Building Back Better: An Action Plan for the Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry

The report outlines a strategic framework for the media and entertainment sector to 'build back better' following the pandemic. It focuses on four pillars: strengthening the media ecosystem through trust and transparency, accelerating digital transformation via cloud production and AI, adapting the workforce to hybrid models and diverse representation, and aligning business operations with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper emphasizes the need for a 'verification' pillar in the content supply chain and the adoption of responsible leadership to meet rising consumer and employee expectations for social and environmental accountability.

• The traditional content supply chain, previously consisting of creation and distribution, now requires a third essential pillar: verification, to combat misinformation and harmful content.
• The advertising supply chain suffers from a lack of transparency and waste; a May 2020 ISBA report found that 15 advertisers had nearly 300 distinct supply chains to reach 12 publishers, with 15% of total spend unattributable.
• Digital media consumption increased in 2020 compared to 2019, with expected growth of 11.9% in the US, 11.1% in Germany, and 9.5% in China.
• Cloud-based production and virtual sets are reducing costs; for example, Discovery shot remote episodes of The Pioneer Woman at 10–20% of the average cost, and Solstice Studios finished the movie Unhinged at 25% of the cost using cloud tools.
• Cybersecurity threats increased during the pandemic, with spam attacks rising by 26%, impersonation attacks by 30%, and malware attacks by 35% between January and March 2020.
• The industry workforce is shifting toward a hybrid model, with increased demand for skills in big data, analytics, revenue-related functions, security, and data privacy.
• There is a significant gap in diversity within the industry; for instance, newsrooms in the US were 83% white despite the population being 60% white, and minorities made up only 13% of film directors.
• Consumer and employee expectations for corporate social responsibility are high, with three out of five consumers avoiding brands that do not show progress toward goals affecting society and the planet.
• The media industry is uniquely positioned to impact UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
• Some media companies are already implementing climate goals, such as Sky committing to net zero carbon by 2030 and the NBA adopting the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework.

APA

World Economic Forum (2020). Building Back Better: An Action Plan for the Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Building_Back_Better_2020.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Building Back Better: An Action Plan for the Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry. 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Building_Back_Better_2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Building Back Better: An Action Plan for the Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry |date=July 2020 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Building_Back_Better_2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2020building, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Building Back Better: An Action Plan for the Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Building_Back_Better_2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }