By Nick Fitzpatrick, Peter C. White, Prof Dr Stefan Engels, Qiang Li, Giangiacomo Olivi, David R. Pahl, and Jamie Ryder (Repost from DLA Piper Insights re: Global Media Sector Trends 2018 report –March 2018)
DLA Piper’s new Global Media Sector Trends 2018 report explores how new commercial opportunities are being created by disruption, specifically in relation to the rise of over-the-top (OTT) content, virtual / augmented reality (VR/AR) and the internet-of-things (IOT).
The rise of OTT content is most exciting for companies in this sector. Some 82% of respondents stated that monetising content through OTT is a major growth area for their business. In parallel, 25% of participants expect more than half of their views to be driven by OTT in 2018, more than double the 11% whose views are mainly driven by OTT today.
“It is fascinating that OTT and other direct to consumer digital content services are becoming increasingly prevalent exactly at the time when, at least in Europe, regulatory intervention is shaking things up in that very space.”
While there is much optimism about the potential for virtual reality and the internet-of-things, survey participants generally believe they will have to achieve greater scale before they become a significant source of revenue. The report also explores how companies in the audio-visual sector are using technology and legal tools to combat emerging sources of piracy across all forms of content.
According to the report, which is based on a global survey of over 200 in-house counsel and C-level executives, 94% of companies believe that the current law is inadequate to tackle the specific growing threat of IPTV or Kodi boxes as a source of infringement.
Use of illicit streaming devices has grown significantly in the last two years and, according to survey respondents, are now the second greatest source of piracy behind website internet streaming.