Deloitte Study Hints at Benefits of Media Fragmentation

In a study released on April 20 (click here for PDF), Deloitte reports that while the increasingly fragmented media environment signals big trouble for mass media television market, it also provides new opportunities for content providers and marketers who learn to leverage new formats and devices. Deloitte's Tony Kern explains:

"Today's consumers are seeking content across an expanding array of transmission media, channels, interactive platforms and devices... As a result, consumers -- and their pocketbooks -- will be increasingly spread across a wider range of options. Audiences will splinter into many smaller pieces, even in countries that have undergone fragmentation for years. Networks will no longer attract mass audiences, and therefore they won't be able to charge premiums to advertisers. Their legacy business model will no longer be viable."

The upside, however, is that content providers and advertisers who can rapidly adapt will reap enormous rewards. The evidence can be found in several trends, according to the report: "Cable subscription revenue has tripled since 1997, and DVD revenues have skyrocketed by a factor of 15. New mediums - such as Internet Protocol Television (IP TV) - have the potential to drive revenues even higher."

From a marketing perspective, innovations like IP TV will add a new dimension to brand communications that facilitate: 1) the co-creation of customer-centric media content,   messaging and viral promotion; 2) granular targeting; and 3) recommender engines and search applications that aggregate demand for products and services based on niche communities.