Entertainment and Media Segments Show the Importance of User Experience

Entertainment and Media Segments Show the Importance of User Experience
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Burgeoning entertainment and media industry segments such as virtual reality (VR), e-sports and music streaming illustrate an intensifying focus on users and the vital role of “fans“ as a source of competitive advantage.

According to PwC’s Global entertainment and media outlook 2017-2021, the consumer VR content market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77.0% over a five-year period and be worth US$15.1bn by 2021. Meanwhile, total global e-sports revenue will rise to US$874 million in 2021, increasing at a 21.7% CAGR, and music streaming will experience a 20.7% CAGR over the five-year forecast period.

“Accelerating change in technology, user behavior and business models has opened up a gap between how consumers want to experience and pay for E&M offerings, and how companies produce and distribute them,“ said Deborah Bothun, PwC Global Entertainment and Media Leader. “The right user experience bridges this gap. To deliver it, companies must pursue two related strategies. First, build businesses and brands anchored by active, high-value communities of fans, united by shared passions, values, and interests. And second, capitalize on emerging technologies to delight users in new ways and provide superior user experiences.“

As companies compete to create the most desired user experiences, advances in technology are at the heart of their strategies. Combined with a great user experience, companies can harness technology and data to create a virtuous circle, one in which increasing consumer engagement and attention lead to the capture of more data and more insights into what users want. Increasingly the models used to achieve this monetization are founded on direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies, enabled by technology and characterized by greater choice and user control.

PwC projects the entertainment and media will grow at a CAGR of 4.2%, lagging behind the growth of global GDP. Global advertising revenue will also grow at a CAGR of 4.2%, down from 5.1% in last year’s Global entertainment and media outlook. This slowdown reflects pressures on ad-supported business models, driven by consumers’ preference for ad-free experiences and advertisers’ dissatisfaction with the current measurement capabilities available with digital media. While advertisers are still willing to spend, growth in ad spend is now overwhelmingly driven by Internet advertising.