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Strictly Business

Strictly Business

Industry leaders converse about business deals, strategy and the future of media and entertainment.

  • High Fidelity: Audible Entertainment Seizes the Moment to Grow with Original Content
    by iHeartPodcasts on March 27, 2024 at 5:01 am

    Audible's Rachel Ghiazza (chief content officer), Kate Navin (head of creative development for North America) and Pat Shah (head of content […]

  • TikTok Execs Reveal How Films & TV Shows Go Viral
    by iHeartPodcasts on March 20, 2024 at 10:00 am

    As Congress debates the future of TikTok in the U.S., here's an encore episode of Variety's "Strictly Business" podcast from August 2023 […]

  • Dealmaking in the Post-Peak TV Landscape
    by iHeartPodcasts on March 13, 2024 at 7:01 am

    There may be far fewer TV shows being made in Hollywood these days than in the salad days of the peak-TV era, but that just means there's […]

  • Betting on the Oscars: Why More States Allow Movie Fans to Place Wagers on Hollywood’s Big Night
    by iHeartPodcasts on March 6, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Bill Speros, senior betting analyst for Bookies.com, explains why legal betting on the Oscars has grown in recent years thanks to changes […]

  • Confronting Sora: How Hollywood Should Heed Tyler Perry's AI Warning
    by iHeartPodcasts on February 28, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Ever since OpenAI gave the world a glimpse of its upcoming new text-to-video software, the entertainment industry has been in a state of […]

  • Anime Streamer Crunchyroll Is a Rare SVOD Success Story
    by iHeartPodcasts on February 20, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini explains how the Sony-owned, Japanese anime-focused streaming service has found success through serving […]

  • “We’ll Be the French Fries to Anyone’s Happy Meal”: AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan Adapts Cable Channels for the Streaming Era
    by iHeartPodcasts on February 14, 2024 at 8:01 am

    AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan offers a candid look at how the boutique owner of AMC, SundanceTV, WeTV, IFC and BBC America is adapting […]

  • Paramount Just the Start of Media's 2024 M&A Mysteries
    by iHeartPodcasts on February 7, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Who is going to buy Paramount Global? Is M&A best done before or after the presidential election? Can anyone compete with Netflix? […]

  • Food Network Chief and Warner Bros US Networks CMO on Future of Linear Business and Effects of M&A
    by iHeartPodcasts on January 31, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Warner Bros. Discovery executives Betsy Ayala and Karen Bronzo break down big plans for Food Network, HGTV and the company's other linear […]

  • YA Media Star Alloy Entertainment is Ready to Grow Up
    by iHeartPodcasts on January 24, 2024 at 4:55 pm

    Alloy CEO Leslie Morgenstein, TV chief Gina Girolamo and film leader Elysa Koplovitz Dutton, leaders of the company behind such TV and film […]

  • Emmy Ratings Low Delivers Awards-Show Gut Check
    by iHeartPodcasts on January 18, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Just when last week's ratings resurgence for the Golden Globes had us all feeling good, along comes the Emmy Awards to deliver an all-time […]

  • CES 2024: Variety Gazes into the Future with Top Executives, Innovators and TikTok Creator Leenda Dong
    by iHeartPodcasts on January 12, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Produced on the ground at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Variety’s Cynthia Littleton and Todd Spangler and Variety […]

  • Strictly Business 2023 in Review: AI Bites, Hollywood Strikes, Streaming Wars Turn Ugly and Taylor Swift Takes All
    by iHeartPodcasts on January 3, 2024 at 8:01 am

    Co-hosts Cynthia Littleton and Andrew Wallenstein look back at the year that was and ahead at what’s to come for the business of media […]

  • Telly Founder Ilya Pozin Previews 2024's First New Features
    by iHeartPodcasts on December 20, 2023 at 8:01 am

    Perhaps the most audacious new consumer-electronics product of 2023 was Telly, a new TV set that nearly half a million U.S. consumers got […]

  • Disney Gaming Chief on 'Dreamlight Valley' and 'Spider-Man 2' Success, Marvel's 'Blade' Plans and the Ups and Downs of User Generated Content
    by iHeartPodcasts on December 13, 2023 at 8:01 am

    Disney's head of gaming Sean Shoptaw gives a deeper look at the Mouse House's top 2023 titles and reveals big plans for capitalizing on IP […]

  • TV’s new math: Amblin Moves into Documentary and Unscripted Content
    by iHeartPodcasts on December 6, 2023 at 8:01 am

    Amblin TV chiefs Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey detail why Steven Spielberg‘s television company decided to move aggressively into […]

  • Aaron Dessner, Producer for Taylor Swift and Member of the National, on Navigating Both Sides of the Mixing Board
    by iHeartPodcasts on November 29, 2023 at 7:58 pm

    Aaron Dessner’s Grammy-winning band the National has been one of the mainstays of rock ’n roll for a quarter-century now. But when most […]

  • Donald Passman, author of ‘All You Need to Know About the Music Business,' Talks About the State of Today's Industry
    by iHeartPodcasts on November 15, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    If there is a bible for the music industry, it’s Donald Passman’s book, “All You Need to Know About the Music Business.” Since the […]

  • Nebula Builds Streaming Platform with A24 Vibes
    by iHeartPodcasts on November 8, 2023 at 8:01 am

    CEO Dave Wiskus details the growth ambition of the four-year-old streamer that is home to the buzzy original series "Jet Lag" and backed by […]

  • Schmoozing with Chaiflicks CEO Neil Friedman About His First Original Series
    by iHeartPodcasts on November 1, 2023 at 7:01 am

    Leave it to a streaming service that caters to a Jewish audience to make its first original series about food: "Schmoozing and Cruising" is […]

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