The media landscape is evolving at a rapid pace, driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and societal changes. As we navigate this dynamic environment, it’s crucial to understand the key trends shaping the future of media and entertainment.
Whether one is exploring virtual reality, block chain or the creator economy, the connected consumer seems to be front and center among several trends since it is the core consumer that connects to, well, everything. Overall, the future of media consumption is likely to be more personalized, interactive, and mobile-first. As technology continues to evolve and new platforms emerge, companies will need to stay agile and adapt quickly to changing consumer behaviors and preferences.
Beyond AI, the evolving consumer landscape is also reshaping traditional approaches to insights. The customer journey, particularly in the media and entertainment sectors, has become increasingly complex as consumer loyalty fragments and viewing habits diversify across devices and platforms. The consumer viewing environment has transformed to become an “anytime, anywhere” atmosphere and this is impacting the way insights are derived, measured and deployed in the field as well.
This underscores the need for adaptive strategies that account for the fluidity of modern consumer behavior. That’s easier said than done, of course, as observed by several media insights leaders in the field as they weigh in on the complexities of the connected viewer.
Telling The (Fragmented) Consumer Story
For one thing, measurement of the connected viewer remains a “new” yet timeless issue that continues to frustrate media insights executives.
“The biggest challenge for media insights is that we’re measuring shape-shifting, multi-platform consumers with a measurement system stuck in 2012,” says Michael Bagalman, Vice President, Business Intelligence and Data Science, STARZ. “We’re expected to produce a single, clean narrative from the chaos of someone bouncing between TikTok, Netflix, and linear TV… all while the dashboard is still loading. We’re trying to track a hummingbird with a census survey.”
While digital technology and AI have helped to streamline processes, there’s still a disconnect between measurements and the reality of the connected viewer.
“I’d have to say measurement is still a key issue—while digital technology allowed us to collect more data than ever before—it’s still disparate, unconnected and so much of it is unshared, locked behind too many walled gardens,” observes James Petretti, SVP, North American Distribution Research, Sony Pictures Television.
Petretti continues, “While individual companies may know more about how their customers behave on their own platform better than anyone else, they’re only understanding a small portion of a consumer’s holistic behavior. It’s sort of like the Indian parable of the blind men and the elephant. Each one touches a different part of the elephant: trunk, leg, ear, tail, side, tusk, and they describe it as a snake, pillar, fan, rope, wall and spear respectively—and argue about which is correct. They can’t grasp the entirety of it because they are focused only on their own experience.”
A more united entertainment industry, focusing on collective measurements, may be one development down the road. But that’s a daunting task for any group, be it a vendor, media giant or various associations.
“In order to have a more comprehensive and more effective understanding of today’s consumer we need more reliable, holistic measurement of the consumer that we use collectively to serve the consumer better and drive better business outcomes for our industry,” says Petretti.
For his part, Bagalman asserts, “The only way forward is to build insights that reflect how audiences actually behave, not how our reporting systems wish they did.” For Bagalman, connected viewer measurement can be improved with several core principles:
- Obsess over fundamentals: In a fragmented attention economy, messy thinking gets expensive fast. Rigorous hypotheses and causal logic aren’t optional anymore; they’re the only way to avoid drowning in noise.
- Blend the “what” with the “why.” Telemetry tells you what happened; it never tells you why. Qualitative research and social listening aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They’re the connective tissue that keeps us from hallucinating meaning into clickstream data.
- Use proxy metrics intelligently: Perfect, unified cross-platform data is a fantasy. Disciplined use of search trends, social signals, and other proxy measures lets us see underlying truth without pretending the world is cleaner than it is.
- Shift from reporting to sense-making: No leader is begging for another dashboard. They want someone who can thread together incomplete signals and say, “Here’s what’s happening, why it matters, and what to do next.” Move from data-dumping to decision-power.
Of course, an approach to the fundamentals is useful but will only take you so far. To that end, Bagalman feels that there is no “one” solution that will fit every need.
“Leadership in insights today means embracing fragmentation as the default state,” he says. “No single dataset will ever ‘solve’ it. Our ability to synthesize across the gaps is the differentiator that actually matters. If we do that, fragmentation stops being a crisis and becomes a competitive advantage. Or at least something we can finally stop losing sleep over.”
From Noise to Signal: Charting the Journey
The growth of digital technology and artificial intelligence is certainly a benefit for media insights professionals, who can leverage a diverse range of tools to help measure the connected consumer. Yet, as some media/entertainment and market research leaders point out, what’s missing is not a lack of data or tools but something else entirely human.
“The single greatest challenge facing media insights professionals today is not a lack of data, but a lack of deep, empathetic understanding,” says Michele Donati, EVP, Chief of Futures, Horizon Media.
Donati observes, “In an era of boundless content and splintered attention, our biggest blind spot is the inability to grasp a consumer’s true mindset, their unmet needs, and the subtle emotions that color their decision-making at critical moments. We can track their digital breadcrumbs across countless platforms, but we often fail to understand the ‘why’ behind their journey—the human story that the data alone cannot tell.”
The challenge, however, also presents an opportunity. It is perhaps the mixed method approach that can gain better results and a more comprehensive view of the customer.
“To move beyond superficial metrics, we are pioneering a new, triangulated approach to insights,” says Donati. “We are weaving together a rich tapestry of data signals by combining the direct voice of the consumer from primary survey research, the unfiltered cultural context from social listening, and the hard evidence of their actions from behavioral data. The true breakthrough comes from using artificial intelligence not as a replacement for human intellect, but as a powerful lens to help us triangulate these signals, revealing the patterns and connections that were previously harder to develop.”
She adds, “But generating a powerful insight is only half the battle. The real test is in translating that insight into tangible, creative media strategies that resonate with consumers.” According to Donati, this requires two fundamental commitments:
- A Relentless Focus on Fidelity: We must ensure every data signal we use is of the highest quality. This means obsessively interrogating our data’s sourcing, its representation, and its inherent biases.
- A “Human-in-the-Loop” Philosophy: While AI is a powerful partner, we must never lose the indispensable element of human intelligence. It is the creative, strategic, and empathetic mind that can look at an AI-generated pattern and ask, “What does this really mean for the brand? How can we use this to connect with people in a more meaningful way?”
Meeting Today’s Media Insights Opportunity
There may be no clear answer to the media insights challenge to better measure the connected consumer. Yet, market research leaders continue to finetune their methods, striving for accuracy, efficiency and human-centric insights. Media insights experts point to uniting various methods to help triangulate their understanding of the consumer.
“The biggest challenge for media insights professionals is shifting the industry to a new paradigm where the traditional TV-first lens doesn’t fit anymore,” says Jon Giegengack, Founder & Principal, Hub Entertainment Research.
“People don’t follow ‘channels’ as much as they follow fandoms—the worlds, genres, and creators they love—across TV, movies, gaming, podcasts, social and anything,” he adds. “’Premium’ is in the eye of the beholder, and consumers (not media companies) decide which content is going to be a hit.”
Giegengack notes, “Success in the future won’t be determined by just streams or ratings. Media insights need to understand consumers more deeply: what drives repeat engagement, sharing, and passion. And how they interact not only with TV, but also all the other kinds of content that competes with TV for screen time.”
The entertainment environment will only be more challenging as the drive for content continues to explode.
“Our data shows that audience attention has never been more distributed. With a third of Americans owning more than six connected devices, consumers are moving fluidly across platforms, screens, and contexts—and now spend more time on social and video content than on broadcast TV and streaming combined,” says Jason Mander, Chief Insight Officer, GWI.
Mander notes, “For media insights professionals, the challenge isn’t necessarily to measure more—it’s to bring together behavioral, attitudinal, and contextual signals to create a unified view of the consumer. The leaders who see the most success will be the ones who connect these dots faster than the landscape changes around them.”
So what will today’s media insights professional look like?
Looking towards the future, Horizon Media’s Donati says, “This new paradigm demands a profound evolution in the skillsets of our teams. The most valuable media insights professionals today are not just data analysts; they are modern-day renaissance thinkers, blending art with science. More than anything, critical thinking is the most important skill—the ability to relentlessly question assumptions and see beyond the obvious. This must be paired with a well-honed intuition and a deep sense of creativity and curiosity.”
It’s not to say that a data background isn’t important. “A foundational knowledge of data integrity, sourcing, representation, and application is non-negotiable. And crucially, our culture must embrace a willingness to fail forward—to have the courage to create testable strategies and view every outcome, successful or not, as a valuable opportunity to learn and iterate,” adds Donati.
“Ultimately, to be a leader in the media insights community today is to be a modern-day cartographer of the consumer journey. Our role is to guide our teams in mapping this complex, ever-shifting landscape. We must empower them with the best tools, ground them in the highest standards of data integrity, and, most importantly, foster a relentless culture of curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to experiment. We don’t just present data; we chart the course, guiding our brands to navigate the complexities of the consumer journey and arrive at a place of genuine connection,” says Donati.
Video: “Understanding the Consumer,” courtesy of We Are Netflix.
