The Town with Matthew Belloni Did Hollywood Ever Have a Chance Against YouTube?
46 snips
Nov 20, 2025 
Tom Freston, former CEO of Viacom and a key player in the rise of MTV, shares insights from his memoir and his experiences navigating the media landscape. He discusses how legacy companies like Viacom misjudged YouTube's potential, contributing to MTV's decline. Freston draws parallels between YouTube's disruption and the current AI boom. He suggests that for MTV to revive, it needs fresh digital curation and highlights the importance of preserving music heritage. Finally, he reflects on the challenges facing today’s media giants and the creative loss due to industry consolidation.
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YouTube Broke MTV's Moat
- YouTube's short-form, shareable model dislodged MTV's cultural gatekeeper role almost overnight.
- Tom Freston says being able to get clips online removed MTV's exclusive window power and began its decline.
Viacom Sued Instead Of Partnering
- Viacom originally viewed YouTube largely as a copyright-infringing nuisance rather than a strategic platform.
- Tom Freston recounts that Viacom sued YouTube after his departure, reflecting that mindset.
Quarterly Pressure Worsened The Innovator's Dilemma
- Legacy media's quarterly earnings pressure made buying and scaling disruptive platforms unattractive.
- Freston frames it as a classic innovator's dilemma: public companies resisted investing in growth-first platforms like YouTube.
