Netflix turned in another quarter of disappointing earnings (as expected); the company’s planned foray into gaming, meanwhile, highlights how digital businesses are different.
ESPN+ Rights Deals, ESPN+ Increases Prices, Black Widow’s Streaming Numbers
Disney’s tactics around ESPN+ are coming into line with streaming’s strategic opportunities; plus, Black Widow streaming numbers show how release windows are changing.
Amazon Buys MGM, The Streaming Opportunity, Anti-Monopoly vs. Antitrust
Amazon’s purchase of MGM makes sense strategically, but also points to bigger ambitions; it also highlights how a lot of antitrust talk is actually anti-monopoly.
AT&T’s Original Bad Deal, Discovery + WarnerMedia, The Streaming Landscape
AT&T bails on its streaming ambitions; they can’t undo the mistake of buying Time Warner, but merging WarnerMedia with Discovery is a nice recovery.
Netflix Earnings, Competition and Buybacks, Sony Signs Netflix Deal
Netflix grew more slowly than it expected because it had fewer hits than it expected; then, Sony is winning in streaming by not playing.
The NFL’s New Rights Deals, Amazon’s Rumored Deal, Post-Pandemic Sports
The upcoming renewal of NFL rights is a marker in what will be a decade of upheaval in TV.
Disney’s Investor Day, Disney+ as Harvester, Disney’s Optionality
Disney’s investor day showed the power of differentiated IP and optionality.
Disney and Integrators Versus Aggregators
Disney’s reorganization reinforces their integrated strategy; there is a lot to learn for anyone competing with Aggregators.
2020 Bundles
The state of bundles in 2020: Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. Plus, Microsoft’s purchase of ZeniMax.
An Interview with Ethan Sherwood Strauss About Writing Online, Social Media and the NBA, and The Victory Machine
An interview with Ethan Sherwood Strauss about being a writer on the Internet, the problem with social media and the NBA, and his new book The Victory Machine