Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Commission in Brussels on Thursday published its first outlook on the European media industry, analyzing trends in the audiovisual, video game and news media industries. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton presented the report at the European Film Forum, organized at Cannes.
The Media Outlook report provides market data and identifies key technology challenges and trends common to the media industries. Among other findings, it underscores the structural impact of the ongoing shift in media consumption in favor of digital gamers. According to the report, the growth is mostly driven by segments such as video on demand (VoD), mobile gaming or immersive content.
The report also highlights the importance of strategic assets such as intellectual property rights for media companies and how holding, acquiring and exploiting these rights can help increase revenue, invest or remain independent. It also stresses that early and judicious uptake of innovative technologies and technologies (such as artificial intelligence virtual production) is key to adapting and opening up new markets to become more competitive. Moreover, audience-driven strategies should serve as a foundation for building successful business models.
The European Media Industry Outlook is a European Commission report first announced in the Media and Audiovisual Action Plan (December 2020), with the aim of exploring media trends and analyzing their potential impact on EU media markets. The analysis is based on market overviews, sectoral studies, consumer surveys and questionnaires on the topic of EU industry competitiveness. Other editions will follow.
  On Thursday, a statement by the Commission published some statements in this regard
The European Media Industry Outlook published today underscores how important it is to maintain our efforts to help European media organizations digitalize. We have to position ourselves early enough on new technological sectors. To avoid others imposing standards, we may not agree with them. From immersive content to virtual production.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President, Europe Fit for the Digital Age -
Our European work is getting results - from building industry alliances to catalysing investment. We must continue our efforts to be more present in the emerging sectors of the media industry, to prepare for future business models, and to help the European industry go global. Audiences are the focus of the attention economy. In Europe we have the masses - our home market of 450 million citizens, we now need strategies that will help us maintain our financial independence and protect our cultural diversity. According to Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market