The digital media trends 2017

Virtual reality is one of the most important developments for the future.In 2016, major sporting events in particular provided the digital media industry with noticeable growth rates. These included the Super Bowl in American football, the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis, the European Championships and the Olympics in Rio. And the trend continues to grow. The following three areas in particular will continue to consolidate their position:1. video-on-demandThe demand for video-on-demand and streaming services is growing significantly. The reasons for this are the increasing popularity of film, TV and video offerings from the internet on the one hand and the great interest in international sporting events on the other. Market figures from the industry association Bitkom also show the extent to which video streaming has become part of everyday life and continues to spread. A market volume of EUR 945 million is expected to be achieved in 2017; this corresponds to an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. It is worth noting that just over half of the market volume is accounted for by paid services, while the other half is made up of ad-financed offerings.2. virtual reality and 360-degree videoTV companies were already streaming virtual reality content at selected events last year. Equipped with apps for iOS or Android and virtual reality glasses, viewers were able to experience virtual reality. Virtual reality is still in the early stages of development. Consumer interest is growing and the technology and the infrastructure required for transmission will develop significantly in 2017.3. 4KIn the last two years, there has been a paradoxical situation with 4K TVs: the devices were bought, but there was not enough content to fully exploit their performance. The market grew last year in particular. According to market researcher GfK, every fourth set sold in Germany was a 4K TV and every tenth household already has an Ultra HD TV. More content is also gradually becoming available, so far mainly films. Some football matches can now also be watched in Ultra HD/4K. A significant increase in offerings is expected in 2017, especially for live events streamed over the internet.