Angela M. Fisher

Tubi launches in the UK - OTT overkill? "Tubi, the free advertising-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corp., is looking to bring its success formula to the U.K., launching in the market on Tuesday, July 2. The streamer, led by CEO Anjali Sud, the former head of Vimeo, now has about 80 million monthly active users....In the U.S., its strategy has differed from other FAST platforms. For example, 90 percent of viewing on Tubi is focused on on-demand movies and TV series, compared to peers’ focus on live, linear channels. And per the Nielsen Gauge from May, Tubi made up 1.8 percent of all TV viewing in the U.S. for that month, tied with Disney+." "“Tubi has spent the last decade honing our approach to vast, free and fun streaming in North America, and we feel that now is the perfect time to bring that recipe to U.K. audiences,” said Sud in unveiling the U.K. debut. “We are launching with one of the largest and most diverse content libraries in the U.K., designed to indulge viewers in everything from blockbusters to original stories to hidden gems.”" Tubi's different approach has had success in the US, and the logic goes, if it can work in the US, it can work anywhere, especially in the UK given the common language. However, that's a lazy comparison to make. Despite the commonality in language, the UK as a TV market is much more like Europe than it is the US. The UK has several free alternatives, and more focused on the local market, ITV X, BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, plus the growing range of #fastchannels on offer in the market. Added to that the paid #svod services, Disney+ Prime, Netflix, Paramount etc. Then of course there's still #lineartv with freeview offering around 50-70 channels for free. "Much of Tubi’s early work will be “listening” to consumers’ usage, reaction and input. “This is about putting the U.K. viewer at the center,” argued Sud. “Right now, our perspective is it’s day one, let’s earn the right to deeply understand this audience.”" - Well in my opinion, the only way to do this, is to invest in originals and make an impact on the UK, meeting the market at its level. That is what the competition is doing, rather than sending US series for a US audience to the UK and expecting the same results. Of course, like in all markets it has its place, and will have interest, given Tubi's Fox catalogue. However, there's a ceiling on that approach. They're indicating they'll focus on Bollywood productions. But the UK has a big Bollywood-focused media already, what is Tubi bringing that's new? "management will remain open-minded. “It’s not prescriptive,” Sud said. “It’s a bottoms-up culture, it’s not a top-down approach.” - Remains to be seen, my bet is its more the latter. https://lnkd.in/eqWZu7mT

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During a conference this week, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra stated that the business is trying to create more profitable, genre-specific streaming projects that are equivalent to Crunchyroll. Tony stated, "We would love to launch more genre-based targeted, passionate fan centered streaming services. We're really positive on that front. And that's what we're now working on. However, it will take some time for the market to stabilize." He added that Sony is not beset by legacy TV networks, in contrast to Disney and other broadcasters. When he began working for Sony, the business had 110 cable networks worldwide. However, all of those networks have since been sold, with the exception of three markets—Spain, Latin America, and India—where cable networks are continuously expanding. For licensing of content, Sony has "proposed structures where we'd get the show back after 4 years or 5 years as opposed to the much longer terms that are currently in place, but thus far, there hasn't been much development in that area." Tony said that when it comes to consolidation in the market, Sony plans to "sit back and watch what comes available to us because we're in a very stable, very comfortable position. And we think that there will be lots of businesses that pop out of these companies...we would be interested in taking on mainly in the IP area, and that's really where we'll be focused." #streamingmedia #sony #SVOD #AVOD #paytv #cordcutting

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Insignia Capital Group paid $100M+ for Veritone One and Oxford Road. The deal creates the world’s largest audio ad agency. It’s also major validation of podcasting's growth potential. Let's break it down... ---SELLER 1: Veritone One--- • Performance audio and video influencer agency • Parent co is Veritone (see overview below) • Based in Irvine, CA • 100+ employees Corporate History (via parent co M&A) • 2016 created via acquisition / rebranding of ROI Media Direct • 2018 acquired Performance Bridge 3Q YTD Financials (PE 9.30.24) • Total revenue of $23M, up 12% YoY from $20.5M • Total non-GAAP NI of $9.35M, up 80% YoY from $5.2M Other Financials • Implied $11.7M TTM 9.30.24 EBITDA based 8.9x valuation multiple • Was 24% of parent co revenue for YTD 9.30.24 ---SELLER 1 PARENT CO: Veritone— • Enterprise AI software, applications, and services provider • Founded 2014 by CEO Ryan Steelberg, Chad Steelberg, two brothers • Clients in commercial and public sector • Publicly traded on NASDAQ: VERI • Based in Irvine, CA Stock performance as of 11.4.24 at 10:57am ET • $3.35 share price • Mkt cap of $127M • Down 20% since 10.17.24 deal news • Up 84% YTD • Up 30% YoY Financials (post sale) • 2025E revenue of $114M, up 20% YoY • 2025E net loss of ($20M), down 44% Yoy • $65M of ARR —SELLER 2: Oxford Road— • Podcast advertising agency • Founded 2013 Daniel Granger • No outside equity capital prior to sale • Helped scale early DTC co’s into $1B+ brands like ZipRecruiter, Dollar Shave Club • 50-75 employees • Based in LA ---BUYER: Insignia Capital--- • Growth PE fund • Focus on biz services, consumer value chain services, consumer products • Also backer of New Engen, Inc., a digital agency doing M&A rollup • Target US and Canada-based companies Investment Criteria • $5M+ EBITDA • $20M+ revenue • $20-100M equity investments • Historical growth, profitability • Majority and significant minority • Significant owner / founder rollover ---DEAL DETAILS--- • Simultaneous sign and close on 10.17.24 Veritone One • Total potential price = $104M • $59.1M in cash  • $6.7M in escrow • $20.3M in price adjustments • $18M cash earnout for 2025 • 3.5x revenue multiple (9.30.24 TTM) • 8.9x EBITDA multiple Oxford Road • Undisclosed ---DEAL VALUE PROP--- • Form world’s largest podcast group and leading creator-based media entity • Enable ex parent co Veritone to focus on AI software, products, and services, pay down $30.5M of term loan ---POST DEAL OPS--- • VONE and OR to operate independently in near term, unify under one brand in future • OR founder Dan Granger to be CEO of combined org ...I'll write more about deal in my Friday newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gsCaH6eM -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

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Unlocking Your Creative Potential: This Week’s Highlights 🌟 Happy Sunday! This week, we explored overcoming imposter syndrome, the transformative power of feedback, and celebrated industry achievements. Here’s a recap: 1. Conquering Imposter Syndrome: Tariq’s Journey Tariq, a commissioning editor at a leading Los Angeles streaming platform, faced self-doubt despite his accomplishments. Together, we: • Identified Limiting Beliefs: Recognized and reframed negative self-talk. • Built a Supportive Network: Encouraged connections with peers and mentors. • Embraced Continuous Learning: Adopted a growth mindset. Tariq now leads with confidence, recently earning a promotion. Key Takeaway: With the right support, overcoming imposter syndrome leads to renewed confidence and growth. 2. Embracing Feedback: A Path to Growth Avoiding feedback stems from fear of criticism. To overcome this: • Ask Direct Questions: Seek clarity on strengths and areas for improvement. • Reframe Feedback: View it as a tool for connection and development. This approach transformed my perspective and that of my client, Sarah, a freelance producer who gained confidence and stronger relationships through feedback. Key Takeaway: Feedback isn’t a threat but a pathway to connection and growth. 3. Celebrating Industry Impact: Simone Pennant MBE and The TV Collective At the RTS Craft and Design Awards, Simone Pennant MBE and The TV Collective received the Special Impact Award. Simone’s dedication to diversity and inclusion is reshaping the industry. As the group coach for the Breakthrough Leaders program, I’m proud to support her mission to empower emerging talent. Key Takeaway: Championing diverse voices fosters a more inclusive and innovative television landscape. Let’s continue to embrace growth, seek feedback, and celebrate the achievements that drive our industry forward.

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Grounds rumbling in the music industry! Recent industry news has unveiled a wave of change sweeping the music business landscape: 🔹 Spotify surpasses Universal as the most valuable company in music, with executives cashing out 🔹 Universal shares plummet by over 24% 🔹 Warner and HYBE shake up senior management, including CEO departures 🔹 Spotify's expansion of its successful AI tool DJ curation now includes Spanish (DJ Livi) Key takeaways and connecting the dots: 🔹 Wall Street's concern over the streaming slowdown in developed markets 🔹 Spotify's path to profitability and AI leverage being acknowledged 🔹 Management shake-ups signaling significant impending changes 🔹 The prime AI opportunity lies in curation 🔹 Spotify's rise over Universal underscores Wall Street's preference for owning the consumer experience and brand 🔹 Mexico's increasing significance across the music ecosystem, spanning live events, streaming, and artist super fans 🔹 The primary opportunity lies in super fans utilizing AI to cultivate relationships rather than push products #musicindustry #streaming #entertainmentbrands

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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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I read this interesting article on whether Netflix or Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios was the biggest streamer. From a subscriber standpoint Netflix reported that it had 269.6 million global subscribers at the end of March 2024, as reported in its April Q1 2024 earnings. Amazon Prime Video does not disclose subscriber numbers, but mentioned in a CEO’s letter to shareholders that it had had “over 200 million” subscribers as of April 2024. An argument can be made that Amazon Prime subscribers do so for the shipping benefit but at the end of the day being a Prime member gets you the entertainment for free. I opted for the $50 per year ad-free which I think is still a great value …I think I made it back just off of watching Fallout commercial free. The next area I wanted to look at is revenue. Amazon’s reportsthat its subscription services alone brought in $10.48 billion in Q1 of 2024. In Netflix’s latest earnings, revenue came in at $9.37 billion for Q1 2024. I think going forward people are may not see the stealth that Amazon has employed in mechandising. After I binged Fallout I went to Amazon to see what kind items I could buy from the show. The number of t-shirts and other Fallout products rivaled what I’d see of the movies came from The Walt Disney Company. It’s kind of sad watching the studios trying to keep their heads above the debt waters. Like most movie fans I want to see Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery thrive but unless interest rates go down it’s going to be tough. https://lnkd.in/gr9Em55M

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Content Monetization is the primary revenue generation #contentstrategy for content libraries, #fast and #fastchannels just does not cut it, join the race to prove #streamingmedia and #broadcastmedia is an amazing business model if deployed via the #streamingplaybook. https://viewtvx.com

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INSIGHTS on #Netflix #PaulTyson #Streaming Event Most streaming fans tuned in to witness Netflix's first large-scale live streaming event: the boxing match between Jake Paul (27 years old) and Mike Tyson (58 years old). To provide context, let's look at some reference points: - Peacock's NFL Playoff Game: During the exclusive Peacock-streamed AFL football game, it consumed 19% of Comcast's network. Despite heavy traffic, some CDNs struggled to serve all sessions, leading to either degraded quality or session rejections. NBC estimated the game attracted an average of 27 million users. - Comcast's internet traffic recently peaked at 30% of its network capacity due to a Fortnite upgrade. Unlike live adaptive streaming, this was primarily massive file delivery, creating a different traffic pattern. According to Kentik, a traffic-monitoring service, this upgrade caused a peak 15x higher than the previous day's baseline (though specifics about the network weren't disclosed). - During the Netflix boxing event, Kentik reported a more modest peak of 3x compared to the previous day. Based on this, my deduction is: Netflix’s peak traffic was five times lower than Fortnite’s. Comparing Netflix to Comcast’s observedn. peak: Netflix traffic was 1.6x lower than Fortnite's on Comcast’s network, which suggests Netflix’s event traffic was lower than Peacock’s AFL playoff game. Assuming the same resolution (HD) and codec (AVC), this translates to an estimated 15 million average U.S. viewers for Netflix. Using a DOCSIS 3.x modem with a measured 700 Mbps on the Xfinity ISP network, I tested the stream on both a set-top box (STB) and a mobile device connected via Wi-Fi. During the four-hour event: - On mobile: No rebuffering issues. - On STB: One instance of rebuffering—notably when Tyson entered the ring, likely during peak audience traffic-;) This discrepancy is understandable as STBs typically request a 1080p profile, which requires more bandwidth, while mobile devices are known to cap requests at 480p when connections are unstable. Interestingly, Twitter feedback was overwhelmingly negative. Many users reported buffering or significant resolution drops. In contrast, my personal experience was largely positive, which suggests some viewers encountered CDN or network-specific issues. Two plausible explanations for Netflix’s performance challenges: - Open Connect CDN Overload: If Netflix relied exclusively on its Open Connect CDN, it might have been overwhelmed. In such cases, content requests would need to traverse ISP peering points, potentially encountering insufficient network capacity. - Under-Provisioned Public CDN Support: Netflix may have supplemented its CDN with public CDNs for overflow traffic, but the reserved capacity could have been inadequate for the event's actual demand. Insights welcome. See in comment coverage by Carlo De Marchis. Mark de Jong Michael Faye Xavier Leclercq Magnus Svensson Jason Thibeault Keith Chow Robin Oakley Will Law

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A couple of months ago I posted about RIAA suing Verison. Last month Verizon shot back: https://lnkd.in/g23p4KSX What will be the end result of this “conversation’ playing out in court. In the long term. Is this a result of technology (streaming services) not addressing the problem that they were trying to solve? Perhaps this is a signal that further innovation is needed in how content is managed, distributed, and monetized online. There's a strong argument that, while tech helped create more accessible music platforms, it hasn't fully addressed the concerns of artists, songwriters, and other creators. Is this lawsuit an opportunity to revisit those revenue-sharing models and perhaps craft something fairer?  We want to move forward and not limit creativity as it seems the problem is still not solved. Where do we go from here?

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🚀 Exciting news from Covatic! I'm thrilled to announce the launch of our Audience Linking solution, a true game-changer for media owners who want to effectively pool and target audience cohorts across platforms without relying on third-party cookies. 🔒 Our innovative approach recognises anonymous users across various apps and services in a privacy-secure and scalable way. Audience Linking by Covatic does not depend on third-party cookies. It seamlessly integrates with first-party or pan-publisher IDs and can even function effectively in environments where no IDs are present. We've collaborated closely with our clients to develop this solution, and we're incredibly proud to offer this highly effective and sustainable way to reach audiences and boost ROI for advertisers. MarTech newsroom analysts predict that 2024 will be a transformative year for the digital media and advertising sectors. Technologies such as Audience Linking are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future of the MarTech and AdTech landscapes. Join us in transforming audience targeting. 🌟 Check out the story by Sudipto G. for Marketing Technology Insights ⤵ #AudienceLinking #PrivacyFirst #AdvertisingInnovation #Covatic #adtech #media #advertising

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Billion-dollar PE buyouts are ramping, just see today's Squarespace news. Investors in media x agency deals should pay attention... Global deal activity is up 24% for 2024 YTD, with a total deal volume of $726B. Could be the beginning of a cyclical M&A rally, since deal volume was super depressed over the past couple years... ...and investors need to put money to work! Below are some recent public-to-private highlights, including a large media co deal where I did a deep analysis 👇 May 13 • Permira buying website builder Squarespace • Went public in 2021, closed 1st trading day at $5.9B valuation • $6.6 billion May 6 • EQT Group buying US digital consultancy Perficient • EQT also backs UTA, which has grown through M&A • $3 billion April 2 • Silver Lake buying diversified media co Endeavor • WME / UFC parent co TKO Global will stay public • $13 billion April 1 • Advent International buying payments processor Nuvei • Nuvie backed by celeb Ryan Reynolds • $6.3 billion Similarities across these recent deals include... - founder / CEOs staying on post deal - belief that targets are undervalued in public mkts - desire for more flexibility to grow, do M&A, and drive ent value for new owners That last point is key, as I think there's a strong desire to grow through M&A in a market where there are many sellers who can get picked up at good/fair prices VS the crazyness of 2020/2021. This is timely because... Last month I wrote about public-to-private deal dynamics in my Silver Lake / Endeavor analysis, check it out here --> https://lnkd.in/gtprBx7U I'm also working on an active client deal with similar characteristics, and it's important to know where capital is flowing, and why. Are you all seeing a similar trend?? -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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