Although we have stepped in 2021, yet, the COVID-19 pandemic effect is continuing to transform business strategies throughout the telecommunications, media, and entertainment sector. In the media and entertainment industry, the pandemic has boosted many trends that were already afoot.
Just for instance, in most part of the world, movie theatres and multiplex were closed. In the later part of 2020, they started to operate in some parts of the world but with limitations in the number of attendants. This created a new trend by which customers got more attracted towards direct-to-home (DTH) or direct-to-customers (DTC) platforms. This switching of customer preferences compelled the leading studios to make first-run movies available to such customers via streaming services.
As a result, there has been a great leap in the consumption pattern of the streaming content with a positive trend. This has led to an increase in the number of subscription services along with an increase in the categories of online advertising models. These advertising models are designed to satisfy the increasingly cost-conscious customers.
Owing to such events and market factors, the leading M&E industry players have set customer retention versus acquisition as their top priority goals. In order to achieve the same, DTH and DTC services providers and OTT networks have started providing a broad range of content like video, music, games and podcasts.
This is simply a brief of the “new normal” of the M&E industry as gradually we are recovering from the COVID-19 blow. The industry players are keen in the process of understanding consumer behavior patterns and developing a more nuanced approach to engage with customers. As consumers are repeatedly experimenting with the entertainment options, providers are scaling themselves to adopt new strategies and agile approaches for content development, aggregation, and delivery.
In 2021, the telecommunications, media, and entertainment organizations would be focusing on three key strategic opportunities for dual purpose to recover from the COVID-19 crisis and to boldly position them to thrive in the future:
- Renew the focus on customers’ needs by taking a more nuanced approach to customer engagement Most expected steps taken by M&E Industry key players can be the following:
- Explore new business models and technologies that foster a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and better consumer engagement.
- Lead with original content as 45% of subscribers feels and thinks that they paid for a specific streaming video service to watch new original content not available anywhere else.
- Meet customers at their location by offering a broad set of options (video, music, games, podcasts, and more), available via a mix of subscription and free ad-supported services.
- Redefine relationships with advertisers to target consumers with more highly tailored content and advertising.
- Converge and remix entertainment experiences through new service offerings and entertainment bundles. Providers should also focus on adopting new strategies that can enable business agility. On this, the leading companies can take the following crucial steps:
- Do predictive analysis of consumer behavior for converting new consumers to permanent ones.
- Explore opportunities in the areas of DTC offerings like PVOD and crossover services such as watch parties, music within video games, and sports on broadcast TV.
- Seek ways to make more relevant content easier to discover and access.
- Anticipate where consumers want a new experience, not just a better version of what they have today
- Reposition to monetize advanced wireless networks through new products, services, and business models. For this purpose, M&E industry veterans can implement the following practices:
- Focus on the benefits and outcomes of adopting advanced wireless technologies like 5G rather than on the technology itself.
- Leverage advanced wireless technologies such as 5G to develop enterprise applications that are truly industry-specific.
- Develop a better understanding of customers’ usage patterns, with an eye toward strengthening the value proposition.
- Reassess all of the ways that customers transact with the business, with a focus on both the channel mix and the ability to meet customer needs (for example, by offering “contactless” inventory and checkout).
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