Exclusives

By Devendra Mishra, Executive Director, HITS and Chief Strategist, MESA –

Over the past two decades, data analytics in global business have evolved from the early recommendation engine of Netflix to Cambridge Analytica’s alleged influencing of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. During that time, Hollywood has come to realize not just the intrinsic power of data analytics but also that data analytics is a catalytic agent for creativity and not its antithesis, as once was feared.

In the M&E industry supply chain, data analytics have been deployed to achieve efficiency, customer understanding, security and research for content creation and consumption. The low-hanging fruit of data analytics in entertainment, and so the most developed area, appears to be targeting and personalizing consumer experience. Attempts to use data in the content creation process, meanwhile, remain daunting.

As a result, the early adoption of data analytics in Hollywood is advancing from the consumer end back towards content production, in reverse of the way content follows a path to market. Some examples of data analytics at work in M&E include: Digital consumer marketing and distribution, which led the way with understanding, personalizing and influencing consumer decision making through data analytics.

Data-crunching engines enabled optimal allocation of marketing spend based on social media and early box office receipts. Identifying security black holes in the overall enterprise with data analytics met a universal deployment of data science.

It appears Hollywood has finally staffed its ranks with data scientists, explored the methodologies, and begun to address the high costs of movie production and its associated risks by monetizing the data to increase revenue, manage risks and pursue new product or service innovations.

Sophisticated data discovery and analytical approaches (descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, machine learning, text analytics, etc.) are being explored by innovation and technology executives in support of businesses. Fortunately, the likes of companies offering data analytics solutions and services to Hollywood are many.

Data scientists in demand

A McKinsey study reports that this year the U.S. could face a shortage of 140,000 to190,000 people with deep analytical skills. It further anticipates a deficiency of 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use big data and analytics to make effective decisions. Hollywood faces the challenge of hiring the rare breed of analytical thinker who can flourish in a content-centric enterprise.

Empowering the creative process of making and delivering films to consumers with data science has been a mission of the Hollywood IT Society (HITS). Through our conferences, HITS has helped share the compelling data analytics experiences of of Matt Marolda, Chief Analytics Officer at Legendary; Mark Shaefer, SVP of Revenue Management and Analytics at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts; Cameron Davies, SVP, Analytics for NBC News; and Hal Varian, the Chief Economist at Google.

The fusion of creativity and analytics being employed by these groundbreaking executives, and throughout the industry, augurs well for the brave new world of entertainment.

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