New business models for the new media world

Purpose – The authors perform market trend analysis and to examine the clash between new and traditional media and explore future industry competitive scenarios.Design/methodology/approach – IBM conducted a comprehensive study that included interviews with leaders of media companies and an in‐depth analysis of the factors that are shaping the industry outlook. IBM conducted in‐person interviews with more than 75 senior media executives, industry analysts, economists and technology visionaries and also worked with the Economist Intelligence Unit to survey another 125 industry executives.Findings – IBM sees four primary business models emerging – traditional media, walled communities, content hyper‐syndication and new platform aggregation. The research also found evidence of another developing conflict that it calls the media divide. It could pit partner against partner in a struggle for growth.Practical implications – IBM proposes seven industry‐specific recommendations for incumbent media companies as the...