The first time I met Radha Subramanyam was when she was a fledgling researcher with Comedy Central decades ago at a conference much like the one upcoming in Nashville this month. It was at one of those decadent client dinners that a particularly generous vendor was throwing, and I honestly can’t remember when or where … Read more
In Mays not that many Mays ago, those of us fortunate enough to work in entertainment cleared our calendars for the first 15-20 days of the month in similar ways to how accountants do that for the first half of April. Pilot season was to media, and especially to research teams, what tax season was … Read more
I was all set to devote some space today to the rapidly dwindling concept of a traditional broadcast network pilot season. All but eliminated in 2020 by the pandemic, it has returned to some extent this year, albeit in a much smaller and frequently anticlimactic form due to the evolving nature of synergistic corporate alliances … Read more
While I’ve yet to personally meet Evan Shapiro, he should know that he’s one of my favorite media executives of all time. He’s a risk-taker, passionate, can unravel complicated concepts and ideas didactically and has the track record of personal and professional success to back it up. And best still, he respects the role of … Read more
Less than one day after Elon Musk announced his intention to take a spare $44B and acquire Twitter, attentive observers started noticing some seismic shifts in the number of followers that certain accounts had, all of which were double-digit multiples of their average daily fluctuations. As SocialBlade widely reported, everybody’s favorite gun-toting congresswoman Marjorie Taylor … Read more
I had a couple of long drives over the last 48 hours to listen to, absorb and ponder the ramifications of the tentative sale of Twitter to Elon Musk. As anyone who pays any level of attention to news, social media, politics or gossip already knows, many are already predicting either the fulfilling of Musk’s … Read more
I’ve been around media for more than four decades professionally and more than six decades personally. If you haven’t already figured it out, I live to experience the connection of content and mind and the business and psychological dynamics that go into it. I consider myself more experienced and accomplished than many, but hardly unique … Read more
I’m continually bemused by the sheer level of arrogance and attitude that some millennial and Gen Z creatives have against people of my vintage. There is an almost elitist air about many of them who believe that no one over 35 matters, that what appeals to them should appeal to anyone of consequence, and that … Read more
A longtime comrade in arms gave some feedback on my recent post regarding Netflix’s announced pivot to an ad-supported streaming option and the challenges they will face in getting into the game significantly enough at a stage when so many competitors are already in it or far more prepared to do so. (I actually was … Read more
I imagine when Chris Licht first took the gig as head of CNN he had a similar reaction to the CNN+ business plan as I did when I got set up with Marilyn. Well-intentioned, to be sure. But not for me. But in both situations the challenge is to be respectful enough to those who … Read more