MaxxoMedia Digital Media and Entertainment Trends

The media industry goes into 2010 with a sense of cautious optimism, but there’s no hiding the casualties that were left behind in 2009. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, there were 1,025 media and entertainment company insolvencies in the two years to the end of Q309.

paidContent reported on a whole host of company collapses this year, from Setanta to Shiny Media and Borders, and some in the past few weeks. But the worst appears to be over…

—There were a total of 1,025 entertainment media company collapses from Q307 to Q309, including 305 publishing companies.

—The worst period was Q109, when 203 companies went into administration.

—From January to October this year, publishing companies falling into administration jumped 25 percent year on year, accounting for a third of all business failures.

—Books, software, journals and periodicals were worst hit: the “migration of readers from print to digital media” is the main culprit, says PwC.

And PwC has some words of warning for consumer media companies looking to launch online subscription-based content models to increase recevnues in 2010: make sure you know what you’re doing. Financial services practice director Peter Simon says: “In many cases, launching new payment systems is not the same as making money… It brings a whole deal of complexity that many media companies will not have had to deal with before.”

Specifically, he says businesses need a system that’s user friendly and has a fool-proof IT infrastructure—and don’t forget the cost of building your paywall: “Even seemingly simple decisions such as fixed or variable fee setting, geographic scope, mobile solutions or customer loyalty offers can create significant cash flow issues.”

via PwC: 1,025 UK Media, Entertainment Companies Folded In Last Two Years | paidContent.