Media Management and Artificial Intelligence Understanding Media Business Models in the Digital Age

This cutting-edge textbook examines contemporary media business models in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI)and digital transformation. AI has dramatically impacted media production and distribution, from recommendation engines to synthetic humans, from video-to-text tools to natural language models. "AI is really the change agent of the media industry," answered a natural language generation model when AI was ‘asked’ about the subject of this book. "It will open incredible opportunities." This book seeks to explore them. The media is examined through four sections. ‘Principles’ maps business models and the key tools of AI. ‘Platforms’ covers distribution channels in Games, Streamers, Social Networks, Broadcast and Digital Publishing. ‘Producers’ covers the engines of content-making, including Scripted, Entertainment, Factual, Content Marketing, Creators and Music. Finally, ‘Pioneers’ covers emerging sectors of Podcasting, Esports, the Metaverse and other AI-driven developments. Then in each chapter, a standard value creation model is applied, mapping a single sector through development, production, distribution and monetisation. Diverse case studies are analysed from India, Nigeria, South Korea, South Africa, France, the Netherlands, the US, the UK, Denmark and China – around creative entrepreneurship, revenue models, profit drivers, rights and emerging AI tools. Questions are provided for each case, whilst chapter summaries cement learning. Applied and technology-focused, this text offers core reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduates studying Media Management – or the relationship between Entertainment, Media and Technology. Online resources include chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides and an Instructor’s Manual with further exercises and case studies.

About the Author SECTION A: PRINCIPLES Business models in media, and the basic tools of AI (1) Introduction A four section approach: Principles, Platforms, Producers, Pioneers. (2) Media Management & Artificial Intelligence The radical impact of AI on the media business (3) Media Business Models A four stage value creation model for each media segment: Development, Production, Distribution, Monetisation (4) Overview of AI Radical new tools are available to media management and beyond SECTION B: PLATFORMS The engines of media distribution (5) Games AI is powering game platforms, and games are powering AI (6) Social Networks The defining distribution platform of the digital age (7) Streamers An entirely new media industry is defined by its use of AI (8) Broadcasters Existentially threatened, pivoting to video on demand, and fighting back (9) Digital Publishers News sites and social channels now share revenue models and AI technologies SECTION C: PRODUCERS Content creation at scale - and the transformative impact of AI (10) Scripted Digital-driven change in production and distribution models (11) Entertainment A rapidly globalised content footprint (12) Factual Merged distribution channels have changed a traditional industry (13) Marketing Content Video content is now used in marketing at unprecedented scale and range (14) Creators A new, global, democratic model of media ownership (15) Music A business model transformed by technology, from creation to monetisation SECTION D: PIONEERS New sectors building the future of media production and distribution (16) Podcasters A digital-driven content development factory (17) Esports A new digital business, but with echoes of 20th century models (18) The Metaverse A virtual world that does not yet exist still has growing momentum (19) Future of the Media Business Challenges and opportunities for media management in the age of AI Index

Dr Alex Connock is Fellow at the Said Business School, University of Oxford, where he teaches Media and Marketing at BA, MBA and Executive levels, and is co-director of the postgraduate course in Artificial Intelligence for Business. He is also a Lecturer at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, teaching General Management. Meanwhile at the UK’s National Film & Television School he is Head of Department in Creative Business. At Exeter University, he is Professor in Practice, teaching courses including Digital Marketing and Media and the Metaverse. He has degrees from Oxford University, Columbia University, Salford University and INSEAD. Prior to returning to academia, Alex worked in the media for 25 years in the UK, US and Europe, starting or running multiple businesses in TV production, digital/social content marketing, magazine and advertising. He is Vice Chair of UNICEF UK and a board director of the Halle Orchestra. He has six times been shortlisted in Entrepreneur of the Year awards in the UK.