Entertainment & Media: Fulfilling the Growing Entertainment Appetite

In the modern age, there are several sides to media and entertainment besides entertaining or aiding in passing time. Such an evolution of media is driven by the emergence of technology, internet connectivity, and the wide availability of digital gadgets.

Entertainment has become an important requirement of our time. Several media, along with helping individuals lighten up moods, have countless other advantages. These advantages may include staying informed, keeping up with the latest news and trends, learning, earning income, marketing, and motivation to explore one’s own artistic side.

Nowadays, along with conventional television, radio, and personal computers, digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops have gained increasing eminence in entertainment consumption. It has grown to such an extent that countless individuals are spending a major portion of their time on their digital devices for entertainment purposes.

Popular Media for Entertainment Consumption

Entertainment or infotainment can be availed on online and offline platforms. Both have their own attractions and advantages for an audience to gain. Below are some of the most popular media used for entertainment consumption.

Social Media: Social media sites have become a popular choice for entertainment consumption in recent years. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter, among others, are some of the top social platforms where entertainment content browsing in text, image, audio, video, and gaming formats is growing at a rapid pace. 

Moreover, short video consumption on Instagram’s Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok have skyrocketed post-2019. It is majorly owing to the increasing popularity and availability of content made by social users with the use of different audio and visual effects features.

Over-The-Top Platforms (OTT):  The platforms that offer entertainment or infotainment directly to the viewers over internet-connected digital devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, and laptops, among others are identified as overt the top (OTT) media. The consumption of online video content has risen significantly over the last few years owing to the availability of cost-effective digital devices and internet connectivity.

OTT platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN+, HBO Max, YouTube, and Peacock Tv are some of the leading players in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) video entertainment space. With the lucrative content and cost-effective plans, the market players are attracting users in becoming paid subscribers. The user base of OTT platforms globally is likely to reach above 4.2 billion by 2027, estimates the studies.

Television: Television has remained one of the major go-to choices for entertainment and infotainment across global households. Despite the growing popularity of online video, television media has its own advantages such as it requires no internet connectivity, several channels, and various content can be easily viewed, and it has fewer distractions in viewing in comparison to digital devices. 

The media houses are adopting the hybrid approach in producing content, in which content is made available on TV as well as OTT. This is providing users with flexibility in accessing content according to their comfort. 

Movies/Cinema Halls: Due to increasing competition from OTT and social media, it has become a big challenge for cinema halls or multiplexes to attract audiences. There is an increasing preference for multiplexes to view larger-than-life content or the ones which have garnered significant word-of-mouth publicity over the online and offline media.

During and post-pandemic, even the popular OTT platforms have started availing original content that is story driven and also larger than life. In such a scenario, the content that is made for cinema halls has larger expectations from audiences for gaining the highest quality cinematic experience.

Publishing Media: Blogs, news websites, e-books, e-papers, microblogging sites, and digital magazines are reaching millions across the world over the internet. Conventional paper publishing is taking a backseat with the rising popularity and preference for digitally published media owing to ease of access.  Heatfeed is also one of the best platform to entertain peoples

In fact, various publishing houses have established their online presence. Digital content publishers have started availing their content through subscription paywalls or availing it free while earning revenues from advertising and marketing. The growing popularity of digital newspapers and magazines has made it a multibillion-dollar industry. According to research, it is estimated to reach about USD 43 billion by 2027.

Music: Music is one of the highly consumed entertainment forms across the world. Digital devices have several options through which a user can enjoy their favorite local and international music streaming non-stop for hours. Additionally, music has plenty of mental health benefits owing to which music listening habits have grown in all age groups. 

Music app platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, and YouTube are widely used for music and podcast listening.  The content is available free (with ads) and paid subscription for listeners to tune into. As of 2022, paid subscription services are highly preferred for uninterrupted music listening.

Radio and Podcast: Though the options for listening and viewing entertainment have multiplied with digital devices, the number of audiences tuning to radio stations is considerable worldwide. A recent survey revealed that about 8 among 10 Americans aged 12 or above listen to terrestrial radio in a week. Along with listening to music and audio entertainment programs, the news is one of the significant contents for which radios are accessed over online and offline media.

Podcasting is emerging as a favorite audio content form for entertainment and infotainment in recent years. The technology has empowered common users to make their own podcasts based on their favorite subjects. With such ease of creation and the possibility of reaching a wide audience with uploads on podcasting platforms, there is a wide availability of podcasts on different subjects. These podcasts can be accessed with ease and flexibility whenever one wishes to, which is increasing their popularity with time.

Conclusion

In the competition between online and offline media, the quantity and quality of entertainment have revolutionized. The entertainment and media market is growing at a significant rate with a growing appetite for content consumption. Thousands of hours of content are being produced worldwide for digital devices. This is aiding in meeting the growing content needs across the world.

Moreover, emerging technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality look to be promising for the media and entertainment industries in the years ahead. It is likely to transform the audience’s experience with more engaging and interactive content.