Some of my thoughts on media & entertainment business … if you were forwarded this email and want to receive regular updates, click here:
Meant to get this post out last week but caught up with a couple things…anyway, here we go:
73rd Emmys Ushers In Age of Streaming Dominance
Did you know the 73rd Primetime Emmy’s happened last Sunday (9/19)? Did you care? According to Nielsen, apparently 7.4 million people did….16% more than last year’s historic lows but 34% less than the last time CBS hosted the Emmy’s in 2017. We can discuss why this industry’s once heralded award shows are losing their luster another time. But you know who definitely cared? Ted Sarandos and the rest of the streaming giants.
Call Netflix Daddy Netflix took home its first wins ever in Drama Series (The Crown) and Limited Series (The Queen’s Gambit) and tallied 44 total Emmys. The HBO family nabbed 19 and Apple TV+ (mostly thanks to Ted Lasso) took 11. Although Hulu (part of Disney) and Amazon Prime Video were boxed out, it was very clear that streaming TV was the forefront of the 73rd Emmys.
3 years ago, THR’s Scott Feinberg published an amazing headline re: the 70th Emmy Awards: "Broadcast TV Airs Its Own Funeral as [Streamers] Dominate”. This was before Disney+, HBO Max and Apple TV+ were even born! Fast forward to 2021, and the streamers’ dominance is more profound. CBS/NBC/ABC/Fox all together took home 1 Emmy last week. Womp womp.
More Content, Less Winners With the deluge of TV content out there, are we really watching more TV? Probably not. Ironically, seems like we’re coalescing around a handful of favorite titles that are “trending” in mainstream media and our social circle. If the data hungry streamers have the capital to pump out new content and the analytical chops to hone in on what makes viewers tick, does anyone else really stand a chance?
Speaking of Netflix…
Ted Sarandos’ Chocolate Factory
Netflix finalized a deal to acquire the rights to Roald Dahl universe (and my childhood memories of the Scholastic Book Fair) for ~$700M. The deal follows a 2018 partnership that allowed Netflix to start work on several animated series and a Matilda the Musical adaptation.
A few months ago, I wrote how Disney secured a generational competitive moat with its storied IP. Netflix is taking a swing at Mickey’s playbook and ambitiously looking to find strong IP to build out a universe beyond film and TV. Their own press release cited plans to expand the Roald Dahl stories to, “publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theatre, consumer products and more.” Ambitious is probably an understatement but does Netflix have a choice? Wall Street will be highly scrutinizing Netflix over the next decade to prove they can build an entertainment empire beyond streaming on a living room TV.
Start up the flywheel As Netflix slowly secures its own arsenal of IP, expect Netflix to run at that Mickey playbook hard. While Roald Dahl’s characters aren’t as cute and fuzzy as Pixar or Goofy, the kids’ genre allows Netflix to diversify across the Disney flywheel into merchandising and licensing kid-friendly consumer products.
Netflix will be moving quickly to build out its other verticals. By 2024, I think we will know if Netflix can pull it off.
Other Highlights
Netflix
Apparently Netflix launched its own VR game on Oculus 2 earlier this summer called Eden Unearthed. I’m guessing it’s a gaming venture to expand the company’s Eden anime universe. I couldn’t find any announcement on Netflix’s Newsroom about this VR game so they must be testing a few things out
M&A
CAA to acquire ICM Partners solidifying the “Big Three” in the talent agency world: CAA/ICM, WME and UTA
JPMorgan buying up the Infatuation, the restaurant review business behind Zagat…expect JPM to offer special experiences from the Infatuation to their credit card customers
Vox Media acquiring Hot Pod, newsletter focused on the podcast industry
Live Nation plans to acquire majority stake in Mexican concert promoter, OCESA Entretenimiento, for $450M
Venture Deals
Payload, a media company covering the business of space (yes, space), raised a $650,000 seed round mostly backed by the Winklevoss twins 🚀
Who’s Hiring💼💻
Trying out something new…will highlight interesting roles I hear about in the Media/Entertainment space
Disney Streaming - Business Manager, Insights & Analytics
Disney Streaming - Sr Business Manager, Business Planning & Development
Netflix - Manager, Partner Strategy - Globalization
What I’m Streaming…
Not much lately, any recs?