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Monday AM Briefing: Must-Read Memorial Day Week Articles

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 31, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Due to the holiday weekend, you are receiving the Monday AM Briefing this morning.There will be no essay today as I am currently writing tomorrow's Member Mailing. It's a longer essay on an angle I did not tease out in my recent opinion essay for The Information, The Upfronts Model Isn’t Dead Yet: we spend a lot of time discussing the... Due to the holiday weekend, you are receiving the Monday AM Briefing this morning.There will be...

Friday Mailing: Starz, Walled Gardens & The Road To A Spin-Out

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Friday Mailing: Starz, Walled Gardens & The Road To A Spin-Out

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 27, 2022 10:32 AM PDT

Lionsgate reported its FYQ4 2022 earnings yesterday. Notably, global streaming subscribers were up from 19.7MM in Q3 to 24.5MM. Of those 4.8MM subscribers, 4.3MM were international STARZPLAY subscribers and the rest were implicitly in the U.S. So Starz saw more growth than Netflix in the U.S., which is seeing an increase in churn in the U.S.I... Lionsgate reported its FYQ4 2022 earnings yesterday. Notably, global streaming subscribers were...

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Applying the Disney Interactive Precedent to Comcast & EA

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 25, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

I have a new opinion piece up on The Information, The Upfronts Model Isn’t Dead Yet.I wrote about how even the networks concede that the upfronts model is essentially obsolete in an increasingly digitized ad marketplace. But presentations and handshake deals still answer questions for advertisers that algorithms cannot.Applying the Disney... I have a new opinion piece up on The Information, The Upfronts Model Isn’t Dead Yet.I wrote about...

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 23, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: PARQOR's Quick Take on Berkshire Hathaway's $2.6B investment in Paramount Global

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 23, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

A quick essay on Berkshire Hathaway’s disclosure of a $2.6B investment in Paramount Global for 11% of the company. There is speculation is that the investment is a bet on Paramount getting acquired. But, we have no idea whether that’s true. If we look at Paramount through a superficial financial lens, it is undervalued for a company with a... A quick essay on Berkshire Hathaway’s disclosure of a $2.6B investment in Paramount Global for...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Why Warner Bros. Discovery May See Hollywood's Future Better Than Hollywood

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 20, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is the “new media mogul who is tearing up Hollywood”, according to an article this week from The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint.It’s the latest take on what former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar told The Wrap is “a smaller fish consuming a much larger fish.” And that was effectively the gist of Flint’s... Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is the “new media mogul who is tearing up Hollywood”,...

Member Mailing: Why The Quantity vs. Quality Criticism Misses Netflix's Deeper, More Structural Issues

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Why The Quantity vs. Quality Criticism Misses Netflix's Deeper, More Structural Issues

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 18, 2022 10:34 AM PDT

“It feels like we’re standing in a crystal clear stream like in A River Runs Through It, and we’re fly fishing, and our neighbor [HBO programing chief] Casey Bloys is up the river, and then somebody comes in with a bag full of hand grenades, pulls the pins, throws them into the river, scoops up all the fish, and then says, ‘We’re better fishers... “It feels like we’re standing in a crystal clear stream like in A River Runs Through It, and we’...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: This Week's Upfronts vs. The Trade Desk's Vision for Connected TV

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 16, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

If you’re trying to figure out whether the streaming marketplace will figure out ad-supported models, The Trade Desk’s Q1 2022 earnings call is a great place to start. I wrote about it in writing Friday’s essay Marketplace Disconnects Between Disney+ With Ads & Advertiser Demand.Read the opening monologue from CEO Jeff Green on how Q1 2022... If you’re trying to figure out whether the streaming marketplace will figure out ad-supported...

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 13, 2022 11:00 AM PDT

Friday Mailing: Marketplace Disconnects Between Disney+ With Ads & Advertiser Demand

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 13, 2022 11:00 AM PDT

If the buzz around advertising in streaming has been sounding unusually bullish lately, blame Upfronts. They start next Monday and aim to meet or pass the “robust demand” witnessed in the 2021 Upfronts.CEO Bob Chapek told investors on the FY Q2 2022 earnings call that advertisers have asked for a Disney+ ad tier “for years”, and added, “Our... If the buzz around advertising in streaming has been sounding unusually bullish lately, blame...

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Streamers Hit a Dead-End (Macro) & Consumers Hit Dead-Ends In Streaming (Micro)

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 11, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

“Well, it’s a bitch,” Netflix Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Reed Hastings said of the results while addressing employees in a town hall on Wednesday afternoon, according to people familiar with his remarks.One could look at all this market chaos and its disproportionate impact on media companies - if not Netflix in particular (the quote,... “Well, it’s a bitch,” Netflix Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Reed Hastings said of the results...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Everything Old is New Again in Upfronts & Newfronts

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 9, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

When former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan stepped down last August (and into an Executive Chairman role), I wrote A Short Essay on The Dolan Family & AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan's Resignation (NOTE: on Substack archive). I wondered whether the resignation “was the result of the Dolan family doing the math and realizing that there will be... When former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan stepped down last August (and into an Executive Chairman...

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Disney & Netflix Solve For Password Sharing With Distinctly Different Objectives

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 6, 2022 11:12 AM PDT

Protocol reported yesterday:Following Netflix’s announcement that it wants to monetize the long-tolerated practice of people sharing their passwords, it looks like Disney+ may be getting ready to do the same.Disney recently sent out a questionnaire to subscribers in Spain, asking them why they are sharing their Disney+ passwords with people... Protocol reported yesterday:Following Netflix’s announcement that it wants to monetize the...

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 4, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Warner Bros. Discovery, Sinclair & David Zaslav's Vision for A Smaller Bundle

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 4, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

In May 2020 Discovery CEO David Zaslav used the Q1 2020 earnings call to argue the pandemic had proven that the cable bundle “is a huge subsidy that's being paid for sports”. He hoped that cord-cutting during the pandemic “might put pressure on some of these big sports players that are bundling and forcing and leveraging and jamming, to say even... In May 2020 Discovery CEO David Zaslav used the Q1 2020 earnings call to argue the pandemic had...

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Why The Comcast & Charter Joint Venture Is About Search & Discovery & Not Bundling

By Andrew A. Rosen · May 2, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Last May, IAC Chairman Barry Diller told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin that he was bullish on Comcast’s strategy in streaming because they are “the only ones with both feet on both sides” of the streaming marketplace with X1 software and Peacock. He told Sorkin, “They've gone about the streaming thing smarter than anybody. They have the best hand."I... Last May, IAC Chairman Barry Diller told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin that he was bullish on Comcast...

Friday Mailing: Hulu Is The Future of Streaming Bundles

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Hulu Is The Future of Streaming Bundles

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 29, 2022 10:34 AM PDT

In Wednesday’s mailing, I quoted a long Twitter thread from IAC Executive Chairman Randall Rothenberg - “Television Enters the Fifth Dimension” - about the choices consumers face in the post-linear, post-Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) content consumption world:I can’t help but think that this phenomenon - many, many multiple services, each... In Wednesday’s mailing, I quoted a long Twitter thread from IAC Executive Chairman Randall...

Member Mailing: After Netflix's Self-Inflicted Wounds, Five Recommendations for Streaming CEOs

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Member Mailing: After Netflix's Self-Inflicted Wounds, Five Recommendations for Streaming CEOs

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 27, 2022 11:31 AM PDT

If I had the opportunity to sit across from every CEO in streaming right now, I would make five recommendations:Netflix is suffering from self-inflicted wounds but is still has “won” streaming, proceed with caution;Netflix’s struggles with password-sharing imply there are limits to reaching 1B streaming subscribers;Discount FASTs (especially... If I had the opportunity to sit across from every CEO in streaming right now, I would make five...

Monday AM Mailing: Failing To Reach Its Disney-esque Objectives, Netflix Becomes Reed Hastings' Frankenstein

Monday AM Mailing: Failing To Reach Its Disney-esque Objectives, Netflix Becomes Reed Hastings' Frankenstein

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 25, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Monday AM Mailing: Failing To Reach Its Disney-esque Objectives, Netflix Becomes Reed Hastings' Frankenstein

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Mailing: Failing To Reach Its Disney-esque Objectives, Netflix Becomes Reed Hastings' Frankenstein

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 25, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

In 2020 and early 2021, a theme of Netflix’s messaging was its naked ambition to become like Disney, if not overtake it.In September 2020, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings told the New York Times that two of the best authors in the entertainment industry were Neal Gabler, who wrote the definitive biography of Walt Disney, and Bob Iger, who had been... In 2020 and early 2021, a theme of Netflix’s messaging was its naked ambition to become like...

Friday Mailing: The Vibe Shift… “It’s All Happening”

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Friday Mailing: The Vibe Shift… “It’s All Happening”

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 22, 2022 9:30 AM PDT

I have a new opinion piece up on The Information, "Netflix’s Best Advertising Bet Won’t Require Software". I argue "Let the other streamers invest in precision-targeted digital ad delivery. The old network TV model may wind up being a better fit for the market leader."It's an angle I had not considered in "Mark My Words, We Must Imagine... I have a new opinion piece up on The Information, "Netflix’s Best Advertising Bet Won’t Require...

entertainment media/telecom

Member Mailing: Why Two New Disney+ Discount Deals Reflect Advantages Over Netflix

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 20, 2022 8:48 AM PDT

After yesterday’s surprisingly disappointing Netflix Q1 2022 earnings call, it is worth revisiting my favorite line in the IAC letter to shareholders about its investment in MGM Resorts:Similar to Disney’s advantages over pure-play streaming companies with an iconic brand and multiple avenues to monetize the same intellectual property between... After yesterday’s surprisingly disappointing Netflix Q1 2022 earnings call, it is worth...

Monday AM Briefing: Incoming Warner Bros. Discovery Leadership Meet HBO Max's Purchase Funnel

entertainment media/telecom

Monday AM Briefing: Incoming Warner Bros. Discovery Leadership Meet HBO Max's Purchase Funnel

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 18, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

On Wednesday I built the Member Mailing - Comparing Netflix & HBO Max Conversion Funnels - around an opinion column from Marketing Week’s Mark Ritson that argued (emphasis in bold mine):Netflix is testing a stricter approach to passwords and subscription. Not because they have suddenly become mean spirited or more authoritarian. But because... On Wednesday I built the Member Mailing - Comparing Netflix & HBO Max Conversion Funnels -...

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 15, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

entertainment media/telecom

Friday Mailing: Do Streaming Brands Need Their Own Sonic Versions of Netflix's "Tudum"?

By Andrew A. Rosen · April 15, 2022 10:30 AM PDT

I cut a section of Wednesday’s mailing about streaming services not having a “sonic” dimension to their brands like Netflix’s “tudum”. It was under the Awareness section of my walk-through of a generic conversion funnel. It was not adding to the longer essay, it's a short essay in itself, and I thought it would be worthwhile to send it today... I cut a section of Wednesday’s mailing about streaming services not having a “sonic” dimension to...