Strictly Business

Ben Silverman, Co-CEO and Chairman of Propagate Content, goes deep on how a modern independent studio generates profit from TV series, documentaries and original digital and audio content. As it marks its 10th year, Propagate has added social media creators, brand and management dealmaking into the mix. Silverman, a veteran producer and former head of NBC Entertainment, reflects on how industry dealmaking has changed in discussing where the content business is headed. Plus a bonus segment: Writer Bill Prady shares a memory that involves John Oliver, Jim Henson, “Nightline” and the 1987 stock market crash.

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Courtney White, president of Wheelhouse Entertainment, discusses the high-wire act of managing seven production labels and juggling a portfolio of unscripted content under Brent Montgomery's Wheelhouse umbrella. The cable TV veteran explains why Wheelhouse has invested in the "Ladies Who Launch" networking events for creatives, and why she wants to recreate the "walk to the elevator moment" in a world of Zoom pitch meetings.

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On a bonus episode, media industry veteran Tom Rogers weighs in on another few days of wild swings in the U.S. equities markets and how it's affecting Hollywood. Plus Variety business editor Todd Spangler unpacks the anti-trust issues that Google and Meta are fighting in Washington, D.C. courtrooms.

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Gov. Phil Murphy details the arc of New Jersey's campaign to bring film and TV production to the Garden State. Murphy also discusses the state of the Democrats and the alarming rise of politically motivated violence aimed at public officials.

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A humorous but insightful commentary in which host Andrew Wallenstein discusses the personal experience of developing a TikTok habit so powerful it displaced TV as “his go-to media habit for the past 50 years.”  Describes his months of immersion on the platform, he likens it to a religious conversion that left him with prophetic visions of media's future, which he shares in detail (before the men in white coats come for him). 

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Brent Lang, Variety's executive editor overseeing film and media coverage, shares his observations about this year's CinemaCon gathering of movie theater owners and Hollywood studios. The tension is palpable as the sector is struggling to return to its pre-pandemic heights. He also weighs in on the story of the moment — the fate of Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy as leaders of Warner Bros. Pictures. And Pat Saperstein, Variety's deputy editor of film, details her recent list of the 21 Coolest Movie Theaters in the World.

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Samuels unpacks the recapitalization and revitalization process of the cable channel and digital platform launched in 2013 by Sean Combs, who exited the business entirely last year as his legal problems increased. Samuels led the complicated process of turning Revolt into an employee-owned company, a rarity for a sizable media brand. In a separate interview, BET founder Robert Johnson gives his perspective on the state of Black-owned media, and whether he regrets selling BET in 2001.

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Managing $1.5 billion in assets, Griffin Gaming Partners is a VC firm tailored to the video games space. Peter Levin, managing director and co-founder of Griffin, discusses the rush of AI interest into gaming, why emerging markets are so crucial to the industry and ongoing adaptations of gaming IP on the Hollywood side — all as the global games business gathers in San Francisco for GDC. 

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Five years ago, the TV industry rose to the occasion to keep news programs, talk shows, late-night and live-to-tape entertainment shows on the air during the harshest months of lockdown and quarantines at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews with 10 industry insiders – including ABC News’ Linsey Davis, CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil and Fox News’ Bill Hemmer – are woven together to take a long look back at the technological innovation, ingenuity and the inevitable on-air mishaps that characterized the ominous early months of the pandemic. The discussion also explores the lasting changes that have taken root long after social distancing mandates have gone away.

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Taylor K. Shaw, newly hired as senior outreach lead for film at Kickstarter, details why the crowdsourcing site feels the time is right to court established filmmakers, producers and writers. The fundraising service can help pay for projects and it can be an engine for engaging with and cultivating dedicated fans.

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