Munich (dpa / lby) – According to a study, the media location Bavaria needs an even stronger technology push than before. The study for the Association of Bavarian Business (vbw) revealed that the industry is already a growth engine in Bavaria, primarily due to the games and software sector. “In order for it to remain so in the future, the media location of Bavaria must focus more on new technologies,” said vbw CEO Bertram Brossardt.
Media, research and tech companies would have to interlock even more. The vbw suggests a “media alliance 3.0” with the participation of the state government. Artificial intelligence and augmented digital reality (“Extended Reality”) are playing an increasingly important role – for the production and distribution of content. With regard to the different responsibilities for the industry in the state government, Brossardt said: “An even more stringent and coordinated media policy would be desirable.”
Another approach according to the study: “It is also conceivable to have a public welfare-oriented Bavarian platform for local content that strengthens Bavarian media diversity,” said Brossardt. The Bavarian State Center for New Media (BLM) also has such considerations.
In addition to the economic factor, the media industry is also of enormous importance for society and democracy: “If we strengthen the local media landscape, we will also strengthen the diversity of opinion in the Free State,” said Brossardt before a vbw congress “Bavaria as a media location – impulses for 2024” on Wednesday in Munich.
The total annual turnover of the media industry in Bavaria is around 37 billion euros. The growth, including promising new branches around digital games, is above average with an increase in sales between 2010 and 2020 of almost 43 percent. In comparison, the average of the Bavarian economy during this period was almost 33 percent.
According to the study, 36 of the 50 largest media companies in the world have their headquarters in Germany and a third of them in Bavaria in the Munich area. “The great market power of international social media platforms also reveals a weakness of our media. They are increasingly dependent on the non-transparent platforms for the distribution of their content,” Brossardt warned.
