IBM Report Looks at Bridging 'Media Divide'
Wednesday, 28 February 2007
IBM Global Business Services unveiled a new report, "Navigating the Media Divide: Innovating and Enabling New Business Models," that advises companies how they can navigate the conflict threatening traditional content owners and media distributors. IBM calls this conflict the "media divide."
The report shows that new forms of media will grow at 23 percent compound annual rate in the next four years, nearly five times that of traditional media businesses. The report also estimates that the music industry lost $90-$160 billion in its transition to digital. Future implications are even greater for television and film if companies do not systematically navigate the media divide, the report finds.
"The current clash between traditional and new media has reached a fevered pitch. Industry incumbents are responding -- but perhaps not quickly or completely enough," said Steven Abraham, Global Industry Leader, IBM Media & Entertainment. "Now is the time to determine changes in business models, innovate and re-evaluate partnerships. Content owners and media distributors must take action before it's too late."
The report clearly delineates the old and new worlds of media. In the traditional world, content produced by professionals and distributed through proprietary platforms dominates. But in the new world, content is often user-created and accessed through open technology. These polarized tendencies mark the conflict between incumbents and new entrants.
A second conflict is emerging among existing players -- between traditional content owners (studios, game publishers and music labels) and media distributors (television affiliates, retailers, motion picture exhibitors, cable and satellite providers). This media divide is pitting partner against partner in a struggle for growth.