Big media companies plan to experiment relentlessly in 2007 to discover how best to reach consumers in new ways.

During a Reuters Media Summit in New York last week, top media and entertainment bosses said they plan to do a better job of finding out how people want to receive their news and entertainment, writes Reuters (via MediaBuyerPlanner). It seems clear that any company that doesn't have a plan in place to at least experiment with new distribution technologies stands to risk losing its hold on new generations of viewers, who have grown up with the internet and can access entertainment with a few clicks.

But big media doesn't plan to be left behind. Richard Parsons, chief executive of Time Warner, likens the current situation to athletics when he was a child: "All the little guys were always the best athletes…. But once the big guys got control over their bodies, they killed the little guys."