NEM Dubrovnik turns 10: What the next decade holds for the TV industry

NEM Dubrovnik is a little over a week away, with the annual market bringing thousands of execs from hundreds of companies across the TV industry to its scenic Croatian venue to discuss the latest business trends and look to what the future holds.

Taking place from Monday, 5 June to Thursay, 8 June, this year’s edition of the Mediavision-run market is just around the corner – and is marking a special anniversary, as the tenth year of NEM Dubrovnik.

With this in mind, ten leading execs from companies including Sky, Beta Films and All3Media International, all of which are set to attend this year’s market, share their thoughts on topics ranging from the rise of FAST, to aggreagation and upcoming tech innovations, as they answer one single question: How do you see the evolution of the TV industry during the next ten years?

Guy Bisson, research director at Ampere Analysis, says:
“With the speed of change in our industry, there will undoubtedly be a new technology we haven’t even thought of yet that will be impacting the business within ten years. Nearer term, we’re going to see an ongoing move to re-embrace the flexibility of content business models that existed before streaming up-ended the business industry and led to the proliferation of closed portals, each of which closely guards its own content and interface.

“As those models begin to be dismantled and as free (ad-supported) TV is again embraced as an important part of the value chain and the content monetization proposition, there will be a re-aggregation of TV and TV services, something that will require access to consistent user and viewing data. Artificial Intelligence is well placed to help with that re-aggregation process and will certainly play an important role in the growing need for improved navigation and content discovery across the increasingly complex streaming landscape.”

Shan Eisenbeng, chief commercial officer at Sandbox Group, says:
“What we’re seeing now will accelerate: the lines will keep blurring between traditional PSB-led TV and the world of OTT, accompanied by a quality FAST linear offering interlaced with premium content and delivered through always more personalised experiences.

“Endless apps scrolling will finally become a thing of the past and instead new categories like gaming will come together with video entertainment, maximising revenue opportunities as well as customer engagement for operators.

“Beyond immersive AI-driven technology and shiny 8K images, let’s stay pragmatic. Times are tough and successful propositions will reinvent value and choice for viewers, who will demand to be in control of their entertainment choices, total spend, payment methods, privacy and advertising preferences. Winning telcos will embrace the shift from old school pay-TV to modern “pay as you go” premium toggling – where tech innovation aligns with actual customer needs.”

Daniel Friedlaender, Sky’s European affairs director, head of the Sky EU office, says:
My experience is that the TV industry never stops evolving to focus on what our viewers love. What we’re seeing now is more aggregation, new technologies and ways to cooperate with partners, and an ever-increasing focus on our content. I imagine an exciting cross platform and cross content world of entertainment with TV at the heart of it all.”

Moritz von Kruedener, managing director of Beta Film, says:
“In a world of consolidation, it gets more and more important to establish and nurture close and long-term relationships with the creatives, who are the centre of our work. We see the CEE region, which receives increasing backing by public funding, playing a bigger and bigger role when it comes to creative power.”

Ivan Ljubičić, managing director of Pickbox, Mediatranslations, Mediavision & NEM, says:
“Content will still be the king, but some cool features like ‘full season realease’, ‘skip ad’ or ‘cancel anytime’ might be disabled to maintain financial stability.”

Louise Pedersen, CEO of All3Media International, says:
“What’s certain is that audiences will still want great content. At the moment they have to go to lots of different platforms to view everything – it will be interesting to see how that changes over the coming years and to see how new technology like AI will fit into the TV landscape.”

Elena Petrova, head of group content procurement and broadcasting at A1 Group, says:
“In the coming 10 years, I expect the transition to a much more personalised form of TV offering and consumption – enabled by further progressing technologies. Linear television will still be there, but primarily dedicated to live sports, news and events.

“Other types of video content – films, series, docs – will be primarily available on demand, presented to the viewer in a tailored, personalised manner, following a further enhancement of recommendation tools. The development of Al technology is expected to be key for retaining customers and improve their engagement with their content, while also enhancing high quality live viewing experiences.

“IP/fiber distribution will be the dominant video content delivery infrastructure, while satellite is expected to remain its critical niche role for delivery of high-quality live content to many viewers at once, especially in rural areas – and for cross-continental distribution. On the content providers side, there will be a further consolidation of international and local streamers, while current pay-tv providers will be transitioned into fully hybrid linear and on-demand video content providers.”

Grégoire Polad, director-general, Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe, says:
“Exciting. Unexpected. Unpredictable. Three words that come to mind when looking to the future. What is certain is that the industry will continue to meet consumer expectations by providing best in class content and services, leading Europe’s AV ecosystem in investments at all levels, for the benefit of all European viewers and creatives. The big question mark is whether the regulatory environment will follow suit, so as to ensure a level playing field with big tech and a rethink of outdated rules to allow the industry to effectively compete and grow.”

Marek Solon-Lipiński, director of international relations at TVP & member of the EBU TV Committee, says:
“First, we need to speak now of the audiovisual content industry, as the existence of pure TV industry might be easily questioned today. The TV companies as such will survive, however they will have to learn how to co-exist within the new environment of digital world. I believe that strong and trusted TV brands, especially those connected with public service media will stay strong and important on their local markets, as they are able to provide quality services which answer audiences needs. They are also the provider of high quality news content, which will stay relevant to the viewers, especially in the turbulent times – that’s one of the main lessons from the COVID crisis and the war in Ukraine.

“However, the broadcasters must answer to the rapidly changing market trends and provide their audiences with the new types of content which was unknown to the traditional TV companies. In order to keep their prominence, they have to constantly change their mindset in terms of content and distribution and to allow diverse talent (young generations in particular) to participate in content creation process.”

Pavel Stantchev, CEO of TV2 Media Group & Planet TV, says:
“The television will become closer to the people, as they will be sharing its content and commenting it. Also, more international, as the new generations’ life will be getting more nomadic, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural. We, who produce and distribute content will have to pay attention to the new environment. Formats we considered past will return, as the viewers will look for simple and emotional stories and characters.”