The Medium by Andrew A. Rosen — The Information Subscriptions

Monday AM Briefing: Is It Really a "New World" for Connected TV Ad Buyers?

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Is It Really a "New World" for Connected TV Ad Buyers?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Jan. 10, 2022 3:30 AM PST

ICYMI, I sent out Lessons From 2021 to everyone, and Predictions for 2022 exclusive to Members, only.To read these Predictions, and both the essay and Top 5 Highest-Converting Member Mailings of 2021, below, sign up for a membership by clicking the "Subscribe" button. Subscribe Is It Really a "New World" for... ICYMI, I sent out Lessons From 2021 to everyone, and Predictions for 2022...

Friday Mailing: NBCU, The Winter Olympics & First Party Data; A Follow-Up re: Blackstone & Candle Media

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Friday Mailing: NBCU, The Winter Olympics & First Party Data; A Follow-Up re: Blackstone & Candle Media

By Andrew A. Rosen · Jan. 7, 2022 10:31 AM PST

NBCU, The Winter Olympics & First Party DataTwo developments from this past week Comcast/NBCUniversal's Peacock are worth highlighting.The first is the announcement that all Winter Olympics events will be available to watch on Peacock for paying subscribers, only. The second is a quote from Linda Yaccarino, chairman, global... NBCU, The Winter Olympics & First Party DataTwo developments from this past week...

entertainment media/telecom

A Short Essay on IAC Chairman Barry Diller’s Newest Opinions on AT&T, Comcast and Disney

By Andrew A. Rosen · Jan. 6, 2022 11:57 AM PST

IAC Chairman Barry Diller has been a favorite source of insights on streaming for me. I wrote back in August as to why:The short answer is, Diller is a successful executive with both past extraordinary success in legacy media, and who is finding success in DTC after having taken his lumps in digital media.Diller offers an interesting... IAC Chairman Barry Diller has been a favorite source of insights on streaming for me. I...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Jan. 5, 2022 9:30 AM PST

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Member Mailing: Three More Acquisitions from Blackstone's Candle Media (Kevin Mayer & Tom Staggs)

By Andrew A. Rosen · Jan. 5, 2022 9:30 AM PST

Key TakeawaysThe new media venture from Blackstone and ex-Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer is now Candle Media Their business logic, in broad brushstrokes, bets primarily on near-guaranteed growing production revenues from streamingThe challenge for Candle Media in both the creator economy and in OTT streaming is cutting... Key TakeawaysThe new media venture from Blackstone and ex-Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin...

Monday AM Briefing: Two Objectives for 2022 & The Curse of the Mogul Strikes Back in 2022

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Two Objectives for 2022 & The Curse of the Mogul Strikes Back in 2022

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

Two Objectives for 2022Happy New Year!It's a new year for PARQOR on a new platform. I want to take a moment to share two key objectives for 2022:Objective #1To further build out and flesh out our value propositions of:Revealing insights (our new tagline), andAnticipating market developmentsI started reading Maria Konnikova's The Biggest... Two Objectives for 2022Happy New Year!It's a new year for PARQOR on a new platform. I want to...

Predictions for 2022

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 22, 2021 3:30 AM PST

Dear Member,Thank you for being a member. Your support was essential to helping PARQOR to reach a significant milestone in 2021: launching as the first member of The Information’s Newsletter Network. Over the past six weeks, we have been working on laying the groundwork for building out more of those benefits on top of The... Dear Member,Thank you for being a member. Your support was essential to helping PARQOR to reach a...

entertainment media/telecom

Lessons from 2021

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 20, 2021 3:30 AM PST

[Author's Note: A reminder that today's Lessons of 2021 mailing is for all members.The Predictions for 2021 mailing (tomorrow or Wednesday) will be for Members, only.]With 2021 coming to an end, it is worth looking back on the year for lessons from PARQOR's Five Frameworks and a few new themes that emerged throughout 2021.I think the biggest –... [Author's Note: A reminder that today's Lessons of 2021 mailing is for all members.The...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 17, 2021 9:38 AM PST

google entertainment

Friday Mailing: More on Why MrBeast's Squid Game Matters in 2022

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 17, 2021 9:38 AM PST

[Author's Note: The two final mailings are going to be Lessons of 2021 (Monday) and Predictions for 2022 (Tuesday or Wednesday). Predictions will aim to offer a thoughtful take on the moving pieces of the post-"streaming wars" marketplace after 2021, and how they will play out in 2022. Predictions will be exclusive to Members, only.I built... [Author's Note: The two final mailings are going to be Lessons of 2021 (Monday) and Predictions...

Member Mailing: What YouTube's Transparency Reveals for 2022 & Beyond

google entertainment

Member Mailing: What YouTube's Transparency Reveals for 2022 & Beyond

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 15, 2021 7:30 AM PST

Key TakeawaysTransparency from Netflix and YouTube has set the market standards against which everyone else measured and evaluated.YouTube's transparency and growing creator economy suggests that it is an emerging roadblock for all streaming servicesMrBeast's success with Squid Game implies 2MM emerging YouTube creators to compete with... Key TakeawaysTransparency from Netflix and YouTube has set the market standards against which...

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Monday AM Briefing: In 2021 "Pull Forward" But "Not Quite There Yet"

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 13, 2021 7:03 AM PST

Looking back on 2021, I think two broad trends played out over the year in the post-"streaming wars" marketplace:The "pull-forward" impact of the pandemic, andThe "not quite there yet" outcome for every company in mediaThe "pull-forward" impact of the pandemic was first mentioned by Netflix management in Q1 2020. It was prescient, and has... Looking back on 2021, I think two broad trends played out over the year in the post-"streaming...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Paramount+ Bets on User Interface... While Warner Discovery Bros. Talks Up Content

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 10, 2021 9:46 AM PST

This week's Member Mailing went out on Wednesday morning. Why Q3 2022 Will Be –and Won't Be – A Turning Point for RSNs dove into the moving pieces of the Regional Sports Networks marketplace for 2022 and beyond.I hosted a Twitter Spaces with Brandon Katz of Morning Brew to discuss it last night. At the end of the conversation, I realized... This week's Member Mailing went out on Wednesday morning. Why Q3 2022 Will Be –and Won't Be – A...

**Updated** Member Mailing: Why Q3 2022 Will Be –and Won't Be – A Turning Point for RSNs

**Updated** Member Mailing: Why Q3 2022 Will Be –and Won't Be – A Turning Point for RSNs

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 8, 2021 8:30 AM PST

**Updated** Member Mailing: Why Q3 2022 Will Be –and Won't Be – A Turning Point for RSNs

entertainment media/telecom

Updated Member Mailing: Why Q3 2022 Will Be –and Won't Be – A Turning Point for RSNs

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 8, 2021 8:30 AM PST

[Author's Note: I made a technical error in a few paragraphs, referring to Sinclair going bankrupt instead of Sinclair's Diamond Group division – in which the RSNs sit – going bankrupt. However, I included quotes that referred to Sinclair RSNs going bankrupt, and all four scenarios are built around whether RSNs will go bankrupt.I regret the... [Author's Note: I made a technical error in a few paragraphs, referring to Sinclair going...

Monday AM Briefing: Goodbye Streaming Multiple, Hello MrBeast?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 6, 2021 3:30 AM PST

Two big developments over the past week are worth taking a moment to consider next to each other: The Stock market drop, which disproportionately impacts media companies (as The Ankler Richard Rushfeld dove into last week in 2022: The Disappearance of Hollywood as We Know It).MrBeast's $456,000 Squid Game in Real Life! hit 100MM+ views in... Two big developments over the past week are worth taking a moment to consider next to each other:...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: A Self-Critique of Growth in Streaming

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 3, 2021 11:00 AM PST

This week Members exclusively received Why Growth in Streaming May Be Too Expensive for Shareholders [1], where I wrote about how:The backdrop of both Netflix's and Spotify's tactical pivots – both focused on software – creates a stark contrast to legacy media companies doubling down on their streaming strategies. It ends up... This week Members exclusively received Why Growth in Streaming May Be Too Expensive for...

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing #288: Why Growth in Streaming May Be Too Expensive for Shareholders

By Andrew A. Rosen · Dec. 1, 2021 7:26 AM PST

Key TakeawaysBoth Netflix's and Spotify's recent pivots create a stark contrast to legacy media companies doubling down on streaming. After user growth plateaued in 2021, higher content spend may be increasing their execution risk and not solving for it.Through the lens of growth, higher content spend also creates additional risks to future... Key TakeawaysBoth Netflix's and Spotify's recent pivots create a stark contrast to legacy media...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 29, 2021 3:30 AM PST

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing #76: The Beatles' Get Back & The Futures of Disney+ & Hulu

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 29, 2021 3:30 AM PST

The beauty of a slow holiday week is it is also a slow news week, which is valuable time to reflect upon the year and recent headlines.Five themes/questions surfaced for me last week:Whether The Beatles documentary Get Back is a market test of more adult fare on Disney+How Q3 2021 had one common theme: everyone is pivoting their value... The beauty of a slow holiday week is it is also a slow news week, which is valuable time to...

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing #287: Is Growth in Streaming Driven More By Content or Software?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 24, 2021 7:30 AM PST

[NOTE: It's Thanksgiving week, so there will be no Friday Mailing barring some unusual market development happening. Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.]Key TakeawaysGrowth is increasingly on the minds of both streaming services and their investors after subscriber numbers flattened in the U.S.Is the slowdown due to insufficient... [NOTE: It's Thanksgiving week, so there will be no Friday Mailing barring some unusual...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing #75: Spotify's Emerging Creator-Economy-Meets-Aggregator-2.0 Bundles

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 22, 2021 3:30 AM PST

First, a bit of self-promotion: * In case you missed it, Axios's Sara Fischer and Nick Johnston shed some additional light on the business rationale for The Information's Newsletter Network, including a mention of PARQOR as the first member of the network.* I was quoted at length in Wired's Nicholas Stokel-Walker piece, "Star Trek:... First, a bit of self-promotion: * In case you missed it, Axios's Sara Fischer and Nick...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing #53: Premier League Fans Get Mixed Outcome With $2.7B NBCU Win

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 19, 2021 9:14 AM PST

On Wednesday I predicted that ESPN would win the rights to the Premier League, and I added:NBCU will retain the rights if the Premier League owners simply want the $2B, and are forgiving about Peacock's obvious and growing weaknesses.NBCU retained the rights yesterday for $2.7B, a staggering 35% premium to the rumored price and 3x the price of... On Wednesday I predicted that ESPN would win the rights to the Premier League, and I added:NBCU...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 17, 2021 9:25 AM PST

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing #286: Premier League Bidding, Sports Streaming & "User Intent"

By Andrew A. Rosen · Nov. 17, 2021 9:25 AM PST

Key TakeawaysI recently described user intent as the difference between success and extraordinary success in legacy media and streaming.The bidding process for U.S. rights to the Premier League is down to NBCUniversal & ESPNBoth have proven they draw linear and streaming audiences at scale, but each offers different advertising... Key TakeawaysI recently described user intent as the difference between success and...