FROM THE INDUSTRY
The preoccupation of the studios with SUPERHERO MOVIES HAS been a reliable money spinner, but that’s starting to run a bit dry now. WICKED WAS RISKY and lavish and it has paid off. Eventually all the large media companies have to listen to their viewers. Superheroes were the buzz of the moment, and it probably stayed a bit too buzzy for a bit too long; partly because of the lead times in commissioning and creating that sort of material. I think by the time people have had enough, it’s a little bit late in the cycle. Consumers eventually figure it out and pass along a message and change happens. I’m generally pretty positive about the state of the industry almost in spite of all of the change, evolution and consolidation. A few years ago, people were very concerned about consolidation and in particular the fact that the Amazon’s and Apple’s and Google’s of the world were taking over and taking control. But look at some of the great programming that’s been made over the last few years.
pretty good at constantly reinventing itself, finding new ways of doing new things or new ways of doing old things, but it is always constantly evolving. Having moved from the film industry to broadband and telecoms, I’m struck by this industry’s very forward- thinking approach. There is no nostalgia because it’s too new; the film industry is preoccupied by a long gone golden age; reinforced by the media routinely predicting the death of cinema. Commentators on the industry are always predicting the death of something. Something is in decline, it’s in its death throes and what’s going to happen next? But in fact, does it ever really happen? Doesn’t the industry just reinvent itself and bounce back? Take Wicked, for example. Huge theatrical sales, but also huge home-viewing sales through streaming and everything else. Good content will always win. People like being entertained and they like watching good content. And so as long as somebody somewhere is producing good content, albeit for different screens or to be streamed in different ways or viewed in different ways, good content will out.
continues to be made sometimes by different organisations, different groups, but it still gets consumed and the model works out its kinks and figures out how to keep plowing forward. I’m an optimist. I can tell. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems and there aren’t things that need to be overcome. But if you look back over time, TV spelled the end of radio, then colour TV spelled the end of black and white TV; everything’s a catastrophe until it isn’t. I can’t say I’ll miss watching snooker on a black and white TV. What does the future hold for this sector? A lot more change; more consolidation over the course of the next year or two. The production and distribution of content, whether it’s live or pre-produced, is going to continue to drive everything. People used to think technology would drive everything, but it doesn’t. The viewers don’t care what the technology is. Technology is tools for the making or the distributing of, but you’re right, nobody really cares. After consolidation I think we will just go through another phase of evolution; production companies get absorbed, then some of the people leave and they go out and form new production companies. It’s very cyclical. I’m pretty positive about change in the industry. The time to worry is when there is no change. Then complacency sets in as well. What are your thoughts on the application of AI? AI is something to be carefully concerned about, but it isn’t overly worrying. The ethical concerns around use of information are the biggest issue. In terms of doing things that nobody wants to do anyway, sorting through and consolidating metadata, I think it’s just another useful tool. There’s an awful lot of buzz about it, but as an industry, we do like whatever the latest black is, right?
We were worrying for nothing.
And it services the consumer, that’s really what it’s all about. Great content
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Volume 47 No.1 MARCH 2025
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