Netflix buys Scanline. Who will be next to purchase a vendor and how busy will 2022 be for digital entertainment?

The streaming wars have never been hotter. With the return to live action at the beginning of 2021 streaming companies got back to shooting live action and VFX studios ramped back production back up. Bouncing back from the deficits of the pandemic lockdowns, shows starting shooting again, plates were rolling and studios around the planet resumed the pre-pandemic frenetic pace. But there was something new in 2021. With Paramount + and Peacock there are more players on the field. And after 6-7 months of almost no VFX work, players had some extra debts to bounce back from. Like a perfect storm we have been binge-watching, consuming content like never before, combined with the rebound from Covid-19 lockdowns on films-sets to create a demand for digital content that is unprecedented.

With that comes intense competition for vendors to produce the work and a worldwide shortage of talented artists, engineers and everyone else that go into producing content. Gone are the days of just calling another studio or service provider to pick up 20-30 percent of the shots. Everyone is too busy to take on the overflow.

Rather than having to line up to get their shows produced battling in the line-up against their competitors it makes perfect sense that Netflix would buy up Scanline to guarantee production. But who is next? Will we see other streamers snapping up global vfx houses in an effort to have more control on their delivery schedules? We will see more M & A activity in 2021 amongst the bigger studios in an effort to bump out rivals and thin the field?

2022 is lining up to be a very dynamic year. The "war for talent" that is always talked about in HR and Talent Acquisition has never been more prevalent as it is today. Candidates have been working from home for almost 2 years and anywhere from 60-90 percent, depending on what study you read, don't want to return to a traditional workplace.The shortage of talent globally has also opened up international recruiting for some companies that historically wouldn't or didn't have to hire globally. The local talent pool typically had enough people to get most of the work done. This has changed dramatically. More companies are having to contend with meetings in different time zones as a standard, not an exception. And many workers have relocated outside of major urban centers with no plan of returning. Remote, work-from-home or hybrid schedules are what much of the workforce is seeking in this recalibration of the business contract.

As 2021 winds down in a few weeks we can be glad for the digital economy and the entertainment sectors being in high demand. With no signs of a slowdown in sight 2022 should be a very interesting year. High schools, parents of young kids, career centers and colleges should all be looking at focusing on training for these industries.