Digital disruption has caught many industries off guard. It forced them to scramble and react to a new technology they didn’t really understand, let alone the impact it had. Online entertainment wasn’t one of them. The industry embraced the new trend and use it to its full extent. Considering the composition of the people who work in online entertainment, that is no wonder. They continue to look for new trends and embrace them as they appear. 2020 will be no exception as online entertainment continues its transformation, which is far from over.
The Use of Virtual and Augmented Reality
This year may finally be the one where we see a massive implementation of virtual and augmented reality in online entertainment. The most obvious choice would be gaming, but it turns out that things aren’t as simple as they appear. Despite the huge potential, these two technologies offer, the cost of equipment was simply too much for the majority of gamers. Developers, seeing that not many people are willing to invest in such equipment, decided to simply ignore the market. Apart from the occasional title, like Pokémon Go, there aren’t many games out there that use either VR or AR. However, some trends suggest that we can expect at least a modest number of applications in 2020 that will utilize them. The most important one is that headsets are getting smaller, more powerful and more affordable. That fact alone should be enough to spur developers into creating new games.
The Growth of iGaming Industry
As an industry, iGaming has always been a strong believer in new technologies. That is one of the reasons behind its rapid expansion in the last few decades. Online casinos are always on the lookout for new developments that can give them an edge over the competition. For instance, new and exciting slot games are being created regularly in an effort to attract players and snatch them away from competitors. This allows the industry to continue its growth at an unprecedented rate, unparalleled in the world of online entertainment. In the UK alone, online gambling accounts for almost 33% of all gambling and growing. This is a trend that will surely continue in 2020.
Increased Popularity of Esports
From obscure LAN parties to a multi-billion industry, esports has been skyrocketing in the last decade. New tournaments with prizes in seven figures are being announced each year. The number of teams is on the rise as well. This has created a strong demand for new players. Transfers between the teams have almost reached a level of other professional sports. In the middle of all that, the audience is now measured in hundreds of millions. That is a huge market and it will only get bigger. It is expected that by 2021, around 557 million people will watch esports at least occasionally. Many companies are looking for an angle to tap into that potential and exploit it. After all, the revenue of $1.5 billion is nothing to sneer at and many people want a piece of that pie.
M&Es…so Many M&Es
Consolidation will be a big theme in 2020 and beyond. Right now, the streaming market is fractured into many providers. This forces viewers to hold several subscriptions to be able to watch their favorite content. Often, they have to pay for two or three platforms to do that. Providers Justin Bieber are also feeling this factorization. It is a common occurrence for their viewers to stay on board just for a few months and leave as soon as the TV show they wanted to watch is over. This leads to huge fluctuations in the number of subscribers and big corporations hate the ensuing uncertainty. They are looking for ways to eliminate it and the obvious solution is mergers and acquisitions. By creating unified platforms, they get a bigger market share and a more stable subscriber base. The only question is who eats and who gets eaten.
5G is Coming
The revolution in wireless networks is coming and it is called 5G. After a bumpy 2019, 2020 will be the year we finally get to see the much-touted successor to the existing wireless protocols. Unsure of what the future network will look like, users have been reluctant to invest in new phones. This year may change that. With a legal framework firmly in place, carriers are starting to roll out plans for coverage. Able to deliver a 100 times faster connection, 5G will allow much more content to be delivered to the end-users. In general, the service will be divided into three categories. Low band, working on 600 -700 MHz and able to cover huge ranges, is designed for rural areas. Its speed will be between 30 to 250 megabits per second. The second tier is the mid band on 2.5 to 3.5 GHz will cover metro areas with speeds from 100 to 900 Mbps. Finally, we will have towers for urban high-density areas, working on millimeter wave/24-39 GHz frequencies, delivering speeds between 1 and 3 gigabits per second.
Targeted Advertising
All that personal data companies have gathered from us is being used mostly for targeted advertising. Of course, if you believe in some conspiracy theories, there is also a more sinister purpose behind it. Be that as it may, we will see a huge uptick in targeted advertising in 2020. The trend of delivering highly personalized adds will continue to grow. It is a response by marketing agencies to the fact that more generalized forms of advertisement are becoming less and less effective. This is especially true for younger generations. Digital natives simply don’t respond to TV ads as their parents or grandparents. One thing that may derail targeted advertisements is the lack of ability to understand the data. Without a true understanding of customers’ interest derived from their buying habits, it is pretty much pointless. Some big names in marketing are yet to learn this lesson.
The distinction between various forms of online entertainment may be the most important trend for 2020. This will force companies to consolidate further and offer unified services, thus lowering the prices and increasing accessibility.
