The global pandemic changed many aspects of our life this past year, and our media and entertainment choices, which took a massive hit, were no exceptions.
The pandemic and the stay-at-home scenario were complicit, though unwittingly, in fueling a massive industry divide – in-home entertainment thrived, and outdoor recreation literally died. Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, and other living room streaming services reached engagement heights previously only dreamt of, whereas the movie theatres and music venues suffered empty halls and grounds. Some were even shuttered for good.
2020 was an unjust chronicle of two industries.
Will 2021 bring back the old entertainment tropes? Or will the entertainment landscape change forever? Here are some predictions of how the media and entertainment industry will shape up in the post-pandemic world.
Revenues
In terms of revenue, TV was the reigning king of 2020 in both advertisement revenues and overall revenue, followed closely by the OTT and other digital platforms. In 2021, however, the TV will be usurped by digital media, looking at a 17% growth; overall, a mammoth figure when you take into account TV’s reverse growth of -9%.
TV will definitely find its footing back by 2022, looking at a 9% growth. But TV still can’t compete with digital, which is supposed to witness another massive jump of 33%.
The media and entertainment industry, in general, are looking at a 20% contraction in the next year. But don’t worry! 2022 will bring with itself a whopping growth of 33%. Moreover, the print media will take longer than other mediums to get back to their former glory.
But the numbers aren’t that promising. The print sector faces a discouraging 38% drop in sales revenue in 2021. But like others, it sees profitable growth moving ahead into 2022. All these figures are brought to you by KPMG’s 2020 India Analysis report.
In-Person Events Will Definitely Witness a Comeback
2021 will see the rise of outdoor events – movies, theatre, concerts, sports, theme parks – probably in the latter half. After all, we are cerebral creatures and require a fair share of real-world interactions, even though the world has become increasingly detached, with its heads down in digital platforms.
And once the pandemic subsides (and it will) or is brought in control via vaccines (which are on their way), the outdoor entertainment will indeed witness a blast from all the pent-up demand it has unconsciously fostered. But it won’t entirely be free of the impact COVID-19 has, with touchless transactions, on-site traffic congestion mitigation, and other tech-driven enhancements receiving their permanent place.
Games
The gaming sector, fueled by our utter desperation for in-home entertainment, will continue its meteoric rise come 2021, with cloud-based mobile games and the imminent 5G revolution to accelerate things even further.
This rise was certainly not missed by other entertainment sectors, which was evident in how many music apps and other entertainment platforms adopted the gaming industry’s free-to-play business models.
Merchandising
The OTT platforms, especially from a technological point of view, will continually evolve this next year and many years to come. The shift from the single transaction model to a subscription-based model has opened up avenues to include additional benefits like add-ons and bundles.
Amazon Prime was the first to jump on, or rather build this bandwagon. Disney Plus – a new convert – is also supposed to add Disney merchandise to the list of their subscription offerings. Netflix will ultimately be late to this party, given its negative cash flow experiences in the past, and will undoubtedly add more subscription tiers to its pricing model.
There you have it – predictions for the increasingly tech-driven world of entertainment and media and how they will cope with the aftermath of the pandemic. Keep the faith; there’s much to look forward to after this year of pain.
References
• https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/recovery-for-indias-media-and-entertainment-sector-to-take-two-years/44182
• https://www.businesstoday.in/impact-feature/corporate/indian-gaming-industry-to-be-worth-usd-1-billion-by-2021/story/413666.html
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/indias-media-entertainment-segment-to-reach-rs-186600-crore-revenue-in-fy22-report/articleshow/78405108.cms?from=mdr
