Understanding Value in Media: Perspectives from Consumers and Industry

The report finds that while media engagement is high, the proportion of paying users remains low, particularly for news. It highlights a growing stratification between 'destination' media, which focuses on content as the end product, and 'ecosystem' media, which uses content to drive revenue for a broader portfolio of services. The study notes a rising willingness to pay for content in the future, especially in China and India, and discusses strategic shifts such as micropayments, the growth of podcasts, and the move toward an 'identity economy' in advertising.

• Media engagement is high globally, with over 80% of consumers using news and nearly 90% using entertainment for almost 24 hours a week, yet paying users are few: under 20% for news and approximately 44% for entertainment.
• China exhibits higher engagement with paid media than other surveyed markets, with 59% of consumers paying for video or sport services, 43% for music, radio or audio, and 39% for gaming, likely due to the prevalence of pay-per-use models.
• There is a gap between current payment behavior and future willingness to pay; 53% of consumers would be willing to pay for news in the future (compared to 16% currently) and 70% for entertainment (compared to 44% currently).
• Demographic and socioeconomic data indicate that young people (aged 1634) are more likely to pay for content, while paid news subscriptions are more common among higher-income or higher-status individuals, raising concerns about 'information inequalities'.
• The media landscape is stratifying into 'destination' media, where content is the end point for the consumer, and 'ecosystem' media, where content is a strategic asset used to monetize a larger portfolio of products and services.

APA

World Economic Forum (2020). Understanding Value in Media: Perspectives from Consumers and Industry. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Understanding_Value_in_Media_Perspectives_from_Consumers_and_Industry_2020.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Understanding Value in Media: Perspectives from Consumers and Industry. 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Understanding_Value_in_Media_Perspectives_from_Consumers_and_Industry_2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Understanding Value in Media: Perspectives from Consumers and Industry |date=April 2020 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Understanding_Value_in_Media_Perspectives_from_Consumers_and_Industry_2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2020understanding, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Understanding Value in Media: Perspectives from Consumers and Industry}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Understanding_Value_in_Media_Perspectives_from_Consumers_and_Industry_2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }