Strictly Business

Bart Spiegel, U.S. entertainment and media deals leader for PWC, offers his 2021 outlook on dealmaking in an industry that has buffeted and buoyed by pandemic conditions. Spiegel points to the rise of videogame usage and a “repositioning” of assets held by traditional media giants as trends to watch in the year ahead. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week, Observer senior entertainment reporter Brandon Katz and Hollywood Reporter contributor Jean Bentley highlight the new Netflix titles they're excited about. Recent guests: Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter, Joanna Robinson from Vanity Fair, and Megan Vick from TV Guide. Click Must Watch: Netflix Edition to follow the show on your podcast app. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aryeh Bourkoff, CEO of LionTree, offers insights into how the pandemic has reshaped the marketplace and what that means for media dealmaking in the near term. The veteran investment banker, who is on speed dial for such notable, media moguls as John Malone and Shari Redstone, weighs in on the convergence trends that he sees coming for Big Media and Big Tech, and he explains why LionTree is closely watching the gaming arena.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Instead of the usual guest interview, this episode features co-host Andrew Wallenstein offering his no-holds-barred assessment of everyone who competed in streaming video in 2020, from the stratospheric rise of Disney+ to the ignominious end of Quibi.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Lessin, founder and editor-in-chief of The Information, discusses the growth of the eight-year-old outlet that has distinguished itself through deep-dive reporting, analysis and scoops in the tech and media worlds. Lessin also offers her perspective on trends for the coming year at Facebook, Google, TikTok, and she weighs in on the prospect of some Silicon Valley stalwarts facing regulatory action next year, at home and abroad. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thomas Dey, president and CEO of ACF Investment Bank, discusses the dealmaking landscape in media and entertainment, predicting that networks and services stuck between those with massive scale and those with niche audiences will get "washed away." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The veteran unscripted TV producer and entrepreneur behind Wheelhouse discusses the building blocks of his three-year-old venture. Montgomery, the producer behind “Pawn Stars” and other cable hits, explains why Wheelhouse has expanded beyond TV production to investing in tech startups, digital media, marketing and merchandising efforts for promising talent talent such as TikTok phenoms Hype House.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For just $20 a month, Philo offers consumers more than 60 cable channels. It's a simple value proposition that has helped this venture stand out in a crowded marketplace of so-called virtual MVPDs. And as Philo CEO Andrew McCollum explains, he's not about to make the mistake that has the prices of many of his competitors soaring.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sinclair Broadcast Group has taken the streaming wars to local markets. The TV station giant is expanding its ad-supported STIRR platform designed to help its nearly 200 stations better monetize digital viewing of newscasts and syndicated programming. Adam Ware, Sinclair's VP and general manager of national networks and platforms, talks about the growth of the streaming service and why local TV is poised to prosper in the free streaming arena.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Moses and Dwight Caines reflect on how they rewrote the theatrical promotional playbook over the course of the global pandemic as the first studio to bypass theaters, strike the only deals with major exhibitors to shorten the theatrical window, and introduce a new hybrid window. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.