Media owners advised to make bold moves

<P>Media owners should look at current industry dynamism as an opportunity to push alternative platforms to advertisers, according to findings in the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) forecast, 'Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2006-2010.'</P> <P><br><br><BR>"Advertisers in this type of market will take punts more often than they will in a downturn. This is the time to make some of those exploratory voyages into new media," said Marcel Fenez, the leader of PwC's Asia-Pacific entertainment and media practice.</P> <P><br><br><BR>PwC's report has Asia-Pacific as the only global region with no slow-growing segments in its media and entertainment industry over the next five years. Although media owners could still expect healthy gains in traditional media, Fenez recommended that now was the time to prepare for a future in which consumers source content through different devices, in and out-of-home.</P> <P><br><br><BR>Fenez pointed to the ways in which media is developing in the region, through such examples as this year's launch of direct-to-home TV in India, the Singapore Government's US$600 million investment in its digital media industry and the recent pact between SK Telecom and Warner Music in Korea, one of an increasing number of deals between content owners and channel providers.</P> <P><br><br><BR>"New media owners should take advantage of the current level of buoyancy in the market and try to position themselves to win the hearts of advertisers, because it may be difficult to do that based purely on research or metrics."</P> <P><br><br><BR>In this environment of convergence, the two key challenges media owners have to confront are audience measurement and developing content that could work across different devices and in different locations, Fenez said.<BR>"Everything these days is being driven by convergence, and at the centre of convergence remains the consumer," he said. "Rather than saying content is king, we are now saying the context of that content is king."</P> <P> </P>