The Future of TV? A 2025 Digital Media Trends Analysis

Is traditional Hollywood facing an existential crisis? Deloitte’s 2025 Digital Media Trends report reveals a massive shift in how Gen Z and millennials consume content. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler break down the data and explore what this means for studios, creators, and the future of storytelling on this episode of The Briefing.

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel.

Show Notes:

Scott: Deloitte released its 2025 digital media Trends earlier in March. It is a comprehensive look at the seismic shift rocking the media and entertainment landscape. Are traditional studios facing an existential crisis against these hyper scale and hyper capitalized tech giants? And with Gen Z and millennials finding social media content more relevant than TV and movies, what does this mean for the future of storytelling and celebrity? I’m Scott Hervey, partner in the entertainment and media Department of Weintraub Tobin. And today, I’m joined by my partner, Tara Sattler. Stick with us as we analyze these trends and what they mean for both the traditional and new media players navigating this rapidly evolving digital world in today’s installment of The Briefing. Tara, welcome back to The Briefing. It’s good to have you back.

Tara: Thanks, Scott. Thanks for having me back. It’s always great to be here.

Scott: Yeah. I thought this one was going to be particularly relevant for both you and I because Our practice area is we both straddle both traditional media representing studios and production companies. And also we have another foot really squarely set in the creator economy, digital media, YouTube space, podcast. I think you and I have the benefit of seeing both sides of this. That’s why I thought you’d be the perfect co-host for this one.

Tara: We do, Scott. I think you’re right. I’ve been looking through this report. It’s really quite eye-opening. The shifts are significant, especially for the traditional media players who you and I both work with a lot.

Scott: Yeah, absolutely. This report makes one thing abundantly clear, and I think it’s something both of us have been talking to our clients about for a while. Social video platforms are becoming a dominant force in media and entertainment, and they do present a challenge to the traditional Hollywood model. So today we’re going to summarize the key findings and discuss what opportunities exist for both traditional Hollywood studios and content producers and the content creators on platforms like YouTube. So let’s dive in. So the report itself, the headline here is that social platforms are becoming the new center of gravity for media and entertainment. According to Deloitte, these platforms are drawing more of consumers’ time and more of advertisers’ money away from traditional media.

Tara: Yeah, the report found that US consumers are spending about six hours daily on media and entertainment, and that number isn’t growing. What’s changing is how that time is distributed. Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are spending significantly less time watching traditional TV and movies and more time on social media platforms with user-generated content.

Scott: Right. And Those numbers are pretty striking. Gen Z respondents are spending about 54% more time, so that’s about 50 minutes more per day on social media platforms and watching user-generated content than the average consumer. They’re spending 26% less time, so that’s about 44 minutes less per day, watching TV and movies than the average person.

Tara: It’s not just about time spent. The report found that 56% of Gen Z and 43% of millennials say social media content is more relevant to them than traditional content like television shows and movies. Plus, about half of these generations feel a stronger personal connection to social media creators than they do to TV personalities or actors.

Scott: Let’s now talk about the advertising piece of this because it really is quite huge. The report shows that social platforms are winning the ad battle, too. Gen Z and millennials are much more likely to say that ads on social media influence their purchasing decisions. That’s great for some of our clients who run ads on these platforms and also are creators in their creator economy who live off of these ads. That’s a major source of their revenue. For Gen Z, it’s about 63%, while ads on streaming services come in at about 28%.

Tara: That’s a big problem for SVOD platforms that are trying to shift to ad-supported streaming models. They’re competing against platforms that have spent years prospecting their ad technology and their algorithms for recommendations.

Scott: Exactly. Meanwhile, traditional distributors and studios are caught in a really tough spot. Paid TV subscriptions continue to decline, down to 49% of consumers from 63% three years ago. Streaming services are facing challenges, too, with 41% of consumers saying the content available isn’t worth the price. Not me, though. Up to five percentage points from 2024.

Tara: Yeah, I keep paying, too. And those subscription costs, they just keep going up. They do. And then, SBOD subscribers report paying an average of $69 a month for four services, which is up 13% in just one year. For Genzy and Millenials, they have an average of five paid services, and those costs are up about 20%.

Scott: You know, with the password sharing crackdown, it’s actually no wonder that you’re seeing a decrease in the younger generation’s usage of SVOD services. And that’s also no I don’t know why we’re seeing this really high churn rate. The report notes that 39 % of consumers canceled at least one paid streaming service in the last six months, with the number jumping above 50 % for Gen Z and millennials. All right. What does this report mean with regard to opportunities for traditional Hollywood? Let’s talk about this.

Tara: I think there are several potential paths forward. First, the report Deloitte suggests that studios need to embrace ad technology and AI. They’re moving to the center of content economics, and studios need to invest heavily in these areas to understand them and to be able to compete.

Scott: Deloitte suggests that strategic partnerships might be the way to go. Many studios simply don’t have the in-house expertise to build competitive ad tech platforms.

Tara: Yeah, so that consolidation is another opportunity. The report suggests that studios should gather larger audiences, potentially through mergers and acquisitions or clever aggregation, to really be able to achieve the scale needed to compete with the social media platform.

Scott: We’re already seeing some of that with bundling deals between streaming services, but the report seems to suggest that they might need to go much further than this.

Tara: Yeah, technology adoption another opportunity so studios can leverage virtual production and AI to enable cheaper and faster production or use generative AI for dubbing and translation and even implement AI capabilities that automate certain operational functions. Especially this day and age, this doesn’t come without controversy.

Scott: Oh, that’s very, very true. The report also highlights an interesting opportunity, engaging with social platforms rather than just competing with them. Traditional studios could learn from social platforms about content, creativity, and advertising capabilities, while platforms can benefit from premium storytelling, which really is the strength of traditional Hollywood studios.

Tara: That’s exactly right, Scott. I have really been thinking about that for quite a while. This report notes that 56% of younger generations watch TV shows or movies on streaming services hearing about them from creators online. Marketing efforts really should start to lean in to these social platforms.

Scott: I think there’s also a distribution play there, too. I think traditional Hollywood or independent Hollywood, maybe some of the smaller, more independent studios, could be looking at and should be looking at and thinking about multi-platform deals. Because now more than ever, you really need to squeeze every dollar out of it. Your content. I think just committing to one single platform might not really be the answer. I found it interesting that the report challenges the fear that short-form content doesn’t work for premium IP. Studios could get creative and publish the social platforms, as I said, through a multi-platform approach, using social videos not only to help promote their TVs and movies, but also maybe to distribute original short-form content.

Tara: There’s also an opportunity to work with content creators. Those content creators can be powerful advocates for studio content, help engage audiences with greater authenticity, and help with the potential to unlock virality.

Scott: Right. In essence, traditional Hollywood needs to adapt by embracing technology, considering consolidation, and engaging with rather than just competing against social platforms. It’s about finding new models that work in this changing landscape shape. But what’s in it for the media creators? What’s in it for your traditional YouTube creators? Let’s talk about the opportunities that exist for them looking to grow their business in this environment.

Tara: For creators, I think this report really contains some positive news. The influence of creators is growing, especially with younger audiences. According to the report, about 50% of Gen Z and millennials say they feel stronger personal connection to social media creators than to TV personalities and actors.

Scott: I think when you say the influence of creators is growing, I think we just need to look back at a couple of the big deals over the last couple of months. Miss Rachel, Mr. Beast, Dude Perfect. They are the next studios, and their influence is really growing. And these creators are now seen as legitimate entertainment competitors to traditional media. The report notes that for younger generations, especially, trending social videos are often like the new hit TV show, and creators are the new stars.

Tara: That right there creates several growth opportunities. First, there’s the potential to cross over into traditional media. Some Some creators have made the leap to network television, streaming platforms, films, and this really secures lucrative contacts for them but also grows their audiences.

Scott: Though, interestingly, the report found mixed responses to this. While 29% of consumers say they’d be more willing to watch TV shows or movies starring their favorite creators, 30% feel creators lose their authenticity when featured on TV. But it’s interesting. I didn’t see any I think part of that report that talked about when that content creator’s own show that’s on YouTube is also available on a streaming service or a fast channel, what that impact is. Because I think that’s probably correct. When you take the creator out of the environment in which they’re known to the viewer, it’s not authentic any longer.

Tara: Yeah, I think that’s right. I think that the production methods and what is entailed with making longer form content is also different. That may be where the viewer perceives that as a loss of authenticity, but it’s really just what’s needed in order to produce the content at hand. But in any event, this all suggests that creators really need to be careful about how they approach these crossover opportunities and really think about maintaining their authenticity. That seems really important.

Scott: There may also be a business need to expand beyond that single platform that they have become associated with. With YouTube always rejiggering its algorithm, and this always seems to result in the devaluing of library content, it may be economically necessary to repackage older content into newer long-form episodes and seek out licensing opportunities with SVOD or AVOD platforms or explore the benefit of launching a branded fast channel. The report also highlights the growing role of AI tools for creators. Social platforms are extending generative AI tools to help creators run their businesses, create content, target audience and advertisers, and match with brand sponsors.

Tara: Yeah, so all of this AI technology really creates opportunities for creators to scale their opportunities and grow their businesses more efficiently.

Scott: Brand partnerships are another significant opportunity, and it’s the lifeblood for a lot of creators. Creators offer credibility and authenticity to brands and advertisers who may be trying to reach millions of followers. The report notes that younger generations are much more likely to say that ads or product reviews on social media influence their purchasing decisions. Specifically, the report found that Gen Z and millennials, so 63% of Gen Z and 49% of millennials, are more likely to say that ads or product reviews on social media are most influential to their purchasing decisions. That’s really quite stunning, and I think quite a boost for our partner, Jessica Marlo, who basically runs creator brand integration business for the firm. Also interesting is the impact social media has on TV viewership. A significant percentage of younger generations, so 56% of Gen Z and 43% of millennials, watch TV shows or movies based on recommendations from social media. And by the way, I think we were all talking about this in a department meeting last week, the traditional movie and television industry has done a really bad job of engaging in social media advertising and using creators to advertise the content.

Really, social media should be a central part of TV and movie marketing strategies targeting these demographics. If it works for cosmetics and other goods, it’s going to work for movies and television.

Tara: Well, and I think we saw an example of that with the Barbenheimer explosion on social media, which by all accounts, was really to social media and was not planted or instigated at all by the distributors behind those films. I think that that’s a perfect example, and I totally agree with you and with the report in that regard, Scott.

Scott: The report also suggests that there’s value in cross-platform presence. We just talked about that a little bit earlier here. Creators who establish themselves across multiple platforms can build more resilient businesses and reach different audience segments. By the way, as we’ve always said, it’s always a risk to rely on a single platform because that platform can change its algorithm as it’s entitled to, and that can have a devastating economic impact on your business. If you are just on a single platform.

Tara: Finally, I think there’s an opportunity for creators to leverage their personal connection with audiences. That parasocial relationship, as the report calls it, drives engagement and keeps people coming back. Creators who cultivate those connections can really effectively build a sustainable business.

Scott: Let’s wrap up with some final thoughts. The report clearly shows it The media landscape in transition with social platforms gaining ground at the expense of traditional media distribution. Both Hollywood studios and individual creators need to adapt to this new reality. I think the creators are more apt to to adapt quicker and take advantage of this changing landscape.

Tara: I definitely agree with that. Another key takeaway is that neither traditional Hollywood nor social media creators can stand still. For Hollywood, it means rethinking business models, embracing technology, and finding ways to engage with rather than just compete against social platforms.

Scott: For creators, it means leveraging their authenticity and personal connections with audiences while exploring new revenue and potentially even crossing over into traditional media.

Tara: Yeah, the media landscape is being reshaped. Those who adapt most efficiently will be the ones who thrive. It’s a well-tested and long-running concept that we all know a lot about.

Scott: You’re right. Adapt or die. Well, a little grim, but that’s it for today’s episode of The Briefing. Thanks, Tara, for joining me today. Thank you, the listener or the viewer, for tuning in. We hope you found this episode informative and enjoyable. If you did, please remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this episode with your friends and colleagues. And if you have any questions about the topics we covered today, please leave us a comment.