Content is a rapidly expanding industry, with huge numbers of platforms and creators all vying for exposure. With vast amounts of money to be made, it’s no surprise that it’s such a popular industry. 

On The Content & Media Matters Podcast we were joined by Simon Miller, who until recently was the MD at Gracenote International Metadata for Product Sales. Simon is an energetic Newcastle United fan, who was previously the Global Director of Sports Specialisation for Grace Knight, CEO of Betfair TV, Head of International and Online Marketing for Ladbrokes e-gaming and the Commercial Executive Producer at Bloomberg TV Africa. 

With such an extensive career in the entertainment industry, we were keen to hear his perspectives on the growing global commerce that’s coming from the Content & Media industry. Here are his predictions for the coming years: 

In the betting industry – which is, in some ways, the ultimate example of commerce emerging from the back of content – if you can’t see it, you can’t bet on it. We relied on content to run our business. That’s why it’s essential to provide excellent video services to the major betting platforms, because it’s those videos that people can bet on. That video can be football, horse racing, table tennis… It can be all sorts of things, but the point is to get the videos in front of people who are interested in placing a bet. That’s an industry that’s often at the leading edge of commercialising content, and it will continue to be there. 

As the demand for profitability is becoming more and more prevalent, advertising and e-commerce becomes increasingly relevant. The industry has long considered this, and in some ways it’s not a new idea. Selling what Jennifer and friends were wearing after a piece of content was released is almost a cliche in the industry that goes back well over 20 years. 

When it comes to valuing the industry, there are a few things to consider. Look at what’s happening in China, where the e-commerce industry that’s been created off the back of content is worth in excess of $400 billion, compared to the US equivalent only being $40 billion. Now, some of that difference can be explained by some basic building block differences between the way the media and those two markets work. I’m not suggesting that you always compare like for like, but nevertheless, I think it’s a clue that many companies are looking at how they can replicate some of the e-commerce giants in China. 

Technology is always evolving the ability to push messages at people. Those messages can be information, they can enhance the viewer’s experience or they could be e-commerce messages. As more and more people watch video on small individual devices, which are naturally far more interactive, e-commerce can grow off the back of that content. What’s going to happen is that e-commerce platforms will learn the difference between different types of video format and the different needs that those videos fulfil, and understand that e-commerce is only relevant in some of those. I think that growth is going to happen, but not everywhere. The technology will enable it and grow it in really specific areas. 

To learn more about the growth of e-commerce off the back of content, tune into The Content & Media Matters Podcast here. 

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