• Platform tracks and measures coverage of the big issues at MWC 2017, looking across more than 30 key media titles and close to 300 stories
• Research shows ‘next generation networks’ – mainly 5G – was the undisputed hot topic during the global event, taking nearly half the share of voice
• ‘Mobile video’ emerged as the clear number two topic, largely on the back of strong Netflix coverage

Platform Communications, the media and technology communications expert, has today announced that the inaugural ‘Platform Media Index’ shows press coverage of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 was thoroughly dominated by discussion of ‘next generation networks’, with 5G being the overpowering focus.

The newly launched index is designed to assess the main drivers of conversation in bellwether media titles covering major industry events. The research for the first index was conducted throughout MWC, which took place in Barcelona 27 February to 2 March.

Far and away the big winner in the hot topic sweepstakes was ‘next generation networks’, as senior executives from Nokia, Huawei, Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, AT&T, SoftBank and Vodafone were among the many major players at MWC that pointed to 5G as the future of mobile in media coverage of the event. Most other topics among the top 10 that garnered media attention, including ‘mobile video’, ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘virtual/augmented reality’, ‘high resolution video’, ‘media convergence’ and ‘mobile edge computing and virtualization’, were largely discussed in context with 5G.

Much of the coverage that took ‘mobile video’ – including streaming, over-the-top TV, video on demand, short video content – to the number two slot in the index was driven by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ keynote address. Other topics that made the top 10 were Internet of Things related topics ‘connected cars’ and ‘smart homes’, as well as ‘data analytics’.

The share of voice for the top 10 key talking points was as follows:

“As experts in media and technology communications, we track coverage and trends in our industry and especially around major events such as Mobile World Congress,” says Gay Bell, Chief Executive, Platform Communications. “The logical next step was to formalize this process and create an accurate picture of how the coverage shapes up, so that we actually have the numbers to hand.

She adds: “We are delighted to share the results of our analysis with the entire industry; whether you are a client, partner, analyst or media, we hope you will gain a better and more informed view on the latest developments in media and technology.”

Platform staff analyzed and scored the stories produced daily by 33 media outlets, spanning leading mobile, telecoms, broadcast, video, marketing, digital technology and general business titles. These produced 293 stories over the course of MWC 2017,

The scoring system for the Platform Media Index incorporated a scaled approach, giving greater weight to articles that were wholly about a topic and provided a detailed look at an issue throughout. Medium scores were given to stories that provided substantial discussion on a topic, but only as part of a wider ranging article or as a significant element in a story focused on another issue. The least weight was attributed to a topic when it was addressed only in passing or briefly as a point in a wider discussion.

The infographic can be downloaded here.