Guillaume Arthuis, BBright founder, shares his vision for the 2025 Media and Broadcast Market.
As we step into 2025, here are 3 key trends set to shape the future of the media industry:
1. AI: Time to get serious!
AI stole the spotlight in 2024 with the widespread adoption of LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, LLaMA, and Claude. So far, we’ve mainly been adding these systems to our existing IT technologies, but it’s time to shift gears. With increasingly multimodal AI (combining text, image, sound, and metadata) and new advancements such as Meta‘s work on LCMs (Large Concept Models, offering unique new synthesis capabilities), AI is set to leap forward in 2025. We’re still far from fully imagining what will be possible by the end of the year.
In the very short term, the democratization of subtitles, even for rare languages. The new LCM models can be highly relevant even with very little learning on a rare language, so why not have all VOD catalogs or live events available soon with subtitles and audio in the Breton, Samoan or Esperanto language! We can also envision remarkable applications of AI in graphic enhancement, especially for live sports broadcasts.
We must change our mindset and start creating new solutions from AI, rather than just enhancing existing ones with AI.
2. Maximum personalization of the user experience: Everything is ready!
At BBright, we talk about the COTT (Contribution Over The Top) revolution => More media streams to personalize the user experience. After the emergence of OTT in the 2000s and its mainstream adoption in the 2010s, we are now witnessing a similar revolution in professional video contribution, which BBright refers to as COTT. SRT, 5G, Starlink… All these technologies are converging to simplify the exchange of high-quality, large-volume streams from live capture sites to the media hubs of major operators. The Paris Olympics were a fantastic showcase for promoting and testing these innovations.
With new immersive audio formats like Dolby AC4 (which allows users to personalize their audio environment, such as choosing their team’s sound ambiance) and HDR with dynamic metadata (Advanced HDR by Technicolor or Dolby Vision), the personalization of content (e.g., selecting camera angles, displayed data) during sports events will also come with quality gains. All the tools and technologies are now in place—from live capture sites to OTT distribution for the end user. The end-user device will be even more the hub for compositing, presenting exciting opportunities for app development in this area.
Broadcasters and streaming platforms now have all the tools to offer us a unique experience for all live sports: real-time statistics display, camera choice, pilot (Formula 1, Indycar…) or team / player focus (Soccer, NBA, …), sound ambiance from specific stands, all in Ultra HD HDR with NGA audio! Curious and excited to see what will be offered to us in 2025 for live sports, who will be the next to take the lead?
3. Convergence of major streaming platforms and traditional broadcasters
On one hand, major platforms like Netflix are heavily investing in live broadcasting, while traditional media groups are accelerating global growth to compete with streaming platforms.
A fascinating moment:
On one side, Netflix now faces the same challenges as traditional broadcasters—how to deliver live content to the largest possible audience? The streaming issues during the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul match in November 2024 perfectly illustrate this.
On the other side, traditional broadcasters are investing in innovation and must go global to achieve critical mass and reach the largest possible audience. Canal+ perfectly illustrated this with its strategy unveiled during its IPO at the end of 2024.
In conclusion, if content is crucial, live content is the king of value that drives the next years’ strategies and investments of both traditional broadcasters and OTT pure players alike.
Media companies must balance high-quality live broadcasts and on-demand content, while recent technological advancements now enable unique personalization of both content and quality.
With Hexaglobe Group and the expertise of its three brands—BBright, SGT, and Hexaglobe—in AI, new formats (HDR, UltraHD), IP transport, and OTT, we are starting 2025 with boldness and delight. Bringing broadcast and OTT together.
Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback, open for discussion!