‘Technology to drive multi-billion naira media of the future’

Technology, social media and a convergence of new media devices on various platforms will drive the multi-billion dollar media and entertainment industry of the future, Mo Abudu, managing director/CEO of Ebony Life Television, and John Momoh, broadcaster/CEO of Channels TV, have said.

The duo, who spoke at this year’s KPMG Alumni cocktail held at Wheatbaker Hotel, Lagos, recenlty, highlighted the emerging realities in the two industries, pointing out that credible research findings had shown that the use of new media and technology in both sectors will continue to grow in Africa like the rest of the world.

Abudu, who spoke on ‘Future of the Media and Entertainment Industry in Africa,’ said the three key growth sectors to watch out for were film entertainment, internet and television, saying both industries contained other “sectors within sectors that employ several hundreds of other professionals and skilled workers” without which success for the two industries would be impossible.

Explaining what is shaping the media globally, Abudu said: “Despite the surge in internet users over the last few years, people are still watching more TV. The three top programmes people are watching on TV today are football, reality shows and telenovelas.”

With Nigeria’s revenue from media and entertainment (M&E) in 2013 put at $4 billion and projected revenue to reach $8.5 billion by 2018, while global trends in internet usage have included the use of fixed broad band, mobile internet, wired internet advertising and mobile internet advertising, she said global revenue from internet in 2013 was $588 billion, and the projection for 2018 was put at $830 billion.

On the way forward for the media and entertainment industries in Africa, she suggested the need for successful policies that will re-invigorate the two industries and added that delivery of quality content to the consumers; building revenue base; improving funding opportunities for media companies in Africa, and development of strong talent base across the continent will help drive the desired growth that will ensure that both contribute meaningfully to the continent’s GDP.

In his speech titled ‘The Future of News Reporting in Nigeria,’ Momoh said with the revolution brought about by the internet and other new media platforms, the scope and work of a journalist had become more demanding.

The rise of social media leading to a situation where the media is losing control and the balance of power, which was once the exclusive preserve of the media, is now dominated by the citizens, he said. Quoting Tony Blair, former Britain prime minister, who said: “The media is no more the master of the change, but the victims,” Momoh said publishing news online had levelled the playing field.

He said that, according to Ovum, “mobile data revenues in Africa – including video, music, learning, games and books – will increase at a faster rate than voice and will more than double over the same period, rising from a previous figure in 2013 of $9.19 billion to $20.94 billion in 2019.”

Momoh stated that based on research, digital media would take over the media and entertainment industries of the future as all the factors that will enable the take-over were already on a quick growth trajectory.

The cocktail, which had Oluseyi Bickersteth, chairman, KPMG Africa, in attendance, also featured the launch of the KPMG Alumni Association’s annual newsletter, ‘Interactions,’ which aims to connect to each member of the association.

OLUSEGUN ABISOYE