Europe: Decoding the digital-native audience: Key strategies from MIP London

Media industry executives and thought leaders came together at MIP London, held Feb. 22-24 at the IET London: Savoy Place, to discuss major trends and share strategic approaches to the changing landscape.

The event was capped off by Evan Shapiro's session titled "The Year of Change or Die." The analyst used data to argue that the media industry needs to adapt to the fragmented viewing habits of younger, digitally native audiences, embrace multiplatform strategies, or risk becoming obsolete.

Shapiro reiterated that the audience responsible for the rise of modern television can no longer support it. Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha constitute about 70% of the global population. That crowd has grown up with smartphones and consume content in different ways compared to older generations. He highlighted the existence of two distinct media consumption worlds: older generations that still favor traditional TV versus millennials and younger viewers that gravitate toward streaming and social media. Ad spend for the latter grew 21% in 2025 and is set to exceed $71.7 billion by 2030 in Western Europe, according to Magna Global.

Instead of streaming replacing TV, he argued that social video rapidly grew alongside it. Younger audiences seamlessly move between platforms and devices, watching content across Bytedance Ltd.'s TikTok Inc., Netflix Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube and broadcaster apps without distinguishing between different platforms or means of delivery.

Shapiro backed up his points with data, noting that streaming now accounts for nearly 50% of all TV viewing in the US, with YouTube leading as the most-watched "TV channel." He explained that this shift is not tied to one platform’s success but to younger generations’ viewing habits spreading and becoming mainstream. In the UK, Shapiro cited BARB data showing YouTube overtaking the British Broadcasting Corp. in total reach across four screens in late 2025 and becoming the second most-watched platform overall. He pointed out that YouTube usage on TV is rising across all age groups, with the fastest growth among Gen X and boomers. S&P Global Market Intelligence Consumer Insights data in the UK found that 61.8% of internet households watched YouTube, with BBC iPlayer and Channel Four Television Corp.'s My4 trailing with 60.2% and 52.6%, respectively.

Shapiro described YouTube as millions of channels where anyone with a smartphone now competes for global attention. Shapiro stressed that success depends on building loyal communities, not just reach in what he called the "Affinity Economy," citing examples like ITV PLC’s Love Island and PBS’s Frontline, which grew audiences through engagement.

Shapiro noted that while traditional media valuations have stagnated, tech companies continue to surge, and streaming faces challenges with subscriber retention and shifting ad spend toward digital platforms. Shapiro predicted that YouTube’s rise on TV is just the beginning, with platforms like TikTok and Instagram soon competing for living-room audiences, making social media skills essential.

Micro dramas were one example of an evolving landscape and the rising importance of social media. Media executives are adopting the mobile gaming industry's marketing-first strategy for micro dramas, as discussed in a panel featuring leaders from Holywater, GammaTime and COL Group, hosted by Omdia analyst Maria Rua Aguete. Timothy Oh, general manager of COL Group International, stated that micro drama platforms are devoting as much as 90% of their budgets to platforms such as TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc. for marketing, rather than to production itself. "Promoting short drama is the same as promoting any games," Oh said, where success depends on acquiring and retaining users by testing thousands of trailer variations across social platforms.

Anatolii Kasianov, co-founder of Holywater, dug into the financials, noting that customer acquisition costs (CAC) can reach $20 to $30. These figures are comparable to those of major SVOD services, with Netflix and Disney+ at the higher end of the spectrum, according to Kagan estimates. These high costs force companies to be efficient by relying heavily on data analytics and AI for their workflows. He also pointed to opportunities in content bundling, exclusive productions and release windowing.

Alex Montalvo, co-founder of Gamma Time, stated that micro dramas are expanding beyond women's fiction in genres such as thrillers and true crime. Kasianov echoed this sentiment, explaining that his firm adapts IP from books to create vertical content, reaching an audience of over 100 million. He added that while the core demographic is female, the aim is to expand to male viewers.

Economics of Streaming Media is a regular feature from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.