2027 revenue gains will come from the archive
For much of the past decade, the media industry's growth strategy has centered on creating more content, attracting subscribers and expanding distribution. But as streaming markets mature and competition intensifies, the economics of that approach are becoming harder to sustain.
Producing new content remains essential. The next hit series, major film release or successful franchise will always attract audiences. The challenge is that new productions require significant investment, with mounting pressure for every release to deliver a return.
As media companies plan for 2027, one of their most promising opportunities for revenue growth may already be sitting in their archives. The challenge is that unlocking that value takes time, and companies hoping to capitalise on it next year need to start now.
The opportunity isn't new. Studios and distributors have been licensing and repackaging content for decades. What's changing is audience demand, the economics of preparing content for new markets and the technology available to bring previously dormant assets back to market.
The search for growth
At the 2026 Devoncroft Executive Summit at IBC, principal analyst Josh Stinehour described a mature, low-growth professional media technology market in which years of cost reduction have left companies searching for new ways to create business value. His assessment raises an important question for content owners: How can technology help generate additional revenue from assets they already have?
Media organisations have spent years investing in automation and operational efficiency. Those investments have delivered meaningful savings, but there are limits to how much further companies can reduce costs. The untapped opportunity is to use technology to create new sources of revenue.
For content owners, that means reconsidering the potential of their existing libraries.
The commercial life of content is changing
The streaming era has changed how audiences discover and consume programming.
I was talking to a colleague recently who had just discovered Homeland and was completely hooked. The series premiered in 2011, but to her, it was new content. It's a reminder that a title's age doesn't necessarily determine its relevance or commercial potential.
Commercial opportunities can also emerge when audience interests shift. The success of a new medical drama such as The Pitt can renew interest in earlier series like ER. A new film featuring a popular actor can send audiences searching for their previous work. Genres such as horror or comedy may experience renewed demand in particular territories.
These shifts create reasons to revisit titles that may have been overlooked. But popularity alone isn't enough. Content owners need evidence of audience demand and a viable route to market before committing to bringing a title back into distribution.
A content owner might have thousands of films, series, documentaries and specials in its archive. Some of these assets may hold significant untapped value, while others carry rights restrictions, preparation costs, or limited demand that make bringing them back to market uneconomical.
Historically, identifying suitable assets, validating rights, assessing technical quality, and preparing content for distribution required considerable manual effort. For an individual title with uncertain commercial prospects, those costs could outweigh the potential return.
Advances in AI-assisted content analysis, more cost-effective localisation tools and automated media workflows are changing that equation. A title that was previously too expensive to localise and distribute in a particular territory may now generate an attractive return. The opportunity isn't simply to prepare content faster or at lower cost. It's to make new markets commercially viable.
The first challenge is knowing what you have
Most established media companies have accumulated substantial libraries through decades of production, acquisitions, and licensing agreements.
Ask a content owner what it owns, and there will almost certainly be a database or catalog containing an answer. But how accurate is that information?
Assets move between storage systems. Rights agreements change. Metadata becomes inconsistent. Different versions of the same title may exist in multiple locations, and institutional knowledge can disappear as employees leave.
A title might appear in the catalog, but where is the best available source? What languages exist? Which rights are available, in which territories and for which distribution models? Does the technical quality meet current platform requirements?
Without reliable answers, even an attractive licensing opportunity can become difficult to execute. Resolving these questions can take months, especially when assets and rights information are scattered across different systems and organisations.
Better data and technology can help make libraries easier to search and reduce the work required to prepare content. But rights still need validation, demand must be assessed and costs weighed against potential revenue.
Ultimately, the commercial value of an archive comes down to how much of that content a company can realistically bring to market.
Start with the opportunity, not the entire archive
For companies managing tens of thousands of assets, reviewing and preparing an entire library can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, generating additional revenue doesn't require a complete archive transformation.
A more practical approach is to start with a defined commercial opportunity.
Perhaps a distributor is seeing renewed demand for medical dramas, a streaming platform needs localised programming for a new territory, or a FAST operator wants to capitalise on growing interest in a particular genre.
Each scenario provides a reason to investigate a specific group of assets rather than the entire library.
Start by establishing credible demand and a realistic route to market. Identify relevant assets and confirm available rights. Determine the work required for restoration, digitisation, localisation or technical preparation. Then compare the likely revenue against the full cost of bringing that content to market.
This is where experienced partners can make a significant difference. At Vubiquity, our work across content licensing, media services and distribution gives us insight into both commercial demand and the practical requirements of bringing dormant assets back to market. We can help content owners audit their inventory, assess commercial opportunities and manage the work required to activate promising titles, from archiving and quality control to localisation, packaging and delivery. Rather than committing to a large-scale library transformation or expanding internal teams, content owners can pursue targeted opportunities with the expertise and infrastructure needed to turn them into revenue.
Not every title will justify the investment. Some will have restrictive rights, excessive preparation costs or insufficient demand. The goal isn't to monetise everything. It's to identify the assets where the commercial opportunity warrants the effort and build from there.
2027 revenue starts with action today
Creating new content will remain essential to growth. At the same time, a production's commercial value shouldn't be measured solely by its original release window.
The opportunity to generate additional revenue from existing content is real, but it rarely happens overnight. Rights must be confirmed, assets located, commercial demand established and content prepared before a new distribution opportunity can become revenue.
Waiting until a potential buyer comes calling may mean missing the opportunity altogether.
Media companies looking for new revenue in 2027 should begin identifying where audience demand is emerging and which dormant assets could profitably serve it. They don't need to overhaul their entire archives or build new internal capabilities. With the right commercial insight, technology and operational expertise, they can start with a manageable opportunity, prove the economics and scale what works.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Vubiquity. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]