Media Management and Artificial Intelligence: Understanding Media Business Models in the Digital Age

This cutting-edge textbook examines contemporary media business models in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. AI has dramatically impacted media production and distribution, from recommendation engines to synthetic humans, from video-to-text tools to natural language models. "AI is really the change agent of the media industry," answered a natural language generation model when AI was ‘asked’ about the subject of this book. "It will open incredible opportunities." This book seeks to explore them.

The media is examined through four sections. ‘Principles’ maps business models and the key tools of AI. ‘Platforms’ covers distribution channels in Games, Streamers, Social Networks, Broadcast and Digital Publishing. ‘Producers’ covers the engines of content-making, including Scripted, Entertainment, Factual, Content Marketing, Creators and Music. Finally, ‘Pioneers’ covers emerging sectors of Podcasting, Esports, the Metaverse and other AI-driven developments. Then in each chapter, a standard value creation model is applied, mapping a single sector through development, production, distribution and monetisation.

Diverse case studies are analysed from India, Nigeria, South Korea, South Africa, France, the Netherlands, the US, the UK, Denmark and China – around creative entrepreneurship, revenue models, profit drivers, rights and emerging AI tools. Questions are provided for each case, whilst chapter summaries cement learning.

Applied and technology-focused, this text offers core reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduates studying Media Management – or the relationship between Entertainment, Media and Technology. Online resources include chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides and an Instructor’s Manual with further exercises and case studies.

Dr Alex Connock is Fellow at the Said Business School, University of Oxford, where he teaches Media and Marketing at BA, MBA and Executive levels, and is co-director of the postgraduate course in Artificial Intelligence for Business. He is also a Lecturer at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, teaching General Management.

Meanwhile at the UK’s National Film & Television School he is Head of Department in Creative Business. At Exeter University, he is Professor in Practice, teaching courses including Digital Marketing and Media and the Metaverse. He has degrees from Oxford University, Columbia University, Salford University and INSEAD.

Prior to returning to academia, Alex worked in the media for 25 years in the UK, US and Europe, starting or running multiple businesses in TV production, digital/social content marketing, magazine and advertising.

He is Vice Chair of UNICEF UK and a board director of the Halle Orchestra. He has six times been shortlisted in Entrepreneur of the Year awards in the UK.