Previously, studio executives and editors dictated what was popular. Now, algorithms do. Netflix’s recommendation engine, TikTok’s "For You" page, and Spotify’s Discover Weekly have replaced the human curator at scale. This has led to a fragmentation of "popular."
What is popular in your algorithm might be entirely unknown to your neighbor. Entertainment content is no longer a shared monoculture (the MASH finale, the Thriller premiere) but a series of micro-cultures. The result is a golden age for niche interests—horror anime, ASMR cooking, deep-dive lore videos—but a challenging environment for unifying, mass-appeal events.
Looking forward, three trends will define the next wave of entertainment content and popular media:
Optimize end-to-end supply chain efficiency, reduce costs, and increase resilience.
