Mapping the media, sports, and platforms industry value chains
October 5, 2020
The Media and Platforms value chain is a complex web of roles and interactions. The Value Map simplifies this diverse ecosystem by illustrating the roles involved in content creation and distribution and highlighting opportunities and risks across the ecosystem.
Consolidation Around Global D2C Platforms and Premium Niches
Despite a recent proliferation of D2C offerings, rising economic pressures on consumer demand and content supply will result in eventual consolidation, with mid-market players most at risk.
New ‘Must-Haves’ Raise the Bar for the End-to-End User Experience
Companies across the media value map need to develop new end-to-end experiences that are hyper-relevant, immersive, and frictionless from the point of acquisition through engagement and retention.
1st Party Data and Analytics Separate Winners and Losers
Limits to 3rd party tracking will accelerate the need to access granular user data and harness it with powerful algorithms to drive effective targeting and personalized experiences.
Democratization of Content Creation Outpaces Ability to Monetize
As the line blurs between “amateur” and “professional” creators, distributors need to offer compelling monetization and discovery models to compete for content creators.
Growing Tension Between Profitability and Distribution
As premium content gravitates towards subscription offerings, ad-based and commerce models will need to evolve to preserve broad access to media content.
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Creation
Well-Positioned
Distribution
Impact Unclear
Consumption
At Risk
Content Creation
Description: Production and programming of content across all mediums
Includes: Music (e.g., artists, labels) • Spoken Word (e.g., podcasters) • Performance Art (e.g., theater troupes) • Sports (e.g., leagues) • Studios (e.g., film, game development) • Education and Public Sector (e.g., lecturers) • News (e.g., journalists) • Advertisers (e.g., brands, ad agencies) • Programming (e.g., TV networks) •Written Word (e.g., novelists) • Amateur Creators (e.g., consumer-creators)
Distribution
Description: Distribution of content and information, representing final touchpoint with end user
Includes: Print (e.g., newspaper) • Broadcasters (e.g., linear TV, radio) • Digital D2C (e.g., streaming platforms, independent blogs) • Social Media (e.g., FB, TikTok) • Gaming (e.g., consoles, publishers) • In-Person (e.g., arenas, cinemas)
Consumption
Description: Engagement with and consumption of content
Includes: Usage by demographic (e.g., age, region, income level) and format (e.g., device, medium)
Content Splinters Across Growing Set of Offerings Battling to Own Customer Relationship
As traditional media companies revamp OTT offerings and content creators, such as sports leagues, go directly to the consumer, available content will be fragmented across a growing number of offerings as each competes for the consumer's attention
Digital-Natives Spend Heavily as Demand Outstrips Supply
Digital-native companies across streaming and social media are outspending traditional media companies to acquire content, thereby bidding up the price of content and straining the content acquisition budgets of less established players
M&A Accelerates Around Key Growth Areas
Media and platforms companies are accelerating M&A activity to secure beachheads in key growth areas, such as podcasting, gaming, on-demand video, and EdTech
Differentiated Content is Still King
Media and platforms companies are driving superior experiences by acquiring exclusive rights to differentiated content and top talent, while providing deep libraries of original and 3rd party content
Better Experiences Driven Across Devices and Formats
Growing focus on cross-device compatibility and experimentation with new content formats, such as gaming and short-form video, to keep up with shifting consumption habits
Local Capabilities, Global Reach
Large media companies are seeking international growth, especially in emerging markets, by building local audiences organically or through acquisition, and delivering premium experiences at global scale
Data-Driven Channels Enable Micro-Targeting at Scale
As COVID constrained marketing budgets, brands and agencies prioritized spend on digital channels that allowed them to target data-rich consumer profiles, accurately measure revenue attribution, and rapidly test campaign efficacy
Walled Gardens Prioritize Full-Funnel Capabilities
Amazon, Google, and Facebook are increasingly spending on ecommerce capabilities to drive full-funnel marketing, prompting TV and streaming providers to introduce more transactional ad formats
3rd Party Tracking Beginning to Disappear
With a growing set of technical and regulatory restrictions to 3rd party tracking, brands and media companies will increasingly invest in marketing technologies, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems and marketing automation tools to generate and harness 1st party data
Niche Content Finds a Global Audience
Unprecedented access to low-cost content creation and distribution, coupled with a growing demand for authenticity, allows niche content to reach an international audience
UGC Becoming a Mainstream Marketing Tool
Brands are increasingly leveraging user-generated-content (UGC) in official marketing campaigns to drive greater authenticity and engagement
Stakes Around Unchecked Content Get Higher
UGC has been weaponized to sway public opinion around contentious issues, while the metrics and algorithms that drive UGC recommendations are drawing scrutiny from government actors
Recalibration of D2C and B2B Revenue Mix
Companies are reconfiguring their subscription and ad-based offering mix and rationalizing distribution across digitial and physical channels to balance monetization with broad access to content
Ecosystem Media Platforms Pursuing New Forms of Monetization
Ecosystem players have begun to tie content to commerce by serving hyper-relevant, actionable ads alongside content, while others have created marketplaces where users can select a-la-carte subscriptions to 3rd party content services
Data Unlocks Future Business Models
Media and platforms companies collecting large amounts of data, such as communications providers and social media players, have begun to use data to drive new monetization models, such as ad businesses that leverage communications data for rich profile targeting and algorithmic discovery that does not rely on social graphs
