MIPTV 2017 Preview: Guy Bisson, Research Director, Ampere Analysis

What can a camera company tell the content industry about the future of video entertainment? If it’s self-proclaimed ‘camera company’ Snapchat, the answer is quite a lot. Whether Snap Inc’s $28bn IPO valuation is justified or not, the platform’s positioning and juxtaposition of content and hardware says an awful lot about the future of TV and entertainment formats.

Consider this from Snap Inc’s recent IPO filing: “Our latest effort to reinvent the camera is Spectacles, our sunglasses that make Snaps. Spectacles connect seamlessly with Snapchat and are the best way to make Memories because they capture video from a human perspective.”

There’s a lot in that single sentence to interest those attending MIP TV this year. Telling stories in new ways, in new formats, and in narratives that draw viewers into a personal relationship with the story-teller or protagonist will already be familiar concepts to those involved in the creation of content for digital-first platforms and social media.

The positioning of the viewer as the ultimate creator and distributor of their own content is a trend that defines social media. But what Snap Inc and its new Spectacles device illustrates perfectly, is a future in which the mobility and ubiquity of video entertainment beyond the TV set take centre stage. It also shows how the interaction of content, hardware and new technology could potentially change the monetisation and funding landscape for the content industry.

Content producers need to be aware that we are moving beyond a world in which TV entertainment is viewed by appointment (whether that be in a linear or on-demand format) and into a world in which TV is potentially always on and, increasingly watched, produced and monetised on a wearable device through a platform like Snapchat. YouTube is yesterday’s experience. ‘Me’ tube is here to stay.

The possibilities that this opens up are endless. Entertainment potentially becomes more immersive; more collaborative and more about co-operation. There are other things that newer digital-first platforms open up as well. Live streaming and stories peppered with live clips integrated into an entertainment format is one exciting development that few have so far explored. The integration of live user-generated formats is also really exciting for non-entertainment content types, not least sport, documentary, travel and news…all areas that need to work on re-engaging a younger audience.

The funding of content is also evolving. As the Netflix effect increasingly impacts the tolerance of in-show advertising, content creators need to look beyond the traditional monetisation models for more inventive ways of making money from content. Sponsorship is one funding model that has worked well in the digital-first space…ironically full circle in that the origin of soap operas and the earliest days of commercial content lies in direct brand sponsorship.

Devices like Snap Inc’s Spectacles, when combined with augmented reality also provide paths to a new advertising future. It’s easy to see that as the video viewing devices becomes something that is always on and always worn, advertising-overlays onto the real-world environment become possible without the need for ad ‘breaks’.

Formats that take learnings directly from the world of social media and digital-first platforms; entertainment that is capable of telling stories across multiple digital outlets, and that engage directly with viewers; and the increasingly integration of new technologies are likely to ascend in importance at MIP TV this year.

While all this is all a bit forward-looking, in other areas there may be a bit of circle back. As global rights deals have been a key theme in recent years, with international SVoD players driving the market towards global exclusives, localisation with a twist may become the next big thing. Deutschland ‘83 was the talk of Cannes a little over year ago, and it showed how a localised drama with sub-titles could go global. Ironically, it is global SVoD that seeds the market for a new concept of ‘localised globalisation’ of drama and entertainment, exposing the world to outlooks and languages that no longer need to be US-centric. Global hits that are Spanish-language; French-language or Mandarin will likely become more common.

So, for those that remember the United Colors of Benetton ad campaigns from the 80s and early 90s, that vision of unity and melding of cultures that the poster campaign portrayed may well finally come true in the TV content industry through the combination of digital-first collaboration and sharing and the global exposure to ‘local’ content that the new SVoD majors give to high quality drama…of any origin.