Skip to content

5 Media Tech Predictions
for 2025

What’s in store for media and entertainment in 2025? To kick off what will likely be another year of change and challenge, I’m sharing my top 5 predictions, along with some practical resolutions to help you make the most of what’s coming.

Spoiler alert: A couple of these predictions may surprise you …

photo of Steve Reynolds next to a composite of 2025 with a target in place of the zero

Steve Reynolds – CEO, Imagine Communications

1. “Re-linearization” might be 2025’s word of the year

 

I’ll kick this off with a bold prediction for 2025: Linear will experience a resurgence — but with a twist. Over the past year, a surprising trend surfaced as media companies rediscovered linear as a way to drive ROI and TCO within a streaming distribution context.

One high-profile U.S. example was Amazon’s live streaming of NFL “Thursday Night Football,” which they paired with linear ad sales. While Amazon certainly has the capability to sell the streaming inventory as DAI or addressable impressions, they opted to sell the entire audience. The reason is purely economic: Amazon gets a higher ad price for the massive TNF audience than is possible by selling this inventory on an impression basis. This is amplified when you consider that the price paid for fulfilment and insertion could be considerably lower if the ad server being used allows for a linear parity or linear control model.

In 2025, the market’s focus on the revenue-driving advantages of linear will continue to develop, especially when the goal is to reach large audiences simultaneously. With emerging ad tech innovations, it’s possible for big brands to purchase ads that guarantee category exclusivity during a commercial break in the digital environment — something that was previously limited to linear TV.

New Year’s Resolution:

Time to ditch the linear vs. digital mentality. Linear + digital is the path to profitability.

The numbers don’t lie.

Amazon paired its live streaming of NFL “Thursday Night Football” with linear ad sales.
Why? Simple economics.

According to Sportico, “Advertisers were quick to gobble up the streamer’s available inventory, paying as much as three-quarters-of-a-million-dollars for each 30-second in-game spot …

2. The smart money may still be on-prem

 

Most customers we speak to have one, non-negotiable assignment for 2025: cut costs. And one of the ways they will navigate this challenge is to “do the math” to determine whether it’s more cost-effective to run their operations on-prem or in the cloud.

For example, if you’re deploying a disaster recovery solution or operating FAST channels that are never going to touch an antenna, it’s probably cheaper to do it in the cloud. But if you’re running 24/7/365 workflows or have significant investments in studios, IT teams, HVAC systems, and backup generators, on-prem solutions may make better economic sense.

The balance between on-prem and the cloud will change based on percentage of usage, the kind of workflows and solutions needed over time, and the fluctuating cost of the cloud. So as we head into 2025 and beyond, you may need to regularly revisit the TCO math to determine whether on-prem, cloud, or a hybrid of both will best meet your unique needs and budgets.

New Year’s Resolution:

A one-and-done calculation won’t cut it in a rapidly changing industry. Be sure to regularly revisit the TCO math

3. … but where the cloud makes sense, we have a proven on-ramp

 

While keeping things on-prem makes operational and economic sense for many broadcast workflows, one area where the balance has skewed in favor of the cloud is remote production. In 2024, the Paris Games helped accelerate the move toward remote and cloud-based production thanks to SMPTE ST 2110 and the native IP protocols used for contribution to cloud. 

One example is the synthesis between 2110 and JPEG XS — basically native IP speaking to native IP via VSF TR-07 and TR-08 — which was proven on the world stage at the Paris Games. We’ve also seen extensive use of H.264 via SRT in cases where the cost vs. bandwidth trade-off favors higher compression. The openness and flexibility of native IP as the on-ramp to the cloud is one of the primary benefits of moving to this more modern technology.

In 2025, sports broadcasting will continue to be a battleground between established broadcasters and digital newcomers. Rights holders and broadcasters are actively seeking ways to move more live sports content into CTV and live streaming environments. For production environments already leveraging ST 2110, the fastest, easiest, most affordable way to make that move is to use JPEG XS as the on-ramp.

New Year’s Resolution:

Invest in modern, open-standard tools that enable you to say “yes” to whatever comes next.

Paris 2024 was the ultimate proving ground for 2110 and JPEG XS

inside a tv broadcast studio

Learn how France TV used the technology to pull off its historic production.

4. Recognizing audiences as the ultimate inventory will be key to profitability

 

In 2025, we’ll see continued audience fragmentation drive the industry toward a Total TV trading model that rejects the artificial divide between linear and streaming, instead focusing on the supply vs. demand economics of non-premium and premium ad inventory. Key to this shift will be moving from selling individual ad spots to selling audiences — a model that is already delivering tangible results in international markets.

Here’s how it works. High-demand inventory like live sports and prime-time programming is sold directly to advertisers to ensure maximum CPMs; this gives broadcasters control over valuable placements and the ability to cater to clients seeking high-visibility opportunities. Inventory with less demand but significant reach potential, such as off-peak programming or niche audiences, is sold through automated, data-driven systems that efficiently target specific audiences.

Boiled down into pure economics, premium inventory is about making more by optimizing yield and price, non-premium is about spending less by automating sales and execution — together, they create a path to sustainable profitability.

New Year’s Resolution:

Explore unified monetization solutions that let you sell ad inventory the way viewers see it. To them, it’s all just “TV.”

5. Business and environmental sustainability will converge

 

With no Olympics or elections driving advertising revenue in 2025, media companies will likely prioritize business sustainability initiatives over environmental initiatives if forced to make hard choices. Fortunately, many of the modern systems and strategies that are good for the planet are also good for a media organization’s bottom line.

This year, we will continue to see a move toward more energy- and cost-efficient practices, including transitioning from analog to digital systems, adopting LED lighting, and implementing advanced cooling technologies for data centers. We will also see an uptick in hybrid systems that combine on-prem infrastructure with cloud resources to further optimize energy use. In addition, there will be continued momentum around remote production workflows supported by technological advancements like ST 2110 and JPEG XS, which help to minimize both travel-related emissions and expenses.

In 2025, the same technology that helps reduce the carbon footprint of our traditionally energy-intensive industry will also enable broadcasters to consolidate and automate workflows, drive efficiency via multisite operations, and achieve sustainable, profitable growth.

New Year’s Resolution:

Don’t assume you can’t afford a sustainability initiative. Emerging tech is a win-win for costs and carbon footprint.

Are you looking to add any of the above to your list of New Year’s resolutions?

Our knowledgeable teams are ready to help you get started.

A headshot of Steve Reynolds

Steve Reynolds

Chief Executive Officer

Steve Reynolds is Chief Executive Officer of Imagine Communications, a global leader in multiscreen video and ad management solutions that broadcasters, networks, video service providers and enterprises around the world rely on to support their mission-critical operations.

Stay connected!

Be the first to know about latest news, updates, and more. Subscribe now!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.