Podcast Summary
Media Industry Faces Challenges from Internet and Subsidies: The Internet dismantled subsidies, leading to layoffs and buyouts in traditional media, but also offers opportunities for growth and innovation through podcasts and streaming services.
The media industry, including journalism and entertainment, faced significant changes and challenges in 2023. Layoffs and buyouts hit major publications and companies such as The Washington Post, NBC, Vox, BuzzFeed, Wired, The New Yorker, NPR, and Gawker. The root cause, according to Austin Rivers, is the Internet and its role in uncrossing subsidies, making it harder for traditional media outlets to rely on bundled revenue sources. This trend is affecting both old and new media, leading to suspicion about leadership and the industry as a whole. However, the Internet also offers opportunities for growth and innovation, as seen in the rise of podcasts and streaming services. The conversation also touched on the year in media, discussing topics like the Netflix superhero drought, Taylor Swift, and the podcast purge. Matt Bellany, the host of The Ringer podcast The Town and a writer with Puck News, joined the discussion to provide insights on Hollywood. Overall, the media landscape is evolving rapidly, presenting both challenges and opportunities.
The Paradox of the Digital Age in Media: Creation vs Monetization: The digital age offers unprecedented opportunities for content creation and audience reach, but the financial rewards are increasingly scarce due to the power law dynamics of digital platforms.
The digital age has led to an oversupply of content across various media industries, from news to movies, TV, music, and podcasts. This abundance of content has democratized market access but made it harder for creators to earn substantial returns. The power law dynamics of digital platforms mean that a small number of hits attract the vast majority of audience attention and revenue, leaving the majority of content struggling to break through. This trend is not unique to news media but is a common challenge faced by creators in various industries. While the opportunities for creating and reaching audiences are greater than ever, the financial rewards are increasingly scarce. This is the paradox of the digital age in media: a golden age for creation, but a challenging time for monetization.
Disney's Marvel and Animation Divisions Face Challenges: Disney's Marvel division faces creative malaise and disappointing box office, while animation original films struggle at the box office. Disney must find ways to revitalize Marvel franchises and reduce animation production costs or risk industry consequences.
Disney, as a leading entertainment company, is currently facing challenges in both its Marvel and animation divisions. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which had an unprecedented run, is now experiencing a creative malaise, leading to disappointing box office performances. Disney needs to refocus and find new ways to revitalize its Marvel franchises. In animation, original films have struggled to perform well at the box office, and the industry is questioning whether audiences consider them theatrical. Disney must find ways to reduce the cost of producing original animated films or risk the consequences for the industry as a whole. This situation can be seen as a reminder that maintaining excellence and success is challenging, and over-reliance on a single strategy can lead to brand dilution and eventual collapse.
Disney's Overreliance on Merchandising Strategy Hurts Star Wars: Disney's excessive merchandising strategy led to creative burnout and a decline in Star Wars movie quality. Social media marketing can help lay the groundwork for box office success.
Disney's overreliance on the "total merchandising" strategy, which aims to turn a movie into a merchandise juggernaut with various spin-offs and extensions, has led to creative burnout and a decline in quality for the Star Wars franchise. This strategy, which includes producing multiple shows and movies each year, put immense pressure on the creative team, resulting in a lack of fan service and a strained production process. The Star Wars movies ultimately imploded, and Disney is now planning to release only two movies in 2026, marking a significant gap between releases. The legacy of Barbie, a successful social media campaign for a movie, shows that while studios cannot create a phenomenon outright, they can lay the groundwork and hope for it to catch on. The success of social media marketing in fueling box office sales is a valuable lesson for the industry.
Media industry influenced by social media and cultural phenomena: Successful movies and shows are influenced by unpredictable social media trends and cultural phenomena, leading to power law effects and massive viewership and revenue.
The success of movies and TV shows in today's media landscape is heavily influenced by social media and cultural phenomena, which can be unpredictable and difficult for studios to control. For instance, franchises like Minions and Barbie have gained massive followings through social media and nostalgia, leading to significant box office success. However, not every attempt to replicate these phenomena will yield the same results. The most successful shows and movies often experience a "power law" effect, where they become unavoidable cultural touchstones, leading to massive viewership and revenue. Historical events, such as actor and writer strikes, have also played a role in shaping the media industry, leading to technological changes and new trends. For example, the 2007-2008 writer's strike helped accelerate the rise of unscripted TV by demonstrating the popularity of reality shows during the hiatus of scripted programming. Overall, the media industry is constantly evolving, and staying attuned to cultural trends and technological changes is essential for success.
2023 writers' strikes marked the end of peak TV era and beginning of AI age in entertainment: The 2023 writers' strikes resulted in labor protections for writers and other workers in the face of technological advancements, but the automation of creative processes is expected to continue over the next 5 to 7 years, potentially impacting roles of actors and other professionals.
The 2023 writers' strikes marked the end of the peak TV era and the beginning of the AI age in the entertainment industry. The strikes were a response to the economic changes brought about by technology, particularly the rise of streaming services like Netflix. The legacy of the strikes will be the concessions made to protect writers and other laborers from the technological advancements that were leaving them behind. However, these concessions will not be enough to prevent the automation of many aspects of the creative process, which is already underway and is expected to continue over the next 5 to 7 years. The start of the AI age in entertainment is significant because it will change the way content is produced, potentially impacting the roles of actors and other creative professionals. It's important to note that the strikes did not cause the technological changes, but rather highlighted the need for labor protections in the face of these advancements.
AI's impact on the entertainment industry and labor disputes: Unions like IATSE negotiate new terms due to AI advancements, writers secured human authorship during recent strike, Netflix reveals data on high-viewership shows with minimal star power
The entertainment industry is experiencing significant changes due to advancements in AI technology, leading to potential labor disputes and the need for unions like IATSE to negotiate new terms. This was highlighted by the recent writers' strike, which secured human authorship for credit and payment purposes while allowing studios to experiment with AI. Meanwhile, streaming platforms like Netflix are revealing more data on viewership, challenging the notion that stars are necessary for success. The top shows on Netflix, such as "The Night Agent" and "Ginny and Georgia," have minimal star power but high viewership, suggesting that Netflix is not overly reliant on movie stars. However, it's important to note that the data provided is only a 6-month snapshot, and longer-term trends may differ. Overall, the entertainment industry is undergoing a major transformation, and both unions and streaming platforms are adapting to these changes.
Netflix reveals viewership data to showcase scale and influence creators and advertisers: Netflix shares data to highlight reach, potentially attracting creators and advertisers, and to build trust with talent
Netflix's strategy of releasing viewership data is an attempt to showcase their massive scale to advertisers and creators, setting them apart from competitors. The data reveals that Netflix's audience heavily favors new content, and the streaming giant has historically kept this data private for competitive reasons. By making this data public, Netflix aims to demonstrate their unparalleled reach, potentially influencing creators and advertisers to choose Netflix over other streaming services. This move could also help Netflix build stronger relationships with talent by reducing the mistrust that comes with data hoarding.
Netflix's Growth Strategy: Ads and Attracting Creators: Netflix prioritizes ads and attracting creators to increase revenue per subscriber, while offering a massive global audience and extensive library sets it apart from competitors.
Netflix offers creators the opportunity to reach a massive global audience and boasts higher viewer engagement compared to competitors like Apple and Disney. The streaming giant's growth strategy now heavily relies on moving users to the advertising tier and selling them ads, making more money per subscriber despite the lower subscription fee. Netflix's extensive library and viewer engagement set it apart from competitors, making it an attractive choice for content creators aiming for cultural phenomena. However, the lack of procedural series on Netflix, which were popular in the past, is a noticeable absence. Instead, Netflix focuses on miniseries and acquires shows like "Suits" and "The Blacklist" to repopularize them on its platform.
Netflix's Strategy: Original Content for Acquisition, Licensing for Churn: Netflix focuses on original content for customer acquisition and licensing library shows to prevent churn. They prioritize new content to attract subscribers and keep them engaged with a vast library, shifting from HBO-like model to cable TV.
Netflix's business strategy prioritizes original content for customer acquisition and licensing library shows for preventing churn. The reason Netflix doesn't produce many procedural shows with long seasons is because their model relies on bringing in new, original content to attract subscribers and licensing library shows to keep them engaged. The value of a show diminishes after three seasons, and Netflix feels they've gotten what they need from it. Disney and Warner Brothers, among others, have started licensing their shows to Netflix due to financial necessity. These shows, like Band of Brothers and The Pacific, can reach new audiences on Netflix and generate revenue. Netflix's strategy has shifted from becoming HBO before HBO could become Netflix to becoming cable TV with an extensive library. This not only sets them apart from competitors in terms of numbers but also in discoverability, as Netflix's vast library allows viewers to find shows they may not have discovered otherwise within the cable bundle.
Netflix and Podcasts Disrupt Traditional Media Landscape: Netflix thrives by unearthing hidden gems and making them mainstream, while podcasts face monetization challenges. The Ringer's approach to talent development and audience building is a promising business model.
The media landscape is undergoing significant changes, with streaming platforms like Netflix and podcast providers like Spotify disrupting traditional industries. Netflix is thriving by unearthing hidden gems and making them mainstream, while podcasts are experiencing growing listenership but struggle with monetization. The podcast industry is still figuring out its business model, with some high-profile shows and personalities succeeding, while others are facing cancellations and layoffs. The Ringer, a company focused on producing always-on podcasts with hosts who build a loyal audience, seems to be a more promising business model than producing expensive, narrative podcasts with no built-in audience. Conflicts of interest notwithstanding, the Ringer's approach to identifying and developing new talent and building shows around them is a more sustainable business strategy. The podcast industry's current struggles can be seen as a natural part of the democratization of media, where the barrier to entry is low, and monetization across a wide audience will inevitably be lower. However, the potential for growth is significant, and those who can navigate this period of transition will likely reap the rewards.
The Podcast Industry: High Competition and a Paradoxical Situation: In 2024, live streaming is predicted to rise in content creation as part of the ongoing transition from traditional TV to streaming media.
The podcast industry, like other democratized media, faces high competition and a high barrier to success. Celebrity-led podcasts, such as Smartless, can achieve high tune-in rates but may flame out due to listener boredom. The abundance of media options leads to a paradoxical situation where individuals love their preferred media but distrust the media industry as a whole. Looking ahead, a prediction for 2024 is the rise of live streaming in content creation. Streaming platforms have experimented with live events, and next year could see a significant increase in their adoption. This trend is part of the ongoing transition from traditional television to streaming media.
Streaming services investing in live events to compete with traditional TV: Netflix, Paramount Plus, and CBS are airing live events like concerts, sports, and awards shows to attract viewers and compete with traditional TV networks, with Netflix already streaming the SAG Awards and a tennis match live. This trend is expected to continue, potentially marking 2024 as the year streaming services fully embrace live content.
Streaming services, including Netflix, are increasingly investing in live events such as concerts, sports, and award shows to attract viewers and compete with traditional television networks. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years, with Netflix already airing the SAG Awards and streaming a tennis match live. Traditional networks like Paramount Plus and CBS have already started simulcasting events, while the Oscars are still holding out. The rationale behind this shift is that live events encourage viewers to watch in real-time and create buzz. This could mark 2024 as the year that streaming services fully embrace live content. Nat Belloni, an expert in the field, believes that the streaming industry will continue to push the boundaries in this area. If you enjoyed this episode of Plain English, please leave a review and check out the new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios' "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," in theaters May 10th.
