What Trends Will We See Across the Media and Content Industry in 2024?

We like to think we know a little bit about content. With over 700 digital digitals worldwide, 10+ billion organic views per month and over 830 million subscribers across managed social channels, our vast scale means we have unique data insights and digital platform relationships.

We asked some key spokespeople from across our business what they think will happen in 2024. From AI to Digital Copyright Management, YouTube Content to Ad Sales, these are some of the key considerations you should be making when strategising for the coming year. 

Sustainability

What does sustainability mean for brands in 2024? And what excites you about the coming year?

The word sustainability in 2024 is going to mean a lot more to brands. As we now know, it is almost impossible to not consider sustainability across all walks of life, we see it in our day to day operations including the work we do, the clients we work with and the projects we work on. Therefore it now must be a key consideration for any brand's strategy in the coming years.

That really excites me as it presents a golden opportunity for storytelling. I’m looking forward to seeing how creative people from different industries can come together to work on new, exciting, interesting and innovative projects that have a greater purpose and a common goal to serve everyone's needs. 

Saunders Carmichael-Brown, Sustainability Ambassador

YouTube

What type of content do you think will be key for those looking to ace YouTube in 2024?

If you’re wanting to ace YouTube in 2024, ultra-long form content will be key. I’m talking anything over an hour, full episodes, documentaries etc. YouTube is going back to it’s long form roots, but you are still going to need to balance this properly with YouTube shorts, and one strategy cannot replace the other. 

Tarif Rahman, Senior Content Strategist

Digital Copyright Management

How can Brands make the most of Digital Rights Management in 2024?

Loads of rights holders don’t know about the huge revenue potential that exists within user generated content/uploads, copyright management is more than just blocking or taking that content down. We have already made massive amounts of revenue for our partners, purely from existing user content and I predict that in 2024, more brands will begin to realise the revenue potential that exists from unauthorised content and incorporate that more into their content strategy. 

Martha Williams, Partnerships Manager

Artificial Intelligence

What opportunities does AI present for content and strategy in 2024? And what about the threats?

In 2024 I see some of the biggest opportunities coming from utilising AI to analyse our own data sets to better understand what our audiences are watching and what they are responding to. This should enable us to give them more of what they want, and less of what they don’t, whilst also better informing our acquisitions strategy and new channel launches.

I also think that AI will help personalise the viewer experience more and more, ensuring that users are shown the most appropriate content based on their existing viewing habits. I also see this as a potential threat though, as there is a real danger of creating echo chambers and for people to just be shown the same types of content over and over. There is real value in variety and serendipity, so there needs to be a balance struck.

I think that 2024, especially as it’s a US and likely UK election year, will see a big challenge come from AI generated deep fakes that are impossible to discern from real footage. I think the major platforms have a big role to play in this in ensuring that AI generated footage is clearly labelled and tagged, but I suspect that we will still see some bad actors try to manipulate public opinions using this technology.

Alex Hryniewicz, Managing Director (Network)

Advertising Market

Based on what you have seen in 2023, what do you predict will happen in the ad markets in 2024?

2023 was a period of a lot of change and I think 2024 will be consistent with that. I think we’ll see a large period of consolidation in the broadcast and streaming markets at quite a significant scale, and the ad markets will see a further move away from traditional media spending towards digital. What 2024 is ultimately going to require is a lot of agility from business and the ability to move quickly to adapt to any change. 

Wayne Davison, Chief Revenue Officer