how to communicate complicated ideas in an authoritative way because it’s got to be accurate and correct to a broad audience. Communication is what production is all about. I like to think that the DPP has always been known for being authoritative, but having a very accessible level of communication. People always say that our reports are extremely readable, even though the subject matter might be quite dense. And they tell us that they find our events well produced, enjoyable and well run. Those are things that come from my production background and have become instilled in the DPP culture. How do you feel the media and entertainment industries have evolved since you were making films 20 years ago? The single most important change is the move from a supply-based economy to a demand-based
economy. When I first started making programmes, it was all
about broadcasters deciding what they wanted to make, making it in their own good time when they were ready, then serving it at an appointed moment to the audience. The content was completely supply-led. And even if trends emerged in the way consumers were consuming, the turnaround time of responding to some of those trends was really long – months and years. Meanwhile, in the technology space, broadcasters were very focused on quality, and they set the standards for how things were consumed. For example – the move from black & white to colour, or the move to digital, the move to high definition. All those things happened when the broadcasters decided they should happen – and in a way that they dictated it. That approach has now completely shifted, both in terms of the content and the technology experience – consumers now set the agenda. The effect of that in the content space has been to create a much more direct connection between content and audience. From that, we have seen the emergence of content creators who have grown up developing their craft in that space. Something that is a very different approach to content making, where they are constantly trying different methods to see what works. Then the technology space had really changed when it comes to what we think technology is for. Yes, quality is still important, although we have a much more adaptable view of quality. But things like speed, agility, usability and cost – all those things are now a much bigger part of the conversation. Even stepping back from changes like the rise of Netflix and YouTube and so forth – all those things are just an outcome from this historic move from supply to demand. Was that catalysed by the pandemic? The impact that the pandemic had is not the one that we thought at the time it was having. At the time, we saw this huge increase in the
LOOKING AHEAD Harrison says the industry has ‘historically been absolutely terrible at prediction’ – but this can change
consumption of content because everybody was at home – and particularly streamed content. But that ultimately provided a very distracting and damaging message to the industry because we were already in a kind of content arms race; the volume of original content being commissioned in the US had increased tenfold in the space of 20 years. So that was before the pandemic. We were already producing enormous amounts of content, and then we got this message that consumers love streaming and they love content, so we produce even more – and then the bubble burst. It was never sustainable because it had been a loss leader. The whole basis on which the streaming revolution happened had been on trying to build subscribers, build share as fast as possible. It was never a viable economic model for multiple providers at scale. Now, when we look back at the pandemic, the way we should see it
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