Radical steps are required if media companies want to achieve financial and strategic success, according to a new report from Accenture.
Accenture unveiled its Media Thrive Index, which shows that modest changes won’t move the needle in addressing the industry’s challenges.
Media companies need to take big swings if they want to thrive, the report found.
“Media companies need to get radical and get outside of their comfort zone,” said John Peters, a managing director in Accenture’s Media & Entertainment Industry practice. “It is necessary to be bold, whether it means overhauling traditional revenue streams, targeting new audiences, redefining roles within the media value chain or competing in new industries altogether.”
Challenges identified by Accenture included a large share of consumers (36%) saying they are tired of spending their time browsing to find what they want to watch. The content being recommended to them on streaming sites does not match their interests, according to 62% of respondents.
Almost 60% of consumers are serial churners, canceling and resubscribing to services based on the availability of the content they want to watch. The number of consumers canceling subscribers was up 47% in 2023.
Another problem is more consumers are satisfied and entertained by user-generated content, putting more pressure on traditional media.
On the other side of the coin, the study found opportunities for media companies to get into businesses beyond content, including aggregation platforms and lifestyle bundles.
If there were a single app that allowed consumers to access all of their digital services — media and nonmedia — 83% of survey respondents said they would sign up for it.
Accenture projects lifestyle bundles to reach $3.5 trillion in consumer spending by 2030, with technology brands better positioned over traditional media brands to be the creators of these bundles.
Accenture’s Media Thrive Index measures the extent to which a reinvention strategy positions a company to succeed by assessing its likely financial, growth, and strategic impact.
The index was assembled after looking at 50 different strategic options for reinvention, identified from a range of initiatives launched by companies and from Accenture’s own strategic analysis.
