New trends in FunTech
We systematically try to track trends in FunTech because they are sure that changes are coming. FunCubator's investment thesis is as follows: scalable projects that change their field of entertainment, offering emotional experiences of fundamentally new quality. That's what will affect the Leisure Economy — the «economy of free time» in 2019, in our opinion.
eSports
According to PwC, by 2022, eSports as a segment of the entertainment market will grow faster than others, with a rate of 25.5% year by year. The top 1 Ninja streamer earns from $ 400,000 to $ 500,000.
What will happen?
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New formats for the community (Caffeine);
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Mobile eSports (Supercell);
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The popularity of Premium passes;
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eSports venue — computer clubs of a «healthy person»;
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The fall of SEA positions in eSports;
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Streamers like new digital celebrities;
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eSports stars in advertising;
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The growth of wages and the output of «agents».
Music: sounds of a new format
Quartz writes that the length of the song of modern popular musicians is getting shorter with each album. Spotify (and other streaming platforms) has so changed the business model, which is now more profitable to release more tracks of lesser length. Artificial intelligence is not only able to create but also adjusts the content for the context of the consumer.
What will happen?
- Distribution through platforms, not through media players.
- Instagram Labels;
- Generative music;
- Functional music;
- Podcasts;
- Niche
Gaming: blockbusters we deserve
According to Newzoo, in 2018, the video game market amounted to $ 115.8 billion (+ $ 22.1 billion — compared with 2017). At latest CES, Sony's guys said they sold 91.6 million PlayStation 4, now the monthly audience is about 90 million people on all PlayStation platforms.
Not only the «bourgeoisie» in the name of AAA-titles is growing. Hypercasual and the games «simple as that» also found their place in the ecosystem and, for example, collected half a billion users on WeChat.
Netflix has already given a beautiful quote that their main competitor is a dream. And no, now gaming comes on their heels. After all, you did not think that Bandersnatch within the «Black Mirror» is just an experiment with formats? The interactivity in the series is a way to keep a competitor in the form of games and to move on to the screen of storytelling adventures.
What will happen?
- Game blockbusters;
- Stories everywhere (Discord, Epic Games);
- Discord
- Gaming clouds (NVIDIA, Amazon);
- An interactive movie and a chance for a sharp increase in VR;
- Chinese Steam;
- Chinese Fortnite;
- Hypercasual games.
Online vs. Offline: No one will be able to sleep calmly
More often a person chooses to entertain online instead of going to a club (Instagram), a movie visit (Netflix) or card-playing with friends (PokerStars). After all, any rest without informing all about it through the social network is already inadequate. It's like doing a jog and not writing about it on Facebook.
What will happen?
- All the fun offline is now under the guise of online;
- Sports rivalry and eSports as media products;
- What are you waiting for? Throw away this junk.
Voice Assistant. The Voice Show
Voice assistants have penetrated many devices. Alexa lives on 20 thousand different devices, for which more than 40 thousand «skills» were created. But what America is, look at China, where DueroOS AI from Baidu is installed on more than 100 million units and Google Assistant with its 400 million devices worldwide.
Now you can «talk» with anything. There is a giant entertainment platform for which people are willing to pay. Amazon will not let slander: American Echo users spend $ 1,700 a year on purchases, while non-column clients do only $ 1,000.
What will happen?
- Voice assistants inside the TV;
- Online entertainment online (intellectual games);
- VA as a substitute for the «master of ceremonies»;
- Voice inputs;
- VA in Edutainment;
- Chinese market.
OTT: streams and flows
People are finally accustomed to paying for the content they receive from OTT (Over the Top). Netflix on iOS in 2018 is $ 790 million in revenue. Who is second in terms of profitability? Tencent Video ($ 490 million). Do not think that there is a monopoly. At Netflix, everything will be very difficult. How many billions they have not put in their content now — people still look at their «classics», which, publishers who have felt the blood, will not pull out and repackage into their OTT. In this segment, it will be very hot. It's as hot as in the niche of distributing sports content.
What will happen?
- Hulu grows;
- Apple and Disney are launching with great resources;
- FuboTV and DAZN cover sports;
- ESPN is trying not to miss eSports;
- Content migration to copyright holders;
- Pay per view for the Quidditch Championship;
- Bandersnatch clones.
VR in porn
VR technology for a mass breakthrough in b2c lacks just two things: killer-device and killer-product. We will believe that Oculus will close the question with the first one. The second one can come from adult content producers and distributors. «Future time» is no longer relevant. Look at traffic in VR. Which queries are most popular, which websites have the largest audience? Whether you want it or not, but porn may once again become the driver of a breakthrough, as it was with banner exchange and payment systems.
What will happen?
- Streaming adult content to VR;
- Remote interaction technology;
- WebCam 2.0;
- Deepfakes in VR.
SilverTech: a place for oldies
Oldies 2.0 are more active (the success of medicine), they have a lot of strength, time and money for entertainment. This new user class is formed right in front of us with an extension of the average life span.
What will happen?
- Digital entertainment for 60-70-year-olds;
- Offshore and online junction;
- Offline entertainment migration to online.
AI and ML: personalization of everything
The data will collect the kettle, the doorbell and the collar of your dog. Just for the good. The trend will touch entertainments that will become more personalized — from giving out to Tinder to a unique, tailor-made for your psycho type, endings of the «Real Detective».
What will happen?
- Many new data providers and aggregators;
- Personalized content;
- Real-time personalization.
