Strictly Business

The head of Sean Combs' media business discusses the challenges of running the independent company that aims to be a hub for hip-hop culture in all its permutations. Khanna, an alumnus of NBCUniversal and MGM Television, details Revolt's plans to expand its reach with comedy programming and live events.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While 24-hour news networks like Fox News Channel go heavy on opinion, CBSN EVP/GM Christy Tanner discusses how her operation takes a different tack to reach viewers. Not only is CBSN streaming instead of being available on cable TV, but the 5-year-old venture sticks to the facts instead of pandering to partisan viewpoints. That approach has also freed up energy to go deep on substantive topics like climate change and consumer privacy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New to theaters in August, "Dora and the Lost City of Gold" is just the kind of family-friendly movie you'd expect to see from Walden Media. But while the company is as dedicated as ever to inspirational fare, the strategies CEO/president Frank Smith has employed to keep Walden in the game have evolved considerably in recent years. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jon Steinberg, founder and CEO of digital business news startup Cheddar, discusses the company’s recent sale to cable operator Altice USA for $200 million. Steinberg outlines Altice’s ambition in the competition TV news arena and his new role as president of Altice News. The Buzzfeed alum also discusses what he did — and what he didn’t do — to build Cheddar into a brand. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Streaming content is about as competitive as a business gets these days, but don't tell that to Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch. He's aggressively moving to establish the Lionsgate-owned premium programmer forward around the world while the window is still open for his company to stake its claim.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacqueline Parkes, chief marketing office and executive vp of digital studios for Viacom's MTV VHI CMT and Logo Group, breaks down the marketing campaign for MTV’s relaunch of "The Hills." Parkes details the process that began with social media teases and other bread crumbs for fans in the spring 2018, well before MTV announced the show was coming back, and led to the strong premiere of "The Hills: New Beginnings" on June 24. Parkes also reflects on how the discipline of marketing has changed dramatically just in the three years since she joined MTV after a 21-year career with Major League Baseball. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Star Trek, The Walking Dead and Wheel of Fortune are more than just iconic TV brands; they’re the intellectual property powering mobile games on course to reach $100 million each. And they’re all produced by Scopely, an LA-based video game business led by co-CEO Walter Driver, who discusses how he's made a specialty of adapting from one medium to another. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

STX Entertainment is best known for movies like "The Upside" and "Ugly Dolls," but it also has a division dedicated to creating virtual-reality movies like the recent action short "The Limit." STXsurreal chiefs Rick Rey and Andy Vick talk about the art of adopting narrative storytelling to new technology, and what it will take for VR to achieve mass appeal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dana Walden was already one of the industry’s most powerful television executives when she was co-head of Fox television Group prior to Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Now she’s leading the charge for Disney in primetime series production and also steering the ship at ABC. Here Walden offers candid insights into how Disney is managing what she described as television’s “existential crisis." And she speaks from the heart about the importance of maintaining a healthy workplace culture in a the post-#MeToo era. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cannes Lions festival will get underway next week at a time when media industry turbulence is at its peak, according to MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan, a longtime industry observer who has turned the event into a crucial meeting place for the media, marketing, finance and technology worlds. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.