The global environment for media has diversified in the past decade – from the boom in global streaming services, to the growth of gaming, to the emergence of AI and immersive technology. The media industry has been working alongside the technology industry to pioneer innovative products and ideas.
With over $730 billion dollars raised in VC funding over the past three years, MediaTech is one of the most versatile divisions of technology and, as such, allows many cities to have a thriving MediaTech sector, but which cities come out on top?
Savills Tech Cities MediaTech Index
Source: Savills Research. Tech sector verticals: AdTech, AudioTech, Ephemeral Content, Esports, Gaming, MarketingTech, Mobile, TMT
Art never dies
Creativity is needed for all sectors of technology – thinking “outside the box” drives innovation forward. This is especially true, however, for MediaTech and the companies operating within the space. Cities with major creative industries, therefore, tend to do well on this index. Los Angeles (3rd) and Mumbai (23rd) produce many of the world’s films, Berlin (17th) and Tokyo (10th) are known for their trendsetting fashion and music scenes, and cities such as Vancouver (19th) and Atlanta (4th) are often the backdrop to major films and television shows.
Current and historic creative hubs provide MediaTech startups with top talent, expertise, and potential clients. In turn, the growth and success of MediaTech gives these cities a new element which helps to diversify and strengthen their economies and societies.
London (5th) and New York (1st) already have diverse economies including large creative industries. These cities provide a diverse potential talent and client base for MediaTech startups, especially those in AdTech or MarketingTech as their work is needed across sectors. In recent years, the marketing industry has become more integrated with technology and has been using analytics, artificial intelligence, and extended reality to maximise their creative output.
Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me
Since the start of the new millennium, the adoption of mobile phones has skyrocketed. In 2007, the original iPhone was released and catapulted the mobile industry into the stratosphere. Mobile technology has seen especially high levels of adoption and usage in low income countries as computers are often too inaccessible and expensive large swathes of the population. Cities such as Beijing (6th), Bengaluru (20th), and Nairobi (25th) are home to startups that are helping push forward mobile adoption and innovation.
The Game of Life
The global gaming industry is expected to be worth $312 billion by 2027, according to PwC. There are billion-dollar giants in this industry such as Sony and EA which have headquarters in Tokyo (10th) and Seattle (8th), respectively.
MediaTech companies in the gaming space have unique real estate needs. Gaming companies often require open floor plans to promote collaboration between different teams. These companies also require strict cybersecurity protocols to protect intellectual property and state-of-the-art hardware; both of these factors often mean that there is a high level of reliance on and usage of energy, which in turn produces a lot of heat. This often translates to needing backup generators and cooling systems. All in all, gaming companies need large office spaces. These tend to be located out of CBDs due to cost and near universities to attract fresh top talent.
Sports, sports, esports
The growth of the gaming industry has propelled the growth of the esports industry. With universities around the world starting to offer full-ride scholarships for top esports players, the value of this industry cannot be denied.
Whilst the industry saw initial success in cities such as Shanghai (11th), Seoul (14th), and Tokyo (10th), esports has become popular globally. The development of online streaming platforms such as Twitch – headquartered in San Francisco (2nd) – has helped drive this success. This growth is not just online – in 2015, the first dedicated esports arena in the US was built just outside of Los Angeles (3rd).
The MediaTech sector is one of the most varied subsectors of the tech industry as it brings together people with a technology focus and people with a creative focus all working together to produce new ideas, concepts, and products. As this sector continues to grow, it will continue to change the world around us and our real estate.
Methodology:
Our 2023 Tech Cities ranking measure a city’s business environment, tech environment, city buzz & wellness, talent pool, and its strength and depth across different tech sub sectors:
*for each of the 11 Tech Sub sectors (AgTech & FoodTech, CleanTech & ClimateTech, Deep Tech, E-Commerce, FinTech, Industrial Tech, Life Sciences & HealthTech, MediaTech, MobilityTech, Software, SpaceTech). These are aggregated to form our overarching Tech Cities index.
