators. The programme will give cr...
02/04/2026
Tony Cole, Jessica Lee shift into new roles reporting to ESPN SVP/Content Operations Chris Calcinari....
02/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
02/04/2026
Real-time tracking, virtual production, and Pixar storytelling converge for Apri...
02/04/2026
NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission has launched four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, marking the first manned launch toward the moon sin...
02/04/2026
(L-R) Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, and John Magaro appear in Omaha by Cole Webley, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courte...
02/04/2026
4 - 11 April 2026
VEMIA's latest gear auction is just around the corner, and there's already a wealth of sought-after instruments and studio gear li...
02/04/2026
Little Labs emulation now available to all
The latest Universal Audio plug-in to become available outside of the company's DSP-powered UAD2 platform has...
02/04/2026
SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever
2 April, 2026
Media releases
Santo Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and a host of special guests retur...
02/04/2026
Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return t...
02/04/2026
L3Harris has successfully powered the historic launch of the Artemis II mission, providing propulsion and avionics....
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Already deployed extensively by NBC Sports, FOR-A Corporation will demonstrate GoVertical! AiDi, the real-time 9:16 autocropping feature of viztrick AiDi, durin...
02/04/2026
Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its B...
02/04/2026
Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that TDF, a...
02/04/2026
NBC Sports Deploys viztrick AiDi to Stream Live Events in 9:16 Mobile-First Formats with Auto Tracking, Development Signals Strategic Shift for FOR-A
Long reco...
02/04/2026
Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including:
New advances i...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone year, celebrating the university'...
02/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have today announced new, fully managed, cloud-native Master Control services designed to meet the growing operational demand...
02/04/2026
Avid today announced it will showcase new innovations designed to help media companies win in the new media economy at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas Co...
02/04/2026
PlayBox Neo helps AIS PLAY kick-off premier football content direct to fans
PlayBox Neo has provided MIMO Tech with a brand-new major installation to extend it...
02/04/2026
Globo has transitioned its primary content distribution to Secure Reliable Transport over a fully IP-based managed backbone using Synamedia's Quortex PowerV...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Al-Fadl Salem The Danish singer recently performed for the queen of Denmark.
April 1, 2026
By
Editorial Staff
Image by Junia Morrow
Wh...
02/04/2026
Taku Hirano's Career Is Defined by Identity Whether he's performing, composing, teaching, or developing instruments, the do-it-all percussionist sees ...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Official Trailer for The Trials of Winnie Mandela
Entertainment
02 April 2026
GlobalSouth Africa
Link copied to clipboard
...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Start of Production and New Cast for Second ...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer for Ronaldinho: The One and Only Features Never-Be...
02/04/2026
Red Seat Ventures Launches Speakeasy, a New Hosting, Distribution and Monetizati...
02/04/2026
GoVertical! AiDi Powers Real-Time 9:16 Autocropping for Immediate Streaming to M...