PricewaterhouseCoopers has released Phoenix from the flames: The future media organization. The U.K.-based study says around the world media companies need to deliver a new operating model which is fit for the future and equipped to generate rising revenues from a dynamic consumer environment. This future model will mean changes throughout organizations, with flexibility, ability to attract new talent and a willingness to fail all at the forefront of success in the new market.

The need for agility, diversification and engagement is necessary above all in the new media market because the economic downturn has accelerated the rate of change in the worldwide media market, according to PwC.

Consumer and social dynamics are at the heart of the changes in necessary future operating models, says the PwC report. “Consumers still expect to watch, listen and use a wide range of content on multiple, connected devices,” says the report. “They also want fun, enjoyable experiences with their friends and family - the rise of social networks, as well as the popularity of live music events and cinema admissions over the past year is testament to this.” Their choices in the future will depend on availability, price and quality of content.

Technology offers new opportunities to meet consumer demand, says the report with developments like Cloud Computing reducing operating and capital costs. “As a result, activities conducted within media companies are beginning to be reinvented, restructured and/or outsourced; the flexibility expected by consumers when they use content on multiple devices now needs to be mirrored in the operating models adopted by media companies.”

A period of flux and experimentation is expected while companies search for ways to make money where content, especially in the online world has previously been provided for free and the metrics required to monetize that content are underdeveloped, according to PwC.

Media companies must become more clear about their role in the industry, says the report — putting consumers at the heart of the industry rather than institutions.



Winners in the future media market, according to PwC will be companies which exhibit the following qualities:
-Speedy decision making and executing, with an appetite to experiment and fail.
-A Systematic approach to attracting and retaining the best talent for current and future business needs.
-Exploit economies of scale and scope, driving synergies and exploiting scale across geographic and product markets.
-Ability to monetize brands and rights across platforms while leveraging data they own and collect.

According to PwC these winners will include content producers with global and/or cross genre coverage, service providers which offer opportunities for consolidation, new entrants to the industry and aggregators.

On the flipside, losers in this new economic model will lack diversity or find their role squeezed by new entrants and technology, says PwC. These potentially include advertising funded broadcasters or distributors without direct customer relationships and single hit/genre producer/distributors.

To download a complete copy of Phoenix from the Flames: The future media organization, click here.