According to Ooyala's "State of the Media Industry 2018" report, the future of video hinges on personalization and mobility.
"Consumers are moving fully to digital and social platforms, and are used to finding video content wherever and whenever they are looking for it," said Belsasar Lepe, founder and CTO of Ooyala. "Media companies are in a dead sprint to keep up with consumers - and data will be the key to opening new avenues for growth and understanding."
Ooyala says media industry evolution is being driven by advances in, and the intersection of, three primary factors:
- Mobile technology, as exemplified by phone upgrades and 5G wireless
- Data, including the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more personalized content
- Immersive viewing, as embodied by augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)
Among the findings (from both Ooyala and other sources):
- Mobile represents more than 60% of all video plays, and longer videos on all screens are now the norm (Ooyala).
- Americans will spend more than 80 minutes daily watching digital video next year, up from 61 minutes three years ago (eMarketer).
- 85% of U.S. adults now get their news via mobile devices (Pew Research Center).
- 34% of teens' entertainment content is consumed via smartphones, and they watch nearly 70 videos daily (Awesomeness).
- More than 80% of Millennials plan to watch online video via smartphones by 2022 (Nielsen).
"Mobile video isn't a novelty any more - it's the consumer's expectation," Lepe said.
The report also says media providers' futures depend on building strong, trustworthy brands; delivering quality differentiated content and experiences; and developing a deep understanding of audiences and what they want. Advanced applications in data and automation are becoming widespread globally, particularly in newsrooms - such as USA Today's efforts to provide readers more personalized experiences based on their interactions with its mobile website.
AI is playing an increasing role as well, Ooyala says, not only in understanding consumer preferences, but also in determining the optimal mix between humans and machines.
"To quote the CEO of Intuit, 'big data is the great equalizer,'" Lepe said. "Expect partnerships, diversification and innovation, with the help of data, to be key assets in every publisher's tool kit. Look for more media companies to leverage data to control their own content, integrate their publishing systems, pursue more personalized approaches to serving audiences and advertisers, develop more innovative partnerships - and to explore new ways to make money."
Ooyala says "immersive technologies" such as AR and VR can be useful tools contributing to "stickiness." The advent of 5G wireless is seen as empowering immersive experiences such as AR, VR and 360-degree on mobile devices.
"Publishers are becoming more connected to consumers and each other via deep data, and immersive video is creating a new reality," Lepe said. "Look for technology advancements to continue expanding what media means and how we consume it in the future."