The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has already changed the world in many ways. One Wall Street analyst predicts that its impact on the entertainment industry is only just starting.
Analyst Michael Nathanson wrote a 25-page report predicting ways that Hollywood will be impacted in the long-run by looking at data from previous recessions. In his analysis, Nathanson notes that big changes such as the end of DVDs and CDs happened, at least in part, because of an economic crisis, explaining, "Economic recessions act as an accelerant for evolving shifts in consumer and corporate behavior." He argues that the global pandemic will help push forward shifts that were already starting to happen.
For example, theaters have been struggling for many years to maintain profits, and Nathanson argues that the pandemic will likely make it so there are fewer movie screens in the country as well as fewer DVDs bought. He also predicts that a select few streaming services will ultimately succeed by the end of the pandemic: Amazon, Netflix, and Disney. Ads are another way in which the industry will change as advertising on traditional television is likely to fall as companies cut their budgets in this area.
A global pandemic on this scale is unprecedented in our modern age, so the exact ripple effect of COVID-19 on the entertainment industry can't be predicted.
(via Deadline)