Netflix waited out Blockbuster with better economics, and it’s seeking to do the same with its competitors today; the key to the company’s differentiation, though, is increasingly creativity, not execution.
Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA, The Zaslav Doctrine
Warner Bros. Discovery is clearly still interested in the NBA, Twitter chatter notwithstanding; then, the Zaslav doctrine about content becomes clearer.
An Interview with Eugene Wei About Streaming and Social Media
An interview with Eugene Wei about streaming and social media, including Netflix, TikTok, Twitter, and why the first wave of social networks were a fundamental mismatch with human nature.
House of the Dragon and Creative Programming, The Big Ten’s Deal, Disney’s New Prices
How much of the difference between HBO and Netflix is mindset? Plus, the Big Ten’s new deal, and Disney raises prices
An Interview with Michael Nathanson About Streaming and Digital Advertising
An interview with analyst Michael Nathanson about streaming, cable, digital advertising, and a whole lot more.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery is a company that makes a lot of sense, both because of its content and also its strategy, which treats streaming as an additional channel, not a reason-for-being.
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.
Distribution and Demand
Distribution on the Internet is free; what matters is controlling demand. AT&T and Verizon didn’t understand the distinction.
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.
WarnerMedia to Stream Movies First Day, AT&T Versus HBO, Self-Disruption
WarnerMedia’s move to stream all of its movies on HBO Max appears to be value disruptive, but if the company is actually meaningfully responding to disruption, that was inevitable.