I moderated a panel this past week for streaming-video trade organization OTT.X as part of a free mini-conference designed to provide nascent streaming services in Latin America with tips, best practices, lessons learned and more from a range of streaming services, OEMs, platform operators with their own AVOD/FAST offering, and other corners of the ecosystem.
Among the lessons: be a good partner with your distribution platforms; experiment a lot; leverage your data smartly think of it as audiences rather than specific programs or channels; and keep your ad loads low so ad prices can remain high premium. And don’t forget the immortal line, “Make me a vegetable,” the cry of frustrated steaming viewers wanting a simpler, easier experience than the industry is giving them now. Sometimes, even 50-year-old shows such as Bob Ross’ old PBS painting series have found loyal and long-lived audiences in the FAST world.
I sat down to talk with Adweek CEO Juliette Morris and Sr. Producer Al Mannarino about their new podcast network and what it means for the trade publication going forward, the state of podcasting and advertising, and more. And I have some thoughts about the future of Apple as it ventures in live sports streaming with Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV Plus, alongside a bunch of big new advertising partners. Will this change Apple's approach to streaming, privacy, advertising and other not-so-little subjects? Stay tuned.
There's been a whole lot of talk about That Slap, but I'm more interested in what happens to the Oscar broadcast now that the Motion Picture Academy has embraced streaming enough to hand out awards for Best Picture, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and other major categories for projects that were mostly or solely online. How long will Oscar remain a broadcast event, rather than one that is mostly streamed online? And what more can you do once the event is online? I have a few ideas. I also talk with Andrew Walraven, CEO and founder of a very interesting free mobile app called Topico, that allows you to create a very different kind of newsfeed than the one on social media that's been so problematic. Topico focuses on, yes, topics rather than the people or outlets posting the story, and relies on only vetted real news sources, with no user-generated content, memes, videos, etc. It's an intriguing approach to one of journalism's worst problems, and I quite like it. Give a listen.
Netflix alone has 10 films with at least one Oscar nomination, part of a phalanx of top contenders for the movie business's most glamorous awards. Which streaming-first or streaming-mostly projects are lining up for a big night in Sunday's Oscars? Will Netflix flex The Power of the Dog? Has Apple TV Plus cracked the CODA for success? Can Disney Plus exclusive Encanto enchant Oscar voters as much as viewers? Bloom in Tech looks at the chances for the many streaming-connected films filling this year's Oscar brackets.
The 2022 Oscars are fast approaching, and films that mostly or solely appeared on streaming services are set for a big night. Bloom in Tech looks at which streaming-first films are likely to take home a Little Gold Man or six as the Oscar broadcast unfolds. Netflix has 10 films with nominations, and several other services have at least one or two. It's going to be quite a night.
South African-born writer-director Neill Blomkamp has been using tech in smart ways to create thoughtful, groundbreaking movies ever since his first feature, District 9, a smart sci-fi take on apartheid, arrived in 2009, and grabbed an Oscar nomination for its visual effects. Since then, he's directed two more science-fiction features, with far bigger budgets: Elysium, with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, and Chappie. Blomkamp's newest project, Demonic, arrives this week in theaters this week from IFC Films. It's a smart, small horror/sci-fi film about possible demonic possession, and uses the relatively new production technique of volumetric capture to create a purposely glitchy digital dream world within the movie. Blomkamp talks about what he was trying to achieve with the technology, what prompted him to make a low-budget horror film during the pandemic, and what his next projects will be. Along the way, Blomkamp has continued to make short films, often in a science-fiction realm, including for video games Anthem and Halo, as well as his own projects such as Rakka, which featured Sigourney Weaver. Blomkamp also is working with Gunzilla Games to design a multiplayer shooter, an outgrowth of his sporadic involvements as a gamer. We covered a lot of ground. Give a listen.
Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather had a boxing exhibition this week, and yes, someone punched Logan Paul in the face. Also, both participants made a huge amount of money. They won't be the last to try this either, as influencers lace up the gloves for a similar chance to build their fan base, generate new sponsors and make business deals far beyond whatever thing first made them Online Famous.
I talked with Robert Ellin, the CEO of LiveXLive Media, which has another big-dollar event coming this weekend, involving 14 more online influencer/fighters, interwoven with performances by big music names such as DJ Khaled, Migos and Lil Baby. Given the money and fan attention in these pay-per-view events, expect plenty more events like these to come.
What's likely to change in business, entertainment, media and tech in the years after the Covid-19 pandemic finally eases? What's NOT likely to change? I talked with Mike Bechtel, managing director and the chief futurist at Deloitte and a professor at the University of Notre Dame business school, about what comes next, how technology and expectations are changing, and much, much else. Bechtel led Deloitte's work with the World Economic Forum, who put on the Davos summit each year in Switzerland, to put together a comprehensive look at where the world is headed, and what businesses, governments and non-governmental agencies should do to prepare for this different world. In particular regarding media and entertainment, what does it mean to be a creative talent in a world of "spoke-to-spoke" connections with fans, rather than going through hubs controlled by gatekeepers? The report, in what likely was a first for both Deloitte and the World Economic Forum, even includes four short science-fiction stories that illuminate some of the changes the organizations see coming just ahead. Give a listen.
I talked with Javon Frazier about his work creating games, board games, subscription boxes, toys and more for fans while at Marvel for nearly a decade, and then at online-video company Studio71, before launching his own company, Maestro Media, over the past year. A self-described "black nerd" as a kid in South Los Angeles, he grew up reading comic books voraciously before picking up an MBA at NYU Stern School of Business, where he was the first African-American head of the Stern student body. After a stint at Atlantic Records, Frazier ended up at a dream job, creating merchandise, video games and other spinoffs of Marvel comic books. After the company's sale to Disney, he went on to Studio71, and worked with notables such as influencer Guava Juice, the creator of cult hit video game "The Binding of Isaac;" Dark Horse Comics' Umbrella Academy, Jeopardy king Ken Jennings and Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield on projects, He's built a sophisticated process that leverages Kickstarter to market test and improve projects, and generate both startup capital and buzz We also talked about the responsibilities he feels as a Black entrepreneur and father of two young girls to build a more inclusive world of games, toys and other fan favorites.
Tastemade creates video about "food, travel, home and design" for social-media sites from YouTube to TikTok, skinny bundles such as Hulu Plus Live, ad-supported services such as Tubi, and more. Co-founder and CEO Larry Fitzgibbon has been there from the start, and tells what its like to create video for every new distribution platform as it comes along, for wildly different audiences across most of the planet; why 2020 was a "watershed" year not just for audiences but advertisers; and how Tastemade is getting slice of the $60 billion TV advertising pie, among much else.
The big streaming-video services were more important than ever in 2020 as the pandemic sent viewership and subscription levels soaring even as several big new services launched, and struggled to get their feet under them. So how did they do, and where are they headed in 2021? I go through my end-of-year grades for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock, and look at some of the major trends likely to transform the streaming-video industry in 2021, well beyond just the Big Seven. Let me know what service and shows you watched most in 2020, and which you're looking forward to most in 2021. And don't forget to rate, review, share and subscribe. Happy new year! I hope it's a safe and sane one for you and all you care about.
WarnerMedia stunned Hollywood this past week when it announced that its entire 17-film slate will debut on streaming service HBO Max the same day the films arrive in theaters, blowing up decades of lucrative "windowing" in the movie business. Those day-and-date releases include some hotly anticipated projects, like the latest version of sci-fi classic Dune, another Matrix sequel, Wonder Woman 1984 (technically announced earlier, and for Christmas Day this year), Godzilla vs. Kong, Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights, Clint Eastwood and Denzel Washington projects, and much else. I explain why WarnerMedia and owner AT&T likely had little choice, and why other studios likely will follow suit. It should make for a very good time for streaming subscribers, but a much less good time for movie theaters, and for many who make those movies.
We've finally come to the end, more or less of the 2020 election season, helped along in part by significant changes by the big social media platforms in some of their most problematic "engagement" tools. Let's keep those tools on ice, and consider some other changes in the role that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms played in our civic (if sometimes uncivil) discourse on the way to Election Day. Let me know what you think about changes that might be needed and where we might go next, now that the voting's finally done.
I'd been expecting the Quibi collapse for a year before the mobile video site even launched,, but that doesn't mean there aren't lessons to learn from its just-announced and still-unfortunate fall. I talk about those lessons in this episode, plus share my recent conversation with Govind Balakrishnan, the CEO and co-founder of subscription audio app Curio, which takes meaningful stories from such top journalism sites as The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Wired, and Bloomberg, and turns them into professionally produced, highly targeted audio for subscribers. Govind delves into the huge opportunity for "screen-less media;" why they are only part of a potentially huge sector subscription sound of all kinds that includes Audible, Spotify, Calm, Headspace, and podcasts; "the experience side of content;" and the international opportunity for more audio that can traverse the globe.
Tubi is the biggest ad-supported video service in streaming, and was bought by Fox earlier this yea for a hefty $440 millionr. I sat down with Adam Lewinson, the company's chief content officer, this week as part of the virtual NATPE Streaming Plus conference. We covered a lot of ground, talking about all the company's news about big jumps in viewership, new territories and sections, whether they'll ever make original shows, and why ad-supported video is going to be the way most people watch TV in the streaming future.
Labor Day Weekend is normally a dumping ground for the movie business, but not in 2020. Two blockbusters, "Mulan" and "Tenet," are using very different platforms to reach audiences this weekend. One is a pricey premium addition to streaming service Disney+, the other is available in whatever theaters across the country are open amid the pandemic. How each of these $200 million blockbusters does on its respective distribution platform will help shape Hollywood's next steps with its highest-profile products for months or even years to come.
Walter Murch is a pioneer in using digital non-linear editing software to create films, and helped create the notion of "sound design" as well. He's won three Oscars in sound and film editing (for The English Patient and Apocalypse Now) and been nominated for six more. He talks with me about his latest project, the documentary Coup 53 (available through virtual cinema at coup53.com), the extremely secret British agent at the heart of the coup to oust a democratically elected prime minister in Iran in 1953, and the unfortunate lessons it taught the CIA about covert ops and regime change. MI6 agent Norman Darbyshire was a real-life James Bond, someone "who got things done," yet " almost completely disappeared from history," Murch says. "The coup was his masterpiece." We also talk about how editing a film is like churning butter; why he used Adobe Premiere Pro for the first time after decades with Avid and Apple Final Cut Pro; and the future of movie theaters, both the big chains and indie arthouses.
Three of entertainment's biggest media companies - Disney, NBCU and ViacomCBS – helped make it a red letter week in the history of Hollywood's grudging embrace of streaming video, as all three took actions that will pivot them ever more sharply toward online distribution platforms for their shows. Add in significant actions by Cinemark, Regal, the U.S. Department of Justice, Microsoft and TikTok, and the week was one for the ages. I share my thoughts on where this is all heading (fast), but would love to hear from you too. You can follow me on Twitter (@DavidBloom) and LinkedIn (/davidlbloom), and leave a voice message on Anchor.fm. What's your prediction for where Hollywood is heading over the next 18 months? Let me know.
Universal, the big movie studio, cut a landmark deal this week with AMC, the nation's biggest theater chain. The business of showing movies may never be the same, though not just for what it means for those two big companies. This episode of Bloom in Tech looks the direct impacts of the deal for Universal and AMC, how likely other studios and theater chains are to copy it, and what might come hereafter with the big subscription video services as big tech and media companies start to integrate the possibilities here with so much else. Amazon Theaters/Shopping/Whole Foods/Esports Arenas? Apple Store/Movie Palaces? Think Very Big Deal.
My quarterly grades for the big subscription-video services is out. I talk about which "students" did well, and which need a lot of work among Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Peacock, Quibi, and CBS All Access. I suspect there's little surprise about who's at the head of the class, but it's also clear the pandemic has both been the biggest opportunity and biggest challenge for all the new competitors launching in the middle of widespread lockdowns. You can also read more about the grades I and my colleague Alan Wolk are handing out here on TVRev.
Also, as mentioned in this episode, I'm part of three recent online conversations you may also be interested in:
