Nick Gawne

KO: a micro-step away from connecting the dots between between OTA broadcast (zero latency, bandwidth offload, free premium TV) and CTV.

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What's New to TheStreet... 🎬 Breaking News: Netflix and U.S. companies push back against Canada’s proposed tax on streaming revenue! The Motion Picture Association-Canada claims the broadcast regulator has overstepped its bounds. How do you think this will impact the streaming industry? Share your thoughts below! ⬇️ 👉🏻Follow New To The Street for more! #netflix #streaming #entertainmentnews #businessnews #business #news #newtothestreet

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Disney+ added more than 6M subs in the most recent quarter, while the company's streaming unit lost $18M. That's compared to a loss of $659M in the prior year quarter. This comes on the heels of working to aggressively cut costs, limiting password sharing, improving its recommendation engine, and integrating a new Hulu tile into Disney+. The path to profitability is near

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Sometime the losses are justified. Reporting losses for tax benefits or cancelation of productions in an effort to save money on new union laws. Increasing wages always reduces total jobs available. It's an economic impossibility to do other wise. (We did a live stream on that). Disney reported a loss last year but also spent nearly 10 billion buying majority share of Hulu. Their loss was almost the same as the purchase. All that to say it's not entirely corporate greed that got him a raise but his ability to cut and save the company money in the future at the expense of a temporary loss. The one thing we have to stop is the sin of envy and this idea that some people don't deserve what they are paid. Some do. John Williams SHOULD be paid more than a composer right out of film school and it's ridiculous to believe otherwise. The same is true for CEOs.

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Back from TwitchCon 2024! Some thoughts— - The highlight of the opening ceremony was promising to do better job telling suspended accounts why the suspension happened. That puts them well ahead of all other platforms that have a tendency to suspend and ghost. - Lots of press made with Kick streamers breaking rules (stalking xQc, n3on harassing a trans streamer) and Twitch streamers being annoyed. Kick has certainly established their brand as the outside hooligans to Twitch’s core gamers. - San Diego is my favorite convention city. The proximity to the Gaslamp District turns the whole town into a series of networking events. - Absolutely WILD that Twitch’s big announcement was ‘Glitch’, branded worlds they built in Fortnite UEFN. I was talking to a delighted employee of Epic who couldn’t believe all of the Fortnite marketing despite Fortnite itself having no presence. - The Twitch drag show has become quite an event! For a platform often known to be a bro-zone, this was nothing but good vibes. - Non-profits crushed per usual. St. Jude’s was out in full effect. Had the please of dining with Bradly Leonard from Heart.org and they’re pushing hard on gamers! And the War Child USA lunch was awesome! - The floor was a little subdued, much like VidCon this year. Lots of lines for free swag giveaways but for someone who wants to just walk around and see cool stuff, there wasn’t a ton there. - Management companies are looking beyond Twitch for brand building and monetization. Lots of convos around YouTube, Snap, merch, FAST, and building companies around talent. Good time to be working on the infrastructure side! …and with a 5 year residency in San Diego, I’ll definitely be back next year. Good show, Twitch! #twitchcon #twitch #conventions

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If you care about Canadian content you can't say enough about what Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios has done to support "No Dress Rehearsal". It currently sits at #2 on their charts, just behind the billion-dollar "Lord of the Rings" series and ahead of blockbusters like "The Fall Guy" and "Civil War." From believing in director Mike Downie's vision to their deeply resourced promotional campaign with global reach, it's been incredible support. So much of the time, as a Canadian TV or filmmaker, you're taking a hockey stick to a gunfight. Then, when you've made a budget and creative compromises, and it finally gets released, there's really no money or will to market it effectively—a self-fulfilling prophecy for failure. Industry people falsely conclude that Canadian content is niche. Or we don't know how to make popular programmes. All the good people are in LA. Blah. Blah. When that doesn't happen—and you can compete in your own country the way you need to compete for attention—it shows that people want Canadian stories. It's an almost unfixable system—no national player these days has the resources of Netflix, Apple, or Amazon. But I hope it encourages the international platforms to take shots at more unapologetically Canadian stories. And so fitting that this film is on track to be by far the biggest Canadian non-fiction project of the year. The Hip have always been about getting on with the business of being Canadian in an authentic way. Let's hope it's infectious. #Canadianfilm #CanadianTV https://lnkd.in/gA7gFTVv

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🌟 Dive into the world of horror cinema with Cineverse CEO's insights on the blockbuster hit "Terrifier 3." Discover how this film made a killing at the box office in the latest article by Screen Daily.

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Lots of excited chatter this morning as the CRTC has finally announced the base contribution required by foreign streamers to support the Canadian Content industry. 5% of revenues will be fed back into the system. Its great news at a time when it feels like our business is only getting bad news - an estimated $200 Million dollars a year into our industry. So how does the $200 million (estimate) break out? Basically, 40% will be fed into CanCon directly, with a quarter of that going to the CMF. So streamers will spend approximately $60 million on content directly, and $20 million will be fed into the CMF system. Of that $60 million in "direct CanCon investment", it will be split 60/40 between English-language and French-language content, so approximately $36 million per year will potentially flow into English Language content directly. That... does not make a ton of TV shows. But everything helps and depending on how that money is allocated (global buy-outs vs. Canadian-only licensing, etc) it could go a lot further. The biggest question now is when this actually impacts producers. The announcement states that this begins with the "2024-2025 broadcast year ((i.e., 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025)". This feels quick, but the reality is they won't likely be reporting anything until next summer, as the deadline for the contributions is "the 31st of August of each broadcasting year". So while this coming year will be accounted for, its unlikely that any streamer is going to pre-pay their contributions to the CMF. More likely will be that in August of 2025, streamers will calculate their spending requirement, deduct what they spent in the 2024-2025 broadcast year and then contribute what the owed balance is to the CMF and various funds from there. So we will have some time before we see this money flow through our very complicated system of various funds and programs. But its movement in the right direction and thats what we all need at this point. https://lnkd.in/gAAXwSzF

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Great BNN interview with Andrew Peterson, Head of YT Canada. -YT Is building meaningful tools while also protecting content creators -98% of Canadians choose to watch YT every month! Canadians would choose YT first than any other platform to consume content. Why? Diverse set of creators around the world and the viewing experience! YouTube has definitely come a long way but just wait for the next 5 years with all the AI tools coming down the pipeline! If you have video/audio content and haven't got on board yet, don't wait!

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“The UK recorded music industry grew for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, bringing in £1.43 billion. Streaming and physical music saw growth, and the independent sector also enjoyed an increased share of album sales and streams. This is all according to a new stats pack from BPI The BPI has published its annual ‘All About The Music’ report on the British record industry's performance in the previous calendar year. The topline stat is that revenues grew by 8.1% in 2023 to £1.43 billion. That’s the ninth consecutive year of growth. According to the record industry trade group’s stats pack, more than half of that (58%) came from subscription streaming, sync and public performance combined contributed 13.6%, vinyl sales 9.9%, ad-funded audio and video streams 9.5%, and CDs 6.8%. Physical media actually saw stronger percentage growth than streaming last year, with CDs, vinyl and other formats all up individually, and collectively up 12.8% on 2022 - vinyl seeing the biggest jump, up 18.6% year-on-year. Streaming overall saw revenues rise by 8.4%, with ad-funded streaming growing fastest at 12.4%. In terms of actual revenues, physical brought in £243.4 million, while streaming generated £962.1 million. In terms of what people were listening to, Miley Cyrus came out top with her song ‘Flowers’, which enjoyed ten consecutive weeks at number one in the UK singles chart. This run helped female artists to score a record tally of weeks at the top of the UK top 40 - 31 out of 52 weeks. Women appear in seven slots in the top ten for the full year, including Raye, Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding and SZA.” #BPI #UK #Streaming #Artists #StreamingRoyalties #Royalties #RecordedMusic #StreamingServices #StreamingMedia #MusicStreams #MusicRoyalties #Songs #Recordings #MusicBusiness #Music #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

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📺 **Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Television: A Revolution Underway** 🤖 AI is infiltrating the world of television, threatening to transform our favorite shows. 🎬 One notable incident involved a network executive wanting to use AI to replace an unpopular character, disrupting the creative trajectory of the series. This raised concerns about AI's impact on story continuity and quality. 🌪️ 📊 **An Uncertain Future for Jobs** 💼 AI could disrupt 203,800 jobs in the American entertainment sector by 2026. 🎥 This growing use of technology worries professionals, though some see it as an opportunity to simplify technical processes. While AI can handle technical tasks, it is still far from replacing human creativity. 💡 📢 **Mixed Reactions in the Industry** 🎭 Some believe AI could handle repetitive tasks, but others criticize the poor quality of fully AI-produced content. 🤷‍♂️ AI could succeed in established formats like *RuPaul's Drag Race*, but will likely remain inadequate for satire comedies or more nuanced content. 😂 🔊 **Legal and Ethical Challenges** ⚖️ Voice actors are fighting for protections against the non-consensual use of their voices by AI. 🎙️ Technological advances now allow voice cloning in just three seconds, leading to abuses and raising crucial questions about consent and compensation. 🎤 The industry must balance innovation with respecting creators' rights. 🌐 ✨ **The Rise of DIY Television** 📺 Platforms like YouTube demonstrate how amateur-created content can compete with Hollywood. 👥 With AI tools, users can create their own episodes, redefining the notion of television. This revolution could upend the traditional industry, making professional and amateur content increasingly interchangeable. 🏰 #AI #Television #Innovation #Entertainment #Creativity

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SiriusXM reported its Q1 earnings this morning, and the headlines are justifiably focused on its loss of subscribers (nearly 500k). Like all radio, its subscription business is highly vulnerable with the move to digital audio, especially in cars. But a bright spot? If you paid attention to Spotify's earnings, you wouldn't be surprised: "off-platform revenue." For SXM, this includes Pandora and podcast revenue, which saw a 7% revenue increase. During their investor call, they signaled the growth for podcasts, explicitly saying, "Podcasting revenue saw a 22% year-over-year lift in the quarter, while programmatic podcast revenue increased 12% sequentially and 97% year over year." I'd love to see SXM break out the podcast numbers even further, but if you look at what they do provide, it's easy to conclude that podcast revenue is growing much faster than other segments. For example, Pandora continues to bleed users (64k paid subs in Q1 alone), so podcast revenue seems to be the tide lifting all "off-platform" boats. When asked about their podcast initiatives, Scott Greenstein said, "One is, you know, the podcast thing and industry is really still in the second or third inning, so it's evolving." He is 100% right. SXM also signaled that it will continue to license more podcast content and is not closing the book on exclusive content. One more fun nugget: On today's call, podcasts were mentioned 30 times. Pandora was only mentioned ten times, SmartLess nine times, and Howard Stern... zero point zero. Where do you think their priorities are moving forward? Read more: https://lnkd.in/eRQTM2Kq ---- I'm the CEO and founder of DWNLOAD Media, a fund focused on acquiring majority stakes in podcast companies. With continued audience and revenue growth, podcasting continues to be the most under-valued medium, making it time to invest in audio. If you're interested in investing in the podcast space, DM me! #podcasting #audio #siriusxm #sxm #earnings #investor #investing #podcasts

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Paying out an additional £6 million (approx. USD $7.7 million) in royalties from online services - “UK-based royalty collection society PRS for Music says it will be paying out an additional GBP £6 million (approx. USD $7.7 million) in royalties from online services to songwriters and composers annually, thanks to a reduction in its administration rate. The collection society said it’s reducing its admin rate on multi-territory online (MTOL) royalties by 20% – from a 10% rate to an 8% rate – as a result of the CMO “surpassing its targets, delivering historic distributions and revenues, and becoming a billion-pound society.” Announced at its 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) today (June 4), PRS estimates the reduction will see £1.5 million more paid out to members in each of its quarterly royalty distributions starting from October this year.” #PRS #CMOs #UK #MusicRoyaties #Songwriters #Composers #MusicPublishing #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

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🎶 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘀! This Mon, June 3rd, I'm honored to be speaking at Canadian Music Week on the "Playlists to Profit: Technology’s Impact on Music Monetization" panel —a double win with one of my fave conferences & topics! As technology has transformed industries in unimaginable ways—think of Amazon's evolution from the early 90s to today—the music industry is also navigating new complexities in monetization. This panel will explore cutting-edge strategies to enhance revenue generation, with insights from experts across technology, artist management, and finance sectors. Our goal is to provide actionable insights that pave the way for a financially sustainable musical future. I'm particularly excited to share insights from my experience building successful companies, products, and teams at the intersection of AI/ML and music tech. Specifically, how new technologies like AI & Blockchain, alongside the modernization of traditional supply and storage chains in music, are not just tools but transformative forces that can fundamentally empower creatives and expand opportunities at scale. 🗓️ Date: Monday, June 3, 2024 ⏰ Time: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM 📍 Location: Room Piers 2/3 Moderated by David Hazan, Founder, DLH Strategic Marketing. Details here: https://lnkd.in/ebBgcu6w My fellow panelists are: Andrew Batey, Founder and Co-CEO, Beatdapp Michael Pelczynski, Chief Strategy & Impact Officer, Voice-Swap.ai Romain Palmieri, Co-Founder & CEO, Groover Looking forward to a dynamic discussion & connecting with fellow innovators and creators! #CanadianMusicWeek #MusicTechnology #MusicIndustry #Monetization #PanelDiscussion #TechInMusic

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The Cumulus compensation ploy • May 2nd Cumulus had their annual shareholders meeting and they were not talking about what their angry investors did. • They approved one thing – their account firm. • When asked to re-elect their board of directors, a surprising and resounding outcome. • The company is still laying employees off and shrinking operations so when they asked shareholders to show a financial vote of confidence in them, an even greater surprise. • What’s really going on here – a questionable debt exchange deal, a second bankruptcy and a growing rift between investors and their top management. https://lnkd.in/gQRZYCWq

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Amazon wants to change the way hockey super-fans watch the NHL. Amazon will begin streaming NHL games in Canada on Prime Video in October. The NHL's current broadcast rights with Rogers Communications expire in 2026. Amazon sees an opportunity for a good deal. Games from the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 NHL seasons in Canada will be available exclusively to Prime Video subscribers on Monday nights at no extra cost. Magda Grace, Prime Video's head of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said she did not want to speculate on future negotiations, but wanted to focus on the tasks at hand. Amazon Prime Video already showed it could bring giant live TV audiences to its digital platform by becoming stateside the exclusive home for the NFL’s Thursday NightFootball games. But to enlarge its NHL footprint in Canada with more live games on different nights, Amazon will need to compete head-to-head with Rogers Communications, the current Canadian TV rights holder for the NHL. A spokesperson for the Canadian telecom and cable giant confirmed to THR that Rogers will bid again for local TV rights to NHL games when they come up for renewal after the 2025-26 NHL season. Rogers has also not revealed whether it will go solo to the table with the NHL for negotiations, or enlist a partner to help stay relevant as a traditional TV linear TV provider by continuing to offer NHL games to Canadian fans. Streaming platforms are getting more and more involved in sport. After the UEFA Euro and the Olympics, which are very lucrative events, they are targeting the major leagues one by one. Not long ago we saw the battle for the NBA rights, now the NHL is on the table. Sports rights can bring in a lot of money on their own, but sports also bring in new subscribers and viewing time for streaming companies, making it easier to find new advertisers and get more money from them. All the major companies in the streaming market are watching with interest what's happening in the sports world, looking for opportunities. Time will tell who will be successful in the streaming game. The American and Canadian leagues are the first choice, but let's not forget the UEFA Champions League, volleyball, golf, tennis, winter sports, etc. This is a big cake that can be sliced into many pieces, each of which can be worth the effort. The cake looks sweet, but without proper cost and benefit, opportunity and risk calculations, it can turn out a little bitter. Market research managers have their work cut out for them. It is easy to paint an opportunity in too bright a color and to make decisions and investments too quickly. But if the job is done right, a lot can be achieved. Let me know what you think in the comments. You can find a link to the full article in the first comment under this post. Follow my profile to stay up-to-date when it comes to industry news, technology updates, and market analysis. #SzymonKarbowski #StreamVX #AmazonPrimeVideo #videostreaming #NHL #hockey #rights #TVRights

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Iger says it’s their “biggest foray ever” into gaming and now Disney is going to allow developers "the opportunity to create their own wholly unique Disney-themed gaming experiences" (see pocketgamer article in comments) Why is this significant? Well, the House of Mouse is the undoubted master of IP building and crucially of CONTROLLING how they’re managed. And whilst in these days of UGC platforms it’s not unusual for IP to be ‘borrowed’ by creators, this marks an acknowledgment by Disney that by ceding *some* control (amount tbc) it puts their characters and worlds into the hands of many more users and creators than ever before. It sounds risky handing over your IP right? Especially when you can’t fully dictate how it will be used? (Again, the extent to which Disney will hand over the reigns with their IP is to be revealed) but this marks an acknowledgement of the user-centric era that you may have heard me and others talk about. Joe Condon explains it eloquently in his excellent newsletter - also linked in comments. Disney opening up use of their IP is powerful because it unlocks: 💰‘Hands Off’ Marketing & Revenue Generation - in a simplified way, the beauty of UGC is that once all the assets have been created and the IP integrated into the platform, the power can be with the creators to do a lot of the heavy lifting in marketing the IP and building the experiences that can eventually drive revenue for your brand. It’s a win-win. Low-lift, large reach, and quick feedback on what’s resonating, and what’s not. 💭Insight into Crossovers & The Big Screen Implications - Disney has such diverse IP that it attracts audiences from Gen A to Baby Boomers. With Fortnite about to play home to a concoction of these IP, it’ll provide invaluable (and real-time) feedback on which of their IPs are resonating the most with Fortnite’s audience, and what crossovers are most popular. You’d imagine this insight will be helping to advise decisions at Disney around which of their IPs are worth funding for future films and crossovers on the big screen so they get the most bang for their buck.

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