Strictly Business
Industry leaders converse about business deals, strategy and the future of media and entertainment.
Episodes
As cryptocurrency markets rebound and slowly but surely become more mainstream, two experts discuss the potential for blockchain tech to be embraced by entertainment dealmakers as an antidote to the age-old problems of Hollywood accounting. Tarun Chitra, founder and CEO of research and advisory firm Gauntlet and co-host of “The Chopping Block” podcast, and Duke University professor Lee Reiners bring vastly different perspectives to...
As its success with the "Scream" franchise can attest, Project X Entertainment knows its way around the horror genre. But now the indie production outfit is back in theaters with untested IP in the form of "Abigail." Nevertheless, Project X principal William Sherak is confident lightning will strike twice.
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Think the market for adult-focused specialty films is dead? Peter Kujawski, chairman of Focus Features, explains why you’re wrong. As the film industry gathers in Las Vegas this week for CinemaCon, Kujawski talks about the state of moviemaking, exhibition, and walks through key lessons from the strike-challenged 2023 box office (takeaway No. 1 – originality sells).
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Premiering April 3, the six-part series hosted by futurist Ari Wallach seeks to counter pop culture’s dystopian view of life in the coming centuries with visits to real-world entrepreneurs, inventors, artists and activists who are pursuing hopeful and innovative solutions for a range of social ills.
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Audible's Rachel Ghiazza (chief content officer), Kate Navin (head of creative development for North America) and Pat Shah (head of content acquisition and development) discuss the company's unique position in the audio marketplace and why they are revving up original content for the Amazon-owned subscription platform.
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As Congress debates the future of TikTok in the U.S., here's an encore episode of Variety's "Strictly Business" podcast from August 2023 that examines how the social media platform has become essential for promoting movies and TV shows.
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There may be far fewer TV shows being made in Hollywood these days than in the salad days of the peak-TV era, but that just means there's more hustling being done to get writers, producers, directors and actors staffed on a development season that goes on year-round. For the past 10 years, Grandview Management co-founders Jeff Silver and Matt Rosen have navigated dealmaking for their roster of writers and producers for top series l...
Bill Speros, senior betting analyst for Bookies.com, explains why legal betting on the Oscars has grown in recent years thanks to changes in state gambling laws. The veteran analyst and journalist also discusses the rise of sports wagering as an audience engagement strategy and profit driver for media companies.
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Ever since OpenAI gave the world a glimpse of its upcoming new text-to-video software, the entertainment industry has been in a state of alarm—particularly Tyler Perry, who paused an expansion on his Atlanta studio, citing the industry job losses he predicts Sora will cause. Steven Zeitchik, who writes about the implications of AI at mindandiron.substack.com, joins this week's episode to discuss what the potential impact Sora coul...
Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini explains how the Sony-owned, Japanese anime-focused streaming service has found success through serving a so-called niche market and its plans for further expansion.
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AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan offers a candid look at how the boutique owner of AMC, SundanceTV, WeTV, IFC and BBC America is adapting its programming and distribution strategies for the streaming era. The longtime Cablevision senior executive came full circle in 2023 when she returned to lead the company where she began her career as a marketing executive.
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Who is going to buy Paramount Global? Is M&A best done before or after the presidential election? Can anyone compete with Netflix? These are just a few of the big dilemmas Naveen Sarma, managing director of S&P Global Ratings, tackles in his return visit to Strictly Business as he wrestles with some of the questions vexing Wall Street right now regarding the media sector.
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Warner Bros. Discovery executives Betsy Ayala and Karen Bronzo break down big plans for Food Network, HGTV and the company's other linear networks in 2024 and how a potential Paramount deal could affect assets.
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Alloy CEO Leslie Morgenstein, TV chief Gina Girolamo and film leader Elysa Koplovitz Dutton, leaders of the company behind such TV and film hits as “Gossip Girl,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “You,” “Vampire Diaries” and “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” explain how they’ve thrived in the YA space and why they are now looking to grow up a bit.
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Just when last week's ratings resurgence for the Golden Globes had us all feeling good, along comes the Emmy Awards to deliver an all-time audience low to shake our confidence in awards show all over again! What happened Jan. 15? Did Anthony Anderson not make us laugh enough? Should we be worried about the upcoming Grammys and Oscars, which are coming off their strongest telecasts in several years? Fear not, says Andrew Wallenstein...
Produced on the ground at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Variety’s Cynthia Littleton and Todd Spangler and Variety Intelligence Platform’s Andrew Wallenstein and Audrey Schomer analyze the trends, rumors and surprises that emerged during the tech industry’s annual gathering. Also, highlights from Variety Entertainment Summit conversations with Roku’s Charlie Collier, TikTok creator Leenda Dong, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman...
Co-hosts Cynthia Littleton and Andrew Wallenstein look back at the year that was and ahead at what’s to come for the business of media and entertainment. The hosts share highlights from some of their favorite episodes of 2023, including interviews with Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys, Nigerian entrepreneur Mo Abudu, South Korean producer Nah Yung Suk and Barstool Sports chief Erika Ayers.
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Perhaps the most audacious new consumer-electronics product of 2023 was Telly, a new TV set that nearly half a million U.S. consumers got for free with a few strings attached, including a second smaller screen attached showing non-stop commercials. Founder Ilya Pozin discusses plans to scale Telly next year, including new interactive functionality that will allow consumers to interact with the advertising and more.
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Disney's head of gaming Sean Shoptaw gives a deeper look at the Mouse House's top 2023 titles and reveals big plans for capitalizing on IP next year.
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Amblin TV chiefs Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey detail why Steven Spielberg‘s television company decided to move aggressively into documentary and unscripted programming.
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