IBC 2022 takeaways: five media developments to note, from the studio to the cloud

Pay-TV markets are seeing an unprecedented evolution, driven by technology investments, shifting consumer behaviour and competition (including from OTT players). This quarterly series outlines the latest market developments and the key trends to watch, charting the period to 2030. The report also provides comprehensive cross-country comparisons at your fingertips, allowing you to identify which markets or technologies will grow the most or how OTT competition will impact the adoption of traditional pay TV.

Today, smartphones are the leading digital playground. According to our consumer survey, almost 80% of smartphone users consume digital entertainment services, including video, music and games, on a weekly basis. How can smartphone OEMs capitalise on the prime position that their devices have in digital services consumption? In this report we lay out the five key areas here that smartphone OEMs should focus on. These include implementing bundling strategies, leveraging tech and network advances, and identifying the prime consumer segments for digital services.

Extended reality (XR) technology, which comprises augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality, has been around for a while, but it still suffers from a low adoption rate. Only 5% of consumers on average own an XR headset, according to the latest GSMA Intelligence consumer survey, conducted across 12 major mobile markets worldwide. In this report, we discuss the five key areas that XR companies need to focus on for developing a successful consumer strategy, which include identifying the prime consumer segments to target and widening consumer access to XR experiences.