Interactive Media

The interactive media industry is a very fluid sector with many overlaps with, and blurred distinctions between, other sectors. In particular, as interactive media products become more sophisticated, their development increasingly has greater overlap with the software and IT sector. As convergence gathers pace, the boundaries between interactive media and other forms of digital media become yet more blurred - particularly as television broadcasters look to multi-platform, ‘360 degree' commissioning models. 

In a rapidly evolving industry, any definition of it risks quickly becoming out of date.Interactive media itself is a vague and often misunderstood term. We must look not just at what the sector does and who does it, but also at other stakeholders who operate in the grey area at its fringes, as well as considering those who use its products. The market for interactive media contributes to a number of significantly larger markets. This is taking into account those who enable it, buy from it and, in turn, are enabled or supported by it. 

The biggest of these are e-commerce and online advertising. The UK's interactive media industry is worth several billion pounds annually, but its products support a far larger economy.Definition of the sector is difficult not only because of the pace of change, but also because there are many companies and individuals involved in interactive media who more accurately fit within other sectors. In many ways it is not so much a sector as a discipline, as its creation and use is increasingly becoming part of everyday activity across all sectors of industry in general.