i3 - November/December 2019 - 54

Business

By Gary Arlen

C S PAC E

 A 

fter the recent wave of mega-media mergers
(AT&T + TimeWarner, Disney + Fox, CBS + Viacom,
Comcast + Sky), even more rearrangements are coming. Hollywood is a deal-obsessed community and the lure of
streaming and over-the-top opportunities is generating new
creative collaborations.

As legacy media companies seek innovative startups leveraging new creative
tools, analysts expect takeovers and overhauls in both the production and distribution sides of the industry. There will be
more mergers and acquisitions, especially
within the revived "SiliWood" - Silicon
Valley and Hollywood players - and
among content and hardware companies.
The reunited CBS and Viacom plan new
approaches to reach the "interestingly
evolving ecosystem" while maintaining
their relationships in "the traditional bundled world," according to David Nevins,
CBS chief creative officer and Showtime
Networks CEO and chairman. He said,
"There's going to be a lot of rebundling"
during the Bank of America Merrill
Lynch 2019 Media, Communications &
Entertainment Conference. Nevins said in
the "rapidly evolving, very hungry market,"
his company will produce content for its
own platforms and other distribution
providers.

Legacy Media Companies

Every media empire has or will create a
rival to Netflix, such as Hulu, Disney+,
54

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019

Meanwhile alliances in Hollywood demonstrate the expectations for high-tech
productions. For example, Walt Disney
Studios and Microsoft have teamed to
shift significant portions of Disney's moviemaking and distribution processes to
Microsoft's Azure cloud platform "from
scene to screen." Another new Disney alliHBO Max and the yet-unnamed
ance involves a consumer-facing deal as
Comcast OTT service. Not to mention
well as the studio's commitment of augApple TV+ and the video channels from
mented reality (AR). In an expansion of
YouTube and Facebook.
its 2017 deal with Lenovo, Disney has
Hence the intense attention by prointroduced its "Marvel Dimension of
ducers and distributors to take on the
Heroes" experience, which uses upgraded
giants' streaming ventures or prepare to
Lenovo "Mirage" AR headsets.
sell to them. Although it's too early to
Collectively, these agreements suggest
identify how these deals will shape up,
more changes in the digital ecosystem.
several recent moves auger the direction
And while it may be tantalizing, some
of the process:
analysts warn about the consequences.
● Marvel New Media and Stitcher (a
Ben Swinburne, head of media
content network and podcast provider)
research at Morgan
unveiled "Marvels," a
Stanley, expects more
podcast series available
M&A activity. "This
on Stitcher Premium.
● Viu, an Asian video
The race for scale business is getting
streaming service, is
will lead to lower harder, requiring more
more global discollaborating with
near-term profits, capital,
tribution and ultimately
Canada's Wattpad
and we see only a more consolidation," he
(known for user-generhandful of plattold the Financial
ated stories) to develop
forms emerging on Times. "The race for
film and TV series
scale will lead to lower
under the Viu Original
the other side.
near-term profits, and
label. Wattpad also has
- Ben Swinburne,
head of media research
we see only a handful of
deals with Sony
at Morgan Stanley
platforms emerging on
Pictures Television
the other side."
and Mediacorp.
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Vertigo3d/Getty Images

Redefining
the Media
Ecosystem

● Viacom-owned Pluto TV partnered
with the National Football League to create an OTT channel with content from
NFL Films and NFL Media, as well as
season recaps and replays.
● The NFL and Reddit partnership
features the ad supported "Ask Me
Anything" series, featuring NFL players,
league executives, team personnel
and fans.
● Crunchyroll, a subsidiary of Otter
Media (a unit of AT&T's WarnerMedia)
and VIZ Media Europe Group, have
restuctured to integrate Crunchyroll's
global platform.



i3 - November/December 2019

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