How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…
Strategic advice and interviews with the 50,000+ member OTT Executive Community. Learn from the leaders of the media & entertainment industry.
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OTT Executive Podcast S5 E5: Ren Young, CEO/Founder, PRAYZN
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27:121) Ren's start from a "summer camp" kid to music/opera, to MTV, to content producer; 2) Literally started in the mailroom; 3) Origins of the "faith-fueled" PRAYZN story; 4) Building a faith-fueled pervasive community; 5) Phase 1: launching the faith-based MTV; 6) Phase 2: adding scripted and unscripted programming; 7) Phase 3: imbedding all other e…
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OTT Executive Podcast S5 E4: Beth Anderson, SVP/GM, FAST Channels & VOD Sales, BBC Studios
48:58
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48:581) Beth's start as a theatre director; 2) The art of storytelling and creative collaboration; 3) Comparing FAST channels to old-school curated "mix tapes"; 4) FAST strategy started with single-series such as "Antiques Road Show"; 5) What is the balance between creative/intuitive curation and science/data analytics in programming FAST channels?; 6) …
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OTT Exec Podcast S5 E3: Srinivasan (Srini) KA, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Amagi
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40:31
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40:311) Srini's career background; 2) Amagi's roots as an advertising marketplace in India; 3) Facing down a major company crisis; 4) Pivoting to become a global FAST tech vendor; 5) Managing lightning-fast growth; 6) How to maintain your company culture at scale; 7) How to segment your customer base; 8) Managing core vs. custom product development; 9) …
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OTT Executive Podcast S5 E2: Esther Ahn, Head of User Experience, YouTube TV & Primetime Channels
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39:341) Esther's career background; 2) Design lessons from a can opener; 3) Why UX design should get C-suite attention; 4) Design differences between music and video; 5) How to integrate UX for all content forms-- short clips, long-form, live events, etc.; 6) Using user feedback and directed input vs. passive inferential design; 7) Should consumers be a…
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OTT Executive Podcast S5 E1: Michael Senzon, President of Digital, Allen Media Group
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40:201) Interning for "Late Night with David Letterman" -- can people still start their M&E careers that way? 2) CNN Digital role; 3) Launching first live news streaming service; 4) The "Great Big Story" story; 5) CNBC and NBC News OTT products; 6) Partnership with Pluto; 7) What was the inflection point where streaming became "real"? 8) Current Allen M…
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OTT Executive Podcast S4 E8 -- Paul Pastor, QuickPlay CBO
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40:471) Paul's career background-- Technicolor, Disney, Discovery, Struum; 2) Paul's mentor and move into strategy; 3) Getting the call from Disney; 4) The "moment when my career trajectory changed"; 5) How to use viewer data to be cool at cocktail parties ; 6) QuickPlay's focus on Tier 1 customers; 7) QuickPlay's USP: architecture and culture; 8) Quick…
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OTT Exec Podcast S4 E7: Kevin Kurtz, CEO of Bold Baking Network
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41:061) Kevin's background at Lucasfilm, Electronic Arts, Walt Disney Pictures, and Zynga; 2) Learning about merchandising, gaming, and communities when launching the Pokémon franchise to the USA; 3) Why EA (Sims franchise) and Zynga (Words with Friends) highlighted the powerful combination of content, gaming, and communities; 4) Genesis of Bold Baking …
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OTT Exec Podcast S4 E6: Scott Apgar, SVP Advertising, SeaChange International
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31:121) Scott's career background starting with device drivers at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC); 2) Current role leading SeaChange's advertising team; 3) SeaChange's end-to-end streaming platform; 4) Advertising solutions including pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll and creating custom FAST channels on the fly; 5) Innovations such as side-by-side adver…
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OTT Executive Podcast S4 E5: Steve Harnsberger, CEO, Universal Search & Discovery
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50:131) Steve's career background- "Silicon Valley meets Hollywood"; 2) The problem to solve-- universal search within the OTT operating system; 3) How is it possible your title doesn't show up in search even if it's in your library? 4) Why/how the search algorithm optimizes the platform's monetization-- not the apps; 5) Search vs. CTV/platform marketin…
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OTT Executive Podcast S4 E4- Evan Shapiro
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43:42
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43:421) Evan's 2023 wrap up; 2) The media universe "death stars" getting bigger; 3) Consolidation of advertising market under Google, Meta, and Amazon (60%); 4) Why are the media giants getting into sports in a huge way? 5) "We left the last era of media four years ago when Disney went to DTC.... chasing Netflix towards a business model that doesn't wor…
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OTT Exec Podcast S4 E3- Eric Keith, Chief Content Officer, Space Mob
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22:38
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22:381) Keith's background in theater and film; 2) Moving into digital media and then streaming media; 3) Space Mob's focus on creating FAST channels and creating series; 4) FAST market under pressure as platforms are cutting back channels; 5) Focus on entertainment sports streaming such as pickle ball; 6) Minimum viable FAST channel needs 150 hours to …
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OTT Executive Podcast S4 E2: Katherine Pond, Group Vice President, Vizio
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37:451) Katherine's pre-Vizio career background; 2) First job at Vizio 11 years ago; 3) Current role; 4) Vizio as full-service media company including hardware, content, data, advertising, distribution, mobile; 5) Vizio content vetting process; 6) Higher bar for content partnerships, but still lots of new "white space"; 7) Elements of a good content dea…
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OTT Executive Podcast S4 E1: Rachel Silver, Founder & CEO, Love Stories TV
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38:261) Rachel's career background; 2) Rachel and husband met in kindergarten? I forgot the follow up question about this! 3) Recognizing the wedding video opportunity; 4) Getting started building a large social community; 5) Anatomy of a content licensing deal; 6) Advertising strategy and lack of data visibility; 7) Partnering/competing with CTV and di…
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OTT Executive Podcast S3 E8 Natalie Gabathuler-Scully, Vevo EVP, Revenue Distribution and Data Operations
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30:131) Natalie's current role; 2) Career background from JP Morgan to ESPN; 3) Vevo's global operations-- streaming across 34 distribution platforms including YouTubeTV, Samsung TV+, Pluto, Roku, and Amazon FireTV-- over 800,000 pieces of content; 4) Launching FAST channels; 5) Embracing a data-driven environment; 6) The promise vs. the reality of addr…
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OTT Executive Podcast S3 E7: Stephen Lathroum, President North America, Robosoft Technologies
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28:331) Stephen's role and background on Robosoft Technologies; 2) Marquee customers including Discovery+, Magnolia, Global Cycling Network, Food Network, and ESPN; 3) Creating "communities" to enhance engagement and monetization; 4) Engineering and software development outsourcing vs. staff augmentation vs. innovation centers of excellence; 5) Cross de…
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OTT Exec Podcast S3 E6 Jonathan Collins, Imagicomm/INSP, General Manager Digital Distribution
19:29
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19:291) Background on Imagicomm and INSP "5th ranked cable channel in the U.S."; 2) Media conglomerate including cable, original content distribution, and 13 broadcast networks; 3) "Lunge-free" family/friendly content including "The Cowboy Way", "Legal Action", and Christmas movies; 4) Charlotte-based studios/distribution; 5) Tell family stories without…
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OTT Exec Podcast S3 E5 Jason Cohen, MyBundle.TV CEO
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23:481) Jason's finance/private equity background; 2) Problem statement- simplifying streaming; 3) Win-win-win three-tiered approach- consumers, streamers, and broadband providers; 4) MyBundle watch list; 5) Partnering with cable providers for cord-cutters selecting broadband; 6) "Find MyBundle" tool; 7) Dominance of smart phone over TV remote as conten…
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OTT Exec Podcast S3 E4 Teresa Lopez, Co-Founder & CEO, LoveTV Channels
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13:33
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13:331) Teresa's background at Rakuten launching new channels; 2) Dearth of channels in Europe; 3) Need for localization (local content, local language); 4) LoveTV Channels one year anniversary; 5) Distribution with Samsung, Xumo, etc.; 6) Finding new distribution in U.S. market; 7) Love the Planet channel about sustainability; 8) Next stage focused on …
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1) J. Alexander's background including co-founding FUBU; 2) Opportunities in streaming media; 3) Signing with Cineverse; 4) Future of FAST; 5) Writer's strike pushing move back to reality TV; 6) Role of AI in streaming; 7) Focus on building his businesses; 8) Future plans Also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ottexecutive…
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OTT Executive Podcast S3 E3 Steven Flisler, Managing Director, X Games Media
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12:111) Acquisition of X Games from Disney/ESPN; 2) Steven's background from Twitch and NBC/NFL; 3) Role of community on Twitch; 4) Focus on expanding X Games events to distribution and streaming; 5) What to do with 18 years of VOD library? 6) Augmenting event content with athlete personalities; 7) Use of social for shared real-time experience; 8) X Gam…
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OTT Exec Podcast S3 E1- Colin Petrie Norris, Xumo Chief Revenue and Platform Officer
18:56
18:56
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18:561) Thoughts on StreamTV Show in Denver; 2) Colin's career background from "structural engineer specializing in water-retaining concrete design" to Xumo leader; 3) Xumo's roots in digital ad-tech; 4) Comcast acquisition; 5) Comcast-Charter joint venture; 6) How does Xumo fit into Comcast's portfolio including Peacock, Xfinity, Flex, Xumo App, Platfo…
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OTT Executive Podcast S2 E6: Brad Samuels, CEO, Eagle Dock Media
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27:14
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27:141) Brad's background from local radio, to cable and broadcast, to streaming; 2) Launching MTV; 3) How "South Park" put Comedy Central on the map; 4) Early forays into streaming with Bloomberg and Scripps; 5) Creating Eagle Dock Media (and not getting sued by LeBron James); 6) Is content exclusivity/walled gardens going away? 7) Experimenting with c…
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OTT Executive Podcast S2 E5: Jeremy Stern, former YouTube TV, Head of Local TV
37:06
37:06
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37:061) Jeremy's career beginning with "knocking on doors" for Continental Cablevision; 2) Launching Google Fiber; 3) Launching YouTube TV; 4) Content piracy; 5) Launching Stern Digital Strategies; 6) Role of AI; 7) Status of Local TV industry; 8) Industry cost-cutting as "natural evolution"; 9) Growth of OTA and ATSC 3.0; 10) Jeremy's passion for Blues…
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OTT Executive Podcast S2 E4 Erick Opeka, Cinedigm President and CSO
30:36
30:36
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30:361) Background on Cinedigm; 2) Cinedigm content strategy; 3) The power of "enthusiast" content (anime, family, horror, etc.); 4) Cineverse "Big Umbrella"; 5) Building communities around video content; 6) FAST as a "throw-back linear approach"; 7) Celebrity-based channels; 8) "Wall Street whipsaw from growth at all costs" to "focus on the bottom line…
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OTT Executive Podcast: S2 E3 Sara DeWitt, GM, PBS Kids
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43:47
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43:471) Sara’s background; 2) Working for Mr. Rogers; 3) Non-profit focus on experimentation vs. commercialization; 4) PBS Kids and gaming; 5) PBS distribution/device strategy; 6) PBS podcasts; 7) How to stay the course despite cutbacks in kid content; 8) PBS content strategy; 9) Show curricula- Curious George as Engineering teacher?; 10) How to make co…
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OTT Executive Podcast S2 E12: Robert Schildhouse, GM, BritBox North America
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42:47
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42:471) Background on Robert; 2) 15 years since Hulu launch; 3) Can the industry sustain massive content investment amid huge losses? 4) Avoid the "collapse of the middle" through scale or focus; 5) BritBox viewer acquisition strategy; 6) Why a dedicated BritBox service vs. licensing through other services? 7) How rise of CTVs changes things; 8) Robert'…
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OTT Executive Podcast S2 E1: Mike Bloxham, EVP, MAGID
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44:381) Mike Bloxham's background; 2) New study on streaming subscriber churn; 3) "Intentionality of churn"; 4) Six different churn segments; 5) Why are "Hypers" both highly engaged and most likely to churn? 6) How "good/bad churn" is like cholesterol; 7) Moving to a "subscribed months" metric; 8) Why churn isn't correlated to income; 9) Churn segment "…
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OTT Executive Podcast S1 E10: Nakx CEO Kieanji Williams
25:17
25:17
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25:171) Kieanji's background; 2) Genesis of Nakx; 3) Streaming opportunity for independent films; 4) Nakx business model; 5) Linear programming strategy; 6) Nakx distribution strategy; 7) Nakx launch plans; 8) Future plans for original content; 9) Kieanji's foray into reality TV (watch her on "The Blox"). Also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@…
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OTT Executive Podcast S1 E9- Guest Marc Zand, formerly Ion Media Networks
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32:201) Marc Zand background; 2) What are multicast/diginet/D2-D3 networks? 3) How did multicast networks get their initial content? 4) OTA content discovery; 5) How did Marc grow Ion Media Networks? 6) How was multicast a pre-cursor to FAST channels? 7) The tension between content exclusivity and wider distribution; 8) What are the various aspects of c…
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OTT Exec Podcast S1 E8- Guest Tony Mugavero- CEO of ROW8, Co-Founder Rad
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36:381) Background of Tony Mugavero; 2) Merger of ROW8 and Rad; 3) Video applications of blockchain, web3, smart contracts, etc. 4) What is NFTV and premium transactional VOD? 5) Marketing aspects of video/music NFTs; 6) Extending video content via merchandising, collectibles, etc. 7) Do blockchain smart contracts replace DRM? 8) How to make video block…
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OTT Exec Podcast S1 E7: Donna Drake- Drake Media Networks President
23:54
23:54
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23:541) Donna's background; 2) Democratizing content creation; 3) New studio and tech stack; 4) Greenlighting 50 new shows; 5) Distribution strategy; 6) A "billionaire in spirit"; 7) Is the content market saturated? 8) Storytelling; 9) Donna's favorite things; 10) Bonus: Will Brian and Donna create a new show together? Also watch on YouTube: https://www…
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OTT Exec Podcast S1 E6- Michael Weber, FITE.TV Co-Founder & COO
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33:391) FITE distribution strategy; 2) new FAST channel FITE 24/7; 3) Unique aspects of PPV; 4) Getting added to the Roku Channel; 5) Expanding into soccer and rugby; 6) Viewer acquisition strategy; 7) Fighting content pirates; 8) 2023 predictions; 9) Bonus: Did Michael catch William "the Fridge" Perry during WrestleMania 2? Also watch on YouTube: https…
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OTT Exec Podcast S1 E5- College Age Trenders (focus group)
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24:091) Two college students talk about their media and entertainment habits; 2) Discussions include Apple, Disney+, YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu, FuboTV, Instagram, TikTok, SnapChat, etc.; 3) Favorite shows and ways of watching; 4) Music comes first, followed by social and video; 5) No interest in cable TV or OTA; 6) Switching from …
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OTT Executive Podcast S1E4- Adam Ware, Sinclair Broadcasting Group
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49:211) Interview with Adam Ware, SVP Growth Networks, Sinclair Broadcast Group; 2) Career background; 3) Differing viewer acquisition strategies across broadcast and streaming services; 4) Resilience of Over-The-Air (OTA); 5) ATSC 3.0 "Next-Gen TV"; 6) Content discovery strategies; 7) Discussions including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu, Peacock, etc.; …
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OTT Executive Podcast S1E3- MolQ Entertainment CEO E.J. Klein
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27:06
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27:061) E.J.'s career recap; 2) Background on MolQ Entertainment; 3) MolQ Films and MolQ TV launch plans; 4) Growth in advertising business models; 5) Role of NFTs for marketing and engagement; 6) UX strategy; 7) International launch plans; 8) Things about E.J. you might not know. Also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ottexecutive…
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OTT Executive Podcast S1 E2: Isabel Rafferty, CEO Canela Media
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25:58
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25:581) Background on Isabel; 2) Language, culture, or geography-- how do you define the "Hispanic" market? 3) Programming and content curation; 4) "Peak streaming"-- how will the limit of subscribers/viewers impact growth? 5) Role of original content vs. licensed programming; 6) One thing about Isabel you may not know. Also watch on YouTube: https://ww…
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OTT Executive Podcast S1E1- Evan Shapiro
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30:351) Evan Shapiro dispels “tentacle” rumors; 2) Disney’s CEO revolving door amidst “peak TV”; 3) How bad will the media industry “impression recession” get? -- two leading indicators to look for; 4) Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Roku, Netflix, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, 5G, Pay TV, and Triple Play discussions; 5) Why Amazon overpaid for…
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