Strictly Business

Gamefam founder Joe Ferencz breaks down the metaverse game developer and publisher's strategy for harnessing and monetizing popular IPSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To see the future of immersive mediat today, get to know the business of Cosm with its CEO, Jeb Terry. The NFL veteran has just begun an ambitious plan to build out dozens of state-of-the-art venues where fans can watch live sports and innovative entertainment on gigantic curved screens. He walks through the financial and technical aspects of Cosm and what sets it apart from Sphere, a similar venture making waves in Las Vegas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A special live episode of Strictly Business recorded Sept. 26 in West Hollywood at Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit. Laura Martin, entertainment and internet analyst for Needham & Company, joins hosts Cynthia Littleton and Andrew Wallenstein for a conversation about the future of media and entertainment. Owl & Co consulting founder Hernan Lopez also weighs in for a deep dive into the economics of streaming content. Plus other conference highlights from the summit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neil Druckmann, creator of “The Last of Us” game franchise and head of development for Naughty Dog gaming studio, gives a wide-ranging interview at the Variety Presents: Gaming on TikTok Leadership SummitSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The industry veteran who came to Disney after years at Fox and Warner Horizon Television discusses the demands of managing content at an unprecedented scale across multiple platforms. The executive who oversees Hulu Originals, Disney Branded Television, ABC Entertainment and Freeform talks about the rebirth of procedural dramas, the surprise that was ‘The Golden Bachelor’ and why Hulu is elbowing its way into the standup comedy special arena.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the six years since writing the definitive book on dealmaking in the TV industry, Ken Basin has had to rethink plenty before updating his masterwork for a second edition. This veteran of business-affairs at some of the leading content companies discusses how disruption in Hollywood has changed his strategic outlook, but also outlines his prescription for getting showbiz back on track. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No better time for a roundtable discussion on the future of the movie industry to make sense of the strange 2024 we've seen so far: The first five months of the year couldn't have looked grimmer, yet that didn't stop the summer from a very strong rebound. Can the momentum continue long enough to prompt the bleak prognosis theaters have been hearing long before COVID and the strikes made things even worse? We'll look ahead at all the films that will put this notion to the test in the coming months and into 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Confluential Company explains how he’s found success in a challenging environment for independent film and TV producers. Oliver, co-creator and producer of the OWN unscripted series “Black Love,” details how he has diversified the company with a recent capital investment and why he’s determined to invest in BIPOC storytellers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"The Challenge" and "Below Deck" aren't just TV brands; they're practically the unscripted-TV version of cinematic universes, spanning multiple series that run for many years. Which is a challenge in its own right for Julie Pizzi, who produces those franchises as president of Bunim/Murray and 51 Minds, two different production companies owned by French media giant Banijay. She discusses the state of reality TV during a challenging period for Hollywood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Top athletes and executives from ESPN, Amazon, NBCUniversal, YouTube, Turner, Roku, the National Women’s Soccer League gathered July 12 in Beverly Hills for Variety and Sportico’s annual Sports and Entertainment Summit. Here are highlights from two key conversations examining the unprecedented growth in women’s sports and the future of live game coverage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.