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The State of the Content & Media Industry 

On Episode 19 of The Content & Media Matters Podcast we were joined by Alan McLennan, the Founder and Global Head of M&E, Industry Strategy and Partnership at the PADEM Media Group. He talked us through his fascinating career in the content and media space, as well as his experience of co-authoring a book. He also shared his perspectives on the state of the content and media industry as a whole and told us what he sees for the future of the sector. Read on to hear what he had to say. 

We’ve unfortunately tipped into a marketplace that is now in television management. That is an inherently comfortable place for most networks and studios because it’s not what it was before. It used to be about the innovation of technology and the connection to the audience. Now it’s stepped back. Streaming television is an important aspect of building an audience. But it’s television. It’s what it always has been. Now it just so happens that you get a choice of what you want to watch, with attached advertising that matches your personality, your behaviour, your information etc, which is much more engaging than it used to be. 

The old statement about 50% of my advertising goes in and 50% doesn’t isn’t true anymore, because we have these identifiable points now.  That allows us to grow into lower social economic environments, and that’s really good. But there is a certain component of this that has a separation of classes. We’re starting to realise in the industry that subscription levels have pretty much levelled off, except in new markets where there’s new subscriber bases. As more countries around the world have enough disposable income to pay for our subscriptions, we’re expanding our markets. We’re able to offer up the second year, or even third year kind of programming on a fast basis. 

What’s driving the industry globally is the ability to tap into the creators that are in this economy. When it comes to production, those creators are producing and providing some of the best programming and content that we’ve ever seen. Before, when you went to gatherings, parties, whatever, people would talk about news or politics. Now it’s ‘What series are you watching?’ That’s where the quality of our work comes in. The first run is for theatrical releases, then it’s aimed towards people who can afford a subscription based programme. We’ve taken a number of steps forward, but we’ve also taken some steps back when it comes to our audiences. By taking those steps back, it puts the industry in a more comfortable position with their business through advertising and audience reach – and that’s good – but where the opportunity comes is from new distribution platforms. 

We’ve seen some things from the cable industries – or Comcast for example, who are talking about 10G. What about 5G? Didn’t that just come out? 5G is the fifth generation of distribution, not the technology. It’s the efficiency of that which is mind boggling. It’s 100 times faster and more powerful than 4G, so how powerful is 10G going to be? That’s going to require whole new infrastructures to support the capabilities it brings, which will need new types of distribution. Things like Edge Computers, cable plants, and providers will have to be built out. That is where we’re going. 

To learn more about the future of the industry, tune into The Content & Media Matters Podcast here

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

The industry was back to ‘NAB’​ some Business

Finally…the industry was back out and meeting face-to-face for the NAB show, after almost two years away & hearing all about it over Zoom, we saw 52,468 + attendees make the journey to Vegas representing 155 countries!

 This was my first year in attendance and I must say, it certainly exceeded my expectations.

I thought I’d start this trip off with a bang, so we decided to do a Sky Dive in the desert, jumping 15,000 ft into the sand!! After ensuring Tegan went first, I was able to see the fear on John’s face before I was flung out into a 45-second free fall. (PS this is now a yearly tradition so all are welcome for 2023)

About 12 hours later, it was time for the show to begin…

 There was certainly a buzz in the air as 9:00 AM hit and individuals entered the West Hall, it was clear everyone was ecstatic & relieved to be back, team neuco included!

 Whilst I am not an engineer, It was brilliant to have a front-row seat to the technology which is fundamental to this industry, and begin to learn exactly how different companies utilise their tech stack, whether that be traditional hardware Cameras right through to learning about IP & Cloud solutions for Video & Content Management.

Topics of conversation which were hot amongst the West Hall were focused on Cloud technology, what Private Cloud looks like, and how can Cloud solutions help accelerate your business to the next level. Whether that is companies finally making the transition to becoming fully cloud-dependent or taking this one step further and beginning to pivot towards using a private cloud.

Furthermore, talking to individuals, it was clear that the industry is on its way to being fully recovered from the pandemic, as there are large amounts of widespread growth, from a sales, new product & hiring perspective.

It was really excellent to hear the importance placed on improving Diversity & Inclusion within this industry, but also the reasoning behind the lack of it. It’s no secret that this is a male-dominated industry-the men’s toilet queue is the best sign of this. So being able to hear about the solutions to tackle this from a grassroots standpoint, was incredibly insightful. I was particularly pleased to hear first-hand and learn more about how the Rise Group is advocating for this and creating new opportunities for Female broadcast professionals.

Growth!!! This was something which from a hiring perspective, is widespread throughout the industry. There is a real focus on strong commercial & engineering talent. This is split between smaller organisations now wanting to break into the US market or US companies wanting to tackle Europe or APAC as their new region of choice.

What does this look like from a hiring point of view?

Due to this high demand for excellent talent, it’s arguably more important than ever to ensure seamless and effective hiring processes. Speaking with companies it was interesting to hear how this has been a struggle across the last 18 months, as candidates are involved in multiple processes and have had more than one offer on the table.

A personal highlight for me was being able to meet face to face, with some of the brilliant clients & candidates whom I’ve worked with across the past 9 months. Being able to see the change I’ve made by placing individuals into a new organisation is incredibly motivating. Equally as fantastic, was all of the new relationships made with both clients and candidates!

Bring on IBC!!!!

Every Wednesday we sit down with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.