Welcome to 2024 and what is in store for us in this brand new year? If you want to know, then you have come to the right place! In this special episode Maureen and Claire gaze into their crystal balls and tell us what we are in for in the areas of Streaming, Music, Sports, M&A and Activism, Advertising, Content and BAFTA / Oscar predictions

This time we explain why we might all feel we spend an awful lot on TV these days and who's making the big bucks. The news covers more money making in The Premiership, tips for money making in the future and strife at Spotify. We also touch on women who are AI generated, who feature in iconic games and who are about to blast through the $1Bn revenue generation milestone.

Although we have talked a lot about how AI and digital will and has changed the way music is produced, marketed and consumed, we have yet to have an expert in this area on the show... until now! This time we welcome Cliff Fluet who, whilst trained as a lawyer, is passionate about music and digital and the challenges and opportunities presented. Under the careful quizzing of Maureen and Claire, Cliff takes us under the hood of such contentious areas as creative ownership, how piracy morphed into something more legitimate and the new "value paradigms" emerging as artists and commercial folk wrestle with the tricky business of music in the digital age. Cliff explains what he thinks listeners really really want, whether Spotify plays fair and recalls a time he defended tech in music using the parallel of John Lennon's piano... which he happened to be sitting on at the time.

Ever wondered how ownership and shareholdings worked in the Media business? Wonder no more as Maureen gets quizzed all about finance, why management lives quarter to quarter and ownership has limits and many other questions you might be afraid to ask. We have good news, fake news, bad news and, in one case, the same bad news all over again. We start to appreciate Reddit, wonder whether Google Search is still the Daddy and carefully avoid terrible jokes such as WeDon'tWork. Whoops!

We all know "Netflix" right? Well let's find out more with one of TMB's renowned Deep Dives! This time we also ask the questions everyone is afraid to ask: is the Daily Mail cool? Can you have a streaming service with no content? Has the US finally had its chips? And, has AI made NBA stats more or less fathomable? Add to this Marty, Claude, Antoine, and Lachlan and you have an episode to savour.

This is a bumper episode and this time we dive deeply into Sports Media Rights - the big players, the big sports, the big money required to watch your favourite team these days. Disney, Spotify, Netflix and Meta are in the news, our love affair with Taylor goes on and entertainment is covered by Bono's sweat and a flatulent ogre! That's the real metaverse!

This week, the MB deep dive concerns content providers and comms providers with a particular focus on the Disney / Charter deal in the US. It looks like good news for the writers and advertisers, as spend on the latter looks to past the eye-watering one trillion dollar mark. We also give you and intense round of podmojis covering Alexa talking back to you, All3Media, two remarkable women, a notable retiree, and someone else risking cancellation.

Everyone is talking about AI and so are we! Is it all hype or is it going to change the media landscape forever and where is the real money going? Whose jobs are under threat and what are the opportunities? All is covered in this week's deep dive. TikTok, Amazon and Ubisoft are in the news and we ignore Spain's head of football, cross our fingers for Mark Thompson and laugh at burger hangovers. Enjoy!

This time we shine a light on Disney: the surprising origins of its name, its ups and downs and the challenges it faces in 2023. We also talk women's sports, Twitter (or is it "X"), advertising on Social Media and the irony of Zoom getting people back in the office with the ferocity of the Bic corporation getting people to start using pencils again. Finally, we are collectively disappointed by one piece of so-called AI which reminds us that we are not going to be replaced by robots. Just yet.

Who better to dissect the complex world of digital advertising spend than Maureen and Claire? This time we find out about the "Big 2", trends, surprises, facts, figures and of course, opinions. Bob Iger features again and we unpick the latest in the artists versus producers battles across music and the movies. Claire also finds time for one of her delightful "rants". Finally, we tackle diversity and inclusion in media and discover that the industry might not have progressed as far and as fast as we would have hoped...