Advertisements
Rise of the Social Media Ad: Market Predicted To Top Television
The latest forecast by media agency Zenith predicts that global advertising expenditure will grow 9.1% next year, soaring above pre-pandemic revenue levels. But that’s not all! Ad spending will expand another 7.4% by 2024, hitting $873 billion. A big part of this growth can be attributed to the rising popularity of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The migration of this spend to social media platforms is predicted to overtake television, which has been consistent in the ad market. According to Zenith, “Social media ad spend will rise to $225 billion by 2024, when it will account for 26.5% of all advertising, followed by paid search at 22.5% and television at 21%.” While consumer behaviors have been disrupted by the pandemic, digital ad dollars have grown and will continue to grow over the next few years to adapt to new forms of online commerce. While most new ad dollars come from the U.S., regions around the world are making the same movement to alternative platforms to place their advertisements.
Social Media
Year in Review: The Most Talked About Media on Twitter
On December 9, social media giant Twitter released their annual ranking of the platform’s most talked about pop culture moments. The most tweeted about TV show in the U.S. was Netflix’s hit Squid Game, and it was the third most tweeted about show worldwide. When it comes to movies, superhero's took Twitter by storm. The most popular movie in the U.S. was 2018’s Black Panther. Twitter’s new #OnlyOnTwitter hashtag also covers the most tweeted about musicians (Taylor Swift and BTS, btw) and sporting events (the Tokyo Olympics took the gold). But the honor of having the most retweeted content goes Nick Jr., which celebrated the 25th anniversary of popular children’s show Blue’s Clues with a viral video of the original host, Steve. According to a statement made by Twitter, “Across the globe, people on Twitter strengthened their bonds to their communities in 2021—including social movements, fandoms, sports teams, and more—proving that connection transcended borders and screens.”
Streaming
Going Back to Their Roots: Streaming Adds Linear Viewing
Streaming subscribers are discovering new ways to watch content on their favorite platforms through the rediscovery of linear viewing. Paramount+ is rolling out 18 live channels with 24/7 programming, allowing viewers to sit back and enjoy some channel surfing. This always-on strategy is meant to address the common frustration with on-demand viewership: the need to find the perfect thing to watch at the cost of watching anything at all. Instead of endless homepage scrolling, viewers will now dive into a pre-programmed genre channel. In total, Paramount+ will launch 18 channels with different themes, from Star Trek to true crime. Paramount+’s sister channel, Pluto TV, has a similar always-on strategy, and they are expected to make $5 billion in revenue just this year. Tom Ryan, the President and CEO of ViacomCBS Streaming, said in a statement, “Even in the era of on-demand, there is clearly a strong consumer appetite for reimagined linear channels that provide effortless, lean-back entertainment.” This new offering is expected to improve viewing experiences, but also offers new opportunities for advertising space that streamers can monetize.
Film
’Tis the Season: Christmas Movie Production Reaches New Heights
It’s the most popular holiday tradition of the last century: snuggling up and watching a seasonal film. Today, production has doubled in an effort to meet or match the demand for this kind of content. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), over 200 films with the word “Christmas” in the title are set for 2021 release—four times as many Christmas films as in 2011. Many channels and streamers have taken advantage of this new phenomenon with movie marathons or sections of their streaming site dedicated to holiday films, but the biggest player in this boom is the Hallmark U.S. cable channel, which started releasing a whole special season of TV movies in 2009 to mark the occasion. Christmas started early this year for Hallmark viewers, as their lineup commenced on October 22, and they will be showing a total of 42 original films. Lifetime channel also is tapping into the magic of Christmas by producing 35 seasonal movies this year. These holiday made-for-TV flicks are often low-budget and use similar formulas to achieve the feel-good, comforting aura of a seasonal film. Streamers like Netflix are also releasing their very own lineup to capture the interest of these festive viewers.
DEI
Pandemic Representation: Black and Non-Binary Actors Gain TV Visibility
Casting for scripted content has changed drastically over the past two years, resulting in a significant increase in TV and film representation among the Black and non-binary communities. According to research conducted by Variety Business Intelligence, the highest gains in rate of representation by race was logged by Black talent. In gender breakdowns, non-binary talent has the highest rate of representation. The study compared the 18 months prior to the pandemic and the 18 months that marked the start of the pandemic, but gains were irregular among race and gender. For example, Latin/Hispanic representation spiked in cinema but dropped in TV. This research is part of a broader initiative to track diversity, equity, and inclusion goals by compiling an unbiased database of information. In addition, female representation on TV increased slightly, climbing from 44.5% to 46.6%, and Asian representation in film nearly doubled to account for 32.5% of main title roles in movies.
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