Empowering Media and Entertainment Using Big Data

I am old enough to remember you had to be in the same place at the same time every week to catch the latest episode of Knight Rider. Of course, modern cable services like Spectrum deals San Antonio have made life far easier for people like me, with the ability to pause, rewind, record, and fast-forward TV. But technology has actually changed a lot about the media and entertainment industry, especially compared to the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.

These days, thanks to over-the-top or OTT streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, you can get your entertainment virtually anywhere. These services are a direct product of advancements in Big Data analytics. Pay-per-View events, live streaming, on-demand content, and much more are manifestations of Big Data within media and entertainment. Here’s how Big Data has been applied to the industry:

1. Entertainment Consumers Have a Bigger Say
2. Entertainment Follows Changing Trends
3. Advertising Has Become Very Sophisticated
4. Digital Content Rules the Roost  

Of course, Big Data is everywhere these days, as corporations realize the value of the information they collect on their customers, users, visitors, and viewers. The Big Data revolution has transformed a number of industries from manufacturing to automotive to air travel communication. However, we often tend to ignore how it has revolutionized an industry that we interact with on a daily bases. Let’s take a closer look at the applications of Big Data in the media and entertainment industry below.

Entertainment Consumers Have a Bigger Say

The most challenging task for players in the media and entertainment industry is to keep their consumers satisfied. Globally, entertainment consumers have become very choosy about the content they watch. Thanks to internationally acclaimed shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Joker, the entertainment industry has raised the bar for itself.

A lot of keeping entertainment consumers happy comes from being able to understand their entertainment needs. Cable and internet providers, along with streaming platforms, gather user data on their subscribers. This allows them to gauge the real-time response to the content they supply. The result is that consumers have a much louder voice than they used to have. A mediocre show is rarely lucky enough to last more than a season, mainly because customer needs and interests dictate the lifetime of a TV show or movie. This empowers players within the industry to evaluate and respond to consumer demands.  

Entertainment Follows Changing Trends

Big Data in the media and entertainment industry has also lead to content that resonates with the audience. This is no accident. Cable providers and streaming services don’t just gather data to judge the response to their content. They also use it to predict trends, create user personas, and deliver content that attracts specific audiences. Take Netflix’s Witcher for example. The show is based on a series of insanely popular games and attracted a huge audience from that segment. Some geniuses at Netflix, empowered by Big Data, correctly predicted that investing and producing Witcher would be well worth the effort.

Advertising Has Become Very Sophisticated

The applications of Big Data in media and entertainment also extend to the industry’s core revenue source – advertising. Media and entertainment companies’ advertising strategies are the lifeblood of their business model. The more optimized their ad policy is, the more viewers they are likely to attract.

Of course, it makes sense that big media powers would see an opportunity to optimize their advertising strategies using Big Data. Big Data has revolutionized modern advertising. Ads these days are digital, personalized, and come with valuable analytics. Big Data predicts the best time and slots to display ads in for the most attention. In fact, it can even tell you what ads generate more consumer interest. These insights are invaluable to a media and entertainment company.

Digital Content Rules the Roost  

The industry now has a lot of jobs that have never existed before in the history of media and entertainment. Big Data and the digital wave have opened up brand new revenue streams. Modern media houses and entertainment companies have a better understanding of their consumers’ needs thanks to Big Data.

For instance, the good folks at Spectrum can tell how many consumers subscribed to HBO via Spectrum a la Carte and how many of them unsubscribed after Game of Thrones concluded. With deeper insights and better technology at their disposal, a wave of high-quality digital content has emerged and it’s consistently attracting more viewers than ever before.