Forecast 2009: Digital Leaders Share Their Predictions; What’s Yours?

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Forecast 2009: Digital Leaders Share Their Predictions; What’s Yours?

What will happen in the online media business this year? Seven digital execs told paidContent:UK both their new year’s resolutions and their predictions for the year ahead. Here are the highlights and, in the comments, add your own expectations for the next 12 months…

Mark Rock, CEO, BestBefore Media: “The whole economy will go in to meltdown for the whole year - we’ve only seen the start of it. The Independent will be web-only, Channel 4 will get rid of Andy Duncan and the only safe place to be will be the Beeb.”

Dana Dunne, CEO, AOL Europe: “The downturn will accelerate demand for even greater efficiencies from media owners and ad networks. Advertising money is continuing to follow people online and we will see closer partnerships between consumers and competitors across digital media and advertising.”

Anthony Rose, Controller, Vision & Online, BBC: “Within a few months you’ll start regularly seeing people in the tube watching video on portable media players, with the white BBC and pink BBC iPlayer logos just visible.”

Ben Drury, CEO, 7Digital: “More change and innovation in music. Connected devices that directly access music services (bypassing computers) will be more prevalent. CD sales will continue to decline and the pace of decline will accelerate in 2009.”

Peter Bale, Executive Producer, MSN UK: “I want us to do much more with video and user content on the site. We have to work out how big MSN can be in video and experiment more.”

Rory Cellan-Jones, Technology Correspondent, BBC News: “Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) will get a new boss, but I would be surprised if the business is still independent by the end of the year. Tens of thousands of others across the technology industry will, sadly, lose their jobs, and a host of Web 2.0 firms will disappear.”

John Angeli, Head Of Content, Press Association: “Audiences will continue to grow around video and multimedia content and that’s where much of our focus will be. We’ll all be a little wiser when Lord Carter publishes his initial thoughts in January on the future of ‘Digital Britain’.”