I published an article yesterday about Quibi’s rough start, relative to the amount of capital raised and spent. I’m a big believer in the opportunity for mobile-native content formats so sad to see it. I highlighted four main issues I saw: Miscalculating the risk of launching during the COVID-19 lockdown. Undervaluing the central role of interactivity in […]
Category Archives: Film/TV/Video
The Covid-19 crisis is pushing esports broadcasting into a new era
I wrote a post on TechCrunch about how EA and other game publishers are re-envisioning how to produce esports broadcasts for TV audiences as a result of the restrictions in place due to Covid-19. Read it here >>
The decline of the theatrical window
(This was originally published as a section in today’s newsletter. Sign up here.) The news: Universal Pictures animated film “Trolls World Tour” has earned $95m in its first 3 weeks on-demand, having skipped its theatrical release due to Covid-19. Universal said they will release more films direct to VOD as a result. US and European cinema […]
Webinar on the state of kids media
I hosted a webinar on TechCrunch about the state of kids media amid the Covid-19 crisis. My guests were: Craig Donato, chief business officer of Roblox, the $4 billion gaming platform that counts the majority of U.S. kids age 9-12 among its active users. Nancy MacIntyre, co-founder and CEO of Fingerprint, the company behind Kidimo, a leading subscription video […]
Analysis of Disney’s CEO reshuffle
I shared my analysis of Disney’s sudden announcement about a chance in CEO yesterday on TechCrunch. Read it here >>
Analysis of Disney’s CEO reshuffle
Big news yesterday about Disney’s executive team. Read my analysis on TechCrunch >>
Digital Media 2020: my overview of film & TV, gaming, VFX, audio tech, social media, music, podcasting, and publishing
My outlook for 2020 is now up on TechCrunch >>
Interview with Lightspeed’s Jeremy Liew about always-on media startups
I spoke with Jeremy Liew, general partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners and the first investor in Snapchat, about his interest in media startups whose content runs in the background while we do other primary tasks. Read our transcript on TechCrunch >>
My interview with Laura Martin of Needham & Company
I saw leading Wall St media analyst Laura Martin of Needham & Company debate the future of Netflix on stage at the Banff World Media Conference in June and caught up with her after to expand on her assessment of the streaming giant and the streaming video landscape more broadly. Check out the transcript of […]
A guide to Virtual Beings
Last week in San Francisco, I spoke at the first Virtual Beings Summit (organized by Fable Studio CEO Edward Saatchi). The term “virtual beings” gets used as a catch-all categorization of fictional personalities that humans can interact with. This ranges from activities like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft pouring resources into conversational AI technology to […]