The Medium by Andrew A. Rosen — The Information Subscriptions

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: How Linear's Decline May Fuel Gaming's Next Decade

By Andrew A. Rosen · Oct. 14, 2022 11:13 AM PDT

PARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts underway in the media business. Through in-depth analysis from a network of senior media and tech leaders, Andrew Rosen cuts through what's happening, highlights what it means and suggests where you should go next. In Q4 2022, PARQOR will... PARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts...

google entertainment

Monday AM Briefing: More Than Catalysts That Will Drive YouTube's Inevitable Win in CTV

By Andrew A. Rosen · Oct. 10, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts underway in the media business. Through in-depth analysis from a network of senior media and tech leaders, Andrew Rosen cuts through what's happening, highlights what it means and suggests where you should go next. I'm keen to... About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the...

Friday Mailing: Where Are The Profits To Drive The Flywheels (And Vice Versa)?

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Where Are The Profits To Drive The Flywheels (And Vice Versa)?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Oct. 7, 2022 12:03 PM PDT

About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts underway in the media business. Through in-depth analysis from a network of senior media and tech leaders, Andrew Rosen cuts through what's happening, highlights what it means and suggests where you should go next. I'm keen to... About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the...

Monday AM Briefing: Four Trends in Media for Q4 2022

Monday AM Briefing: Four Trends in Media for Q4 2022

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

Monday AM Briefing: Four Trends in Media for Q4 2022

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Four Trends in Media for Q4 2022

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

About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts underway in the media business. Through in-depth analysis from a network of senior media and tech leaders, Andrew Rosen cuts through what's happening, highlights what it means and suggests where you should go next. I'm keen to... About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the...

Friday Mailing: MrBeast Seeks Hits on Netflix

google entertainment

Friday Mailing: MrBeast Seeks Hits on Netflix

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 30, 2022 1:22 PM PDT

About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts underway in the media business. Through in-depth analysis from a network of senior media and tech leaders, Andrew Rosen cuts through what's happening, highlights what it means and suggests where you should go next. I'm keen to... About PARQORPARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the...

Member Mailing: Disney's Complex Path to Higher ARPU

Member Mailing: Disney's Complex Path to Higher ARPU

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 28, 2022 12:14 PM PDT

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently wrote to shareholders that "Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power is one of a number of “unique benefits” to “make Prime even better for members”. In other words, the measure of success for The Rings of Power will be in sales of Prime memberships and retail sales. Or, presumably, that is the case. We... Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently wrote to shareholders that "Lord of The Rings: The Rings...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: The Subscriber Is and Isn't "A Hollow KPI"

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 26, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels recently told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that “we’re not optimizing for subscribers.” He argued that metric reflects “the old world of streaming service evaluation” and is a “hollow” measure of success. In the macro sense, he is right: his competition is pivoting away from the... Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels recently told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 23, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

google entertainment

Friday Mailing: YouTube's Big Week in Music

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 23, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

My favorite article from the past few weeks is a Vox article on the Department of Justice antitrust suit against seeking to block the book publisher Penguin Random House (PRH) from merging with rival Simon & Schuster. Its title - “Book publishers just spent 3 weeks in court arguing they have no idea what they’re doing” - reflects the... My favorite article from the past few weeks is a Vox article on the Department of Justice...

google entertainment

Member Mailing: The Future of CDPs in Media, According to SEO

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 21, 2022 11:41 AM PDT

I had lunch in Simi Valley, CA over the weekend. While driving back with my friend - a Chief Technology Officer at an AdTech Software as a Service (SaaS) company- I realized that the last time I had been there was to evaluate a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) vendor for MTV Networks (MTVN) websites in 2006. At the time, Google was rapidly... I had lunch in Simi Valley, CA over the weekend. While driving back with my friend - a Chief...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: ESPN Doesn't Need a DTC Sports Betting Business

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 19, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Disney CEO Bob Chapek was asked about sports betting at last week's Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference. His answer had an interesting logic to it:putting a link out, for example, which would probably be the most likely application – a link out, not app as an app, but application, a link out to a sports betting site, ESPN-branded, would have... Disney CEO Bob Chapek was asked about sports betting at last week's Goldman Sachs Communacopia...

google entertainment

Friday Mailing: A Short Take on YouTube Shorts

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 16, 2022 1:43 PM PDT

[Author's note: this week's Friday mailing is late because I am traveling.]Yesterday The New York Times broke the news that YouTube plans to put its collective foot on the gas pedal for YouTube Shorts, its TikTok competitor, and will announce "more opportunities for content creators to earn money on its video service" in a new YouTube Shorts... [Author's note: this week's Friday mailing is late because I am traveling.]Yesterday The New York...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 14, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

ar/vr entertainment

Member Mailing: The Best Future Media Business Model For Consumers & Investors Is... Snap?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 14, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

One wouldn’t think there is much in common between three stories that emerged over the past week:The Chernin Group (TCG) invested $100MM in a new firm, Night Capital, co-founded by Reed Duchscher, the manager of the YouTube megastar Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast), Disney CEO Bob Chapek talked up virtual worlds as “next-generation... One wouldn’t think there is much in common between three stories that emerged over the past week:...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Why The End of "Peak TV" May Bring "Jurassic Park"-type Chaos

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 12, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

In a recent Zoom interview, a reader pushed back on the “post-streaming wars” sales hook of PARQOR, arguing instead that we’re in the second chapter of “the streaming wars”. I told him that I didn’t think the perspective is wrong, I simply disagreed with it: I always believed it was difficult if not impossible for legacy media... In a recent Zoom interview, a reader pushed back on the “post-streaming wars” sales hook...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: What if... Disney Should TikTok-ify or Amazon Prime-ify Itself?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 9, 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney is exploring a membership program that could offer discounts or special perks to encourage customers to spend more on its streaming services, theme parks, resorts and merchandise. The objective of the program is something akin to Amazon Prime and seeks to better link Disney products and... Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney is exploring a membership program that...

amazon entertainment

Member Mailing: Can Disney TikTok-ify or Amazon Prime-ify Itself?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 7, 2022 11:48 AM PDT

Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney is exploring a membership program that could offer discounts or special perks to encourage customers to spend more on its streaming services, theme parks, resorts and merchandise. The objective of the program is something akin to Amazon Prime and seeks to better link Disney products and... Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney is exploring a membership program that...

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 6, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Connected TV Advertising May Be Evolving Away from "Four-Dimensional Chess"

By Andrew A. Rosen · Sept. 6, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Back in June, I had the opportunity to attend the annual IAB Video Leadership summit. My main takeaway from my many conversations there - and there were many other takeaways - is that Connected TV (CTV) advertising has become “four-dimensional chess”. You may have noticed I have since written less on the topic I’ve labeled “The 200 vs. The... Back in June, I had the opportunity to attend the annual IAB Video Leadership summit. My main...

Member Mailing: Predicting The Streaming Market 36 to 48 months From Today

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Predicting The Streaming Market 36 to 48 months From Today

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug. 31, 2022 11:30 AM PDT

Author's noteMy plan is not to send out a Friday mailing given the holiday weekend. That said, I learned while at Viacom that major media companies use Labor Day Weekend to announce big-name hires or big-name departures (and, as fate would have it, Netflix just hired two executives from Snap to run advertising, and Paramount just announced it is... Author's noteMy plan is not to send out a Friday mailing given the holiday weekend. That said, I...

amazon entertainment

Monday AM Briefing: What If… “The Rings of Power” Under-delivers?

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug. 29, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

I was quoted in two articles last week, both paywalled: * “Why Netflix’s New Ad-Supported Tier Could Lead to More Ratings Transparency” by The Wrap’s Brandon Katz* “With Rings of Power, Amazon Bets a Billion on One Show to Rule Them All” by Bloomberg Businessweek’s Felix GilletteThere is a counterpoint to my essay from two weeks ago that “... I was quoted in two articles last week, both paywalled: * “Why Netflix’s New Ad-Supported...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Revisiting Post-"Streaming Wars" Media Convergence

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug. 26, 2022 11:30 AM PDT

The value proposition of PARQOR for potential subscribers is built upon a trend I labeled “the post-‘streaming wars’ media convergence".What did I mean when I first used it when moving over to The Information’s platform last November? How has it evolved since ? Does the term still apply? The basic premise was that direct-to-consumer (DTC)... The value proposition of PARQOR for potential subscribers is built upon a trend I labeled “the...

Member Mailing: The Smart Guys Are Getting It All Wrong

Member Mailing: The Smart Guys Are Getting It All Wrong

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug. 24, 2022 11:04 AM PDT

Member Mailing: The Smart Guys Are Getting It All Wrong

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: The Smart Guys Are Getting It All Wrong

By Andrew A. Rosen · Aug. 24, 2022 11:04 AM PDT

Recently, Third Point’s Dan Loeb wrote a letter to Disney management after taking a position in the company, and Liberty Media’s John Malone gave an abbreviated interview to Ben Mullin of The New York Times.From the PARQOR perspective, I think both Malone and Loeb are getting a core element of the emerging streaming marketplace wrong. But what... Recently, Third Point’s Dan Loeb wrote a letter to Disney management after taking a position in...