The word ‘media’ (and the very concept itself) is a rapidly evolving beast, never more so than the past few years, so when the world’s top minds gather to predict what lies ahead people usually sit up and take notice.

Those minds gathered at the IGNITION conference, and it was the address by Henry Blodget that really caused a stir.

Titled ‘Seven Predictions About The Future Of Media’, the man who founded Business Insider (with monthly traffic of more than 80 million) delivered a few hard-hitting truths and took a stab at what lies ahead.

We’ll just touch on each briefly with a punchy summary:

• Digital media consumption is growing. Everything else is shrinking.
• Video, music, and digital “print” subscriptions are climbing fast.
• Native digital advertising will continue to thrive.
• The existential crisis of ad blocking will resolve itself — but be careful what you wish for.
• The next big platform will not be smart glasses, smart cars or virtual reality.
• TV networks will soon feel newspapers’ pain.
• Power and wealth will be more concentrated than ever.

There’s plenty to unpack there, and that bit about TV networks facing troubled times is certainly true.

The SABC may be unravelling, but Blodget would have been referring more to the fact that traditional pay TV (like our own DStv) is in for a nasty surprise as the likes of Netflix and Showmax grab a bigger share of the market.

[source:businessinsider]