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HBO Max “Premieres” on Amazon Channels as WBD Prioritizes Cash Flow

Warner Bros. Discovery announced (link) an agreement between HBO Max and Amazon’s Prime Video Channels yesterday: “Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon today announced that HBO Max is once again available on Prime Video Channels in the U.S.” Later in the day, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy took to Twitter to express his enthusiasm for HBO Max’s return to Amazon Prime Video Channels. Technically, both public statements are incorrect. HBO Max has never been on Amazon Prime Video Channels. In turn…

Bob Iger, Disney CEO: The Sequel — Five Issues Iger Must Address

At the September 2022 Code Conference, we asked Bob Iger, then-former Disney CEO, what legacy media companies can do as the broadcast and cable network businesses enter secular decline. He responded: “That’s [the cable networks and broadcast business entering secular decline] why everybody’s anxious. That’s why I call it the age of great anxiety because…

Dissecting Zaslav: Malone is Betting on Team Zaslav, Should Investors?

We asked Liberty’s Dr. John Malone at Liberty’s 2022 Investor Day yesterday, why he remains confident in Warner Bros. Discovery given investor fear it is effectively an LBO gone bad, as the legacy media sector faces the double-whammy of secular (affiliate fee) headwinds and a cyclical economic (advertising) downturn. Malone responded stating: “Well, I think…

Do Brian, David and Shari Need to Pick a Lane: Streaming or Arms Dealer?

Everything Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ create flows to their direct-to-consumer streaming services, with the only question being whether movies have a short stop in theaters before streaming. None sell content to third parties. Disney is similar to their tech peers in keeping everything for internal exploitation, albeit with the additional complexity of deciding…

10 Questions for Netflix’s Q3 2022 Earnings Interview Tonight

Here are our 10 key questions for Netflix management on tonight’s Q3 2022 earnings interview (our Q2 2022 questions can be found here). 1) Is Your Approach to Advertising Primitive on Purpose? Your advertising announcement feels like a scale play similar to broadcast TV, with targeting limited to genre and location. Prior to launching your advertising…