The changing face of content and value capturing

At a high level, there are content creators, content aggregators, and content distributors - no matter the medium. For example, in TV -> there are content creators (various), content aggregators (media companies, who can also be content creators, and who build brand value), and content distributors (PayTV operators).

The internet changes the dynamics in media, just like it did in the traditional retailing model (cuttting out middlement and getting manufacturers closer to consumers). So, in media, content creators don't need (as desperately) content aggregators in order to reach an audience - at least the barriers to entry are a lot lower, and content distributors have no distribution limits (there is unlimited capacity to distribute (albeit the pipes do have a capacity).

Lastly, a new entrant in the online distribution medium I will name content organizers or finders -> these are the technology companies of the world who enable people to get to content in such a disorganized world. These content finders, in a way, work against content aggregators value online -> if you could find anything that would be of value to you via a Google search, for example, you would never need to go to a popular brand you know will be aggregating the type of content you like. Lastly, companies like Hulu seek to aggregate content, but, in a very horizontal manner, so in a way they are also like technology companies.

This brings very interesting elements for those businesses involved in pure content aggregation (like PayTV programmers), where as in the past, content creators had limited options to get to audiences (and consumers had limited options to find their interests), this is not necessarily true for either end of the spectrum when we talk about online distribution/consumption of content.

As such, only those content aggregators that do invest in content or strike the right partnerships with other content creators will be able to survive in an online-only world (we may be years away from having such a world, but, the fragmentation of entertainment can't be ignored). As they garner traffic and consumption, then they do exert brand value and ignite other creator's interest to be part of such network.