Top Articles: Creating a New Media Strategy

There were some big announcements this week about streaming services and over-the-top (OTT) content, particularly with Netflix and Disney. What makes the news relevant to our industry is not so much what the announcements were, but what they tell us about the future of these platforms and the increasingly complex media landscape overall. We are moving away from consolidation of content in the marketplace and towards multiple streaming services from every content creator.

These shifts are in turn creating engaging content that doubles as advertising designed to bring viewership back to the television screen, leveraging new delivery mechanisms to bolster established business models.Here are the top articles to read this week:1. Why Disneys New Streaming Service Marks the Next Phase of the Streaming EvolutionBy Kevin Lincoln from VultureAlong with its earnings report, Disney reported that it would be removing its content from Netflix and launching its own OTT platforms, plural.

The entertainment company realized that owning and distributing their own content lessens their reliance on Netflix and on tech platforms in general. This move provides a glimpse of whats to come in the entertainment industry: a future where every single media conglomerate will have its own streaming service. Consumers will have to really think about which platform to subscribe to and merely owning content without thinking about curation and distribution might not be enough anymore.

2. Why Netflixs first-ever acquisition is unlikely to be its lastBy Kevin Kelleher from VentureBeatThe day before Disney announced its intentions to remove its content from Netflix, the OTT platform shared the news that it had acquired comic book publisher Millarworld, the first acquisition ever for the 20-year-old company. Two years ago, Netflix declared that 50% of its catalog would be original content.

That declaration and the timing of their announcement show that Netflix realized long ago that tech and entertainment industries would converge and that it is prepared for the competition. In other words, he who owns the IP controls the future of the IP. Its likely that we can expect more mergers and acquisitions like this soon even as the overall landscape is set to fragment with the emergence of multiple direct-to-consumer platforms.

3. YouTubes Fastest-Growing Audience Is In the Living Room and Advertisers Want InBy Garett Sloane from AdvertisingAgeThanks to the Internet of Things (IoT) and TV apps available across a growing set of platforms, its easier than ever to stream OTT directly on the big screen. According to YouTube, viewership is decreasing on mobile devices and increasing on television screens, which is good news for those experiencing growing pains in mobile advertising.

The increasing OTT landscape is bringing back the living room experience for brands. The growth of OTT carries the promise of more branded content, with audiences increasingly accustomed to this form of advertising. 4.

Why Amazons Home Makeover Show Should Make Google And Facebook NervousBy Patrick Kulp from MashableIts happening. Amazon is creating shoppable OTT content, a feat that Google and Facebook have not yet been able to accomplish due mainly to their lack of an e-commerce platform. Since Amazon is, in fact, an online retail giant, they have a pretty good shot at success.

This is a huge step towards the trend of being able to view content and purchase products all within the same platform. This show is also a continued effort of making engaging content that doubles as advertising, something Amazon is itching to perfect. Blurring the lines between content and commerce has never looked brighter.

5. CBS Will Launch a Streaming Sports Network Later This YearBy Jason Lynch from AdweekAnother media company that is shaping the future of the entertainment industry is CBS. In addition to their OTT platforms CBS All Access and Showtime, CBS is rolling out an all-sports platform, as well.

They are building out their ecosystem so that consumers wont have to leave their platform to watch the content that they want to watch. Essentially, the company is building out its ecosystem in order to strengthen its business long-term. The overall industry goal will be to maximize the time consumers spend plugged into ever more dynamic platform ecosystems.

Curated by Hadley Stork RELATED QUESTION What's the meaning of Sia's Chandelier song? Before Chandelier, Sia was a singer with mediocre success. She was really struggling to push her career when she lost her partner to an accident.

She got addicted to drugs, suffered depression and even wrote a suicide note. Drugs and alcohol were her only coping mechanisms. This song is about the time she was addicted to alcohol and drugs and her struggle to get out of it.

In an interview, Sia said that she always knew she was a drinker and that she must stop, her guilt, shame is what the following lyrics suggest:- Sun is up, I'm a mess Gotta get out now, gotta run from this Here comes the shame, here comes the shame . but, out of peer pressure phones blowing up, they're ringing my door bells, I feel the love .she did not stop.

1,2,3 . 1,2,3 drink throw them back till I lose count The only time she could escape from reality was when she was high, under the influence of alcohol and drugs. She could be carefree, live like tomorrow didn't exist.

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist Like it doesn't exist I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night Chandelier is ultimately a brutally honest tale of substance abuse. Sia wrote the song for Rihanna but I am so glad that she kept this one for herself.