zack starikov

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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Being vocal about it, would be bad for business, but there's a growing cohort of disgruntled media folks out there that we recently spoke to... "𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐤𝐮 𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩," said a senior executive from a leading streaming company. "𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭-𝐭𝐨-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥. 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭." A Product Marketing professional at another streaming service highlighted a related challenge: "𝐖𝐞 (𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲) 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐓𝐂 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭; 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬." App platforms like Apple, Google, and Roku have taken on a gatekeeping role in the streaming industry. By mandating the use of their in-app purchasing systems, they not only claim a portion of every subscription but also control critical customer data, including payment information, engagement metrics, and personal preferences. This is why bundles like Disney’s Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ are so significant. They reduce reliance on third-party platforms by incentivizing users to sign up through Disney’s ecosystem, maintaining full control over customer relationships, and avoiding platform taxes. The Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle also provides a similar advantage, driving users through each service’s existing infrastructure. These moves are part of a broader trend to regain revenue control and increase margins. #streamingwars #tv #media #entertainment #technology

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The Trade Desk (TTD) is on a mission to rewrite the rules of the game, and they’re doing it with a poker face worthy of a championship. While they keep denying any intentions of launching their own TV OS, insiders like Erez Levin, Media Futurist, suggest that TTD has been secretly working on "Project Bridgewater" since 2019. They're reportedly collaborating with Sonos, Inc., known for its sleek speakers, to craft a smart TV OS. But why would Sonos leap into TV? As Levin notes, building a smart TV OS isn’t just tricky—it’s an Olympic-level challenge requiring not just technical prowess but serious negotiation skills with the likes of Netflix and Disney+. Matthew Keys and Julian Savitch-Lee 🔜 Videoweek and Dmexco, experts in CTV and programmatic advertising, weigh in on TTD's strategy, likening their denials to a reality TV star's apology tour—everyone knows what's really going on. While most TV makers play it safe by licensing established platforms from Google, Amazon, or Roku, Sonos is betting on TTD's fresh take to carve out a distinctive identity. Why settle for being another cog in the machine when you can have a direct line to the juicy data TTD is offering through its Unified ID 2.0? Lynne d Johnson of AdMonsters argues that TTD’s data ambitions, like creating a "unified consumer profile," make them the ultimate data gatekeeper in a world where privacy is tightening and cookies are going the way of the dodo. But what's the endgame? TTD seems to be setting up a whole new ecosystem that echoes Google's playbook with DoubleClick, but for Connected TV (CTV). Imagine controlling everything from content to data to ad delivery. Lynne d Johnson sums it up best that TTD wants to be the new sheriff in town. By reducing the middlemen, controlling inventory, and creating new revenue streams from data like Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), TTD aims to dominate the CTV landscape. W hat’s your take on TTD's ambitions? Are they building a new walled garden, or just giving the old guard a run for their money? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments! Jeff Green

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RE: COUNT Netflix has 270 mil subs. Amazon Prime Video: 160 mil. 72% of Netflix subs are active per month. 77% of Prime subs are active per month. ≈7% of Netflix users are on their ad tier. ≈60% of Prime users are on the ad tier. Netflix's users each watch 62 hrs of content each month. Prime users watch just 18 hrs per month. Netflix subs watch 10.9 billion hrs per month. Amazon Prime members watch 2.07 billion hrs/mo. Netflix AD TIER subs watch 843 million hrs/mo. Amazon AD TIER users watch 1.4 billion hrs/mo. What we measure matters. Get the math behind this data, here: https://lnkd.in/eFRum6Pf Sources: Digital i, Antenna, company earnings & ESHAP estimates #streaming #digitalads #advertising #upfront

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Disney’s Q4 2024 results, highlighted gains in streaming profitability. Our boy, Skip @ The Streaming Wars unpacks the hits... 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 Disney+ reaches 158.6M subs globally Hulu hits 52M; ESPN+ at 28M subs 60% of new Disney+ users choose ad-supported tier 𝐁𝐨𝐱 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬 Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine lead First studio to cross $4B globally in 2024 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 Streaming income jumps to $321M Revenue up 6% to $22.6B; net income at $460M 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 Content spending steady at $24B EPS growth projected for 2026 & 2027

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This one's juicy ... and totally expected. Allison Schiff gives us the latest from the FTC's assessment of online privacy across some of the largest social media and video streaming platforms. "Data hoarding, including information from data brokers; indefinite data retention policies; a lack of control or oversight for data handling; an inadequate approach to data minimization; a tendency not to fully comply with user data deletion requests; a reliance on 'privacy-invasive tracking technologies, such as pixels'; using algorithms for analytics with no easy way for people to opt out .... We need real protections for people’s data .… No one has time to read those policies, and choice is illusory in many of these markets.” The tides are changing. Reading articles like this one from AdExchanger highlight warning shots from the FTC. Enforcement is likely next. And whether you're motivated by risk or by opportunity, 74% of consumers say they’ll share their data with brands they trust will protect their data. This is why my colleagues and I at Symitri believe that privacy is a competitive advantage. In the end, the good guys will win.

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📱 Apple’s iOS 18 Update Could Crush Social App Growth – Here’s Why! What's new: iOS 18 introduces selective contact-sharing permissions, meaning users can now choose which contacts to share with apps—no more blanket access. Why it matters: Apps like Instagram and WhatsApp historically thrived on syncing contacts to help users connect with friends. Zoom out: Some developers fear this change will hinder the growth of new social apps by limiting their access to user networks. Big picture: Privacy: Apple says the change enhances privacy by restricting access to unwanted or sensitive contacts. Unfair advantage? Developers accuse Apple of not applying the same rule to its own apps, like iMessage, calling it anticompetitive. Winners & losers: Established giants like Instagram might benefit, while new apps struggle to build networks. The bottom line: The shift could push users to content-based platforms like TikTok, while exposing the tension between privacy and competition in the app world.

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Below are 3 deal insights on Node App's $13M sale to DULCEDO Management. This is critical info for any creator x media biz owner. 📈 GROWING INFLUENCER M&A There's been many influencer marketing M&A deals in last couple years, ranging from Publicis Groupe buying Influential to Stagwell buying Movers+Shakers. Through these deals, we've observed a premium for platforms that can bring together thousands of brands and thousands of creators, and do campaigns at scale. 🤝 DULCEDO'S 5TH ACQUISITION This is Dulcedo's 5th acquisition over past 6 to 7 years. They've acquired different talent representation, PR, and digital agencies like Sundae Creative Agency and Influence + All Management. There's been no press about Dulcedo having PE-backing, so they're likely doing these deals off their balance sheet and getting creative in deal structuring. 📊 ESTIMATED 31X EBITDA MULTIPLE I estimate run-rate revenue around $1.2M, and EBITDA around $420k. At $13M purchase price, that's a 31X EBITDA multiple. Assuming my math is directionally right, this is significantly higher than other deals like Influential, which I estimated was sold to Publicis for around 11x forward EBITDA. You can read more about the deal on my blog: 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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Another big licensing deal in podcasting! In addition to selling the audio podcast inventory, Amazon will distribute video episodes and translate them for global distribution. These types of deals show how effective podcasting can be in proving IP. Once you have a hit, you need to figure out your 360-degree strategy for global audiences, live events, merchandise, etc. Q3 just started, and we'll still see a couple more of these before the end of the year, as predicted in the DWNLOAD Media Report. https://lnkd.in/efJVZXEE

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The last installment of my yearly streaming service comparison is out now: #Spotify vs. #AmazonMusic. I'll walk you through why you might want to switch to Amazon: https://lnkd.in/eegXKdmP

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The best part about live streaming on tiktok is that they tell you where you rank in accordance with other people streaming on tiktok. The more you stream and get gifts, you move up a rank. The more ranks you move up the more you're live streams are pushed to the algo. What a brilliant and transparent system. Follow me there for more tips at ImKingGinger

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Well now, that was embarrassing. Know the feeling? I've run over 100 live shows, and last night's S3 E5 of The Hotness Unleasher Show got off to a very rocky start. TL:DR - switching livestreaming platforms is hard. Prepare. Then prepare more. Think you're done? Test again. Ok. The story... So, I've been using StreamYard for about a year now, and it's a very reliable platform. There are some feature limitations, and a few other ankle biters, but I'm used to it. It works. To expand - scheduled posts go up, the video doesn't pixelate, sound quality is good, it's an all around workhorse. I don't want to say I 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 it, but I kinda do. But then they decided to raise their prices by about 2x - to $89/mo. And I was offended. In my most dramatic voice... "Oh Streamyard! How could you do this to me? Me!?" And I swoon. Upon waking up, in a sort of desperate delirium, Streamlabs Talk Studio arrives as a shining $17/mo savior to my plight. Elijah D. and I test it. I schedule S3 E5 of the show, I recruit my guests, everything is set... except one itty bitty wittle thing... Instead of scheduling the event through Streamlabs, I scheduled it manually in LinkedIn and thought I could add it to Streamlabs with the RTMP keys after I clicked go live. If there's a function in Streamlabs for adding a LinkedIn destination waiting for a stream source after pushing go live - I could not find it. We were DOA Elijah and I, along with Melanie Richards , Chelle Shapiro , and Shirley Ann Felder , were stuck while I not so calmly worked to conjure a solution. I was my show to fix. Solution! Ditch the scheduled event, get everyone back in an unscheduled room, and add the LinkedIn RTMP keys as a destination. That'll work. No. That was a fail too. Damn. Solution! Ditch all of it, get everyone back in unscheduled room, and just go live to my profile and YT. That sort of worked, I'm told, but I could not see the live - thank you so much to Leslie Flowers who did find it and confirmed. But I was rattled. Then Streamlabs dropped me out of my own show for a couple minutes. WTF? The show soldiered on, and despite starting 20 minutes late, we only ran over our time by about 10 minutes. But I rushed it because I was embarrassed. Running a smooth show is something I'm good at. Something I take pride in. I especially wanted this to be a good, smooth, show to highlight the energy Elijah has added and to honor my guests and their Hotness Unleashers - Charlene Brown Sanah Bittaye Mitchell Cheryl J. Moses Jonathan Howard Shawna Wood Coleman WENDY GILHULA Instead, I was focused on myself, the tech, the crunch of a busted episode. But at the end, I was met with extreme kindness by my guests despite it all. They were supportive, gracious, and truly embodied the spirit of the show. To them, and to all of you who did stumble upon it and left a comment or many... Thank you. ps - S3 E6 will go live - Oct 22. Guests TBA.

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Spotify is launching an ad exchange, according to an exclusive by Sara Fischer at Axios. What's interesting is that they're starting with video —a growing focus for the streaming giant (see previous posts "Is Spotify becoming YouTube"? with music videos and podcasters incentivized to upload video). Analysts estimate Spotify's 2024 ad revenue at $2bn (mainly from music, but with a growing share from podcasts —the only way to reach premium Spotify users with ads). For comparison, video ad heavyweight YouTube is expected to pull in $36bn. https://lnkd.in/gFna_gqQ #Spotify #Advertising #VideoContent #AxiosExclusive #DigitalMarketing

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Samuel Youn from Chegg Inc. is spot-on in his assessment of why we'll probably hear the sucking sound of MFA sites siphoning money away from professional content publishers for a very long time. Sam enumerates the usual vanity metrics that drive MFA media buying. He also points out how "... MFA monetization benefits everyone in the ad tech ecosystem that collects a revenue share. That includes both SSPs and DSPs. Turning off MFA would mean rejecting revenue – a move few can afford." Frankly, the excuses are bullshit. TRUSTX is an SSP that never monetized MFA. We've managed to make it work. If the 'little engine that could' can do it, our much larger peer set should have no trouble weaning themselves from the crack cocaine of high-volume, low-dollar MFA transactions. And for brands and their agencies? After ten months of repeated proof that MFA generates zero to negative returns on your media investments, I can't fathom how ad budgets haven't, by now, been redirected away from this garbage. The most unfortunate reality is that annual ad budgets are finite. Every dollar wasted with MFA is a dollar legitimate content publishers never see. So for brands who seem to be perfectly comfortable throwing their money away, I'd like to ask in the nicest and most gracious fashion ... please throw it away in support of professional content creators. And please consider throwing just a bit more away to independent news organizations, which are slowly dying for lack of sustainable revenues.

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