A Blinking Signal Under Stress?
The broadcast and media industry is currently undergoing one of the biggest shifts of its existence, with global uncertainty, tariffs and consumer habits being just a few of the biggest challenges that we are facing.
In the latest episode of Broadcast Unscripted, the podcast from Radical Moves, our MD, Helen Weedon, sat down with Jenny Priestley (TVB Europe) and Kirby Grines (The Streaming Wars) to discuss just how much is changing, and how. Is the broadcast industry a blinking signal under stress, or is it just going through a rough patch to come out stronger on the other side?
In this blog, we will highlight the main takeaways from the podcast and explore how vendors and broadcasters might want to approach this turbulence going forward with innovation at the forefront.
Sarah Thomas
Marketing and PR Account Manager, Radical Moves Ltd
IP: Who Will Step Up First?
If you attended NAB LV, you will be acutely aware of the sheer amount of conversations that were being had surrounding IP and the cloud. Jenny Priestley highlights this rather well, saying that, “we have been talking about the big shift to IP for years”, with seemingly no end in sight, at least for a couple of years yet. Big industry giants such as the BBC (UK) have tussled with the concept of IP, launching BBC Wales, but in terms of the highly anticipated industry-wide shift to IP, this is still a pipedream for now.
As Kirby Grines insightfully puts it, “the first one through the door always gets shot” – because we are all human, and no one wants to be first, especially when the stakes are high. Big moves from companies like the BBC set the precedent for bigger shifts to an IP-forward industry, but until some other big players get on board, we are not likely to see the end of the ‘IP-shift’ conversations any time soon.
The ‘Everything Era’ of Content
We are all consumers of content in one way or another, so we all know how much option there is out there for your nightly movie or TV show. The problem is, broadcasters and vendors are no longer just competing with TVs – they’re competing with everything that requires attention, including handheld devices, YouTube and the creator economy, TikTok and other short form content platforms, gaming and more.
In an industry where everything is competing for attention, the only way to win is to take on everything in return. To be a worthy competitor, some would argue that you can no longer just be a media company in 2025 – you need to be a media, social, gaming and everything else company all at once. The ways in which consumers are watching content is not only changing fast, but it is changing often, with trends stacking up and sticking at a rapid rate. Short form content has become a daily routine habit for many of us, with a lot of people using the likes of TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for hours a day, even as a search engine. With this in mind, broadcasters and vendors need to keep adapting and transforming with the rise of different content styles, or risk becoming irrelevant (fast).
Viewer Churn and Fragmented Attention
This might not be revolutionary, but churning is the new normal. Kirby discusses the idea that churning is not something we can necessarily control, but rather something that we can limit before it needs to happen. In an industry where content is fragmented and consumers are forced to flick between services; churn is an inevitable symptom of our content landscape. The ‘everything era’ of content is changing the way we interact with our content, and crucially, opening up new avenues for streaming services to scale substantially.
In the podcast discussion, Helen, Jenny and Kirby discussed the old chestnut of the super aggregator.. With so much content scattered across streaming services and platforms, there is an argument to be made that one platform for everything, aiding in content discovery across streaming services, is the way forward for the future. The challenge of course is that most video service providers want to attract and keep users in their service rather than having them access their content from elsewhere. Could the music streaming model ever really work for video streaming?
Above All, We Will Always Need Content
The industry is panicking, and quite rightly, about the future of broadcast and media. It’s no secret that there have been a significant number of layoffs over the past year, and recently, the tariff-shaped elephant in the room is creating more questions than answers about the future of content. Following a turbulent few years in broadcast and media, it’s understandable why people are beginning to sweat.
There is a silver lining, though. Above all, we will always need content. No matter what age, consumers across boomers, millennials, Gen-Z and Gen-X are interacting with content more than ever; whether it is social media, movies, TV shows, creator content or gaming, there is a growing market for content. That means there is a market to scale and potentially readjust our attitude to content. Noone can watch 400 hours of content at once, and some content may eventually fall to the wayside – but the industry is not going anywhere. It’s all about how we adapt our strategies, and how closely we watch the places where consumers are spending their time.
Interested to know how we can build your voice in this turbulent, growing industry? Get in touch with the Radical Moves team to discover a new approach to PR and finally be heard among the noise.
