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Media & entertainment CEOs bullish about digital media as future revenue stream: E&Y

Indiantelevision.com Team

(13 September 2012 10:09 pm)

MUMBAI: Global media and entertainment chief executive officers are optimistic about the digital future and expect digital revenue will be a rapidly increasing percentage of overall revenue for companies, according to Ernst & Young’s latest CEO study Opportunity and optimism: How CEOs are embracing digital growth.

The report reveals that approximately half of all CEOs surveyed believe digital will increase their overall revenues and margins by at least 10 per cent within the next three years.

The report is the result of surveys conducted with 34 CEOs from global media and entertainment companies with combined annual revenues exceeding $300 billion. The companies have a broad geographic span and encompass a wide variety of media and entertainment subsectors, including filmed entertainment, television, music, electronic games, entertainment services, cable networks and channels, cable and satellite operators, internet and interactive media, advertising, publishing and conglomerates.

According to 79 per cent CEOs, the technology that is driving this double-digit growth in digital is Tablet.

Ernst & Young global media and entertainment leader John Nendick said, “CEOs are undeterred about the role digital will play in their futures. There is a heightened optimism from a few years ago when industry leaders were more tentative about the potential of digital. All of the CEOs we spoke with understand that digital is probably the single most important factor – impacting their ability to grow both revenues and margins.”

Mobile devices to be the biggest driver of growth in content consumption, the report said.

The report also addresses the impact of “digital ecosystems” through which consumers view and share content on a multitude of interconnected devices. Ecosystems are accelerating the ability for consumers to discover, choose and enjoy media, with media and entertainment companies bundling and marketing their products and services specifically for these individual digital ecosystems.

“The integration of media content, devices and networks creates self-sustaining digital ecosystems. The more users interact with content, the easier it is to learn about their habits and for content, advertising, and services within these ecosystems to evolve and grow,” Ernst & Young LLP senior partner global media and entertainment advisory services Howard Bass added.

All the CEOs believed that mobile devices (including tablets) are the key to spurring demand for content. They are especially bullish about emerging markets, where growing mobile device availability coupled with an improving wireless broadband infrastructure are creating significant opportunities for media companies to grow.

When queried about the greatest challenges facing the media and entertainment industry during the next three years, CEOs agreed that global economic uncertainty and an inability to persuade consumers to pay fair value for digital content were the top two concerns. Also on the CEOs’ list was the elimination of intermediaries between their companies and the end-user, resulting in increased direct business-to-consumer relationships; structural and regulatory ambiguity; and reduction and/or reallocation of marketing budgets.

The report also revealed that 84 per cent of CEOs believe the role of social networking for their company is to connect with customers; building audiences and brands are secondary. 76 per cent of CEOs said the objective of an “app” is to be part of a bundle of new or enhanced
content and services. Also, the top priority for CEOs remains the evolution of digital and online distribution (56 per cent), followed by creatively differentiating content (44 per cent).

“Social and interactive media companies are best positioned among all media and entertainment companies to thrive in the future, according to 59 per cent of CEOs,” the report stated.

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