MEDIA NYC 2020: NYC as a Global Media Center
On June 3rd, as part of Internet Week, the Levin Institute and New York City’s Economic Development Corporation hosted a panel discussion “Media NYC 2020: NYC as a Global Media Center.” It was part of MediaNYC 2020, a scenario series commissioned by Mayor Bloomberg and NYCEDC.
The panel included Seth Pinsky, President and CEO of NYCEDC, Martin Kon, Head of Media Practice at Oliver Wyman, Peter Price, President of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science Foundation, and Jon Klein, President of CNN/US. The conversation was moderated by Levin’s President, Garrick Utley.
The series is aimed at creating a better understanding of what the media industry will look like in 2020 and finding ways the City and private sector can work together to maintain and enhance New York City’s position as a global leader.
During the session, participants shared insights from this ongoing work and engaged the panelists and audience in a conversation about how New York City can remain a global center of media as markets become increasingly global and technology continues to drive changes in cost structures and consumer opportunities.
Seth Pinsky of NYCEDC initiated the discussion with a brief history of how New York City developed into a media capital and mentioned ways in which new media is affecting the business model of the future. It was no surprise to anyone in the audience that production costs have dropped significantly and the bargaining power of legacy content producers are in decline. Legacy companies no longer have ultimate control over content production or the way in which it is distributed.
As big as the changes to the industry are, Pinsky sees new opportunities for New York City as the media business reinvents itself. He cited New York’s exceptional talent pool and the city’s strong international presence as two assets that might help keep New York the capital of media. Pinsky said half of all media jobs in New York City are in new media and start-ups, and sees this as a fortuitous sign for the city.
Martin Kon of Oliver and Wyman discussed the findings of a research project in which sixty CEOs and venture capitalists from the local media industry were interviewed. Early data suggests that consumers will spend more time and more revenue on media technology in the future. The analysis doesn’t predict consumer behavior changing, but instead foresees “hybrid activities” happening- or doing multiple activities simultaneously. Kon also discussed the trend toward engaging in production as an activity (uploading photos, creating videos) and “mobiling” (walking around and tapping into information on a specific location, architectural structure, etc.)
Kon saw these new consumer habits as potentially beneficial for New York’s media business. He believes that locations involved in producing multiple forms of media will have an advantage over places that produce only one form, and envisions New York doing well in this arena.
Peter Price discussed how large media companies might utilize their resources to reconfigure old forms of media. He mentioned the sense of urgency that legacy businesses are feeling to find a new business model that will work for the future.
Jon Klein of CNN went on to draw a comparison between the challenges that face legacy companies and the challenges that face New York City. Both entities intellectually understand the need to be nimble and innovative, but find it difficult to make the transition to practicing in an innovative way. He discussed the sheer quantity of time and energy large companies spend maintaining the structures that they have created. New companies, on the other hand, spend every minute innovating. Somehow, he said, old media companies need to direct more of their time and resources into creating new nimbler business practices.
In summing up, Seth Pinsky reiterated the need to find new business models for the future. He said that historically no business has survived without eventually generating a profit. He believes that as a business oriented city, New York has an advantage in the media business over technology oriented areas like Silicon Valley and that because of that, New York will continue to attract media businesses and will be capable of maintaining its place as the center of the media industry.
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Full Event Video (Windows Media)
Event Transcript