Foot in the Future: PwC Global Media & Entertainment Outlook
With the recession clearing in digital media, the case is being made via PricewaterhouseCoopers that traditional media will drink more from the digital well, and be forced to take risks with their models.
This redrawing of the traditional/digital value chain will not change the conversion rate of digital dimes to analog dollars overnight, but it accelerates the conversion or transition process, and forces studios to get a “foot in the future,” as Bob Iger said recently.
Via THR: The biggest challenge in running a company as big and varied as Disney is “to maintain the balance between heritage and innovation.” Also tough is to resist those folks who want the company to invest in assets that are not “core or that don’t enhance the brand.”
[Iger] ”We looked at digital media and believed that there was a migration there by consumers whether we were there or not,” he said. “We didn’t want to be marginalized. We have to be where the fish are. [...] We’re in business with a lot of important third parties — theater owners, big-box retailers, satellite providers, TV affiliates — and this was deemed threatening. That was difficult to manage. But I felt it was important to do.”
With PwC’s new outlook, that equates to a validation of the digital subscription and download models. In addition with Blu-Ray and gaming consoles, more digital distribution gives the home entertainment market a slight upward bounce with, we suggest, strong social media marketing drivers. Read more >>
Digital Sky Technologies Aims $1B Digital War Chest at Asia, Australia and UK
Yuri Milner, Digital Sky Technologies’ CEO, continues to raise successive funds around digital investments, following money into Facebook, Groupon, Zygna and the recent April acquisition of AOL’s ICQ. With a new $1B war chest – or warhead – as its next stage of funding, DST will likely be adding $10-$100M+ to digital companies that do not have the same media cache as digital brands in the States.
Strong in the social space already, expect DST to pursue digital companies who are already profitable, partner well with the Facebook mothership, and scale very well. Read more >>