With 2025 well underway, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how the media and entertainment industry measured up to our predictions from last year. The verdict? Many of our experts’ forecasts were right on the mark, while others unfolded in unexpected ways.
Let’s take a look at some of last year's predictions and make a few forecasts for the year to come — and check out the full conversation here from some of our experts.
Sports content: Still driving subscriber growth
Competition over rights ramped up
As predicted, sports content once again proved its dominance in 2024, serving as a key driver for attracting and retaining subscribers. The bidding wars over fragmented rights were fiercer than ever, though, with Netflix making waves by entering the ring and securing boxing rights, while NBCUniversal and Peacock snagged NBA deals.
Loyal fans followed their teams
Despite discoverability challenges, loyal sports fans showcased their dedication, navigating multiple platforms and direct-to-consumer offerings to access their favorite games and leagues. The fan commitment makes it clear: Sports are and will continue to be a top commodity for streaming platforms.
Creative experiences reached new heights
Fan engagement also reached new heights as innovations like multi-view and multi-screen experiences came into their own. The ability for fans to watch multiple games at once and interact with features like real-time stats and betting overlays created powerful immersive and personalized viewing experiences. Continuing to push the boundaries of traditional linear viewing proved once again how technology and creativity are reshaping audience connection with content.
Cable models felt the pressure
As more leagues and teams embraced direct-to-consumer strategies to take greater control of their content, traditional cable subscription models faced increasing pressure. Infrastructure limits represented an additional pressure point as live sports continued to push the boundaries of streaming technology.
Live sporting events are the epitome of YOLO — you’re only live once — which makes low-latency, seamless delivery absolutely critical.
Looking ahead: Finding technology partners that support a flexible framework for sports content will be a major key to success in 2025.
Contextual advertising: A hot start, interrupted
Our second prediction also came true … sort of.
Contextual advertising cooled off
As predicted, contextual advertising saw a big surge early in 2024, ahead of Google’s planned deprecation of cookies. When Google decided to delay this move, momentum toward contextual advertising cooled, leaving programmatic advertising to fill the gap:
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Live sports inventory, available programmatically, drove significant growth, with programmatic advertising experiencing a 40% year-on-year increase.
Data (un)availability shaped addressable advertising
Addressable advertising also gained traction in 2024, offering personalized ad delivery tailored to specific audience segments. However, scalability remained a significant hurdle due to fragmented platforms and reluctance to share data among industry players.
Unfortunately, collaboration across broadcasters and publishers was limited, as many were hesitant to pool their audience insights, resulting in siloed addressable solutions. This fragmentation made it challenging to:
- Unify inventory.
- Cap ad frequency.
- Effectively target audiences across platforms and regions.
At the same time, data remained a key driver of innovation in advertising. New players entered the market, eager to monetize their assets by partnering with advertisers. This influx of data-driven initiatives pushed the boundaries of what addressable advertising could achieve, even as the lack of industry-wide data-sharing agreements created friction.
Looking ahead: The ability to navigate these challenges and harness the full potential of data will be critical for unlocking the scalability of addressable advertising and driving its growth in the coming year.
Generative AI fuels the evolution of efficiency and creativity
Generative AI became a cornerstone of operational efficiency and content personalization in 2024. From scanning video archives to automating metadata creation, AI proved invaluable. However, its true impact was seen in enhancing fan engagement — whether through tailored content recommendations or real-time interactivity during live events like the Olympics.
Looking ahead: Predictions for 2025
With the developments of 2024 as a backdrop, it’s time to make some educated guesses about what’s next for media and entertainment in the coming year. Here are some of our top predictions:
Innovation, personalization, and monetization
- The concept of a multi-view experience will grow, with fans able to customize their screens to watch multiple games or integrate betting stats and social interactions.
- Gamification, a trend highlighted during global events like the Olympics, will become more integrated into sports broadcasting, offering interactive features like quizzes and leaderboards.
- The acceleration of AI frameworks will empower companies to leverage best-in-class tools, creating smarter and more efficient ecosystems. From mining archives for monetizable content to improving regulatory compliance, AI’s role in media operations will continue to expand — at an impressive pace.
- Personalization will remain central, using AI to connect audiences with the right content at the right time.
FAST channels and single ingest models
- Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels will further cement their place in the media landscape, particularly in international markets.
- At the same time, the adoption of single ingest models will streamline content workflows, enabling providers to optimize distribution and focus on enhancing the viewer experience.
Collaboration and performance metrics in advertising
- The advertising industry will see a shift toward collaborative initiatives, with publishers pooling inventory for greater scalability.
- Additionally, a renewed focus on performance metrics will be crucial for premium video to compete with social media platforms like Meta and YouTube.
As the industry prepares for 2025, one thing is clear: Change is constant. From improving personalization to leveraging AI and refining monetization strategies, media and entertainment companies have a dynamic year ahead. If you’re looking for a partner focused on innovation and collaboration to ride the next wave of growth, let us know, and we’ll set up a time to talk.
