Maria Kyriacou

Local content offers a way forward for UK broadcasters and producers – in television, big is not always best. In the “new era of media”, claimed media cartographer Evan Shapiro during an effervescent presentation: “The user is in complete control of what they’re watching.”

Focusing on the big tech players that dominate his map of the most valuable media and tech companies, he said: “You can’t beat them at scale. In fact, in many cases, you have to work with them and compete with them simultaneously… you have to both bear-hug them and keep them at arm’s length.

Broadcasters no longer battle just each other in the bid for growth. With expanding options in leisure and home entertainment, and consumers reeling from the cost of living crisis, the competition has broadened. Now, it includes other leisure pursuits as much as traditional rivals.

This battle for consumer attention was the focus of the second convention session, “Follow the eyeballs, follow the money: winning in the attention economy”.