A new virtuous circle is emerging for media and entertainment giants that promises to harness the advantages of disparate platforms, digital and linear, powered by the connective tissue of YouTube. This was one of the dominant themes that emerged in four whirlwind days of panel sessions, closed door meetings, networking and schmoozing events up and down the Croisette as top industry players from Europe and beyond gathered in Cannes for the annual Mipcom content market and conference. The growing muscle that YouTube flexes as the video crossroads of the world was a near-constant subject of conversation.
Google’s streaming behemoth is becoming ever more integral to media development, distribution and marketing plans for most contenders in media, from the biggest Hollywood studios to indie startups. Evan Shapiro, the respected industry analyst who is often billed as a “media cartographer,” gave a well-attended presentation on Wednesday morning that drew together threads probed in various tracks of the conference. Shapiro’s session offered sobering stats about the changing nature of viewing audiences.
The older contingent of media and entertainment leaders have to come to grips with the fact that the world’s population is getting younger. That means they need to cater to consumers who have come of age with technology in their pockets and a very different worldview on how, when and why they consume media in across different mediums and platforms. At the same time, Shapiro pointed to hope on the horizon for legacy media outlets.
Streaming and social video have augmented viewing time and even more important, they help deepen fan connection to their favorite shows. Shapiro emphasized more than once that media giants courting audiences need to think in terms of generations and affinity groups, not the age and gender demos of yore. Every human with a phone is a channel,” Shapiro said.
It’s the age of “personalized television through a combination of your phone and your television set.” Matt Schnaars, president of platform distribution and partnerships for NBCUniversal, reinforced Shapiro’s observations in a separate session. We see that in audiences,” Schnaars said. It’s accretive and incremental.
And so we get excited.” NBCUniversal is windowing some of its most prized, fan-favorite content – college football – on YouTube. The Peacock streaming platform shares its weekly exclusive games on YouTube. In the old days, that would have been unheard of.
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