Claire thrills us this week with a deep dive on Wikipedia and uncovers some interesting facts about our erstwhile digital crib sheet and its founder. Add to that we present detailed reports on the ongoing TikTok saga, the release of Nintendo's Switch 2 and speculation over a possible levy on UK streaming. The podmojis this week make use of some old friends re props and facial expressions!

In this, our first ever "crossover" episode, Maureen and Claire talk to the wonderful Carlo De Marchis, host of the equally wonderful "Retention Zone" podcast, and jam about the state of the nation re sports rights, bundling, emerging viewing habits and, of course AI. Not only this, but we still have time for some podmoji action based around the Netflix drama everyone is talking about, the Samba Report on streaming live sports and one more which Claire attempts to surprise Maureen with!

Do remember when YouTube was all about sharing your holiday videos? We do. But in addition, Claire remembers how it quickly evolved into a genuine disrupter and threat to conventional TV to where it is now. The service with easily the most streamed minutes on Earth. In this deep dive we go back to the beginning and tell the story of the rise of YouTube. We have results and deals in the news and talk about Agentic AI. When Maureen remembers, we also podmojise Jellyfish, Mickey 17 and Sam Altman.

With all that is going on in the world of media, we have had to postpone a deep dive until next time to have a bumper "In The News" which covers sports, closures, ends of eras and a focus on UK broadcasters. Podmojis feature NVIDIA and, of course, The Oscars.

The Deep Dive this week is a deep as the Mariana Trench as we explore the history and current state of a mysterious business phenomenon known as "Vertical Integration", although we are sure our listeners are savvy enough to know what that means. Add to that business results galore, Spotify turning a profit but The Trade Desk stalling and a fist full of podmojis, then you have classic Media Beat. Enjoy!

The Deep Dive jut has to be Deepseek of course and we do not disappoint with a great description of what it is and what it means technically and commercially. Mr Trump is tariffing and Oscar is mulling. Also we have a look at the latest Netflix results, the cost of a Superbowl add and bid a fond farewell to Eurosport.

It's been a little while since a "regular" edition, so you won't be surprised to find we have squeezed in a ton of chat into this one! We cannot avoid talking about Meta and TikTok in depth with sports drama, music behaviours and AI tugs of war in the news. We find out things we never new about Claire's tastes with regard to French cinema and WWE, while Maureen has to find new props with her shades hidden away.

Welcome to 2025! And with the new year come new predictions from Maureen and Claire on subjects covering streaming, music, sports, M&A, AI, content and, off course tips for the Oscars! Happy New Year!

As the end of the year approaches, we look back at some of the predictions made by Maureen and Claire at the beginning of 2024 and are astonished at how accurate they were. Mostly. The usual suspects such as AI, advertising, streaming and content raise their heads, but you will also remember their predictions about The Oscars, Gaming IP and The Euros. (Maybe not the last one). Did their crystal balls offer a portal into the future or were they full of cotton wool? Listen in to find out!

This time, Claire takes us through the critical importance of story telling recalling her fascinating Reykjavik panel. We also look at Ofcom Online Nation 2024, Amazon Nova, The Content London Conference and what's happening in the world of M&A. Maureen is very happy with the new Captain America casting despite possible production issues and other box office numbers look interesting. We have been very excited to see evidence of serious growth in the podcast from Spotify Wrapped and also proof that the three of us have excellent taste in music!