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Where is Media Tech Going in 2019? Some Predictions

Last #Gothamedia/Frankfurt Kurnit sponsored Media Tech Preview 2019, which was a roundup of 2018 and predictions for the coming year. On the panel predicting were Megan Cunningham, CEO and Founder of #Magnet Media Films, Peter Kafka, Executive Editor of #Re/code Media, Edmund Lee, Media Reporter, #The New York Times, and Anne Nicolaou, U.S. Media and Marketing Correspondent, #Financial Times. Hayden Goldblatt, Partner: #Frankfurt Kurnit Klein Selz, was the moderator.

Some key points for 2018

• Content was still king – #Netflix spent $300 million on content this year. Apple spent $1 billion on content.
• 2018 was characterized as the year of big company mergers
• There was a lot of enthusiasm for blockchain and cryptocurrencies this year.

Some predictions for 2019

• Advertising that consists of branded content will grow. Branded content will provide real information and tell a great story to establish a relationship with audiences.
  • More “documentaries” will be produced where people forget they are funded by a brand

• Storytelling is the future. Future ad agencies will not be focused around advertising but around storytelling and podcasts
  • Short form stories and documentaries – audiences attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and these formats will accommodate that change

• Future profitability for legacy media companies will be a challenge.
  • Revenues for big players like Disney, Time Warner and Fox for pay TV will be declining while Netflix and Amazon will be growing.

• Consolidation will continue in 2019 across all digital media companies and extend to smaller players. Some smaller companies want to be perceived as digital media companies even though they are not.
  • Pitfalls of deals made in 2018 (by larger companies) will play out in 2019 and beyond

• The enthusiasm of 2018 towards Blockchain and cryptocurrencies will drop off fast in the coming year. Both require an enormous digital shift in order to take hold.