The Ever-Evolving Entertainment Industry: How Technology is Changing Media Consumption
Admit it, technology is changing the way you “consume” media, and the entertainment industry as a whole. Who of us hasn’t binged a show on a streaming media service while simultaneously looking up the backstory of every character on the show?
Today, people want to consume content the way they want, when they want, and for as long as they want; and technology has a lot to do with it.
The most obvious shift has been the reliance on streaming media services. For over a decade, outfits like YouTube and Netflix have transformed the way people want to access media.
This has opened up a major market for content creators to get their content in front of audiences without having to depend on the major distributors. The breadth of media that is being created as a result of this access is significantly shifting the way people think about the content they consume.
In the past, content creators had to go through distributors in order for anyone to see the content they had created. These distributors held a comfortable position in the market. They could purchase or lease content, make deals with major advertisers and marketing organizations, and rake in all sorts of revenue.
While there are still plenty of content distributors that operate this way, it is not as easy for them to take advantage of their position today, as content creators themselves are beginning to roll out their own paid services and offer them directly to customers online.
So where media companies of the past relied on content scarcity to thrive, with so much consumable content now being created by so many different creators, the traditional content distributor’s role is being fundamentally challenged. Technology is driving this in these three ways:
Shift #1: Media is Being Seen on the Move
With mobile devices and wireless technology better than ever, many users have come to expect to consume major media on the go. Industry analysts have consistently tracked the rise of mobile video consumption, with mobile devices now accounting for a significant and growing share of all streaming traffic worldwide.
One way this is happening is that many media companies are starting to roll out vMVPDs (virtual multichannel video programming distribution services). These platforms provide users with options to get the content they want on the devices they use the most.
Services like Sling TV and DirecTV Stream are reshaping the way people watch content. While the major media distributors continue to expand with their own streaming offerings, it will be interesting to see if they can continue to dominate the market the way they have for decades of cable TV. On a related note:
Shift #2: Cord Cutters Are On the Rise
Cable companies held all the cards in the TV market since its inception, but with the rise of streaming services created by content creators, more people are moving on from their cable packages. The trend is accelerating: according to eMarketer forecasts, more than 77 million U.S. households had either cut the cord or never subscribed to traditional pay TV as of 2025, and that number is projected to keep climbing.
Pay TV penetration has dropped from roughly 88 percent of U.S. households in 2010 to well under 60 percent today. Non-pay-TV households now outnumber traditional cable subscribers, and the gap widens every quarter.
Shift #3: Data Will Fuel Content Creation
Media organizations collect a lot of data. This data, if used effectively, can give content creators and decision makers a more complete view of their audience. Behavioral analytics is now being used to find audience patterns inside unstructured data that is collected throughout a company’s service delivery.
This will not only alter the advertising (allowing media companies to command more for advertising space), but also the content creation itself. Knowing what people want to see is a must; and by creating shows they know people will like, it cuts down on the production costs of uncertainty. In the past, these companies would throw a bunch of shows at an audience hoping that one of them would stick.
These companies will also use the data they capture to improve the broadcast. Televised sports has been one great example of how networks are enhancing audience satisfaction through the use of technology. Not only do they use augmented reality to break down analysis, they have also begun to utilize mobile application development as a way to enhance viewer engagement by providing real-time statistics and data visualization.
These big data initiatives, coupled with the increasing shift to Internet-hosted technologies to create and consume content, are working to change the way people are entertained. Of course, with more data comes greater responsibility: the security and compliance implications of collecting and managing audience data are significant for any organization operating in this space.
Are you someone that has been at the forefront of this technological shift? Do you think that traditional cable providers and telecoms will rein in the third-party content creators and win back their market share? Let us know in the comments section below.
Put Technology to Work for Your Business, Too
The same forces reshaping entertainment (smarter data use, mobile-first access, and shifting consumer expectations) are transforming every industry. Businesses that embrace technology strategically turn IT from a cost center into a genuine competitive advantage.
At WheelHouse IT, we help organizations across South Florida and New York build the technology foundation they need to grow, stay secure, and stay agile in a rapidly changing landscape. Whether you’re managing mobile devices across a distributed team, navigating data compliance in a regulated industry, or looking to modernize your infrastructure, our managed IT services give you the proactive partnership your business deserves.
Ready to take your technology strategy to the next level? Reach out to our team today: Florida: (954) 474-2204 | New York: (516) 536-5006, or contact us online.
