Bloom In Tech

Raffi Bagdasarian is founder and CEO of Paket Media, which is building a product designed to simplify what’s emerging as a significant headache for millions of streaming-video consumers, and for the streaming services they buy into. The headache: dealing with managing multiple subscriptions from numerous media companies, especially as we shift away from traditional pay TV bundles. The complications of managing all those subscriptions are made worse because none of the big new services want to rely on a competitor such as Roku or Amazon to do it for them. Just look at what happened when HBO Max debuted without being part of either of those giant streaming platforms. I talked with Raffi as part of this episode, and more generally discuss some of the challenges emerging as more of us turn to streaming video, especially subscription services, to get more and more of entertainment. The shift brings lots of benefits, but its own set of headaches.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/supp

Peter Y. Levin is a partner in Griffin Gaming Partners, which invests in the game business, and chairman of Immortals, the big esports team with backers such as AEG, Meg Whitman and Michael Milken. Before all that, Levin was a founder of Nerdist, and former head of interactive for Lionsgate and Legendary, among much else. I talked with Peter about building the Metaverse, and how games such as Fortnite and Minecraft are helping us get there. We also talk opportunities in esports, mobile, marketing and educational content in games and much else. The real opportunity may be in building the Metaverse, which we're thinking about more and more as the pandemic forces us to spend more and more of our lives online in virtual environments.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

I talked with Dan Weinstein, the head of Studio71, the big online-video distributor, about "blocking and tackling" during the pandemic, new opportunities in streaming, why the OTT industry is loving what's on Studio71's shelf, and what's up with Quibi. We also talked about just-launched trivia board game "Half Truth," created by Jeopardy star Ken Jennings and Magic the Gathering creator Richard Garfield, and the challenges the company is finding launching a game meant for groups of grownups at a time when the pandemic has turned our social lives upside down. .  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

I talked recently with comedian and long-time podcaster Duncan Trussell about his newest project, The Midnight Gospel, now available on Netflix. It's an extremely unlikely mashup of Trussell's deeply philosophical podcast conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers out there and the DayGlo animation of Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time, in collaboration with animation house Titmouse. Together, they've wrought a fascinating piece of work. As part of our conversation, Duncan and I talked about such relevant cultural touchstones as John McPhee's Annals of the Former World, N.K, Jemisin's Hugo-winning science fiction, Nick Park's Oscar-winning Creature Comforts,  Ram Dass, Trudy Goodman, Roshi Joan Halifax, Anne Lamott, and, well, quite a few other things. The Midnight Gospel is a unique animated show, unlike anything else out there, and that's a good thing. Give a listen.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

Facebook is seeing a flood of celebrities interested in creating video game content for their fans during the coronavirus lockdown, Phil Ranta, the company's head of gaming creators, told me last week. Our conversation also got into the new tournaments capabilities at Facebook, the potential for virtual reality, and how former UFC/WWE fighter Ronda Rousey and Kingslayer are bringing new approaches to a sector ready for innovation in viewing experiences. Because of that opportunity and the huge interest in esports and live-streaming amid the pandemic, it's a great time to jump into the sector, he told me.  This podcast is an excerpt from my conversation with Phil last week as part of Let's DEW Lunch, a new daily video webinar from tech-conference organizers Digital Entertainment World Expo. This week, I'll be doing a similar conversation with Dan Weinstein of Studio 71, the big online-video production and talent-management company. You can register for that at https://www.dewexpo.com. --- Support this

Brent Weinstein is a partner and Chief Innovation Officer at one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, UTA. I interviewed Brent this week as part of the just-launched live-stream series Lets DEW Lunch, from the folks behind the Digital Entertainment World conference series. Brent has been closely involved in UTA's significant presence in technology and digital entertainment. Our conversation ranged widely, from esports to the new streaming services to celebrities launching their own social-media feeds to the long-term prospects for all those music live-streams, among much else. It's an extraordinary time in Hollywood, which already was undergoing wrenching changes even before the pandemic turned the business upside down. Check out our conversation, and if you get the chance, check out the Let's DEW Lunch conversations, which happen at mid-day (PST), and involve some high-profile executives from across the industry.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

As big parts of the economy get hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, social-media influencers and creators have an opportunity to do well, reaching audiences stuck with little to do. But it's not the time for hype and huckstering. We need strategies to inform, entertain and most of all comfort each other during this extraordinary time. In this episode, I suggest a few areas that are set to do well, and some approaches to creating content that can make a difference for everyone. I also would love to hear from you about what you're doing to entertain, inform and comfort yourself. What shows are you watching/streaming? What other media are you using? What else are you doing? Send me an audio comment through Anchor, or contact me on Twitter @DavidBloom or on LinkedIn /davidlbloom. I'd love to hear from you, especially now, when normal human connection is so fraught and complicated. Be careful out there.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

Influencer marketing is becoming a hot commodity these days, fueled in part by new data-privacy laws and Google's resulting decision to stop using cookies in its browser. That leaves social -media influencers and brand collaborations as a key way that companies can still extend their online presence while getting access to good audience data. That's just one of the  lessons from my recent conversations with former long-time Nike marketing executive Drieke Leenknegt and CreatorIQ CEO and founder Igor Vaks.  Leenknegt and I did a fireside chat during the Influencer Marketing Conference and Expo in Los Angeles, and grabbed the separate conversation you'll hear on this episode. After 20 years with Nike in both marketing and operational roles in China, Europe and the United States, Leenknegt is now a Portland-based consultant helping brands do a better job telling their stories, both on their own and with influencers and other collaborators and creators.  And Vaks'  Los Angeles-area company hel

Bob Pittman ran MTV and AOL when it was cool to run them, and has since done a lot of other big media jobs. These days, he runs iHeart Media, the nation's biggest radio group, and its biggest podcast group. At this week's Podcast Movement Evolutions conference in Los Angeles, Pittman sat down with Conal Byrne, his top podcasting executive, to talk about the business. I have a little bit of material from Pittman's talk, and my own observations from the show and elsewhere in a deal-filled week for what's become a burgeoning business. Call it my meta-podcast, the podcast about podcasting.  Along the way this holiday weekend, I take a little detour to smell the roses, with my essay called The Stick and the Box, inspired by some conversations today that got me thinking about the ways dogs and kids have managed to find joy, and how the rest of us could benefit by spending more time finding our own gratitude.  Check it out, and let me know what you think on Twitter (@Davidbloom), LinkedIn (/davidlbloom), a

Quibi used the Oscars and a Super Bowl ad to kick off what it promises will be a massive marketing blitz ahead of the April 6 launch of the mobile streaming-video service. But with the Olympics, elections, and oh so much streaming-video competition (not least from all the Disney-owned networks advertising Oscar night on corporate cousin ABC ), will it be enough to help Quibi break through to success? I take a look at what Quibi's last few weeks, and its prospects ahead.   --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

Hollywood's studios and TV networks used to exist in their own separate universes, with little crossover in on-screen talent, business models, or awards seasons. In the new era of Netflix and other subscription video services, such old-school differentiation no longer exists. For the same reason, those old-school awards seasons don't really exist anymore either. Here a few days before the big Oscar telecast, where Netflix has 24 nominations including two for Best Picture, I talk about why a streamer's work is never done.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

We're about to see a flood of "deepfake" videos, which superimpose one person's face on another's body. Most of them will be fun and innocuous, thanks to new tools from social-media sites such as Snapchat and TikTok as well as stand-alone apps such as Zao, Doublicat and Morphin. Facebook and Instagram, meanwhile, are trying to crack down on the most abusive "manipulated media" images and video as part of a newly announced policy. But with a looming election, and an incumbent who has repeatedly shown willingness to spotlight fake material that attacks his opponents, this could be a long election season filled with dubious video. More importantly, are we sophisticated enough as video consumers to know when we're seeing deepfakes, especially ones that reinforce our own negative feelings toward a candidate? Buckle your seatbelts, dream babies. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Listen to my latest Bloom in Tech episode for more.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

After high-profile launches in November, and early success with shows such as The Morning Show and The Mandalorian, new subscription streaming services Disney+ and Apple TV+ are now moving into new and uncertain territory. Subscribers may have seen the shows they wanted to see, and may be considering moving on. In this episode of Bloom in Tech, we talk about the Churn Zone, and what it means for Disney, Apple and other subscription video services launching this spring.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

The NCAA's recent decision to allow college athletes to profit from their "name, image and likeness" is likely to unleash a deluge of athlete/influencers, with a long list of unanswered questions about what it's all going to mean for influencers, influencer marketing, advertisers and college sports. I get into some of the issues in the first part of this episode.  In part two, listen to the panel I moderated at  the sprawling Digital Hollywood conference earlier this month on influencers and the influencer lifestyle. The discussion featured  Shaine Griffin, Associate Commercials Strategist for SAG-AFTRA, organizing influencers; Bruna Nessif, Influencer and Author, “Let That Shit Go: A Journey to Forgiveness, Healing & Understanding Love” & founder, “The Problem With Dating;" Gregg Martin, Actor and content creator; Brendan Kane, Author of “One Million Followers;” and YiZhou, Influencer, actor, director & founder of Global Intuition.  It's a great conversation for anyone interes

Claire Wineland became a popular YouTube influencer talking about the thing that ultimately killed her, cystic fibrosis. But she also became popular because she talked about so much more than just CF, living a remarkable life and teaching us repeatedly that we need to pursue something bigger than ourselves, no matter the challenges life dumps in our lap. I talked with Nicholas Reed about Claire Wineland and "Claire," the YouTube Original documentary he co-directed (You can read my Tubefilter column about "Claire" here, and watch the doc for free on YouTube here). "Claire" has already received nearly 1.4 million views since its Sept. 2 release, and it's worth the watch. In the meantime, Nick and I talk about the lessons we all need to learn from Claire's example. Give a listen.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

My East Coast trip last week included a stop at the Future of TV conference, where I sat down with Viacom SVP Christian Kurz to talk about their new report, Power in Progress, and to moderate a panel of marketing and biz-dev executives on how to get and keep subscribers.  The Power in Progress report looks at the ways traditional power structures are changing and having to adapt to newly powerful movements such as the March for Our Live, #MeToo, the Hong Kong protests, France's Gillets Jaune, and more. Just as importantly, it talks about ways that brands, and Viacom itself, can find new roles in working with and speaking to the young generations who are driving so many of these new power centers. The report details a series of  are lots of ways brands can find a way to connect with and  The panel, meanwhile, talks about strategies for smaller VOD services to make themselves invaluable to their fans, and to find ways to succeed despite competition from more than 300 other services, including big

With one simple word, Apple may have unleashed a path to a huge user base for TV+, the streaming service it plans to launch Nov. 1. That word: free. The impact, possibly 100 million or more subscribers. During the first part of this episode of Bloom in Tech, I'll give you my reasoning for this possibly game-changing deal here near the start of the Streaming Wars.  For the show's second half, I sat down recently with Mike Keyserling, chief operating officer for Philo, which offers 58 channels of TV networks you probably like a lot, at a price you'll almost certainly like even more. Philo is one of several so-called skinny bundles jostling for the subscription dollars of cord cutters looking to get off traditional cable, while still getting most of the channels they like watching there. Mike and I talked about what makes Philo different, building your own pay-TV bundle in the streaming age, and why college campuses have been an ideal testing ground for the service's development the past several years. Give

Apple's big week of announcements included some bargain prices  on its new TV+ and Arcade video- and  game-streaming services. In turn, I suggest that may be a source of headaches for competitors such as HBO Max and Quibi.. As well,  last week I moderated a panel of executives from several smaller online video services (Condé Nast Entertainment, Whistle, Ellation, and College Humor's Dropout). We talked about what companies such as theirs need to do to thrive amid all the new big-name competitors. One big hint: be everywhere. And I talk about how. The next few months will see the business of online video move to a very different new level. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support

The Worldz conference starts this week, or at least the biggest expression of what's a year-round experience called Worldz, and a related professional network called PTTOW! (it's their exclamation point, not mine). The mothership  launches Tuesday, Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 at the Long Beach Performing  Arts Center, an unusual mix of marketing conference, self improvement, conscious  capitalism, world-changing tech prognostication and more. It packs a ton of  highly intimate  conversations between about 2,500 attendees and maybe 250 "masters"  and "titans," top-dog talkers from companies such as  Mastercard, Hyundai, Estee Lauder, IHeartMedia, Vans, Marvel, T-Mobile, and Facebook. To learn more about Worldz, I connected with founder Roman Tsunder and Samantha "Sammie" Rabstein, the conference's senior director of programming. It's a conference,  and really a year-round experience, I strongly endorse that you take advantage of, if you can. In the meantime, listen to my

After winning four Oscars last year, Netflix is betting even bigger this year with special theatrical runs and awards handling for a whopping 10 films. Martin Scorsese's pricey mob picture, The Irishman, might be the most expensive bet, but there are plenty of other contenders in the Netflix portfolio, including films from Steven Soderbergh, David Michod, Fernando Meirelles, and Noah Baumbach, featuring a large truckload of Oscar-winning actors.  Netflix is giving all these prominent films a longer exclusive run in theaters (usually, films just appear on Netflix, like everything else). But this year, with more competition coming and stalled-out subscriber numbers, the stakes are bigger than ever for Netflix  this Oscar  season.  We'll have plenty to watch for beyond just a batch of extremely promising movies.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/davidlbloom/support