The Media Odyssey

REGIFTED: HOW DISNEY KILLED BROADCAST WITH KIMMEL

Happy Summer Break from The Media Odyssey podcast! Jimmy Kimmel is at the center of the conversation where politics, free speech, and billion-dollar mergers collide. In this episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet unpack the dramatic suspension and reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel—a flashpoint that highlights the collision of politics, regulation, and the crumbling power of broadcast TV. Shapiro explains the FCC’s limited authority, why Chair Brendan Carr’s threats crossed constitutional lines, and how Disney’s rapid cave-in to political pressure triggered a fierce backlash. The discussion broadens to late-night’s decline, the chilling precedent for free speech in U.S. broadcasting, and the looming wave of media consolidation involving Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery, and possibly Netflix. Marion draws contrasts with Europe’s regulatory environment, where broadcasters face different pressures but free expression is protected in opposite ways. Key Takeaways: The Kimmel Affair and FCC Overreach Kimmel was suspended after discussing how MAGA has used activist Charlie Kirk’s killing for political gain, despite committing no FCC violation. Shapiro details how FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who is aligned with Project 2025 and pending affiliate mergers, used threats to coerce Disney and affiliates into action. The result: a blatant clash between politics and the First Amendment, costing Disney billions in market value before Kimmel’s reinstatement. Broadcast’s Dying Grip The controversy underscored how fragile broadcast TV has become. Kimmel’s late-night audience is under 2 million, dwarfed by his YouTube reach—and by Joe Rogan’s podcast empire. Shapiro argues that Kimmel and others should abandon dying formats and embrace direct-to-consumer platforms where free speech and financial upside are greater. Marion warns that it is not an easy, overnight transition. Media Oligarchs and Consolidation The hosts connect Kimmel’s ordeal to broader maneuvers by billionaires like Larry and David Ellison, whose influence over FCC approvals and mergers (Paramount-Skydance, Warner Bros Discovery) shows how free speech is increasingly transactional. Late-night hosts like Colbert and Oliver may be next in line as consolidation reshapes who controls the cultural narrative. Europe’s Contrasting Path Marion highlights how European regulators tackle misconduct differently—punishing hosts who spread disinformation or incite harm, rather than silencing dissent. The comparison underscores a widening gap: in the U.S., politics is shrinking the space for speech on broadcast, while in Europe, regulation is trying to protect it. Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast

REGIFTED: INSIDE THE MIND OF A CREATOR WUNDERKIND

Happy Summer Break from The Media Odyssey podcast! 244 million followers and a six-month content calendar: Jordan Schwarzenberger explains why showing up daily is the only strategy that matters. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast. In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down the Nielsen/MRC measurement crisis that rocked the US advertising industry, then sit down with Jordan Schwarzenberger, CEO and co-founder of Arcade Media and manager of the Sidemen. The conversation reveals how the entire US advertising market transacted on flawed data for a year, while simultaneously showing how creator-led media companies are building sustainable businesses by thinking like traditional media. Rather than defending old systems, Jordan makes the case for why daily content and ritualistic consistency combined with treating YouTube channels as distinct brands is the only path forward. The episode is a reality check on how broken measurement has become in traditional media, while creator-led companies are professionalizing their operations, building real media plans, and capturing budgets that were previously reserved for legacy broadcasters. Key Takeaways: 1. Nielsen and MRC Hid Flawed Measurement Data for Nearly a Year The Media Rating Council discovered problems in Nielsen's methodology almost a year ago but said nothing to the industry. The entire US advertising industry transacted in the Upfront on data they knew was not properly vetted. Sean Cunningham from VAB stated this cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars. 2. BBC Hired Matt Brittin, Ex-President of Google Europe The BBC hired Matt Brittin, former president of Google in Europe, as their new CEO. This represents a shift toward hiring digital natives to lead public service media organizations. Brittin previously worked in traditional broadcasting before a successful career at Google, making him someone who understands both the BBC culture and big tech. 3. The Sidemen Have 244M Followers and a 55-Person Team The Sidemen have 244 million followers across all platforms and employ 55 people in their entertainment team. They plan content six months in advance, which allows them to sell to brand planners who set budgets quarters ahead. Their goal is to be bought like LabBible and Vice were—on media plans with CPMs and economies of scale. Most creators can't access major advertiser budgets because they lack the planning, consistency, and inventory that media planners require. 4. Daily Content and Ritualistic Consistency Are Essential for Success Weekly podcasts are no longer enough. Audiences now expect daily content to build ritualistic habits. The Daily Wire built 900,000 paid subscribers at their peak by showing up every day with 20-40 minute shows since 2013-2014. Streamers on Twitch and Kick are "winning the most out of anyone." Getting into people's daily habits is the key to building connection in a decentralized, saturated world. 5. YouTube Is Underserved and Users Run Out of Quality Content YouTube production is hard, time-intensive, and resource-heavy compared to podcasts, so creators default to lower-effort formats. There's a massive lack of consistent, regular, high-quality programming that becomes part of users' daily rituals. 6. Netflix and YouTube Combined Create the Strongest Media Strategy Jordan states that the combination of Netflix and YouTube together represents the best media strategy. Netflix provides the premium, appointment-viewing content while YouTube delivers daily touchpoints and ritualistic engagement. 7. Individual YouTube Channels Should Be Content-Specific Channel 4's 4.0 made the mistake of aggregating all content on one channel instead of spinning out individual format channels. YouTube wants to find specific audiences over time, so when a viewer watches one video and doesn't watch the next 10 on an aggregated channel, it signals disinterest to YouTube and hurts the entire channel's performance. Thank you to Jordan Schwarzenberger for joining the pod! Jordan Schwarzenberger - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanschwarzenberger/ Arcade - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearearcade/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Dropping Out for Vice (00:33) - Podcast Intro and Headlines (00:57) - Nielsen MRC Measurement Scandal (02:41) - Dash Panel Shakes the Gauge (07:33) - Why Panels Fail Today (09:25) - UK Media Leadership Shift (10:09) - BBC Picks Ex Google Boss (13:59) - Meet Jordan Schwarzenberger (15:57) - From Vice to LadBible Rise (26:18) - Building Sidemen Into a Company (32:17) - YouTube Audience Ceiling (32:44) - Netflix Editorial Boost (34:04) - Sidemen Netflix Blueprint (34:41) - Funding Risk and New IP (36:39) - Who Really Gets the Lift (38:01) - Monoculture Is Dead (43:04) - Creator Access Explained (46:33) - Selling YouTube Like TV (52:33) - Broadcasters YouTube Mistakes (57:27) - Rituals Daily Content Wins

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REGIFTED: IS 2026 MEDIA'S DARK AGES

Happy Summer Break from The Media Odyssey podcast! CES isn’t about gadgets anymore, but who controls the interface between audiences, data, and distribution. Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! From CES, Evan Shapiro and Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst of TVREV, unpack what this year’s show revealed about the future of media, entertainment, and technology while expanding on their predictions for 2026. Beyond the hype of AI demos and hardware announcements, the conversation centers on power shifts: who owns how we get information, who controls discovery, and which companies are quietly positioning themselves as the new gatekeepers. Rather than signaling a breakout moment, CES reinforces a familiar reality. Platforms are consolidating influence, AI is moving into the background, and media companies face shrinking control over how audiences find and engage with content. Key Takeaways: 1. Media Is Entering a Prolonged Era of “Feudal Fragmentation” Alan predicts that the monoculture is gone for the foreseeable future, replaced by thousands of disconnected content bubbles with their own truths, celebrities, and norms. This fragmentation isn’t new, but it will deepen through the rest of the decade, making shared cultural moments increasingly rare. 2. There Is No Longer a Single Source of Truth and That Has Consequences The loss of mass media gatekeepers means audiences now operate from entirely different realities. News can be fully ignored, expertise is routinely dismissed, and misinformation thrives because there is no longer a common reference point for facts. 3. The End of Expertise Is Both Dangerous and Liberating Traditional experts and institutional authority are losing power, but this also enables creators and outsiders to build massive media businesses without permission. The upside is democratization, the downside is the erosion of trust in skill, craft, and knowledge. 4. Power in Media Is Decentralizing Away from Hollywood Alan predicts that media power will continue to disperse geographically and structurally. New creator-led studios are emerging in Texas, Brazil, Nigeria, and beyond, attracting talent away from traditional Hollywood centers as production costs fall. 5. Niche Audiences Will Become the Foundation of Sustainable Media Businesses The era of building new mega-brands is over. Instead, companies and creators will build profitable businesses around passionate, well-defined niche communities. Even if those audiences are invisible to the mainstream. 6. Discovery and Serendipity Are Breaking Down Algorithmic feeds increasingly show audiences more of what they already like, making it harder for genuinely new ideas to surface. Alan predicts fewer breakout cultural movements and more recycling of familiar formats, sounds, and franchises. 7. Sports Remains the Last True Monoculture Live sports still cut across bubbles and deliver shared, simultaneous experiences. Alan predicts sports will retain outsized importance for advertisers and platforms, even as niche sports slowly grow and fragment over time. Thank you, Alan Wolk for joining the pod! https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanwolk/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Introduction and Guest Introduction (00:45) - First Impressions of CES (01:38) - Predictions for the Media Industry (02:19) - Descent into Feudal Media (02:50) - The Concept of Monoculture (06:43) - Fragmentation of Media and Advertising Challenges (19:57) - Rise of Decentralized Media Power (22:13) - The Downside of Algorithmic Recommendations (23:32) - The Loss of Serendipity in Media Discovery (24:24) - Challenges in Finding Quality Content (25:31) - The Role of Curators in Media Discovery (29:21) - The Rise of Niche Audiences (32:05) - The Continued Importance of Sports (37:14) - The Future of Media and AI's Role (39:24) - Advice for Navigating the Changing Media Landscape

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REGIFTED: WHO WILL WIN 2026?

Happy Summer Break from The Media Odyssey podcast! The media industry isn’t heading for a clean recovery but bracing for another year of pressure, recalibration, and structural change. Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast with a special thanks to Spectrum Reach! In this first part of their 2026 predictions, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet lay out what the coming year will likely bring for media, technology, and entertainment. They cover ongoing layoffs, fragile ad markets, the rise of global distribution strategies, and a new phase of AI-driven discovery. 2026 will test which companies have truly adapted and which are still relying on outdated assumptions. 2026 is not a breakout year, but a proving ground, where survival depends on cost discipline, platform fluency, and the ability to monetize audiences directly rather than through legacy intermediaries. Key Takeaways: 1. 2026 Will Be Another Brutal Year for Media Economics Evan predicts that advertising markets will remain soft, public service media will continue to face funding pressure, and layoffs will persist across the industry. There will be no broad recovery, only isolated winners and many organizations forced to do more with less. 2. Discovery Will Matter More Than Content Volume Marion predicts that success in 2026 will be defined by distribution and discoverability, not by how much content companies produce. Media organizations that don’t adapt to YouTube, FAST, social, and AI-driven discovery will struggle to reach audiences at all. 3. The AI Bubble Will Pop Both predict that generative AI and large language models will reshape discovery, navigation, and search long before they meaningfully change creative workflows. The biggest short-term impact of AI will be invisible but existential for traffic-driven media, but the hype and direct-to-consumer models are unsustainable. 4. GEO Will Undermine Traditional SEO-Based Media Models Evan predicts that Generative Engine Optimization will replace classic SEO as search engines move from links to answers. Media companies built on referral traffic will see declining reach unless they rethink how their content surfaces in AI-driven environments. 5. FAST Will Become More Crowded and Less Forgiving Marion predicts continued FAST channel proliferation without equivalent ad growth. The result: more fragmentation, lower yields, and fewer viable players with success limited to brands with strong IP, live content, or true differentiation. 6. Media Companies Will Be Forced to Think Globally by Default Growth will increasingly come from international audiences, not domestic ones. Both predict that companies without global distribution strategies will hit growth ceilings faster in 2026. 7. Experimentation Will Be a Core Survival Requirement The final prediction is cultural: organizations that don’t test formats, platforms, and monetization aggressively will fall behind. In 2026, waiting for clarity will be a losing strategy. Thank you to Spectrum Reach! https://www.linkedin.com/company/spectrum-reach/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Introduction and Hosts (00:57) - First Prediction: AI Bubble Burst (04:03) - Debate on AI's Future (10:01) - Second Prediction: Micro Drama Bubble (14:22) - Third Prediction: Outcome-Based Advertising (17:01) - Fourth Prediction: Midterm Election Advertising (19:19) - Fifth Prediction: Social Media Politicians (21:51) - Sixth Prediction: New Generation of Media CEOs (25:56) - Seventh Prediction: Media Mergers and Acquisitions (27:06) - The Largest Leverage Buyout in Corporate History (27:21) - The Role of Saudis in American Media (27:38) - Mergers and Acquisitions in Advertising (29:00) - Cultural Clashes in Mergers (29:56) - Netflix's Strategic Moves (31:23) - The Future of European Media (31:57) - Predictions for Media Mergers (34:30) - The Rise of YouTube and Social Media (39:09) - The Impact of AI on Media (43:18) - The Extinction of Ad-Free Viewing (49:55) - Final Thoughts and Predictions

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REGIFTED: FRONTLINE PUTS PBS ON YOUTUBE

Happy Summer Break from The Media Odyssey podcast! Public service media isn’t outdated, instead, it’s fighting for relevance, trust, and survival in a fractured global information ecosystem. Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast. In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Raney Aronson-Rath, Executive Producer of Frontline and Editor-in-Chief of Documentaries at GBH, for a conversation on the future of public media. From political pressure and funding cuts to platform expansion and audience trust, the discussion explores why public broadcasters must be everywhere audiences are without sacrificing journalistic integrity. Through Frontline’s transformation into a broadcast-plus-streaming powerhouse, the episode examines how YouTube, social video, theatrical releases, and global distribution have become essential tools for sustaining factual storytelling in an era of misinformation and declining institutional trust. Key Takeaways: 1. Public Media’s Survival Depends on Platform Expansion, Not Retrenchment Public broadcasters can no longer rely solely on linear TV. To stay relevant and trusted, they must meet audiences on YouTube, social platforms, streaming, and in theaters. They need to be wherever public conversation is happening. 2. YouTube Is Additive, Not Cannibalistic for Public Service Media Frontline’s experience shows that YouTube doesn’t replace broadcast audiences. In fact, YouTube extends reach over time, attracts younger viewers, and builds long-tail viewership that linear TV alone cannot sustain. 3. Streaming Requires a Long-Term Mindset Shift Unlike broadcast’s appointment viewing, streaming rewards longevity. Frontline films often grow for years, accumulating millions of views with high watch time, forcing teams to think beyond premiere-night metrics. 4. Community and Trust Are the Core Competitive Advantages Public media’s strength isn’t scale but credibility. Building engaged, thoughtful communities around factual content is essential in a media ecosystem flooded with misinformation. 5. Short-Form Is Editorial, Not Promotional To reach younger audiences, Frontline treats social video and shorts as a serious journalistic format with its own language instead of marketing cutdowns of long-form work. 6. Global Distribution Is Both a Mission and a Strategy With one-third of Frontline’s audience outside the U.S., platforms like YouTube enable public media to reach global audiences including countries where traditional broadcasters refuse to air critical journalism, but where audiences need to see it most. 7. Public Media Must Be Everywhere Both In Person and Online From YouTube to theaters to festivals, Frontline Features reflects a belief that storytelling is more powerful when audiences can experience it both collectively and individually. 8. The Cost of Absence Is Being Replaced by Worse Information If trusted public media doesn’t fill digital spaces, misinformation will. The choice isn’t whether to engage platforms like YouTube, it’s whether to leave them to actors with lower standards. Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast Thank you, Raney Aronson-Rath for joining the pod! Raney Aronson-Rath: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raney-aronson-0343aa8/ Frontline: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frontline-pbs/ Headshot credit: Michael Buckner/Deadline (00:00) - Introduction to the Media Odyssey Podcast (00:09) - Public Media Under Pressure (00:55) - BBC Controversy and Public Trust (02:58) - Challenges Faced by Public Broadcasters (04:02) - Public Media Funding Issues (04:47) - The Role of Public Media in Democracy (05:59) - Public Broadcasting in the US (07:25) - Embracing Digital Platforms (09:13) - Introducing Raney Aronson from Frontline (11:16) - Frontline's Digital Transformation (15:43) - Impact of YouTube on Frontline's Reach (23:56) - Simultaneous Broadcast and Streaming Strategy (26:22) - The Evolution of PBS Viewership (27:10) - Leadership and Digital Expansion (28:08) - Global Reach and YouTube Strategy (29:05) - Commitment to Journalistic Standards (31:14) - Frontline Features and Theatrical Impact (34:18) - Challenges in Documentary Distribution (39:42) - International Co-Productions and Self-Distribution (43:44) - The Importance of Public Media

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H1 2026 PART 2: BUBBLES, BALLS, & BIG AGGREGATION

Two-thirds of the world watches more video on their phone than on TV, TikTok is beating Netflix in most markets under 55, and traditional media is ignoring 60% of its own audience's attention. It’s The Media Odyssey’s season two finale! Evan and Marion zoom out on the biggest trends of the year so far they haven’t covered yet: the AI investment bubble, the creator economy's growing pains, the state of kids' content, and the measurement crisis at the heart of the streaming and social media landscape. It's one of their most data-rich, openly argumentative episodes of the season. Part 2 goes deep on Evan's brand-new ESHAP Cross-Screen Attention Index, the first attempt to measure total video attention across screens in eight global markets, and what it reveals about where audiences are actually spending their time in 2025. Key Takeaways: 1. The ESHAP Cross-Screen Attention Index Launched at index.eshap.tv, this is the first publicly available tool to measure total video attention across screens in eight global markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico), cross-collateralizing TV measurement data (Nielsen, Barb, AGF, Kantar), handset data (Sensor Tower, Comscore), and consumer diaries (GWI) to de-duplicate simultaneous screen usage. Key finding: 81% of the global population is under 55 and for that group, the phone, not the TV, is the center of gravity for video consumption. 2. TikTok Is Bigger Than You Think In almost every market studied, TikTok ranks #2 in total attention among consumers under 55. This means TikTok beats Netflix, Disney, Paramount, NBCU, and Warner Bros. Discovery. In several markets, it beats YouTube among viewers under 34. When TikTok gains share in a market, it takes it from streamers. When YouTube gains share, it takes it from traditional media. These two dynamics are running simultaneously and are why every major streaming platform is now rushing to launch a vertical feed. 3. The Phone, the TV, and the Whole Consumer Evan and Marion's core debate: Evan argues traditional media is failing because it's treating TV and phone as separate businesses rather than a single consumer continuum. The evidence: Obsession and Backrooms were both discovered on social media and are both crushing it at the box office. Saturday Night Live's audience is now on YouTube the next day. France Télévisions opened its entire annual conference by declaring the murder of traditional television. But Marion pushes back, pointing to Channel 4, France Télévisions, and TF1 as examples of European broadcasters already making the move. She argues the platforms, not the broadcasters, are the ones failing to support the transition commercially. Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Season Finale Setup (00:44) - Why Measurement Breaks (01:34) - Launching The Index (02:06) - Deduplicating Multiscreen Time (04:32) - Under 55 Shifts Everything (06:17) - Interactive Share Scenarios (07:18) - Living Room Vs Real Life (10:20) - Quality Of Attention Debate (12:05) - Social Drives Culture (13:26) - Continuum Not A Binary (17:36) - Legacy Media On Platforms (20:13) - Monetizing Social Video (23:36) - Platform Frustrations (25:58) - Check The Methodology (26:22) - Built With LLMs (27:02) - Season Wrap And Goodbye

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H1 2026 PART 1: BUBBLES, BALLS, & BIG AGGREGATION

AI infrastructure is now two-thirds of US GDP with 90% of companies investing in it reporting almost no ROI, and the media industry is frozen in place waiting for a merger that may never close. Happy H1. This is the Season 2 finale of the Media Odyssey Podcast (split across two parts) with a deep dive into H1 2026. Evan and Marion zoom out on the biggest trends of the year so far they haven’t covered yet: the AI investment bubble, the creator economy's growing pains, the state of kids' content, and the measurement crisis at the heart of the streaming and social media landscape. It's one of their most data-rich, openly argumentative episodes of the season. Part 1 covers the macro forces reshaping media and the creator economy. Key Takeaways: 1. The AI Bubble AI infrastructure investment in the US has reached two-thirds of GDP, driven almost entirely by demand from two unprofitable companies: OpenAI (which lost $38 billion last year) and Anthropic. SpaceX's post-IPO valuation dropped 34%, and a subsequent $25 billion bond offering collapsed shortly after launch. 90% of companies that have made significant AI investments report negligible productivity gains, with costs far outweighing benefits. A correction is coming in the next six months, and it will ripple through the entire media industry. 2. Creators vs. Brands: A Broken Partnership Creators were the dominant conversation at Cannes Lions. Unilever even committed to having a creator in every zip code. But the economics remain broken: brands consistently undervalue and underpay creators, creator posts are declining in efficacy, and agencies are buying creator platforms (Whalar, Influential) without truly understanding how to use them. The emerging model to watch: brands acting like creators like the Kit Kat Heist and companies hiring creators in-house rather than as contractors. 3. Kids' Content: Despair With Green Shoots Streamer commissions for kids' content are down significantly from their peak, YouTube has gutted the economics of kids' content monetization due to regulatory fears, and public broadcasters now fund over 50% of kids' content worldwide. But bright spots are emerging: ToonStar just signed with Fox; Disney partnered with Lumi/Animage on a new JV; and Super Awesome has been handed advertising rights for the under-13 segment on Roblox. BBC Studios' Bluey model (owned IP, fandom-first, multi-platform) remains the clearest template. Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Welcome and H1 Trends Setup (02:21) - AI Bubble Warning (05:48) - Media Deals Fallout (09:13) - Europe and AI Power (13:12) - GenAI SEO Shift (15:42) - Attribution and Hiring (18:19) - IBC Live Show Plug (20:31) - Creators Take Over (26:11) - Kids Media Crossroads (28:18) - Streamers vs YouTube (32:21) - Wrap and Part Two

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THE ART OF THE CAREER PIVOT

We’re back with another Media Odyssey LIVE! In this episode, Evan and Marion are joined by former media executives Tony Goncalves and Ami Angelowicz to discuss how to pivot your career after corporate media. The panel shares their personal stories of navigating layoffs, “misalignment burnout”, and finding satisfying careers completely in their own control. The conversation dives into building personal intellectual property, actionable daily habits for transition, and why taking a leap of faith on yourself is the best investment you can make. Key Takeaways: 1. Misalignment Burnout Ami Angelowicz breaks down "misalignment burnout"—the disconnect between your daily professional activities and your innermost values. She shares how moving into upper management often pulls creatives away from making things, leading to deep dissatisfaction, and why her layoff ultimately served as a turning point to start running her own agenda. 2. Optimizing for Freedom Tony Goncalves discusses his departure from Warner Brothers Discovery and the crucial realization that he needed to separate his personal identity from his corporate title. He emphasizes the importance of explicitly defining what you are optimizing for in your next move: title, money, or freedom. 3. The Creator Pivot & Personal IP Evan highlights the trap of subverting your personal brand for a corporate one. He advises professionals to start building their personal brand before they actually need it by "shipping value to the universe for free," which eventually attracts organic opportunities. 4. Treating Yourself Like a Startup Marion shares her strategy for launching her consulting business by viewing herself as a startup. By identifying a specific industry problem—US companies trying to launch in Europe—and creating specific content pillars around it, she positioned herself as the solution and bypassed traditional business development. 5. Daily Habits for Growth The panel shares actionable strategies for staying sharp during a career transition. Recommendations include waking up curious to research daily, becoming a voracious consumer of new platforms to understand algorithms, and leveraging introspection to maintain momentum and avoid isolation. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Welcome to Media Odyssey Live 01:13 Marion and Evan’s Journeys Out of Corporate Media 03:51 Ami on Misalignment Burnout and Launching Laid Off Life 10:05 Tony on Surviving Mergers and Defining Personal Purpose 15:43 Rebuilding Your System and Establishing Personal Branding 19:44 Finding Your Authentic Voice and Editorial Filter 23:18 Marion's Strategy for Building an IP-Based Consulting Business 28:38 Daily Habits to Stay Ahead of the Industry Curve 35:32 The Importance of Introspection, Therapy, and Small Goals 45:21 Final Takeaways: Optimize for Freedom and Invest in Yourself Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast

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MEDIA SHARK WEEK

Comcast is splitting in three, Fox just bought Roku for $22 billion, and the Paramount-Warner merger still hasn't closed. Welcome to Media Shark Week. This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast is Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet's deep-dive into the wave of media mergers reshaping the streaming and broadcasting landscape in real time. Recorded in early July, it covers four major deals in rapid succession: the Comcast-NBCUniversal split, the Sky acquisition of ITV, the Fox-Roku deal, and the stalled Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Without guests (or filters), Marion and Evan are comparing notes, disagreeing openly, and calling their shots on what each deal actually means for the future of streaming media, cord-cutting, digital advertising, and the balance of power between legacy media and big tech. The throughline: vertical integration in media has repeatedly failed not because the theory is wrong, but because the execution never happens. Comcast never integrated NBCUniversal just like AT&T never integrated Warner. The companies that are winning (Fox in particular) are the ones building digital content and advertising flywheels while everyone else is digging holes and filling them back up. Key Takeaways: 1. The Comcast Three-Way Split Comcast is splitting into three companies: a connectivity/broadband entity, a spun-off NBCUniversal/Sky entertainment group, and the already-separated Versant. One read: this is a prelude to selling NBCUniversal, with Netflix and Apple as the most likely buyers. The combined Charter-Cox-Comcast broadband entity would control 70–75 million US homes, effectively controlling how most Americans access all streaming content. 2. The Sky-ITV Deal Sky acquired ITV's broadcast network for £1.6 billion, leaving ITV Studios as a standalone content producer through 2032 under an existing supply deal. The combined Sky-ITV package could solve Netflix's ad sales weakness in its two biggest markets (US and UK) in one move. ITV Studios could also be a potential acquisition target for Banijay or others hungry for English-language IP, including Love Island, which had its biggest year in Season 12. 3. Fox Buys Roku for $22 Billion Roku (once valued at $50 billion) sold to Fox at roughly a third off peak valuation. Evan calls Lachlan Murdoch the sharpest traditional media CEO in the US: Fox sold assets to Disney at the top of the market, invested in Tubi, Red Sea Ventures, Holywater, and Whaler, and now controls roughly 50% of US TV screens through Roku. Combined, Tubi and The Roku Channel are larger than Disney streaming. Marion's concern: Fox is too US-focused, Roku needed an international partner, and merging a tech culture with a programming culture almost never works cleanly. 4. The Paramount-Warner Merger Stall The Ellisons targeted a July close and it isn’t going to happen. The UK Culture Minister has intervened, and the attorneys general of California, New York, and other states have filed suit to block the merger of CNN and CBS News. The AGs are playing a long game, and there's no realistic path to closing before the US midterms, which was the Ellisons' primary motivation for the deal in the first place. 5. Integration Is the Only Thing That Matters Every failed deal in this episode (AT&T-Warner, Comcast-NBCUniversal, WBD) failed for the same reason: the companies never actually integrated. Comcast didn't even unify its ad sales departments across NBCUniversal. The Fox-Roku deal has real upside, but only if Fox does the hard work. The pot of gold at the end of the M&A rainbow is real, but only for the companies willing to integrate. Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Welcome and Shark Week (00:44) - Comcast Splits NBCU (03:19) - Why Integration Failed (05:44) - Who Buys NBCU (07:03) - Charter Comcast Mega Merge (12:02) - Sky Buys ITV (17:27) - ITV Studios Next Moves (20:15) - Fox Buys Roku (23:23) - Roku Risks and Upside (32:47) - Paramount Warner Deal Trouble (36:15) - Wrap Up and Live Show

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VERTICAL PREMIUM TV: THE NEXT BILLION DOLLAR IDEA?

The growing vertical video landscape has potential far beyond microdramas. Two TV veterans just built the studio to take vertical premium all the way with true crime, dating reality formats, scripted drama, and a 12-step AI process to get there. This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast with Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet features Guy Hameiri and Lior Friedman, co-founders of RoseBerry, a vertical premium television studio built on the belief that mobile is the new cable. Guy comes from 25 years in traditional TV production (Survivor, X Factor, Shtisel on Netflix). Lior comes from Amagi and the commercial side of streaming media. Together they're building a start-to-end studio producing originals, repurposing legacy TV catalogs for vertical, and distributing through their own first-party app, Epis. The episode covers RoseBerry's full model: deals already signed with Fremantle, Banijay, All3Media, and A&E to repurpose existing catalog IP into vertical short-form; a proprietary 12-step AI-assisted conversion tool called Red Snapper; originals; and EPIS as a test-and-learn platformt. The Neighbors case study (an 18-year-old Fremantle soap reformatted for vertical featuring a young Margot Robbie) is presented live on the pod as proof of concept. Key Takeaways: 1. Beyond Microdrama The current vertical market is dominated by melodrama tropes with high churn and low retention. RoseBerry is betting on genre expansion including true crime, dating reality, soap, and scripted, to target an underserved audience. Paywall conversion on top-performing shows is already exceeding 50%, with 70% of those converting to subscribers. 2. Red Snapper RoseBerry's proprietary 12-step AI-assisted conversion tool takes horizontal long-form TV and reformats it for vertical. It handles frame cropping, pacing, graphics, storyline focus, and music rights. The process started manually with human editors to establish craft standards, then was automated at scale. It's the core IP that makes repurposing 5,000-episode catalogs commercially viable. 3. Epis as a Data Engine Their app Epis exists primarily as a first-party data platform, not just a distribution channel. It lets RoseBerry track user-level behavior across genres, sessions, and geographies. Subscribers on EPIS are now spending over an hour per session on top-performing content. 4. The Library Opportunity Guy's "10,000 for 10,000" framework is if a rights holder monetizes 10,000 hours of catalog content at $10,000 per hour per year, that's $100 million in new annual revenue from IP that is otherwise sitting dormant. RoseBerry's pitch to Fremantle, Banijay, All3Media, and A&E is a new monetization window for libraries that traditional streaming cannot fully exploit. 5. Mobile as the New Cable Guy's biggest claim: mobile will replace what cable was with movies, series, true crime, and reality available on-demand in vertical format. Netflix, Disney, Peacock, and Paramount are all launching vertical feeds, creating a coming demand for premium vertical content that RoseBerry is positioning to supply. Thank you Lior Friedman and Guy Hameiri for joining the pod! Thank you Lior Friedman and Guy Hameiri for joining the pod! Lior Frieman -https://www.linkedin.com/in/lior-friedman-94958939/ Guy Hameiri - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-hameiri-/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Heatwave and Setup (00:42) - Guests Intro and RoseBerry Origin Story (05:13) - Why Vertical Needs Premium (09:22) - EPIS Platform Explained (12:06) - Syndication and Data Flywheel (15:46) - Neighbors Vertical Clip (18:22) - How Verticalizing Works (22:31) - Originals and New Genres (24:22) - Dating Reality Trailer (24:53) - Love Or Money Twist (25:50) - Gamified Tokens Debate (28:14) - Vertical TV Goes Mainstream (31:13) - Mobile As New Cable (32:24) - Proof In The Data (35:02) - Quibi To TikTok Shift (37:36) - Repurposing At Scale (38:46) - Red Snapper Workflow (41:18) - Data Driven Windowing (43:37) - Wrap Up And Predictions

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BLUEY, LEGO, AND CROSS GENERATIONAL FANDOM

Two nearly century-old brands. One brand-new animated series. And a first-of-its-kind partnership that's never been done before. This special episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast was recorded on the Croisette at Cannes Lions, hosted inside BBC Studios' headquarters, and features three guests across two breaking news announcements. Jasmine Dawson, SVP of Digital at BBC Studios, returns for what's become an annual tradition on the pod to unveil the Affinity advertising network. Affinity is a five-vertical, fandom-first ad sales operation expanding globally with a major push into the US. Dan McGolpin, Director of iPlayer and Channels at BBC, joins to announce a new internal BBC Group partnership that will see BBC Studios' digital sales team represent public service BBC YouTube channels outside the UK for the first time. And Anna Rafferty, SVP Digital Consumer Engagement at the LEGO Group, joins to break the news of a first-of-its-kind Bluey x LEGO co-commissioned content series dropping on YouTube the same day the episode publishes. The throughline across all three conversations is the same: fandom, trust, and the growing conviction that reaching audiences isn't enough, you have to move them. Key Takeaways: 1. Affinity's Five Verticals BBC Studios has launched Affinity, a fandom-first advertising network built across five verticals: Family (anchored by Bluey), Auto (Top Gear), Travel & Food, Entertainment, and Our World (anchored by BBC Earth, built over 10 years across IP including Blue Planet and Big Cats). Each vertical is built around existing trusted BBC IP, with third-party studio IP (Magic Light Pictures' Zog, Acamar's Bing) layered in to deepen the offering. 2. The BBC Group YouTube Expansion BBC Studios and BBC Public Service are launching 50+ new YouTube channels in 2025, roughly half through BBC Studios, half through public service. Dan McGolpin describes a strategic shift from treating YouTube as a marketing tool to actively building communities, particularly for under-25s in the UK. The approach mirrors what BBC Studios has learned about channel specificity: rather than one BBC Sport account, they've spun off a dedicated BBC Football channel, with more sport-specific channels to follow. 3. The Internal BBC Partnership The first piece of breaking news: BBC Studios' Affinity team will now sell advertising outside the UK for selected public service BBC YouTube channels. This will be the first time the two arms of BBC Group have formally unified their commercial digital strategy. Previously BBC Studios' digital ad operation focused exclusively on BBC Studios content. This expansion means the Affinity network now spans both the commercial and public service sides of the BBC, giving advertisers access to the full depth of the BBC content portfolio on YouTube worldwide. 4. The Bluey x LEGO Co-Commission The second piece of breaking news: a 10-part content series with LEGO brick recreations of fan-favourite Bluey moments, co-commissioned by BBC Studios and the LEGO Group, dropping on YouTube. Anna Rafferty describes it as an editorial co-commission, not just a product partnership: the series was built around the insight that children love to "play their stories," creating a watch-play-build loop designed to deepen engagement across both the Blueyverse and the LEGO universe simultaneously. 5. The Fandom Measurement Model BBC Studios' core KPI is average watch time. Bluey averages nearly 15 minutes of watch time per session, against a portfolio average of 13.3 minutes, both significantly above industry benchmarks. 77% of BBC Studios' viewing happens on CTV — meaning the majority of Bluey and Top Gear consumption is happening on the living room television, with high co-viewing rates that make it especially valuable to advertisers. Thank you Jasmine Dawson, Dan McGolpin, and Anna Rafferty for joining the pod! Jasmine Dawson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminesdawson/ Dan McGolpin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-mcgolpin-093268123/ Anna Rafferty - https://www.linkedin.com/in/annarafferty/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Cannes Lions Kickoff (02:06) - Fandom First Results (03:24) - New KPIs Hours Watched (04:36) - Beyond Bluey Repeatable Playbook (05:58) - Affinity Network Five Verticals (11:25) - Community Led Bluey Examples (17:01) - BBC YouTube Partnership Expansion (21:20) - 50 New Channels Plan (21:51) - World Cup Banter (22:20) - Verticals and Communities (23:28) - Operating Model Explained (25:07) - US Expansion and Global Ads (26:23) - Lego Guest Joins (28:00) - Bluey Lego Series Premiere (36:44) - Release Strategy and Wrap

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AI SLOP, GATEKEEPERS, AND THE KID'S MEDIA CRISIS

Demand for high-quality kids' content has never been higher, but the supply has never been more broken. And YouTube, the most powerful kids' platform on Earth, is running it like an algorithm, not a network. This live panel episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, recorded at the Media Universe Summit, features Evan Shapiro and Jamie Shapiro alongside Andy Donner, Head of Partnerships at Common Sense Media, and Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President & General Manager at PBS Kids. The conversation centers on Evan and Common Sense Media's joint report on the state of the kids' content industry. The picture it paints is stark with millennial and Gen Z parents demanding more high-quality, trusted kids' content than ever, while streaming platforms have cut series orders by 25%, public media is being defunded, and YouTube Kids remains under-monetized and under-curated despite being the most-watched kids' platform in the world. The panel covers co-viewing trends, the collapse of the independent kids' production ecosystem, the rise of AI slop in children's content feeds, and what it would actually take for a major streamer or YouTube to step up and fill the gap. Key Takeaways: 1. Supply vs. Demand Demand for quality kids' content has doubled among parents (70% of whom are now millennials or Gen Z) while the number of series orders from streamers has dropped 25% from its 2022 peak. Streamers figured out kids' content reduces churn but doesn't drive new subscribers, and largely stopped commissioning it. Public broadcasters like PBS, BBC, and ABC Australia now produce 54% of kids' content worldwide. 2. The YouTube Kids Problem 88% of parents of kids under seven say their children prefer YouTube over any other platform, yet kids' content represents 15% of total YouTube usage and just 2% of its monetization. YouTube Kids has the lowest co-viewing rate of any major platform and AI-generated slop is regularly making it through content filters. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns YouTube is actively harming children's development. 3. The Algorithm Gap COPPA enforcement removed an estimated $2 billion from the kids' content marketplace, primarily from YouTube. Streamers that stopped commissioning original kids' content are now inadvertently driving young viewers to YouTube. PBS Kids saw 40% YouTube growth simply by launching content globally and allowing international ads, because global distribution signals demand to the algorithm and lifts domestic reach. 4. Co-Viewing Is Back and Underserved Co-viewing has surged since COVID, with the desire to watch content together as a family now ranking as the top thing parents say they don't want to lose from the pandemic period. Research shows kids learn significantly more when a parent or sibling is present. But fragmented subscriptions, too few family-friendly titles, and algorithm-driven autoplay leave a commercial gap for any platform willing to program for the whole family. 5. YouTube Needs to Run Kids Like a Network The panel's clearest call to action: YouTube should treat YouTube Kids as a curated network, not an algorithm. That means human curation, better revenue sharing for kids' content creators, global distribution partnerships, and taking its developmental responsibility seriously. YouTube would make more money doing it, and the goodwill from parents and educators would be commercially valuable in its own right. Thank you Andy Donner and Sara DeWitt for joining the pod! Andy Donner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andydonner/ Sara DeWitt - https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradewitt/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Introduction to Kids' Content Landscape (02:50) - The Supply and Demand Crisis in Kids' Media (09:45) - The Co-Viewing Phenomenon and Its Impact (14:04) - Legacy Brands vs. New Creators in Kids' Content (20:50) - The Role of YouTube and Content Curation (24:01) - Monetization Challenges and Opportunities in Kids' Media

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THE WHOLE CONSUMER: A CARTOGRAPHER'S BLUEPRINT

59% of people now watch video on their phone first. If your content strategy doesn't account for that, Evan Shapiro has a message for you: you're already losing. This keynote episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features Evan Shapiro's live Stream TV Europe presentation. It is a fast, data-driven breakdown of where streaming media, social media, YouTube, and TikTok are headed next. Built on original research from MX8 Labs and Evan's new Cross-Screen Attention Index, the talk argues the media industry is now entirely consumer-driven, and most legacy companies haven't caught up. Through real-world case studies (Duolingo, Kit Kat, PBS, RuPaul's Drag Race, Toonstar) Evan makes the case for what he calls the "affinity economy": brands and creators win by building loyalty and fandom, not chasing scale. Key Takeaways: 1. Phone-First Is the Default 59% of consumers age 13+ say their phone is their primary video device — nearly 2x television. For Gen Z, the bathroom ranks third among top video-watching locations. 2. YouTube Leads, But Faces Pressure YouTube ranks #1 in total attention per Evan's new Cross-Screen Index, but Meta overtakes it when Instagram and Facebook are combined. TikTok ranks #2 among under-55s and is bigger than Netflix, Paramount, NBCU, and Warner Bros. Discovery combined. 3. Retention Reveals a Loyalty Gap The average premium streamer has 11% retention, gaining 175 million subscribers last year while losing 156 million. WOW Presents Plus, home to RuPaul's Drag Race has a smaller subscription base, but maintains just 4% churn. 4. Fan Engagement Drives Real ROI Coach's UGC campaign drove a 142% rise in company value. Duolingo's mascot stunt drove its first billion-dollar year. PBS's Frontline now averages tens of millions of YouTube views, with donations up 61%. 5. Vertical Video Is a White Space Disney, Netflix, and Paramount are all launching vertical feeds. Evan argues most vertical content is low-quality leaving room for premium creators willing to treat it as real programming, not marketing. Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Scaling Business Without Overhead (03:00) - Understanding the Consumer-Driven Media Landscape (05:45) - The Shift in Video Consumption Trends (08:51) - The Importance of Mobile and Vertical Content (12:03) - Measuring Attention Across Platforms (15:07) - The Rise of the Affinity Economy (18:03) - Empowering Employees as Creators (20:59) - The Future of Content Creation and Distribution

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VALERIE'S PLACE WITH VALERIE BERTINELLI

Valerie Bertinelli has been a content creator since she was 12 years old. She just stopped asking permission to make the shows she wants. This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features special guest co-host Valerie Bertinelli — television icon, actress, author, and Food Network — alongside Billy Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Visible Things, the direct-to-consumer platform infrastructure company behind Valerie's brand new streaming destination, Valerie's Place. The episode is equal parts media business case study and candid personal conversation. Billy walks through how Visible Things works as a white-label platform technology that gives legacy talent and creators their own streaming home that Patreon, Substack, and YouTube simply can't replicate. Valerie brings the human side of it: why she got tired of being held hostage by the algorithm on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, what it actually feels like to have a real social relationship with fans versus a parasocial one, and how Valerie's Place has already produced moments of genuine connection that no brand deal or Food Network season ever could. The conversation closes with a broader and surprisingly frank debate on why the economics of legacy television and streaming media are broken — and why Valerie thinks algorithmic fragmentation isn't the real culprit: it's wealth concentration at the very top of the entertainment industry. Key Takeaways: 1. Own Your Audience YouTube and social media platforms are top-of-funnel marketing tools, not businesses. Billy's core thesis: when you post on YouTube, the platform's job is to get your audience to watch something else next. Visible Things is built on the opposite logic with a branded destination where the talent owns the subscriber relationship, the email list, and the content IP outright, with no algorithm standing between them and their audience. 2. The 1% Math Valerie has 5 million combined social followers. The Visible Things model targets 1% of that, the 50,000 super fans, paying an average of $7 a month. That's $350,000 a month, or roughly $4 million a year, generated entirely through direct subscription with zero ad revenue, zero network dependency, and zero creative compromise. The platform launched March 1st and built 300,000 followers across social and 50,000 email subscribers within its first six weeks, all organically. 3. Legacy IP as a Launch Asset One of the first moves Visible Things made was licensing back all 172 episodes of Valerie's Home Cooking from Warner Bros. Discovery, content that had effectively disappeared from public availability after the merger. Bringing a beloved, canceled show back to a direct platform isn't just a fan service move; it's an immediate, concrete value proposition. 4. Real Social vs. Parasocial Valerie draws a sharp distinction between parasocial relationships and real social ones where the wall comes down and the connection becomes genuinely mutual. Valerie's Place book club is the clearest example: live Zoom-style sessions where members talk about their own lives, not just Valerie's, and where a fan sending a feather necklace after hearing Valerie mention losing one on a podcast becomes a meaningful moment of human connection. 5. The Economics Are Broken at the Top, Not the Bottom Valerie notes she hasn't matched her per-episode earnings from the last two seasons of One Day at a Time (which ended in 1983) in any project since, including a 14-season Food Network run. Her diagnosis: the problem isn't fragmentation of channels, it's concentration of money at the very top of the industry, with too few people controlling too much of the revenue that content creators actually generate. The direct-to-consumer model isn't just a creative choice, it's the first time creatives have a genuine shot at keeping what they earn. Thank you Valerie Bertinelli and Billy Cooper for joining the pod! Valerie’s Place - https://valeriesplace.com/ https://www.instagram.com/itsvaleriesplace/ Billy Cooper - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wbcoop/ Visible Things - https://visible-things.com/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Valerie Joins the Pod (01:43) - Why Valerie's Place (03:01) - Authenticity vs Algorithm (03:46) - Meet Billy Cooper (04:34) - Visible Things Origin Story (07:56) - Creators and Legacy Talent (10:15) - Platform Pitch Explained (11:59) - Book Club Community (15:49) - Parasocial to Real Social (27:20) - Membership Value Breakdown (27:52) - Three New Cooking Shows (28:16) - Reheated Behind The Scenes (29:08) - Meals For One Vision (30:04) - Book Club And Naked Podcast (30:37) - Still Hot In Cleveland Reveal (32:52) - Lean Production And Fan Economics (35:58) - Organic Funnel And Engagement (42:41) - Final Questions And Farewell

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THE CLIP ECONOMY & HOW TO COVER A WORLD CUP WITHOUT BUYING RIGHTS

1.7 million subscribers. A Global deal. Live Bundesliga rights. And a studio in Brooklyn for the World Cup. The Overlap built it all without owning a single match. This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features Scott Melvin, CEO of The Overlap, the multi-award winning sports channel, for the beginning of the 2026 World Cup. What started as a side hustle for a Sky Sports pundit itching to do long-form conversation has grown into one of the most-watched football content businesses in the UK, now backed by media company Global and expanding its creator network on YouTube and social media. Scott walks through how The Overlap was built from the cold-open, unscripted format of Stick to Football, to the decision to own the conversation around football rather than chase expensive live rights. He breaks down the platform's growth strategy including the acquisition of Mark Goldbridge's Man United channel (2.2 million subscribers) and That's Football (1.3 million) to shortcut years of audience-building, and the Bundesliga deal that proved social clips outperform live streams by roughly 20x in reach. The conversation also zooms out into the bigger structural questions around the World Cup and sports media more broadly: is permanently eating into live viewing, whether rights fragmentation is pushing fans toward highlights, and if the 2026 tournament can permanently shift America's relationship with the sport the rest of the world calls football. Key Takeaways 1. Own the Conversation Live rights for F1 cost Sky $200 million a year while Netflix paid $10–20 million for Drive to Survive and became the defining F1 content brand for a generation. The Overlap applied the same logic to football: if you can't own the rights, own the conversation around them. For any creator or media company priced out of live sports rights, shoulder content is the viable entry point. 2. Clips Beat Live During The Overlap's Bundesliga partnership, social clips of live games outperformed the streams themselves by approximately 20x in total reach. Live attendance figures remain strong, but viewing full matches is declining as fragmented rights force fans across multiple paid subscriptions. The World Cup's expanded format will test that tipping point at unprecedented scale. 3. Acquire Audiences, Don't Build From Scratch It took The Overlap 4.5 years to reach 1.7 million YouTube subscribers. Mark Goldbridge spent 10 years building his channel to 2.2 million. Rather than launch a Man United channel from zero, The Overlap partnered with Goldbridge and acquired his existing audience — effectively skipping 5–7 years of organic growth. 4. Platform Age Beats Talent Age The Overlap's core panel averages 50 years old, yet its biggest demographic is 18–34. Scott's explanation: YouTube is a young platform, and the platform itself attracts younger audiences — the talent keeps them there. 5. The Post-World Cup Moment The 1994 US World Cup triggered a brief soccer boom that faded within months. Scott and Evan both see 2026 as structurally different because the internet has made the world smaller, Gen Z and Gen A are more globally oriented, and the Women's World Cup in Brazil follows a year later. Whether the tournament converts casual viewers into long-term fans of MLS and the Premier League will be a closely watched audience metric in sports media over the next 18 months. Thank you Scott Melvin for joining the pod! Scott Melvin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-melvin-331071a7/ The Overlap - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-overlap/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - World Cup Fever in NYC (01:14) - Meet Scott Melvin and The Overlap (02:49) - Stick to Football Breakout (05:03) - Owning the Conversation (07:50) - Bundesliga Rights Experiment (10:49) - Clip Culture and Sports (13:25) - World Cup Highlights vs Live (18:42) - Growing a YouTube Network (23:24) - Why Partner with Global (25:52) - Who Watches The Overlap (26:25) - Platform Over Talent (27:48) - No Rules Playbook (29:01) - Late Launch Competition (30:00) - Club Shirt Banter (32:01) - World Cup Without Rights (34:17) - Brooklyn Studio Setup (34:59) - Why Not Daily Live (39:40) - US Soccer After World Cup (42:13) - Predictions And Wrap

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MEDIA M&A MANIA

Full Disclosure meets Media Odyssey in this crossover episode of The Media Odyssey podcast with Roben Farzad, host of Full Disclosure on NPR and former Wall Street reporter for BusinessWeek and Bloomberg. The episode covers a wide sweep of interconnected stories: the proposed Paramount-Warner merger, the editorial independence implications of foreign money in US media, the GameStop-eBay bid as a case study in social media-driven market manipulation, and the state of M&A activity across the Atlantic. From Roben's firsthand perspective on the lack of US media coverage of Iran and the effect of Gulf sovereign wealth funds acquiring stakes in major news organizations to a forensic breakdown of the Skydance-Paramount deal, Evan Shapiro, Marion Ranchet, and Roben Farzad discuss the 60 Minutes settlement, the Colbert cancellation, the Bari Weiss hiring, and the White House's reported role in pushing the merger through before a potential political shift in the fall. They close with a frank debate on the future of professional journalism and whether public media, billionaire backstops, or direct-to-consumer Substacks can fill the gap left by a collapsing legacy news industry. Key Takeaways 1. Foreign Money in US News Roughly 50% of the Skydance-Paramount acquisition is being funded by foreign interests, including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Roben notes that editorial independence becomes structurally compromised the moment a controlling financier has geopolitical interests that conflict with the newsroom's reporting mandate. 2. The M&A Math Doesn't Add Up Global M&A deal volume in media dropped 30% year over year, while total deal value rose 10%. This means fewer but larger bets. Warner Brothers Discovery was valued at roughly $60 billion at merger and shed close to 70% of that value before recovering, driven almost entirely by the Zaslav-engineered auction rather than operational performance. 3. Social Media as Market Manipulation GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen publicly floated a bid for eBay, a company worth roughly 5x GameStop's market cap, with no serious financing behind it. The move drove GameStop's stock up and forced eBay to respond publicly. Roben frames this as a direct extension of the meme stock playbook: social media reach, combined with extreme wealth, can now move markets in ways that previously required regulated financial instruments. 4. The Merger Approval Odds Roben puts the probability of the Paramount-Warner merger getting approved at approximately 65%, driven primarily by White House pressure to push it through before a potential political shift after the fall election. Marion is skeptical that EU regulators will independently block it if the US approves, noting that European authorities are increasingly prioritizing survival of local media players over strict competition concerns. 5. The Journalism Funding Problem The New York Times has reached a $12 billion market cap by building a subscription-driven lifestyle and news bundle. NPR, by contrast, has failed to become a digital native, still relies heavily on pledge drives targeting Boomers and late Gen Xers, and has lost significant talent to for-profit outlets. There is a small but growing tier of independent journalists going direct to consumer as the most promising emerging model, though it leaves out readers who can't afford paid subscriptions. Thank you Roben Farzad for joining the pod! Roben Farzad - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robenfarzad/ Full Disclosure Podcast - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1062190100/full-disclosure Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Crossover Introductions (04:30) - Journalism and Iran Coverage (06:38) - Foreign Money and Newsrooms (09:37) - Iran Parallels and US Politics (14:24) - GameStop Bids for eBay (18:10) - M&A Trends and Data Centers (20:24) - Europe Consolidation and MFE (23:44) - US Mega Merger Skepticism (27:47) - Wealth As Power Moat (28:54) - Ellison Paramount Quid Pro Quo (31:42) - Why Media Won't Cover It and Colbert Profitability (34:37) - European View On Mergers (37:48) - Will Regulators Approve (39:45) - Barry Weiss Incompetence (42:08) - Odds, Predictions, and the Future of Journalism Models (48:59) - Wrap Up And Farewell

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THE FILMTOK EFFECT: BONUS EPISODE

Eight episodes, $25,000, 2 million views. One indie creator just proved you don't need a studio, a streamer, or a greenlight to break into the fastest-growing format in streaming media. This bonus episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features Eli Shell, founder of Sidewise Studios and creator of In-House, a vertical comedy series he wrote, funded, and launched entirely on his own. The vertical video market is almost entirely dominated by high-melodrama romantic drama and Eli saw that as a gap, not a template. In-House is a workplace comedy shot in vertical format, built on a minimum viable product mindset borrowed from his years in the Bay Area tech world: shoot a pilot season, put it in front of an audience on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts, read the signals, and scale from there. The episode also zooms out into the broader state of the independent vertical production market from TikTok's emerging role as a serious funder to Peacock's first microdrama slate announcement, and the question of whether Netflix, Disney, and the major streamers will start acquiring independent vertical IP. Eli's answer: we're at the very beginning, the economics are still being figured out, and the creators willing to bet on themselves right now are the ones who'll be best positioned when the market matures. Key Takeaways: 1. Expand the Genre The vertical video market today is almost entirely romantic drama which means every other genre is a wide-open opportunity. Eli's workplace comedy In-House attracted talent willing to work at reduced rates specifically because it wasn't another melodrama. For creators and producers looking to enter the vertical space, the least crowded lane is everything that isn't a romance. 2. Minimum Viable Season Eli spent $25,000 across eight episodes, roughly $3,000 per episode, and treated it explicitly as a minimum viable product, not a finished show. The goal was audience signals, not perfection. 3. Bet on Distribution Diversification In-House launched simultaneously on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts and its 2 million views are an aggregate across all three. In a format this early, no single platform has won, and the audiences don't fully overlap. Multi-platform distribution is the only way to build meaningful reach without a marketing budget. 4. Watch TikTok TikTok is the sleeping giant in the vertical video and microdrama space. If they decide to fund and distribute vertical series at scale — as the early investment in Issa Rae's Screen Time (80 million views) suggests they might — the existing microdrama apps like ReelShort and DramaBox face a serious existential threat. 5. The Acquisition Window Is Opening Peacock, Netflix, Disney, and Paramount are all starting to test vertical content, mostly as a discovery tool for now, but the direction of travel is clear. Independent producers who have built proven IP with real audience data are going to be the most attractive acquisition targets when the major streamers decide they want original vertical content at scale. Thank you Eli Shell for joining the pod! Eli Shell - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elishell/ Sidewise Studios - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidewise-studios/ In-House Show - https://elishell.com/projects/in-house/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Meeting in the DMs (01:11) - Eli’s Career Origin Story (02:59) - Discovering Vertical Microdramas (05:09) - In House Pitch and Format (06:20) - Views Platforms and Self Funding (08:20) - Why Make It and Budget Breakdown (11:13) - Monetization and MVP Season Two (12:17) - Vertical Drama Market Lessons (16:00) - Streamers Going Vertical (18:51) - TikTok Funding and Genre Expansion (20:13) - Wrap Up and Where to Watch

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THE NEW PRODUCTION PLAYBOOK

10 billion views. 200+ episodes. A Random House deal and a streamer announcement incoming. Toonstar built it all without asking anyone's permission. Welcome to this episode of The Media Odyssey Podcast with hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro featuring John Attanasio and Luisa Huang, co-founders of Toonstar, a next-generation animation studio built from the ground up to produce kids' and family content at the speed of the internet. Veterans of the Warner Bros. who got an early front-row seat to the rise of YouTube and the creator economy, John and Luisa are tacking a simple but radical question: building an animation studio designed for digital-first streaming media distribution. The episode walks through how Toonstar works from their proprietary AI animation tech Ink and Pixel to their audience intelligence platform Spot, which translates real-time viewing data into storytelling decisions. Together, the two tools form what they call an "agile production loop" that lets them move from greenlight to first episode in 90 days. The centerpiece case study is Steven and Parker, a show born from a creator with a Snapchat filter and 9 million TikTok followers, now sitting at 10 billion lifetime views across five languages, with a Random House graphic novel deal and a streamer announcement imminent. Key Takeaways: 1. Greenlight Yourself The traditional development cycle doesn't just cost money, it holds your time hostage. Toonstar's model eliminates the waiting game: pilot on existing creator audiences, read the signals, and go. Find the smallest viable version of your idea, put it in front of an audience, and start there. 2. Production Meets Performance Most animation studios can't iterate because production and performance data live in separate worlds. Toonstar's agile production loop directly tethers the two with real-time audience signals that inform weekly creative decisions about episode length, character arcs, and cadence. 3. Creator IP as the New Development Pipeline The franchise IP of tomorrow isn't sitting in a writer's room — it's already in front of an audience on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Parker James had 9 million followers and a character that existed only as a Snapchat filter before Toonstar turned it into a 10-billion-view animated franchise. 4. AI as Throughput, Not Replacement Toonstar's AI system accelerates every production function without replacing the human creative voice. Writers, visual direction, and character vision remain entirely human. The lesson: build AI tooling around your creative people, not around your budget. 5. The Content Flywheel YouTube ad revenue and brand sponsorships are the starting point, not the business model. Toonstar's real play is using digital-first distribution to build proven IP that extends into books, merchandise, and streaming deals. YouTube channels should be treated as an IP incubator, not just a distribution platform. Thank you John Attanasio and Luisa Huang for joining the pod! John Attanasio - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnattanasio/ Luisa Huang - https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisahuang/ Toonstar - https://www.linkedin.com/company/toonstarhq/posts/?feedView=all Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Fail Fast Mindset (00:29) - Welcome And Guests (01:25) - ToonStar Origin Story (04:02) - Tech Driven Production (06:33) - Steven And Parker Hit (09:38) - Humans Plus AI Workflow (12:50) - Data Driven Cadence (16:59) - Building Spot Analytics (21:08) - HarperCollins Speed Run (25:17) - Monetization Flywheel (26:59) - Advice To Creators (31:59) - Wrap Up And Takeaways

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UPFRONT 2026: THE CROWN JEWEL OF TV ADS

Pure play digital is now capturing 75% of every US ad dollar and 60% of that goes to just three companies. What's left for everyone else? This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast brings in Mike Shields, founder of the Next in Media newsletter and podcast and one of the sharpest voices in streaming media and advertising analysis working today. Recorded during Upfront week, this snapshot of the advertising ecosystem addresses who's winning, who's losing, and whether traditional media advertising still has a viable path forward in the era of accelerating cord-cutting and big tech dominance. Evan, Marion, and Mike use the Upfront to dig into the broader power shift underway in TV advertising that saw Amazon open the week, YouTube and Netflix close it, and the legacy broadcast and cable networks stuck somewhere in the middle trying to stay relevant in an increasingly creator-driven, platform-first world. They cover the major trends shaping the rest of the year: the ad industry's obsession with performance advertising and outcome measurement, the rise of shoppable TV, AI-driven dynamic ad insertion, the verticalization of streaming content, and the escalating sports rights arms race that traditional media may not be able to afford much longer. Key Takeaways: 1. The Sports Trap Sports rights are growing at 4–5x the rate of television revenue, with big tech projected to account for $30 billion of the $34 billion increase in rights costs over the next five years. Traditional media companies are overpaying for rights they can't fully monetize through advertising alone. Trad media will have to question whether their sports strategy is a growth play or a slow bleed. Big tech can hide the ROI inside a flywheel, but trad media cannot. 2. Performance or Perish The ad industry has become addicted to outcome-based, performance-driven buying modeled on Amazon's retail media business, where an ad impression and a purchase can be directly connected. TV is structurally a brand-building medium, which puts it at a disadvantage with CFOs who want spreadsheet-provable results. Networks that haven't built credible outcome measurement platforms are increasingly losing SME budgets to Meta and Google by default. The OpenAP partnership between major networks is a step in the right direction, but cross-competitor joint ventures are notoriously hard to execute. 3. The Measurement Gap Every major streaming platform (Disney's Compass, NBCU's Performance platform, etc.) is building proprietary measurement and identity infrastructure. The problem is brands don't live in one network's universe. Until there's a neutral, cross-platform layer that lets advertisers buy and optimize across the entire TV ecosystem, trad media will continue to lose ground to walled gardens that can at least show results within their own ecosystem. There's a real business opportunity here for whoever can build that neutral layer credibly. 4. Eventize Everything Traditional TV's most defensible advantage is not its library or its streaming, rather its ability to aggregate massive audiences around a single moment. NBC's Super Bowl + Olympics + NBA All-Star February generated $2 billion in incremental ad revenue. The lesson: stop competing on daily ratings and double down on cultural events, appointment television, and live moments that brands are willing to pay a premium to be part of. 5. Stop Fighting the Flywheel Trad media must stop resenting big tech and start building partnerships with it. Google owns the most popular TV OS on the planet. Amazon has identity and attribution data no broadcaster can replicate. YouTube is the most-watched channel in the US. The companies that are quietly winning — Fox with Tubi, French broadcasters partnering with Netflix and Amazon — are the ones that accepted their place in the ecosystem and found ways to draft off the platforms rather than fight them. The era of unexpected partnerships isn't a sign of weakness, it is the only viable strategy left. Thank you Mike Shields for joining the pod! Mike Shields - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-shields-78150b5/ Next in Media - https://mikeshields.substack.com/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Cold Open and Banter (01:26) - Meet Mike Shields (03:15) - Why Upfronts Persist (06:06) - Big Tech Takes Over (09:29) - Ad Market Numbers and Outlook (11:40) - Sports Arms Race (15:27) - Regulation and Consumer Impact (19:11) - AI and Shoppable TV (24:49) - TV Measurement Fragmentation (26:47) - Neutral Layer Opportunity (27:54) - Walled Gardens Reality Check (29:09) - Amazon Backbone Dilemma (34:05) - Trad Media Sweet Spot (36:40) - YouTube Events And Scale (39:50) - Why Everyone Wants TV (45:21) - Path Forward And Wrap

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THE FAN-FUNDED FILM REVOLUTION

What if fans could own a piece of the films they love and get paid when they hit? One company is making it happen, and Hollywood gatekeepers are not invited. Welcome to The Media Odyssey podcast featuring Marc Iserlis, Head of Film at Republic, a platform built one simple but radical idea: fans should be able to invest in the films and studios they care about. Evan and Marion have spent the season exploring what they call the "affinity economy," and in a streaming media landscape where independent voices are increasingly squeezed out, Marc's model sits squarely at the center of where the industry is heading. Marc explains the legal and structural architecture making Republic Film possible, specifically the 2016 JOBS Act that created exemptions to century-old securities laws blocking non-millionaires from investing in private ventures. Republic has 3 million members and $2.6 billion deployed across industries, built the licensing infrastructure to take advantage of those exemptions and applied them to film. The result is a platform where independent filmmakers, studios, and creators can raise development or production capital from fans with real equity, real revenue sharing, and even a secondary market for trading shares. The conversation moves through concrete case studies: Pressman Film raised $2 million from roughly 380 investors, Robert Rodriguez built a community of "Brass Knuckle Warriors" who sold out a raise in days, Eli Roth raised $6 million from 2,500 fans for his new horror studio, and Skybound (The Walking Dead, Invincible) pulling in $18 million from over 5,000 retail investors. Plus a look at Republic's partnership with XPRIZE, Google, and Range Media Partners on a $3.5 million sci-fi filmmaking competition designed to inspire the next Star Trek. Key Takeaways: 1. The Audience Equity Model Republic Film's approach gives fans actual equity and revenue sharing in the projects they back, transforming them from passive donors into active stakeholders with financial incentive to promote the film. Republic was built specifically to serve everyday people with a net worth under $1 million who were previously barred from participating in private market opportunities. For producers and studios, that's not just capital, it's a built-in marketing army. 2. Fan Base Democratized The 2016 JOBS Act cracked open private market investing to everyone, but the industry hasn't caught up to what that means. If you're an independent filmmaker, studio, or even a creator-led brand, you now have legal pathways to raise meaningful capital. Skybound raised $18 million from 5,000+ investors, making it the largest raise on the platform to date. Republic has sold out every single film raise it has ever run. 3. The Key is Actual Equity and Revenue Sharing The distinction between crowd investing and crowdfunding is equity and revenue sharing, not just perks and donations. Investors receive real ownership stake, revenue distributions when films sell or stream, and secondary market trading rights. Republic uses blockchain infrastructure to pay out thousands of investors in real time across theatrical, streaming, and merchandise revenue without expensive bank fees. 4. The Payout is More Than a Passion Project Republic’s first-ever investor payout happened within six months of launch. The Pressman Film raise, focused on a slate that included new IP from the producers of American Psycho and Wall Street, paid out investors following the sale of Bad Lieutenant Tokyo to Neon, making it the first investable development slate in film history to return capital to retail investors at this scale. 5. $3.5 Million For the Next Star Trek The XPRIZE partnership, with Google, a16z, and the Roddenberry Foundation to crowdsource the "next Star Trek," is a playbook for how studios and platforms can use open competition to surface new IP, build community ownership before a single frame is shot, and attract institutional backing. For content companies thinking about franchise development, this model is worth studying. Thank you Marc Iserlis for joining the pod! Marc Iserlis - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-iserlis-02848a13/ Republic - https://www.linkedin.com/company/republic.co/ Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8 Connect with us on Linkedin: Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/ Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/ The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast (00:00) - Trading Film Shares (00:54) - Podcast Intro and Guest (01:45) - Why Republic Exists (04:48) - The JOBS Act (07:32) - Crowdinvesting Not Crowdfunding (10:16) - Platform Compliance and Blockchain (13:47) - Case Studies Pressman and Rodriguez (18:53) - Skybound and Horror Section (25:35) - What Makes Raises Work (30:17) - Cannes and Distribution Leverage (33:07) - First Investor Payouts (34:21) - Future Vision XPRIZE (36:32) - Wrap Up

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