Reflections from the 2024 DPP Leaders' Briefing: Seven Strategic Focus Areas for 2025

Just returned from the DPP Leaders' Briefing in London hosted in the beautiful Freemasons’ Hall, and one of my favorite quotes shared by a speaker was by E.O. Wilson - "The real problem of humanity is we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and god-like technologies.” I share below some repeated themes that stood out to me from leaders in the media and technology industry as they consider strategic priorities for 2025.

AI: A Start of a Journey, not a Destination (Yet)

AI is everywhere—but adoption at scale requires enterprise-grade reliability and a clearer ROI. Whether it’s transcription, content metadata enhancement, or voice biometrics, the potential is clearly recognized. Organizations need practical frameworks for integrating these tools into their daily workflows, and a very clear articulation from vendors, with numbers, on how it will improve their bottom or top line. Legal departments are also concerned about risk exposure due to the unknowns with training materials used to build the models, and additional liabilities using some of these tools may introduce.

Cost Cutting vs. Transformation

The call to "do less with less" echoed across sessions. Market dynamics continue to put pressure on all organizations as the crystal ball remains a little fuzzy. Efficiency, automation, and unified supply chains aren’t just about saving money—they’re about future-proofing organizations for a landscape that demands agility and innovation. However, most leaders are dealing with the challenges of internal transformation, as buy-in from employees continues to be one of the most difficult obstacles, along with the funding transformation activities.

The Data-Driven Transformation

Data isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a catalyst. From the use of data to transform sports workflows to the integration of AI in media asset management, the push is clear—better data drives efficiency, personalization, and customer value. The challenge continues to be the breaking of data silos and ensuring data hygiene.

The Drive for Flexibility

The move to cloud-based workflows continues to be embraced, driven by uncertainty in content life cycles, event driven content, and the promise of improved end to end orchestration. Flexibility in production is also manifesting with both virtual and multi-use studios coming into play. The need is further driven by the need to meet the consumer where they are, as digital consumption for secondary media starts to push to center stage. ?

Evolving Content Strategies

Broadcasters are embracing hybrid models, merging linear and on-demand teams, and focusing on new ways to engage audiences—from multi-view sports experiences to localized FAST channels. The race to define the next-gen content ecosystem is heating up, and sports continues to take center stage.

Security Ramps in Importance

With the EU’s ?NIS2 Directive implemented into law last month, and the increased threat profile of various actors in a very uncertain world, security was a central focus area for several leaders. Vendors will need to demonstrate a more proactive stance to managing application and solution security.

There are Divergences in Perspectives

Not everyone believes cloud is the answer, and some believe that the subscription model is one more pushed by suppliers looking to drive valuations than a demand pull. The reality is a little more nuanced. The importance of sustainability, according to DPP CTO survey report, also seems to have dropped in importance as organizations deal with more pressing existential crises. It does not mean it’s not important, it’s just not in the top three.

Final Thoughts

The contrast in the concerns of the “new” digital players and the traditional broadcasters and operators was glaring. The “new” players are talking about growth, and traditional players are talking about managing audience and revenue erosion. Despite this, everyone is talking about how to balance innovation with meaningful, human-centric progress.

Which of these trends resonate with you? Where do you see the biggest challenges—or opportunities—on the horizon?