The Spanish market for mass media and entertainment will grow an average of 3.8% a year through 2013

The forecast for growth in the Spanish market for media, leisure activities and entertainment will grow an average of 3.8% through 2013. And specifically in the case of digital businesses, the growth rate is anticipated at close to 9%. These facts were clearly laid out during the round table discussion “Entertainment Management: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond”, organized by IEDE Business School, Universidad Europea de Madrid. With the goal of taking on all that the evolution of this sector implies IEDE Business School has created the first Master’s Degree in Entertainment Management.

Currently in our country, the leisure time sector; television, theater, internet, advertising, videogames, film and music from among other areas, employs more than one million people and moves approximately sixteen billion Euros annually. One of the standout characteristics is the migration of content to digital media, such that more and more we are seeing content being enjoyed on portable devices (from mobile phones to handheld videogame consoles to laptops), in a way that not only facilitates access but that also leads to the generation of new formats. In this regard, Tacho de la Calle, Vice-President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences explains the “we are starting to see new formats based on new technologies, that require offerings that are smaller, shorter and quicker than the classic formats that preceded them”.

A sector in constant evolution
According to Jorge de Sebastián, the man in charge of the Master’s Degree in Entertainment Management and director of International Media Development for UNIPUBLIC from Antena 3, the current trend in the management of entertainment companies is “to have different media integrate and depend upon and complement each other as a means of achieving business goals such as reaching a target audience share or the necessary advertisement coverage”. The Vuelta Ciclista a España [Tour of Spain] is a good example of the model of an event whose promotion and broadcast is supported on different media channels, and that develop business units beyond traditional television broadcasts. In this day and age the promotion and broadcast of a sporting event must be considered from many different angles: social networking sites, mobile telephone applications, official online games, live streaming, promotion and publicity in conventional media such as the radio and the press, exploiting merchandising opportunities of different web sites, the music business through the official soundtrack etc. etc…

For his part, Tacho de la Calle pointed out interactivity as the key towards the development of more personalized content. “Programs will reach our living rooms where each family member will have the ability to directly participate in the elaboration of their own individual entertainment”. It is his opinion that production companies will end up turning themselves into laboratories for creative interactivity.

During his appearance at the roundtable the actor and theater producer Eloy Arenas detailed from his own personal experience how the world of theater had evolved thanks to the internet. “It’s not only the fact that each theater company has their own web page, but that these days most of the promotion for a show happens in the digital realm, such as advertising campaigns with discounts are now offered through the web”. He also pointed out how live entertainment and live events had become integrated with tourism and he added that “more and more often vacation plans take into account the possibility of alternative forms of entertainment that in turn leads to an increase in audience numbers”.

All of the participants at the roundtable were in agreement that the industry is at the peak of development and that new technologies are of paramount importance. “We will be moving towards a homogenization of different distribution channels to ultimately formalize new methods of access to entertainment media”, adds Tacho de la Calle in reference to the lack of compatibility across current platforms. Mention was also made of what these new formats can teach us about combating digital piracy.

A new era for entertainment professionals
The management of businesses in the entertainment sector requires that “its professionals are up to speed, and capable of using all the tools available to them”, says Sebastián. Eloy Arenas underlines the necessity for management professionals in the world of show business. “Of course it’s true that knowledge and training is vital to know about the culture, what’s trending, what’s selling, having contacts with authors, actors…but having the technical knowledge to make it all profitable is equally important”. Although in his opinion the city of Madrid now makes the list, this type of profile offers “a clearer vision of the inner workings of the business and makes professionals the same as are to be found in London, Paris or New York”.
“The business professional must evolve and adapt to new technological and sociological demands as they arise”, advises Tacho de la Calle. According to him, “a good professional must be on top of new trends, new technologies but above all they must be well informed”. In any case, he notes, “the sector really needs a lot of honesty, and folks looking to work hard, to pitch in and join the team”.

About IEDE Business School
IEDE Business School, Universidad Europea de Madrid is the only Business School to feature campuses located on three separate continents, in Madrid, Shanghai, and Santiago de Chile, and which offers a “multi-campus” program with stays in the US, China and Spain. This school, an institution dedicated to developing and fostering management level executives, offers graduate studies designed in coordination with key businesses in each sector in the areas of management, MBA, marketing and communication, finance, law and tourism.
The School’s methodology is based on three fundamental pillars: a strong international presence, a career-oriented approach, and academic excellence coupled with official recognition for its wide array of educational programs.
Universidad Europea de Madrid features more than 11,000 students and is a member of the Laureate International Universities network, the leading worldwide network of private universities. The network brings together 45 institutions of higher education in 20 countries spanning the globe, with a total of more than 550,000 students.