“If you’re investing all of your hopes and dreams in FAST right now, you’re f******* yourself” – Evan Shapīro

by Edward Norton, Digital Content Specialist

IBC 2023 is over.

The lights have come on in the club and I can suddenly see why my shoes have felt like part of the floor all night. While I prise my feet, one at a time, from the floor of the RAI, I realise how much of it I’m leaving with. I might peel some of the AI off at the exit.

I spoke with?Evan Shapīro, Media Universe Cartographer, and general IBC superstar speaker for a whole episode of our podcast, Beyond the Stream. You can listen to it?here, or continue reading about it and listen later.

Here’s what I learned from him:

Streamers have the advantage, but it’s not match point????

Streaming services are dominating the entertainment market, but they have a problem. Their current monetisation models haven’t settled, and as consumers scrape the lint from their empty pockets, there isn’t much more they can give.

Making monetisation sustainable could be heard echoing through the halls at the show, with no clear or definitive answer from anyone yet.??

Big tech deathstars????

Tech has already taken over Hollywood. When I asked Evan what he thought about the prospect of a tech-controlled Hollywood, he had this to say:

“Do you think it’s good or bad that the sun is coming up tomorrow? It’s coming up, so get ready.”

However, local publishers still have leverage, so working out the balance of power between themselves and the essential big tech partnerships required to reach their audience is crucial.??

Our discovery sucks???

“Serial churning is the new channel changing.”?

Consumers don’t want to notice the change when utilising streaming services, they want a seamless experience with the least friction between themselves and their next hour of entertainment.

AI could be useful here, curating playlists for individual users based on their viewing data and habits.

Don’t just punch your golden ticket on the money train????

Even if you’re greenlit by Netflix and start syndicating content to huge services, nurture your own audience.

The creator economy, or “community economy” as Evan mentions, is the most powerful asset for any content creator, owner, or publisher. Reese Witherspoon built and sold an empire for?$900 million?because of her community.???

Choosing between monetisation models is Solomon’s choice????

As Evan said:?“If you’re investing all of your hopes and dreams in FAST right now, you’re f******* yourself.”??

Hybrid monetisation models are the way to go, at least until the dust settles and we’re no longer in a cost-of-living crisis (though I don’t see that changing any time soon).

UNBOXED

Channel Studio awarded Best of Show at IBC 2023

We're excited to announce that our product?Channel Studio?has won in this year’s?Best of Show?awards at IBC 2023 in the?TVBEurope?category.

The awards recognise the very best broadcast products and solutions on display at the show, with hundreds of submissions received.

Dan Finch, Chief Commercial Officer at Simplestream, stated:?"This award is a great achievement for a product we’ve been consistently working on across the past 12 months and beyond. With monetisation at its core, Channel Studio is already powering several projects within Simplestream’s portfolio of clients, from teleshopping and infomercial channels to real-time new coverage, supporting several ways for content distributors to increase their revenue streams."

Learn more here.

SNIPPETS

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