There was a time when entertainment meant film, television, stage acting and the music business. It was also a time when media meant the five o’clock news, anchors and Nielsen ratings. There was a time when sports meant Sunday night football, the national baseball game of the week and an occasional tournament or sports special.
Today, we, the consumers, have so many more options at our fingertips. We are no longer at the precipice of technological innovation, it is here. The availability of technology and its ease of use have led to a renaissance in content consumption.
Before 2004, Facebook did not exist. Twitter arrived in 2006, and Instagram in 2010. Snapchat arrived in 2011. Before 2007, Netflix was a mailbox movie delivery service. We now watch basketball games on Twitter and Facebook, stream direct-to-consumer original content movies and television shows and consume massive amounts of content on multiple platforms.
The tech giants of the Silicon Valley went Hollywood and even made a television show about it. Amazon, Apple and Netflix are as much a part of Hollywood now as the big six studios and possibly have a brighter future considering their ability to adjust and move with the times. People want more content, all the time and everywhere. The companies that survive will be able to meet the consumer there.
In a ten-year period, the entertainment, media and sports industries have principally become one category through technological innovation by making content of all varieties so much easier to create, distribute and consume. For the aforementioned reason, a retired professional athlete is just as likely to become a television color commentator or radio host, or actor, or rapper as scoring a touchdown or hitting a home run. While an actor is more likely to appear in television and movies, share information and pictures on social media, while extending and expanding their careers as ever before.
Technology has made it so that companies are more willing to take a chance on talent, content and investments. Digital distribution has made delivery easier, while opening up new markets in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. In the 1930s, Hollywood had its Golden Age and it was through technological and communication advancements. In 2018, we are again in a Golden Age as Hollywood, the sports and media industries have teamed up with the tech giants in the Silicon Valley to direct, distribute and display their content.
