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entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Mark My Words, We Must Imagine Other Business Models for Netflix Than Advertising

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 18, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

I have a new opinion piece up on The Information, "A Vibe Shift Is Brewing In Streaming". The question I answer is, after a disorienting six months in the streaming marketplace, what will replace the “streaming wars” paradigm?There has been lots of discussion about Netflix's future after CFO Spencer Neumann's appearance at the Morgan Stanley... I have a new opinion piece up on The Information, "A Vibe Shift Is Brewing In Streaming". The...

Member Mailing: "Aggregate Audience" in Sports Streaming & Why More Deals = More Consumer Confusion

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Member Mailing: "Aggregate Audience" in Sports Streaming & Why More Deals = More Consumer Confusion

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 16, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Key TakeawaysOver the past two weeks, there has been a flurry of deals and developments in sports streaming But, streaming is not (yet) a one-to-one replacement for linear distribution of sports broadcastsThe flurry of recent streaming deals suggest it may never beThis has implications for both recent sports streaming deals and... Key TakeawaysOver the past two weeks, there has been a flurry of deals and developments in sports...

Monday AM Briefing: More on Paramount+'s "Hard Bundles", (Members only: Yuga Labs Acquires CryptoPunks & Meebits IP from Larva Labs)

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: More on Paramount+'s "Hard Bundles", (Members only: Yuga Labs Acquires CryptoPunks & Meebits IP from Larva Labs)

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 14, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

I wrote a bunch last week about Paramount Global's decision to build "hard bundles". In thinking more about it - because it is a significant tactical move to drive scale - I'm not sold we have a solid definition of what a "hard bundle: is because we don't have the "ins and outs of the deal".This was a point made to me by former NBCU executive... I wrote a bunch last week about Paramount Global's decision to build "hard bundles". In thinking...

Friday Mailing: Legacy Media pivots aways from their SVOD ambitions

Friday Mailing: Legacy Media pivots aways from their SVOD ambitions

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 11, 2022 11:02 AM PST

Friday Mailing: Legacy Media pivots aways from their SVOD ambitions

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Legacy Media pivots aways from their SVOD ambitions

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 11, 2022 11:02 AM PST

Over the past week, a wide variety of interviews with executives in the streaming business have emerged, in part because of the ongoing Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy, Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish all spoke at the... Over the past week, a wide variety of interviews with executives in the streaming business have...

Member Mailing: WarnerMedia & Netflix's Narrow but Fascinating Challenges in AVOD & Gaming

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: WarnerMedia & Netflix's Narrow but Fascinating Challenges in AVOD & Gaming

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 9, 2022 10:40 AM PST

Key TakeawaysAVOD and gaming highlight two fascinating strategic challenges for WarnerMedia and Netflix. Recent data on Gen Z and millennials seem to reflect substantial changes in consumer behavior on the demand side. But, from WarnerMedia and Netflix's perspectives, gaming and AVOD are not sure-fire bets on capturing these... Key TakeawaysAVOD and gaming highlight two fascinating strategic challenges for WarnerMedia and...

Monday AM Briefing: Paramount+ & Ubiquitous Distribution, Verizon Expands Its "Aggregator 2.0" Bundle

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Paramount+ & Ubiquitous Distribution, Verizon Expands Its "Aggregator 2.0" Bundle

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 7, 2022 3:30 AM PST

Paramount+ & Ubiquitous DistributionI was interviewed by The Verge's Catie Keck last week for an article about the future of Paramount+ in "Paramount Plus is still figuring out Paramount Plus".To prepare for the interview I re-read the transcript of the Q4 2021 earnings call, and I realized I'd missed a fascinating detail about its... Paramount+ & Ubiquitous DistributionI was interviewed by The Verge's Catie Keck last week for...

Friday Mailing: Disney+ AVOD and The Market Problem of Reach

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Disney+ AVOD and The Market Problem of Reach

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 4, 2022 10:30 AM PST

This morning Disney announced it will introduce an ad-supported subscription option in the U.S. in late 2022, with plans to expand internationally in 2023.We had a warning signal about this yesterday from The Information's Jessica Toonkel, and it was confirmed this morning.I think the key paragraph in the press release is this one:“Since its... This morning Disney announced it will introduce an ad-supported subscription option in the U.S....

Member Mailing: Amazon, MGM, and How Lina Khan's FTC Misunderstands the Value of IP in Streaming

Member Mailing: Amazon, MGM, and How Lina Khan's FTC Misunderstands the Value of IP in Streaming

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 2, 2022 11:30 AM PST

Member Mailing: Amazon, MGM, and How Lina Khan's FTC Misunderstands the Value of IP in Streaming

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Amazon, MGM, and How Lina Khan's FTC Misunderstands the Value of IP in Streaming

By Andrew A. Rosen · March 2, 2022 11:30 AM PST

Key TakeawaysThe FTC is contemplating a lawsuit over Amazon's acquisition of MGMThe argument assumes that the withholding of content from other competitors is a competitive advantageBut, we have seen with Netflix's recent moves in gaming, the value of IP to streamers is evolving past streamingWe have seem similar evolutions in sports... Key TakeawaysThe FTC is contemplating a lawsuit over Amazon's acquisition of MGMThe argument...

Monday AM Briefing: YouTube at 2022 Upfronts, Which Streamers Will Survive in 2022?

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: YouTube at 2022 Upfronts, Which Streamers Will Survive in 2022?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 28, 2022 3:30 AM PST

Seemingly lost in last week's news cycle were these data points shared by YouTube in a new blog post, YouTube is the Main Stream: Our NewFronts and Upfronts approach:according to Nielsen, YouTube reached over 135 million people on connected TVs in the U.S. in December 2021 (NOTE: up from 120MM in December 2020);YouTube accounts for over 50%... Seemingly lost in last week's news cycle were these data points shared by YouTube in a new blog...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Warner Bros. Discovery Is "A Real Company" Facing A Flip-of-a-Coin Future

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 25, 2022 10:38 AM PST

Two quick follow-ups to past mailings:To Monday's Bored Ape Yacht Club, Hello Sunshine, World of Women & New Frontiers for IP, Nilay Patel of The Verge interviewed Tonya Evans, a law professor at Penn State Dickinson Law, about crypto assets and how they interact with the law (transcript and audio can both be found here)... Two quick follow-ups to past mailings:To Monday's Bored Ape Yacht Club, Hello Sunshine,...

Member Mailing: Fox's "Less is More" & Paramount Global (née ViacomCBS) in 2022

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Fox's "Less is More" & Paramount Global (née ViacomCBS) in 2022

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 23, 2022 10:38 AM PST

Key TakeawaysInvestors reacted negatively to ViacomCBS's rebrand as Paramount Global and its growth story for streamingIn 2017, Paramount Chair Shari Redstone's push for the ViacomCBS merger ran contrary to how leaders like Fox's Rupert Murdoch and Disney's Robert Iger foresaw disruption in mediaThat foresight led to the sale of 21st... Key TakeawaysInvestors reacted negatively to ViacomCBS's rebrand as Paramount Global and its...

Monday AM Briefing: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Hello Sunshine, World of Women & New Frontiers for IP

Monday AM Briefing: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Hello Sunshine, World of Women & New Frontiers for IP

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 21, 2022 3:30 AM PST

Monday AM Briefing: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Hello Sunshine, World of Women & New Frontiers for IP

Monday AM Briefing: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Hello Sunshine, World of Women & New Frontiers for IP

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 21, 2022 3:30 AM PST

First, in case you missed it, I had an opinion piece in The Information last Friday: Why Disney+, Paramount+ and Legacy Media Streamers Can’t Escape the Past.You can read it for free (with login) at the link above.I wrote Where Web3 & Legacy Media Overlap a few weeks back. In the essay, I took a stab at reverse-engineering the... First, in case you missed it, I had an opinion piece in The Information last Friday: Why Disney+,...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: FX's John Landgraf At The Intersection of Volume, Quality & Cadence of Supply

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 18, 2022 10:39 AM PST

There is an opinion piece I wrote for The Information that was just published earlier. It's about how the data from 2021 reflects how, in trying to compete against Netflix, legacy media companies wind up competing against their own back catalogs.It builds off the Chuck Klosterman perspective I wrote about in Monday's "Content Isn't King Because... There is an opinion piece I wrote for The Information that was just published earlier. It's about...

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: If Investors AND A-List Talent Foresee Declining Returns from Streaming, Then What Happens Next?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 16, 2022 10:30 AM PST

[Author's Note: if you have clicked on links in this email or recent ones, and it has not taken you to a website, it is a back-end issue we are fixing today. My apologies for any inconvenience.]Key TakeawaysThe basic premise of the Curse of the Mogul is that content creators reap more value than shareholdersThere have been a few key twists in... [Author's Note: if you have clicked on links in this email or recent ones, and it has not taken...

Monday AM Briefing: Content Isn't King Because Culture Is "A Very Shallow Ocean"

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Content Isn't King Because Culture Is "A Very Shallow Ocean"

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 14, 2022 3:30 AM PST

In last Friday's mailing, I argued that Disney+ domestic growth of 2MM subscribers via a Hulu Live bundle suggests why marketing - and not content - may be king in streaming:Disney's "North Star" is also in understanding the types of pricing and other incentives a consumer needs to both sign-up and also not churn out. That is not only a... In last Friday's mailing, I argued that Disney+ domestic growth of 2MM subscribers via a Hulu...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 11, 2022 9:39 AM PST

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Disney, The Hulu + Live TV Bundle & Why Marketing Is King

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 11, 2022 9:39 AM PST

Two notable data points came out of Disney's Q1 earnings yesterday.First, it broke out its domestic U.S. and Canada subscribers for Disney+ for the first time, revealing it had 42.9MM in FY Q1 2022, and 36.3MM in FY Q1 2021. It confirms something that I had long suspected: Disney+ has struggled to break past 40MM subscribers in the U.S. ... Two notable data points came out of Disney's Q1 earnings yesterday.First, it broke out its...

Member Mailing: Why Peloton Within Apple or Amazon Would Be An Optimal 21st Century Media Business

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 9, 2022 9:30 AM PST

Key TakeawaysPeloton's objectives to become the "Netflix of Wellness" hit a wall in its first two quarters of fiscal 2022Peloton has admitted to investors that it fundamentally misread the market and its target customersSales growth dropped to 6% YoY in Q2 of fiscal 2022, while its operating expenses jumped 92%The stock has declined 76% over the... Key TakeawaysPeloton's objectives to become the "Netflix of Wellness" hit a wall in its first two...

Monday AM Briefing: Tension between Creator Economy Strategies & Short-Form Video Business Models

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Monday AM Briefing: Tension between Creator Economy Strategies & Short-Form Video Business Models

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 7, 2022 3:30 AM PST

A Quick Follow-Up To Amazon Advertising's Seismic (?) Breakout QuarterI got a fun question from The Entertainment Strategy Guy (ESG) on Twitter shortly after Amazon Advertising's Seismic (?) Breakout Quarter went up:It's a great question: what evidence do we have that Amazon is monetizing video well? Since Amazon doesn't break out... A Quick Follow-Up To Amazon Advertising's Seismic (?) Breakout QuarterI got a fun question from...

Friday Mailing: Amazon Advertising's Seismic (?) Breakout Quarter

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Friday Mailing: Amazon Advertising's Seismic (?) Breakout Quarter

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 4, 2022 9:36 AM PST

Amazon broke out its Advertising business from "Other" in its earnings release for Q4 2021 yesterday. At $31.2B it's an enormous business, as Axios' Sara Fischer highlighted this morning: it's one of the fastest growing advertising businesses in the world and now generates more annual advertising revenue than Microsoft, Snapchat and... Amazon broke out its Advertising business from "Other" in its earnings release for Q4 2021...

Member Mailing: YouTube's Q4 Earnings & The Quiet Revolution of the AV1 Codec

Member Mailing: YouTube's Q4 Earnings & The Quiet Revolution of the AV1 Codec

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 2, 2022 9:40 AM PST

Member Mailing: YouTube's Q4 Earnings & The Quiet Revolution of the AV1 Codec

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Member Mailing: YouTube's Q4 Earnings & The Quiet Revolution of the AV1 Codec

By Andrew A. Rosen · Feb. 2, 2022 9:40 AM PST

Key TakeawaysYouTube's Q4 earnings highlighted quarterly revenues greater than Netflix's, but slowing ad growthYouTube offered creator economy, NFT and live shopping as potential models for growthBut, the underlying engine of growth may be market adoption of the AV1 codec, a core issue of last year's dispute with RokuIn other words, the AV1... Key TakeawaysYouTube's Q4 earnings highlighted quarterly revenues greater than Netflix's, but...