Virtual marketplaces could one day replace traditional markets like MIPCOM or NATPE while content buyers may become increasingly less likely to ink presale deals, a report from the Canada Media Fund says.

The Canada Media Fund has released a mid-year update to its 2015 Key Trends Report, The Big Blur Challenge, released in January. The update takes a closer look at key themes outlined in the initial report, including discoverability, monetization, audience behaviour and transmedia.

On the topic of monetization, the report noted that digital marketplaces like Uber, Airbnb and Etsy have changed the traditional transaction model between private owners and customers, and the same could hold true for new digital marketplaces. In the audiovisual space, platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion do much the same thing, delivering content directly to consumers.

One of the next steps for audiovisual business models may be digital platforms for rights buying-and-selling.

“What could point to a more sophisticated automation for audiovisual business models are emerging platforms aggregating rights information and bringing buyers and sellers to a shared online marketplace, while facilitating their negotiations via online tools and providing frictionless payment options. Unlike sharing economy platforms that facilitate C2C transactions between individuals, rights transaction platforms are based (for now) on a B2B (business-to-business) logic,” the report reads.

One current example of such a platform is Rightstrade, a B2B online marketplace that uses automated scouting, negotiation and licensing to enable buyers to connect faster to the owners of film, television and digital media rights. The service has a limited number of titles currently available – nearly 2,220 – but has 6,000 buyers already subscribed, including 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Miramax and The Weinstein Company, the report said.

“Online marketplaces could replace traditional markets (like MIPCOM, NATPE, etc.) to trade audiovisual rights, eventually even bypassing sales reps and distributors,” the report reads. “There may be less incentive for content buyers to provide presales as they move to automated, real-time rights trading to secure readily available assets. As a result, content creators may have fewer opportunities to secure upstream financing.”

The report did note online markets could provide more control for the rights holder and savings on distributor commissions, which could ultimately mean lower costs for consumers. Digital markets can also provide rights holders with direct access to buyers in local and international markets. Digitizing and standardizing rights management, product delivers and fees for all agents involved in transactions could also make the whole process more efficient, the report said.

The report also highlighted the growing appetite for real-time entertainment and broadcasts, with the almost-instantaneous popularity of the Meerkat and Periscope apps after their release in early 2015. It also points to the popularity of Slow TV, a Norwegian TV channel that broadcasts live content with no soundtrack, voiceovers or editing.

“The novelty factor can’t be discounted yet, but it’s important to note one troubling commonality between game watching, streaming live reality and Slow TV: ‘storytelling’ is replaced by spontaneous action, filmed in real time. This spontaneous action engages a social conversation which then becomes an integral part of the viewing experience,” the report reads. While such a format may diminish the role of direction in content creation, it provides producers with an opportunity to reach potentially untapped audiences, the report notes.

“Producers and distributors could monetize the popularity of long-running unedited content and other new formats. They could possibly reach users who have unsubscribed from (“cord cutters”) or have never subscribed to (“cord nevers”) cable or satellite TV services,” the report reads.