High speed internet, digital platforms and new formats have transformed nearly every media sector.
Streaming content direct to consumer has long been norm in the music industry. More recently, film
and TV have followed suit with upwards of 450 million gross subscriptions forecast in the US alone by
20271. Although there are some signs of market saturation, with Netflix reporting its first quarterly loss
in subscribers, overall consumer behaviours have firmly shifted.
The digital revolution is also reshaping the publishing industry. For example, Audible and Pearson+
(Pearson’s eText subscription) have achieved massive growth, and the world’s largest English language news publishers now have more than 30 million digital subscriptions between them2.
This proliferation of digital platforms has opened new ways to deliver and new commercial models to
monetise content – such as subscriptions, ad funded models, social platforms and immersive
experiences. Now digital start-ups and tech giants have penetrated the market, competition
continues to intensify as media companies battle for consumer attention.
What does the modern media consumer want?
Consumers have higher expectations than ever, and whist companies who excite and engage their
audiences stand to extend their reach and monetisation options, those who don’t risk becoming
irrelevant.
So what do today’s consumers demand?
- An easy way to find and consume relevant, personalised content, in the channels and formats they prefer
- Breadth and ‘best in category’ content – access to relevant content, potentially localised or
relevant international content from elsewhere in the world, diverse and inclusive casting,
niche content specific to tastes and a blend of creator economy and corporate commissioned
content
What happens when these needs are not met? In our post Covid digital subscription and service
economy, consumers are readily switching platforms to the services that best meet these needs to
indulge in their new habits. Forecasters are lining up to predict global churn rates of over a third in 20223.
For media businesses to succeed in this new landscape, they must master and maximise their IP
rights so they can continually launch relevant content that captivates consumer audiences.
A Complex Rights Ecosystem
Launching any new digital product relies on understanding your rights position. You need to be able
to answer questions like:
- What content is available?
- Have we exploited all the rights we own?
- Which rights do we need to acquire to reach or retain customers?
- Which products and categories are most profitable?
- Where should we license versus buy content?
Whilst these may seem like simple questions, they are becoming ever more difficult to answer as
digital platforms, partnerships, M&A and other seismic shifts have exponentially increased
complexity in the rights ecosystem:
- Media companies consolidating their market position through acquisitions of IP or company
mergers
For example, Universal Music Group (UMG) purchasing Bob Dylan’s back catalogue or
WarnerMedia and Discovery merging to form a new media giant.
This introduces more complexity into the rights landscape – acquiring or merging catalogues
means understanding historic contracts and rights positions, rights clearances and royalty
positions.
- Media companies are expanding their role in the value chain in response to competition
For example Netflix, which launched by licensing legacy catalogues, now makes up 40% of its
content, with original hits such as Stranger Things and Squid Game which drive significant
audiences.
This means that more companies are owning and managing rights – new capabilities need to be
built and integrated into their businesses.
- With demand for high quality content so high, more parties are involved in commissioning and production
Increasingly companies are forming partnerships to split production costs, delving into coproductions or enlisting financial investors.
This impacts rights as more contracts need to be understood, and more parties served - which
leads to more complexity in rights positions.
- Distribution is a changing landscape – and increasingly global
Traditional exploitation windows are changing, particularly in theatrical where a cinematic
window of a few months is now condensed into 45 days before being released to digital
platforms.
As western markets mature in streaming, companies seek to launch into international markets,
acquiring and exploiting rights across geographical barriers.
It has become more essential than ever for sales teams to accurately understand rights, and what
is ‘left on the table’ to exploit. Flexibility is key to manage ever changing window, territory and
deal structures.
These factors make it harder than ever to understand your rights. But whether you’re acquiring
content or producing it, it is essential to gain clear visibility of your IP. This is crucial to knowing what
content you have to power your products, measuring performance against commercial targets and
using data-driven decision-making in product and commercial strategies. All of these capabilities are
particularly important as content budgets become squeezed by economic factors – doing more with
what you have becomes critical. IP rights is at the heart of getting all of this right.
Build Rights Operations to Power Consumer Products
Getting the most value from your rights boils down to two key areas that urgently need investment –
and complement each other:
- Rights Operations to continuously grow the value of your IP rights, and support sales and
product teams understanding the rights they have to exploit
- Agile product development to create a highly relevant consumer proposition – integrated
with understanding your rights positions, testing and iterating based on performance data