Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy Newsletter! The best source for all my writings of the last week, along with the best reads, listens, socials and more to keep you informed on the business of entertainment.
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The Best of the Entertainment Strategy Guy
“If Content is King, Who Is Everyone Else” at my website.
If the entertainment industry were a chess board, who would everyone be? Turns out that content may not be king after all.
“Most Important Story of the Week: Quibi, Quibi, Quibi” at my website.
People seem to love Quibi—at least, it’s pretty well-hyped—but some recent departures should worry us about Quibi’s biggest strength. That plus a Disney Vault update, Apollo buying broadcast, and a look to fall in my latest weekly column.
The Best of The Rest
(These are the best reads, listens, newsletters, or social conversations I came across last week.)
Long Read of the Week - “The TV Subscriptions You’ll Need” Over at Medium
Mike Raab takes a look at how different library TV series will change homes during the streaming wars, using three different metrics. This is a bigger look at the TV landscape, but reinforces my worries on Disney+’s TV catalogue.
Other Long Read - “How/Why I cut the Cable” by Tim Goodman at The Hollywood Reporter
Pair this article with Josh Barro’s article from a few months back, and you start to see how/why cord cutting may accelerate in the years to come from fad to trend.
Other Long Read - “Why Spotify and Netflix Need to Worry About A Global Recession” on Music Industry Blog
This makes the best case I’ve read that the current benefits of Netflix and Spotify’s easy-to-cancel approach to subscriptions could become a liability in a recession. I’ve read the bullish cases for Netflix and recession, but I’ll emphasize that predicting consumer behavior in a recession is frankly tough and this provides a good counter.
Non-Entertainment Read - “Welcome to San Diego, Don’t Mind The Scooters” at The New York Times
It’s time for a good check-in with scooters and the future isn’t as bright as mid-2018.
Listen of the Week - Screengrab by KCRW “Summer in Review”
The biggest show of the summer was on a network most people can’t describe and a show almost no critics were talking about. Listen to two of TV reporting’s best explain.
Newsletter of the Week - Digiday Video Briefing “Producers at streaming shows are looking for product placement deals”.
Advertisers need to find a way to reach consumers, and product placement is providing that avenue. On streaming, producers have an easier time too, since they don’t have to deal with networks sales teams fighting for ad dollars too.
Updates
Hope you enjoy the first newsletter and will help spread the word. If you have any feedback, shooting me an email is the best way to stay in touch. The email is info plus the website name.
Coming up this week, I’m working on a new shape that will explain the streaming wars to come plus a few articles at other outlets, timing TBD.
(If this email was forwarded to you, and you’re wondering who I am, The Entertainment Strategy Guy writes under this pseudonym at his eponymous website. A former exec at a streaming company, he prefers writing to sending emails/attending meetings, so he launched his own website. You can follow him on Twitter or Linked-In for regular thoughts and analysis on the business, strategy and economics of the media and entertainment industry.)