Posts

For good or bad, a typical Overton Window – the process via which an idea might move from unthinkable > radical > acceptable > sensible > popular > entirely unremarkable – used to have a reliable half-life of years. Interracial marriage, for example, in the US was still [...]

One of the most striking things about our OTT Question Time Live conferences is how much appetite there is for sharing knowledge, insights, and hard-won lessons — even (perhaps especially) among senior industry figures. I guess it’s a truism that while companies compete, people collaborate. With that spirit [...]

There’s an alchemy about creating a hit TV show or movie which seems impervious to logic, money, even data. In theory, the formula is fairly straightforward - and replicable. A solid script. Actors who are willing to commit. A director and crew who share a similar vision. And [...]

When COVID hit in 2020, I remember speaking to a friend at a UK broadcaster just after the first national lockdown was announced. We’d had some warning this was coming — Italy had imposed similar restrictions a couple of weeks earlier — but the moment still landed with [...]

It started with steel and washing machines, then moved on to cars and Chinese electronics. But what if the next wave of US protectionism – major new announcements expected tomorrow - targets culture? Specifically, what if Trump 2.0 were to slap a 20% import tariff on all non-American [...]

What happens when a streamer starts cracking down on password sharing? Some back-of-the-envelope thinking: Password-sharers (i.e. those not paying a subscription themselves) ignore messages and continue using the service for as long as they can They stop using the service altogether They legitimately subscribe to the service and [...]

I was at the CTAM Europe Symposium in London yesterday where, together with excellent guests from Samsung TV Plus, Vevo and Virgin Media, I moderated a panel about FAST. Yes, another one. If you detect some weariness in my tone it’s because – at least for Europe - [...]

50 VOD Professionals – our list of the 50 most influential people working in the UK’s video-on-demand and OTT industry – is back for 2024! Nominations are now open and we’d like to hear from you about the brilliant people that power VOD services all over the UK: [...]

In a wide-ranging presentation at this year’s OTT Question Time Live 2024, the excellent Ben Keen declared a winner in The Streaming Wars. Collectively, he said, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount, Sony and Comcast had lost $600bn in value since peaking during the COVID years. “Why? Because Wall [...]

The comms from Amazon - at the turn of the year - about introducing its new ad tier were fascinating for two reasons: #1) Amazon said that it was making the change because it would “allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment [...]

With 50+ speakers, 14 fireside chats, 7 panels and 2 presentations now confirmed, we have a full lid for OTT Question Time Live 2024!  Come join us on 30th and 31st January at London's iconic British Museum where we'll be talking to, amongst others: Faz Aftab, Director of M&E Partnerships [...]

#1. Where are we at, as an industry, in 2023? For me, last year’s IBC had the flavour of a giddy reunion with long-lost friends – “We’re back! How have you been? You look different in person than on a screen!” This year, the mood was more focused [...]