Starz Deal Demonstrates The Value Of Content

Lionsgate believes that content and distribution are intertwined and so have announced their deal to buy cable pay provider Starz for $4.4 billion.  According to Multichannel, " Although anticipated for months, the combination will give Starz the production heft it has craved as well as a vast content library – the merged entity will have 16,000 movie and TV titles – while Lionsgate gets a distribution arm in the Starz and Encore premium channels. It also paves the way for a broad range of new content partnerships and accelerates the growth of Lionsgate and Starz’s own OTT services."  A win-win for both companies and one that leverages the strengths of each other.   The deal should be approved by end of year.  

This deal comes as a result of the work done by John Malone, CEO of Liberty Media , who invested in Starz, spun it off into a separate company and ultimately put Lionsgate together with Starz to finalize a deal.  Not surprising, Malone's Discovery Channel also has a piece of Lionsgate making this deal more of a family affair for Liberty Media.  Given John Malone's MIdas Touch with content and distribution, the newly combined entity will do quite well. 

Globalization Verse Isolationism

We live in interesting times.  While domestically, our political system grapples with issues ranging from immigration to unemployment, from freedom to security, from guns to the right to choose.  And as a democracy, we have a full range of thoughts and actions on how to accomplish our goals.  There are those that believe that we should be armed, that we must build walls to restrict entry, and we must tell others what they can do with their own bodies.  Others seek more regulation and restriction, interdependency, and choice.  But the one truth is that each of us have our own point on the line on where we stand, similar with some and different with others.

But what we face in the US seems no different than what is faced abroad and Brexit certainly demonstrates that a majority were fed up with status quo.  But unlike a revolution, a vote to exit the EU may answer one issue while creating so much more uncertainty.  In this case, no one seemed to plan out what the next steps should be should the vote pass.  Change and uncertainty consistently go together.

The riding question is if such a move to withdraw and separate is truly the right strategy.  Technology, media, communication, environmental issues, and so much more have made this planet Earth a much more smaller place to inhabit.  We all live on this one planet and for now we have no other planet to move to.  Rather than isolating ourselves, restricting movement, pushing others away, we need to learn how to listen, how to get along and ultimately to start growing up and behave like adults, not children.  Violent physical conflict should never be the answer; communication, conflict resolution, and compromise should be the global mantra.  Ultimately, "Can't We All Just Get Along."

As for our upcoming election, perhaps some will see a lesson learned from what the UK is now experiencing;  others will not.  Let's hope that a majority finds that we can find an orderly process.  But the world around us must also grow up too.  Violence should never be the answer.  But that esson might take a lot longer to learn. 

Intel Wants You To Know What They Do

Fascinating article in the NY Times about how Intel is using original content to craft its branding message.  It's no longer Intel Inside, rather, it is "experience what’s inside" to further describe the effects that Intel technology has on people's lives.  Of course no one tends to buy an Intel product and we think of them as components inside another brand.  Whether this ad campaign changes its bottom line or pushes them toward a more consumer product push remains to be seen. 

When Spokespeople Get Fired

The world of advertising with celebrity endorsements, funny catch phrases, and ordinary spokespeople, all try to capture the attention of the public and convince us that the product or service offered is the best one.  Over the years, a large number have become quite memorable, from Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes to Jared for Subway, some good and some bad.  And of course some great catchphrases too, from "Where's the Beef" to "Can You Hear Me Now?"

Yet advertising is a tricky business and nothing ever goes as planned.  Who would know that Jared would go from losing weight on Subway sandwiches to child porn.  But once a connection is made between performer and endorsement, managing that relationship, even when the campaign is stopped for a new direction, is a tricky business.  So I wonder why Verizon, who made their name on their spokesperson saying the phrase "Can You Hear Me Now", one that truly resonated in the annuls of advertising, would not have kept their young spokesperson on some kind of exclusive retainer.  Instead Verizon got a slap in the face.

The original...



And now...



Does AT&T have to worry about their young spokesperson "Lily, does Activia have to worry about Jamie Lee Curtis, or does it pay to keep them under some exclusivity?  Verizon certainly will find out if Sprint has caught them napping or not.

Goodbye Cablevision, Hello Altice

I started my ad sales career at Cablevision of Boston, a Charles Dolan business that was a part of the Cablevision Systems empire.  I left and rejoined Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of Cablevision and the network side of the business.  There I worked with cable networks like Bravo and IFC; eventually, more networks and responsibilities were added to my job description.  I watched the industry move from start up to mature and was sad when the Boston system was sold to Comcast and especially when Bravo and half the team I worked with was sold to NBC.  Eventually I was downsized too and left the Cablevision team.  Since then, Rainbow left Cablevision to become a standalone business AMC Networks, just as MSG did the same.  And today, Cablevision itself has officially sold itself.

The cable industry continues to mature.  Where once it was the upstart competing with broadcast; today, it is grouped with broadcast and competes with streaming.  Those early days were quite special and money flowed freely.  Business trips, management conferences to amazing locales, turkeys at Thanksgiving, stock options and more.  But as accountability tightened up and profit margin mattered more than employees (or even customers), many of those perks were dropped. 

I look at my career as I look at my life as chapters in a book still being written.  Those early chapters with Cablevision and Bravo/IFC were amazing.  I think back to them at times and smile.  To see the company that I spent more than 15 years with become no more does make me feel a little sad.  No regrets though as one must continue to keep writing the new chapters in living one's life.  Who knows what the next story will look like. 

Screens Bigger, 3D Blows According To Katzenberg

Speaking at CineEurope, Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation, stated what we all know.  3D is gimmicky and used poorly while movie goers really prefer bigger screens, per Variety.  I couldn't agree more. 

I have always found 3D movies distracting, even when done on films like Avatar.  The glasses used are uncomfortable and the screen is more likely to strain the eyes then produce a better picture.  Instead, theater owners that have spent capital improvement on bigger screens, better seats in a stadium style arrangement, and a superior audio experience, have hopefully found consumers coming back again and again. 

At the same time, the price point used to buy a seat must remain reasonable, especially for a family outing.  If you price too high, these customers will find their home theater experience more than adequate.  Recently, I took our family of 4 to the movies.  Using Flixster, we bought the film, theater time and exact seats.  When we got to the movies, we only had to wait to pick up the printed copies.  No waiting in lines, no wondering if the movie was sold out or if we would find seats together.  At the same time, the cost for tickets, including the Flixster fee, exceed $50.  Add a stop at the refreshment stand and many families will be using their entire monthly entertainment budget. 

 Some movie houses have added more dinner options to encourage consumer spending, others have arcade areas to catch a few quarters more.  Ads before the movies adds more revenues.  One ad especially caught our attention.  It was for a production of One Man, Two Guvnors that had been filmed during its Broadway run and would be run in the theater.  An interesting way to add more options to what a movie screen can deliver.  As for the movie industry, continue to build a better destination experience, especially inside the auditorium and movie lovers will continue to return.