Futuremade: The New Dimensions of Media

Wednesday 12 June 2019

To mark 30 years of constant innovation, Sky has partnered with Futuremade to look ahead at the future of the media and entertainment industry. This independent report, based on interviews with consumers and industry experts, identifies five trends for the future and explores how tomorrow’s consumers will watch, feel and experience media in an increasingly connected world.

Read the executive summary below, and the full report ‘Futuremade: The New Dimensions of Media’ here.



Executive Summary

When you ask people what they think the future of media will be, there are as many answers as there are people to ask. Open, multi-sensory, creative, immersive, expensive and diverse were just some of the words that we heard used throughout our research for this report.

To gauge where the future of the industry is headed and what the new dimensions of media will be, we spoke to a diverse mix of engaged consumers, industry experts and examined trends research.

Though there were many differences in how the future of media was described, there were five recurring themes that together form an integrated ecosystem that will shape the pattern of media consumption over the next few decades.

  1. Immersive Entertainment: In the future, consumers will want to use all their senses to be there, even though they are not physically there – to deeply experience entertainment from the comfort of home.

“I remember the Kanye show at Madison Square Garden…millions of people sat at their computer wherever they are, doing exactly the same thing. It’s a community.”

  1. Innovative Interfaces: Adaptive materials will become the new normal, with holographic representations and augmented layers engaging consumers and creating new advertising opportunities.

“Augmented Reality provides retailers with limitless space, you no longer need a warehouse, you no longer need a shop – all you need is people’s addresses.”

  1. Trusted Sources: New industries will emerge to further help people manage, and potentially monetise, their data – with audience protection, authenticity and trust remaining critical in news media.

“I check 10 other websites just to make sure the story is not a joke or someone trolling, or a story just getting out of hand.”

  1. Smart Environments: Domestic assistants will make the home become more connected with new out-of-home experiences providing future opportunities for media providers.

“Soon you will find yourself talking to a host of connected devices, such as your home thermostat, your car, your refrigerator, your earbuds, even your connected water bottle.”

  1. Empathetic Media: Sensing, storing and making searchable moods and emotions, both of the content surfaced and of the viewer.

“Sometimes I want to laugh, or I want a certain type of humour and that’s not necessarily listed. It’s easier for people to identify how they want to feel.”

One other issue that cut across all of the themes was the redefining of the rules that will govern the future relationship between individuals and media companies, centred on trust. This poses a threat to media companies that don’t prioritise transparency, but similarly presents a real opportunity for those that do.

The future of media will need greater bandwidth, screens with increased pixel density and an interconnectedness across devices. All of this will enable creatives to tell stories and reach consumers in ever more realistic and compelling ways. Across all of these, maintaining trust and the belief that media can be used as a force for good will be critical and underpins the five themes that we have identified and their potential, real-life applications.

As the media ecosystem becomes more integrated, with ever more choice, complexity and potential harm, media providers need to evolve to become a trusted guide – not just to protect customers, but also to enable and empower them – to help them find the content and experiences they want easily and intuitively.



Read the full report here.

Disclaimer
This is an independent report created by Futuremade, funded by Sky and published June 2019. The opinions offered herein are purely those of the author. They do not necessarily represent Sky’s view, nor do they represent a corporate opinion of Futuremade.