Media is blurring its shape. Lines between media types are disappearing, consumers are creators, and entertainment is daubing tech and retail all over itself. Content is ever present, consistent across platforms, and individually personalized. As our physical world blends with virtual worlds, entertainment realities are changing, too. The media and entertainment industry doesn’t have a choice; it must change. Consumers have upped their baseline expectations as technology has evolved, and competitors for consumer time aren’t limited to traditional media.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated many of the trends of the past 5 to 10 years, including the outsized growth in digital media consumption and consumers’ ability to access content from just about anywhere. Increases in consumer participation and the exponential development of technologies like 5G will accelerate the disruption, driving six big shifts in media and entertainment. Some build on existing trends, and others read like sci-fi. All of them are very real, and they’re reshaping our world.