You down with OTT? Yeah, you know me.

This past February, the Interactive Advertising Bureau published a report analyzing the impact the direct-to-consumer economy could have on the media industry. The report, titled “The Rise of the 21st Century Brand Economy,” details how D2C brands such as Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club and others taken a big chunk of business away from physical retailers, using data-driven digital marketing to earn consumer business and loyalty.

While the IAB’s report offers important and informational glimpses into the marketing and other efforts of many industries, it almost completely overlooks the world of entertainment. That’s a shame since that category is undergoing a massive shift representative of the of the D2C shift, one with potentially profound implications for the broader media world. This shift is being undertaken for a number of reasons:

#1 – Brand Loyalty

#2 – Brand Differentiation

#3 – Changing Consumer Preferences

#4 – Audience Targeting

#5 – What’s Next? 

I’ll be going into each one of these in-depth over the next few days, updating this post with links as each is published.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.