Bloom in Tech

I sat down to talk with Adweek CEO Juliette Morris and Sr. Producer Al Mannarino about their new podcast network and what it means for the trade publication going forward, the state of podcasting and advertising, and more. And I have some thoughts about the future of Apple as it ventures in live sports streaming with Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV Plus, alongside a bunch of big new advertising partners. Will this change Apple's approach to streaming, privacy, advertising and other not-so-little subjects? Stay tuned. 

There's been a whole lot of talk about That Slap, but I'm more interested in what happens to the Oscar broadcast now that the Motion Picture Academy has embraced streaming enough to hand out awards for Best Picture, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and other major categories for projects that were mostly or solely online. How long will Oscar remain a broadcast event, rather than one that is mostly streamed online? And what more can you do once the event is online? I have a few ideas. I also talk with Andrew Walraven, CEO and founder of a very interesting free mobile app called Topico, that allows you to create a very different kind of newsfeed than the one on social media that's been so problematic. Topico focuses on, yes, topics rather than the people or outlets posting the story, and relies on only vetted real news sources, with no user-generated content, memes, videos, etc. It's an intriguing approach to one of journalism's worst problems, and I quite like it. Give a listen. 

Netflix alone has 10 films with at least one Oscar nomination, part of a phalanx of top contenders for the movie business's most glamorous awards. Which streaming-first or streaming-mostly projects are lining up for a big night in Sunday's Oscars? Will Netflix flex The Power of the Dog? Has Apple TV Plus cracked the CODA for success? Can Disney Plus exclusive Encanto enchant Oscar voters as much as viewers? Bloom in Tech looks at the chances for the many streaming-connected films filling this year's Oscar brackets. 

The 2022 Oscars are fast approaching, and films that mostly or solely appeared on streaming services are set for a big night. Bloom in Tech looks at which streaming-first films are likely to take home a Little Gold Man or six as the Oscar broadcast unfolds. Netflix has 10 films with nominations, and several other services have at least one or two. It's going to be quite a night. 

Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather had a boxing exhibition this week, and yes, someone punched Logan Paul in the face. Also, both participants made a huge amount of money. They won't be the last to try this either, as influencers lace up the gloves for a similar chance to build their fan base, generate new sponsors and make business deals far beyond whatever thing first made them Online Famous. 

I talked with Robert Ellin, the CEO of LiveXLive Media, which has another big-dollar event coming this weekend, involving 14 more online influencer/fighters, interwoven with performances by big music names such as DJ Khaled, Migos and Lil Baby. Given the money and fan attention in these pay-per-view events, expect plenty more events like these to come. 

I talked with Javon Frazier about his work creating games, board games, subscription boxes, toys and more for fans while at Marvel for nearly a decade, and then at online-video company Studio71, before launching his own company, Maestro Media, over the past year. A self-described "black nerd" as a kid in South Los Angeles, he grew up reading comic books voraciously before picking up an MBA at NYU Stern School of Business, where he was the first African-American head of the Stern student body. After a stint at Atlantic Records, Frazier ended up at a dream job, creating merchandise, video games and other spinoffs of Marvel comic books. After the company's sale to Disney, he went on to Studio71, and  worked with notables such as influencer Guava Juice, the creator of cult hit video game "The Binding of Isaac;" Dark Horse Comics' Umbrella Academy, Jeopardy king Ken Jennings and Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield on projects, He's built a sophisticated process that leverages Kickstarter to market test and improve projects, and generate both startup capital and buzz We also talked about the responsibilities he feels as a Black entrepreneur and father of two young girls to build a more inclusive world of games, toys and other fan favorites. 

Tastemade creates video about "food, travel, home and design" for social-media sites from YouTube to TikTok, skinny bundles such as Hulu Plus Live, ad-supported services such as Tubi, and more. Co-founder and CEO Larry Fitzgibbon has been there from the start, and tells what its like to create video for every new distribution platform as it comes along, for wildly different audiences across most of the planet; why 2020 was a "watershed" year not just for audiences but advertisers; and how Tastemade is getting slice of the $60 billion TV advertising pie, among much else. 

The big streaming-video services were more important than ever in 2020 as the pandemic sent viewership and subscription levels soaring even as several big new services launched, and struggled to get their feet under them. So how did they do, and where are they headed in 2021? I go through my end-of-year grades for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock, and look at some of the major trends likely to transform the streaming-video industry in 2021, well beyond just the Big Seven. Let me know what service and shows you watched most in 2020, and which you're looking forward to most in 2021. And don't forget to rate, review, share and subscribe. Happy new year! I hope it's a safe and sane one for you and all you care about. 

WarnerMedia stunned Hollywood this past week when it announced that its entire 17-film slate will debut on streaming service HBO Max the same day the films arrive in theaters, blowing up decades of lucrative "windowing" in the movie business. Those day-and-date releases include some hotly anticipated projects, like the latest version of sci-fi classic Dune, another Matrix sequel, Wonder Woman 1984 (technically announced earlier, and for Christmas Day this year), Godzilla vs. Kong, Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights,  Clint Eastwood and Denzel Washington projects, and much else. I explain why WarnerMedia and owner AT&T likely had little choice, and why other studios likely will follow suit. It should make for a very good time for streaming subscribers, but a much less good time for movie theaters, and for many who make those movies. 

We've finally come to the end, more or less of the 2020 election season, helped along in part by significant changes by the big social media platforms in some of their most problematic "engagement" tools. Let's keep those tools on ice, and consider some other changes in the role that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms played in our civic (if sometimes uncivil) discourse on the way to Election Day. Let me know what you think about changes that might be needed and where we might go next, now that the voting's finally done. 

I'd been expecting the Quibi collapse for a year before the mobile video site even launched,, but that doesn't mean there aren't lessons to learn from its just-announced and still-unfortunate fall. I talk about those lessons in this episode, plus share my recent conversation with Govind Balakrishnan, the CEO and co-founder of subscription audio app Curio, which takes meaningful stories from such top journalism sites as The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Wired, and Bloomberg, and turns them into professionally produced, highly targeted audio for subscribers. Govind delves into the huge opportunity for "screen-less media;" why they are only part of a potentially huge sector subscription sound of all kinds that includes Audible, Spotify, Calm, Headspace, and podcasts; "the experience side of content;" and the international opportunity for more audio that can traverse the globe. 

Tubi is the biggest ad-supported video service in streaming, and was bought by Fox earlier this yea for a hefty $440 millionr. I sat down with Adam Lewinson, the company's chief content officer, this week as part of the virtual NATPE Streaming Plus conference. We covered a lot of ground, talking about all the company's news about big jumps in viewership, new territories and sections, whether they'll ever make original shows, and why ad-supported video is going to be the way most people watch TV in the streaming future. 

Labor Day Weekend is normally a dumping ground for the movie business, but not in 2020. Two blockbusters, "Mulan" and "Tenet," are using very different platforms to reach audiences this weekend. One is a pricey premium addition to streaming service Disney+, the other is available in whatever theaters across the country are open amid the pandemic. How each of these $200 million blockbusters does on its respective distribution platform will help shape Hollywood's next steps with its highest-profile products for months or even years to come. 

Three of entertainment's biggest media companies - Disney, NBCU and ViacomCBS – helped make it a red letter week in the history of Hollywood's grudging embrace of streaming video, as all three took actions that will pivot them ever more sharply toward online distribution platforms for their shows. Add in significant actions by Cinemark, Regal, the U.S. Department of Justice, Microsoft and TikTok, and the week was one for the ages. I share my thoughts on where this is all heading (fast), but would love to hear from you too. You can follow me on Twitter (@DavidBloom) and LinkedIn (/davidlbloom), and leave a voice message on Anchor.fm. What's your prediction for where Hollywood is heading over the next 18 months? Let me know. 

Universal, the big movie studio, cut a landmark deal this week with AMC, the nation's biggest theater chain. The business of showing movies may never be the same, though not just for what it means for those two big companies. This episode of Bloom in Tech looks the direct impacts of the deal for Universal and AMC, how likely other studios and theater chains are to copy it, and what might come hereafter with the big subscription video services as big tech and media companies start to integrate  the possibilities here with so much else. Amazon Theaters/Shopping/Whole Foods/Esports Arenas? Apple Store/Movie Palaces? Think Very Big Deal.

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. 

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. . 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

A flurry of deals and deal-related news this week, led by the Viacom-CBS merger's long-anticipated merger and Verizon's dumping of former social-media giant Tumblr got me thinking about what it all means for the tech-centric entertainment world we're entering. I also have lots to say about a deal that didn't happen, Facebook's acquisition of Houseparty., among other hijinks at the social-media giant. Can ViacomCBS survive even as a combined standalone unit? Is Tumblr really only worth $3 million? And could the fear of antitrust keep Facebook on some sort of straight and narrow path away from jerkdom? Give a listen, then share your thoughts through Anchor.fm's audio comment function, or send me a Tweet and LinkedIn message. 

Ninja (Tyler Blevins) has been the best-known star in the booming business of live-streaming online about games. Until the first week of August, he did that for Amazon-owned Twitch. Then he turned the business of live-streaming upside down when he announced he would jump to Microsoft's Mixer service, which has been in fourth place among game streaming services. The move has lots of implications, and I talk about them on this episode of Bloom in Tech. Give a listen. 

Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey have been running World of Wonder, their Hollywood-based TV production company, for nearly three decades. For the past 10 years, World of Wonder has produced RuPaul's Drag Race, featuring perhaps the best-known drag queen ever. The show's format has now been copied into local versions in several additional countries, just one of the ways Barbato and Bailey have diversified, survived and thrived in an era increasingly hostile to independents. In my conversation onstage with Barbato and Bailey at the recent VidCon in Anaheim, they talk about opening a retail store on Hollywood Boulevard, launching DragCon events in New York and Los Angeles, creating a social-media powerhouse, nurturing outsider creative talents, getting into long-form documentaries, and turning those docs into scripted programming. It is indeed a wondrous world for World of Wonder. Give a listen. 

I've been gone for a little while, undergoing a huge move that's left me without virtually any of the traditional physical media that I've gathered over many years. That's all great. But as I and millions of others go full KonMari, are we giving up some crucial ways to signal to others around us the culture, books, music, film, TV that matter to us? This is a quick episode, just some thinking stimulated by days and days of getting rid of much of my physical belongings, and tipping into a headlong embrace of the digitally based life I already have been in and around years. Give it a listen, and let me know what  you think. You can leave an audio message through Anchor.fm's tools around this podcast. Please rate, review and share the episode if you like what you hear. And if you really like what you hear, you can become a supporter of it through Anchor.fm, throwing a few bucks in the kitty. 

Long-time pals Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas sat down together at the recent Produced By conference on the Warner Bros. studio lot to talk about, well, a lot.  They met when Douglas was still in college in Santa Barbara, and have worked together as actors, producers, directors and friends for half a century since. In this conversation, they talked about making the Oscar-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Taxi, Streets of San Francisco, The Kominsky Method, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Romancing the Stone and so much else. Along the way, they have some great advice for producers and would-be producers of film and TV, and some thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of the streaming-video era, and what Quibi means. It's funny, fond, occasionally Falstaff-ian and a downright entertaining conversation. Give a listen.