Media companies changing the landscape
2020 really provided the incubation chamber that took TV from being something deemed as entertainment to become something a lot more substantial. While the world is slowly but surely moving on, last year saw so many of us cooped up that we came to place a lot more reliance on our media diet, and our actual diets for that matter. TV shows, streaming providers and films became an even stronger glue of social connectivity as we relied on these forms of media to maintain our sanity while also having something to chat about to friends and family alike. Now with people consuming more media than ever before, one would assume that it would be easy pickings for the media companies providing these services, however, only a handful have truly stood out in 2021.
Netflix
It would be impossible to speak about the current film and TV landscape without mentioning streaming giant Netflix. Netflix is the reason that the practice of trading media company shares has become even more popular and lucrative than it was before. But this company isn’t just a financial powerhouse who’s made its shareholders smile, it’s also a socially conscious one. Outside of creating a slew of quality content, Netflix is also known for its empowerment of film-makers of colour, an initiative it took long before the various corporate changes and reckonings in the aftermath of George Floyd. Netflix has made black audiences central to its programming setup by creating content that is realistic and respectful. Back in 2020 already the company doubled-up its efforts by releasing Uncorked, an incredibly normal story about a black family involved in the wine business. It also released the film, Project Power, an unconventional take on the superhero genre. Last year it released Chadwick Boseman’s final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and prior to that the Spike Lee directed Da 5 Bloods. It also acquired the rights to stream popular black-led shows of the 1990s. In essence, Netflix has made inclusivity a celebration as opposed to a political strategy.
Hooked
Catering specifically for the smartphone market but with a focus on education through the encouragement of reading, Hooked caters specifically to Generation Z by way of fast-paced interactive content. Hooked takes full advantage of the capabilities of artificial intelligence to determine which of its content most appeals to its viewers and then to scale up its operations. Touting itself as TV for GEN Z, Hooked offers speedy and interactive storytelling that merges video, audio and text into content as short as 15 seconds and as long as 15 minutes. Although founded back in 2015 already, Hooked really hit its stride in 2020 when it utilised the power of social media to attract over 100 million viewers. It did so by way of Instagram, You Tube, Snapchat, Tik Tok and its proprietor apps.
Moving Picture Company
This visual effects company is known for saving the day and the box office receipts of one of the most beloved video game icons. After almost 30 years as Sega’s mascot and flagship character, Hollywood had deemed it time for Sonic the Hedgehog to finally grace the silver screen. Fan expectations were at an all-time high but things took a turn for the worse when the first trailer was released in April of 2019. Fans were instantly put off by certain aesthetic features of the famous blue speedster, namely his way-too-human teeth, to name but some. The fans made their disdain known immediately and it looked like the film was destined to bomb. However, when the film was released in early 2020 it was a hit, but how? Through Moving Picture Company (MPC), that’s how. Within a span of 3 months, MPC refurbished the character entirely to make him resemble his original self-much more closely. The end result was an incredibly decent box office take of $320 million. Subsequent to this MPC did Godzilla vs. Kong, Top Gun: Maverick, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
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