The Next Big Thing In Streaming: Predicting The Future Of Entertainment

You don’t have to go very far back in time when people’s shelves were filled with CDs from their favourite artists as well as DVDs of their top movies and TV shows.

How things have changed as the digital revolution has swept over the world of entertainment. Now most people have a range of streaming services which provide immediate access to music, movies and even audio books.

This has changed the business models for all of these sectors, and more, not to mention creating more available storage space in homes across the world.

Now the march of technology continues onwards with many changes on the cards for streaming services.

It comes as no big surprise that AI is starting to play an ever more significant role in this field.

So, even though some believe it could have disastrous consequences for humanity, at least it’s set to further transform the entertainment world on the way.

Predicting our favourites

Our first prediction is to do with . . . prediction. Most of us having watched a film or a series on a streaming service are then inundated with suggestions along the lines of “Because you enjoyed (insert as applicable), we think you’ll enjoy this (ditto)”. Sometime the algorithm gets it right. Other times it’s as successful as a supermarket delivery service bringing a replacement item of tinned rice pudding when you’ve ordered basmati rice.

But sophisticated AI techniques will soon be able to dig deeper into the elements of a particular piece of entertainment that you’ve evidently enjoyed and more precisely match your next must-see or listen to piece of entertainment.

Creating and refining content

This is probably the most controversial area in which the future of entertainment stands to be changed.

From the relatively simple starting point of software like ChatGPT it is now possible for screenplays to be created with no more human input than a starting point like “write me a love story set in Italy” or “create a war film in outer space”. While the initial examples are no Romeo or Juliet or even Star Wars, the results are certain to become more refined and sophisticated over time. 

While there is currently huge resistance in the creative industries to this kind of content being created, the surge of technology means that the first AI generated blockbuster is surely not very far away.

Even if not creating whole scripts, AI is also currently being used to analyse viewers’ reactions at certain points in a story to see what events or action impacts them the most. This learning is then being fed back to screenwriters to guide them not just what to include but when to include it. For example, if it’s found that viewers tend to lose interest 18 minutes into a 45 minute show then the feedback could be to include a special beat at that point in any future scripts to keep their attention.

This kind of insight is also set to be very valuable for any new online casinos options that players interact with via streaming services. Events can be programmed into certain points in a game, and other games recommended that the player is predicted to enjoy.

Increased immersion

Both online casinos and mainstream media want to provide as immersive experience as possible for anyone using their services. This is likely to take a couple of forms, the first of which will be an increasing use of Virtual Reality. The technology is now at the stage at which it’s accessible to many more people than ever before, as is the hardware to enjoy it.

Plus, there will soon be opportunities to not just feel immersed in the action, but to direct the narrative itself. This is an especially exciting prospect that will also have a huge effect on the sorts of content that people will be able to enjoy.

More accessibility

Alongside this, accessibility is set to increase on a huge scale. Already voice commands are being increasingly used to sort through the seemingly endless choice of entertainment content available today.

As AI progresses and becomes even more intuitive, this service is set to follow. Alongside this, closed captioning and other accessibility enhancements will see similar progress.

Relevant ads

The mainstream advertising industry is undoubtedly in decline and this is affecting many areas. But many are hoping that the similar technology that is analysing people’s tastes in entertainment will soon be generating more tightly targeted and relevant ads.

If advertisers then start to see better results and a higher return on their investment this could be the shot in the arm that ad-land needs.

Of course, there are many more changes on the way for streaming and entertainment in general but these are undoubtedly the main ones. And it’s all a very long way from the old-world way of popping in a CD or DVD to provide our entertainment.

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