1 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's weekly podcast featuring conversations with 2 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 3 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: Cynthia Lyttleton, co editor in chief of Variety. On today's episode, 4 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: we're bringing you highlights from Variety's two day summit at 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas till January seventh 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: and eighth. We had a power packed lineup of executives, entrepreneurs, analysts, 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: and investors, all talking about the intersection of media and technology. 8 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: One of our treats was getting a preview of the Audacity. 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: This is a new dramedy coming to AMC Network in April. 10 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: It's set in Silicon Valley and the story focuses on 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: the human side of the tech sector. Our session featured 12 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: stars Billy Magnuson and Simon Helberg, as well as Dan McDermott, 13 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: who heads programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, and 14 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: Gina Magnacci. She is an executive producer of the series, 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: which was created by Jonathan Glatzer. He's an alumnus of 16 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: AMC's Better Call Saul and HBO's Succession and then I 17 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: had the pleasure of sitting down with a true tech 18 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: and business innovator, Roku founder and CEO, Anthony Wood. We 19 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: talked through the company's origin story in streaming media that 20 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:23,839 Speaker 1: goes back to two thousand and eight. There's a Netflix 21 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: tie in that I had no idea about, and he explains, 22 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: and then he explains the business case for Howdy that's 23 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: Roku's three dollars ad free streaming package that he sees 24 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: as growing into a big business. But we'll start off 25 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: with the Audacity panel. AMC Network's executive Dan McDermott is 26 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: the first voice you'll hear as we dive right into 27 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: a discussion of the show. It's very different from HBO's 28 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: great comedy Silicon Valley. This one is really focused on 29 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: the interpersonal relationships between the alpha tech types that have 30 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: come to exert so much influence over our world. Based 31 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: on my viewing of the first episode, I'd say the 32 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: Audacity makes clear the old adage money cannot buy happiness. 33 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: Let's just start with the table cetter. Let's start with 34 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: Dan tell us sort of the conceit of the show. 35 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: Why you feel like it's an AMC network show. 36 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 2: This show is a sort of throwback in a lot 37 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,239 Speaker 2: of ways to the origins of AMC storytelling with shows 38 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 2: like Mad Men and Breaking Bad better call Saul Killing Eve. 39 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 2: You know, we focus on three primary things, which is 40 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 2: one is lightning in a bottle characters that can break 41 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 2: out and become part of the cultural conversation. We can 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 2: put them on a billboard and everybody will know that's 43 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 2: Duncan from the Audacity, etc. And the second is that 44 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 2: they take the audience into a unique world or subculture 45 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 2: that we either haven't seen portrayed or haven't seen portrayed 46 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 2: in this particular way. 47 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 3: And the third is. 48 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 2: We want to be entertaining and fun, of course, but 49 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 2: we also want our shows to have cultural meaning and 50 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 2: ballast and be about something important, and in this case, 51 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 2: this is about the men and women in Silicon Valley 52 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 2: who are shaping the world that we live in today, 53 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 2: that are literally laying the cement on the freeway that 54 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 2: we're all driving down with things like AI, data collection, 55 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 2: social media, et cetera. And there couldn't be any more 56 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 2: important group, in my opinion, to be taking a deep 57 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 2: dive look at than the men and women in the 58 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 2: Silicon Valley who are shaping the lives that we're living. 59 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: Drama helps us interpret our lives, for sure. Billy's your 60 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: character is the CEO of a data mining company, which 61 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: could not be more in the all current moment. Tell 62 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: us about your you know, coming to this show and 63 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: how you put yourself in the headspace of being a 64 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: CEO of a data mining company. 65 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 4: First of all, I want to say thank you for 66 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 4: having me here, and I'm really very well and you know, 67 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 4: big boss man here, Dan, he really is the genesis 68 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 4: of all this thing acting industry or the entertainment industry. 69 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 4: Everyone goes in for ip and understanding new ideas don't 70 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 4: exist anymore. 71 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 3: It's this guy had the balls to like. 72 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 4: Show up and believe in Jonathan Glatzer and see this 73 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 4: world because I mean the tech world in Silicon Valley. 74 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 4: Let's be honest, it's a there's time in his times 75 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 4: in history where there's a renaissance, and Silicon Valley is 76 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 4: one of those times in our modern era which is 77 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 4: defining humanity. And what better place to make a dark 78 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 4: comedy than in that place. 79 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 3: That develops our society At this. 80 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 4: Point for me, you know, twenty years in this industry, 81 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 4: you see a script that Jonathan Glatzer wrote, and you're. 82 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 3: Just like, damn, this is fantastic. 83 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 4: It's always on the page that I recognize we're true talent, 84 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 4: or the story or what's powerful is theirs on the page. Yeah, 85 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,479 Speaker 4: when you read it, Jonathan Glatzer is the thing that 86 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 4: sets this show apart from all the other shows on TV. 87 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 4: It's the uniqueness and specificity of this guy his mind 88 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 4: and for Dan to give him the opportunity to make it, 89 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 4: I couldn't be more grateful. 90 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 3: So when it came my way, I was like, hell, yeah, 91 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 3: I'm in. I'm in. 92 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,839 Speaker 1: So same question for you, Simon, and curious if you 93 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: did anything together to educate yourself on Silicon Valley jargon 94 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: or terminology. Your character seems to capture the loneliness and 95 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: the isolation in our world. Can you describe a little 96 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: bit about what your character marked? 97 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 5: And I did not have to research loneliness. 98 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 3: It was something that. 99 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: They're gonna make some friends here something. 100 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 5: My character, Martin is, like many people probably in the Valley, 101 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 5: is a bit of a maladjusted genius. When to Stanford, 102 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 5: the fifteen made up chunk of money early on in 103 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,359 Speaker 5: tech and now he spends every waking minute locked in 104 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 5: his garage with an AI companion that he's developing to 105 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 5: help alienated teenagers, but of course he has his own 106 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 5: alienated teenager daughter who he completely neglects, and all the 107 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 5: other people around him. 108 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 3: So he's a bit of a recluse. 109 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 5: And yeah, there's loneliness I think at the heart of 110 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 5: all the characters, and they're all trying to connect, and 111 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 5: they're trying to connect through technology, which has some pitfalls. 112 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: Gina, can you set for us the thirty thousand foot 113 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: view in terms of just setting up the world and 114 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: without giving too much of the plot away, give us 115 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: a sense of what the scope of season one looks like. 116 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 6: Well, season one, we're gonna meet Duncan played by Billy, 117 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:31,799 Speaker 6: who is a wanna be tech Titan who really wants 118 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 6: to be one of the tech gods of the Valley, 119 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 6: and he's shown that he is human and fallible. We 120 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 6: go into an exploration of the world of Silicon Valley 121 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 6: through our lens, which is like a tiny town. It's 122 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 6: a little bubble Silicon Valley in our show, it's like 123 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 6: a small town. 124 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,279 Speaker 1: So we meet. 125 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 6: Therapists, kids, wives, girlfriends, and sort of focus on the 126 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 6: relationships and the dynamics between them rather than the big 127 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 6: wigs and the guys that have made it. So it's 128 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 6: we go into the lives of these people. Jonathan says 129 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 6: when he came up with the title the Audacity, he 130 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 6: said he thinks that audacity is a superpower that we 131 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 6: all have that we don't even know we have, and 132 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 6: that most people don't move fast and break things, but. 133 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: These people do, our people do. We talk about Silicon Valley, 134 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: it's a shorthand for so much tech CEOs, that's a 135 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: shorthand for so much. But here we are actually seeing 136 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: these people with their children in with some of their 137 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: day to day issues. 138 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 3: When I think of a TV show, it's always about characters. 139 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 4: You know, in the tech industry, there's people spending millions 140 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 4: of dollars in making the perfect product, the perfect application 141 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 4: or whatever. But it's all these faulty people making of 142 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 4: and we're seeing the faults in these characters. 143 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 3: And that's what you explore with. 144 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 4: The TV show is like I want to show up 145 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 4: every week with these characters and be like, God darn it, 146 00:07:58,440 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 4: what adventure are they going on? 147 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 3: What is the crazy mayhem they're getting into? 148 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 2: And if I could say one thing and add to 149 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 2: that the beauty of Jonathan Glatzer as a writer is 150 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 2: he's interested in the humanity of these people. He's not 151 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 2: interested in how rich they are, how successful they are. 152 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 2: That's the backdrop, and that's an interesting component. But what's 153 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 2: really interesting in real life and in our show is 154 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 2: that they are just people with all the same human 155 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 2: flaws as every one of us, and yet they are 156 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:32,079 Speaker 2: having a profoundly outsized impact on the lives of ourselves, 157 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 2: our children, our schools, our institutions, our government, et cetera, 158 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 2: et cetera. But Jonathan leads with that level of humanity, 159 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 2: which is really special. 160 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: And in storytelling, it would be so easy to just 161 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,319 Speaker 1: show the flashy planes and the money, like it's this 162 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: is the harder stuff is the emotional stuff, Simon. 163 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 5: You were going to say, just to plug Jonathan too. 164 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,599 Speaker 5: He wrote for Succession and Better Call Saul, and shows 165 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 5: that tend to do this kind of exploration of real 166 00:08:55,480 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 5: human the intricacies and the flaws of being human those 167 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 5: shows and you don't. It's about people, And so I 168 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 5: think he's a genius. 169 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 3: And at observing humanity. 170 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,679 Speaker 1: Did the jargon, did the tech talk? Did that come 171 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: natural to you? Or did you have a coach that 172 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: was walking you through. 173 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 4: No like you know, being classically trained actor, you have 174 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 4: a dialogue and you have to understand. 175 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 3: The world that you're working in and do the research 176 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 3: and all that. 177 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 4: But again, I think it's the emotions about these people 178 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 4: living in that world is what's more important than the 179 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,839 Speaker 4: jargon sometimes, and so focusing on the emotional journey of 180 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 4: these characters is important. 181 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: Dan, it occurs to me that it's you know that 182 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: AMC really has some authority to sort of tell this story, 183 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: because it really does feel like it's you had a 184 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: great show, and it was before your tenure there, but 185 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: a great show Halt and Catch Fire, which really captured 186 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: that zeitgeist to the moment in the eighties in Dallas, 187 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: which was also such an interesting place to set it. 188 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: As you developed this part of the thinking, like this 189 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: is forty years after Halt and Catch Fire. 190 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 2: We didn't talk much about it. I actually went to 191 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 2: I lived in Silicon Valley from the time I was 192 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 2: like twelve to eighteen when I went to college, so 193 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 2: I'm very familiar with the area, and I have a 194 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 2: ton of friends and family who work in Silicon Valley, 195 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 2: so I'm frequently up there and frequently around there, and 196 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 2: it's one of the most unique places on the planet, 197 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 2: I mean, just in terms of the environment and the culture. 198 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 2: So we didn't think much about Halt and catch Fire 199 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 2: because we knew that that was just a different time period, 200 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 2: different location, everything else. We really wanted to lean into 201 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 2: everything that's really unique and specific about Silicon Valley. 202 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: Right now, Gina, what did you find sort of most 203 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: challenging or you know, most energizing about capturing this world 204 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: right now? 205 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 2: Cass is kind is just and that's the thing that's 206 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 2: really exciting. I mean, Jonathan wrote a wonderful script, but 207 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 2: these folks brought it to life and made it real. 208 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 2: And you know, I've been around for quite a while now, Cynthia, 209 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,839 Speaker 2: and I've caught lightning at a bottle a few times. No, 210 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,200 Speaker 2: I don't want to want to overstate how excited I'm 211 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 2: about this show. You know, we'll see how it's received, 212 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 2: we'll see how it performs. That's out of my hands. 213 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 2: But under the heading of can we do something that's 214 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 2: really special, that's unique, that hasn't been done before, this 215 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 2: is one of one. Nobody has seen this show before, 216 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 2: hasn't been done anywhere. It's not a sequel, it's not 217 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 2: IP it's not It is really special because it comes 218 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 2: from the hearts and souls of all these folks. 219 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: Gina, you've worked on Killing Eve a very elaborate production. 220 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: What was challenging in the production or the you know, 221 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 1: assembling all the elements to get it just right? 222 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,360 Speaker 6: Well, we basically we kept saying we wanted to punch 223 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 6: above our weight. And the more we sent the script 224 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 6: out to these actors and got this cast, it was 225 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:42,440 Speaker 6: actually it was the same challenge as Killing E, which 226 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 6: is not as much money as everyone else, has not 227 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 6: as much time to make it. But you want, you 228 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 6: want to be here, you want to be playing here, 229 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 6: and hopefully we've delivered on that. Also, I think it 230 00:11:57,360 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 6: helps to I know we've been talking about you know, 231 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 6: AMC and being they are the There is no one 232 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 6: better than AMC to make morally complex characters come to life. 233 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: So it takes a special group of people. 234 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 6: And also we need people to help us take risks 235 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:17,960 Speaker 6: and back us and take in those risks, you know. 236 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 6: And it was across the board too, and how we 237 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 6: put everyone we hired for the show, everyone to bring 238 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 6: it to life, to the production design, all of it, cinematography. 239 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,079 Speaker 6: We wanted to be here with everybody else. 240 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,079 Speaker 2: We like to say, Cynthia, that you know, we may 241 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 2: not have the most money to spend on a show, 242 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 2: but originality and creativity is free. And if we support 243 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 2: that and we really lean into that and encourage our filmmakers, 244 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 2: our actors or writer, everybody associated with the show to 245 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 2: really be original, be thoughtful, be something that nobody's seen before. 246 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: A show like this. Does it lend itself to cameos? 247 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 1: Are you looking for, you know, real world figures to 248 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 1: maybe pop in or or would take people out of 249 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:01,679 Speaker 1: the story that you're trying to tell. 250 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 6: We don't even use real names of companies. It's all 251 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 6: our world. We have guest stars that are just amazingly. 252 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 6: Randall Park that's a guest star. He'll be popping up 253 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 6: as someone in this world. 254 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: That's got to be fun too, because you can have 255 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:17,680 Speaker 1: so much, you can have so much creazy. 256 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,560 Speaker 6: So much fun coming up with does names, Cynthia. 257 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: Of course you can make a great show, but if 258 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: people don't know what's out there, how do you plan 259 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: to collectively sort of sell this to America? Obviously you're 260 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: starting here and You're going to do a lot of press, 261 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: but is there a way to get this out to 262 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: the audience, especially that digitally connected audience. 263 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 2: Sure, we have a first rate marketing group led by 264 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 2: Kim Grenido. This is probably gonna be our biggest launch 265 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 2: this year of anything we do. The amount of time, energy, 266 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 2: financial resources, et cetera. We're going to do a lot 267 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 2: on social media, you know, and using and digital advertising. Obviously, 268 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 2: I'm confident that we're going to get this show exposed 269 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,079 Speaker 2: to everybody in the country. Everybody's going to have a 270 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 2: chance to see it. 271 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 4: I think the biggest again is word of mouth is 272 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 4: still king. With all the technology and all that stuff, 273 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:05,480 Speaker 4: word of mouth and saying hey to a buddy, like 274 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 4: check out the show again, like that being human and 275 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 4: the specificity of this show, like that, when you when 276 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 4: you become specific about a topic or idea or a 277 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 4: story you're telling, it becomes more universal. And that's where 278 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 4: I think you can connect with the like Jonathan Glatzer's 279 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 4: specificity with the show becomes universal and you don't have 280 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 4: to be in the tech industry to enjoy the show. 281 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 4: I really think it is is universal and word of 282 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 4: mouth is the number one lay to get it. 283 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: Out and you know, talking about started bringing back to 284 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: Jonathan Glatzer. It's really for a mc I know it's 285 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: it's really been important to you to really have it. 286 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: You have an incredible roster of creators that you work 287 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: with again and again, including Gina having you know, worked 288 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: on Killing Eve. What what does that bring to a 289 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: mc dan in terms of just what it brings to 290 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: the network. 291 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 2: I think you said it earlier, Cynthia were a boutie company. 292 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 2: When we come up with a show like The Audacity, 293 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,840 Speaker 2: it gets white glove treatment throughout the system, which is 294 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 2: not necessarily a case when we're when a show is 295 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 2: one of twenty five shows that are being dropped that year. 296 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: Gina is there is there is there a role for 297 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: Jody Comer and who played the incredible villain ave villainev 298 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: in Killing Eve. I could totally see that character coming 299 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: in and like has just raised two hundred million dollars 300 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: for you. 301 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 6: Know, we we do love sociopaths, so she would fit 302 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 6: right in. 303 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: Okay, when it premieres in April, do we have the 304 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: date April twelfth? Mark your calendars and your and your devices. 305 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: Simon and Billy, do you typically when something you're in 306 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: is you know, is released, do you typically go out 307 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: and look, now everybody has a focus group of millions 308 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: at their fingertips. Do you look at reaction on social Yeah. 309 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 3: I think it's important. 310 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: I'm sorry though, it's going to be intense on this 311 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: show iron So that's. 312 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 3: The whole point. 313 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 4: Like we have that the ability to touch the world 314 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 4: now through our phone, and I think it is about community. 315 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 4: I think art has always been about that. Like, the 316 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 4: deepest part of the purpose of art to me is 317 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 4: to connect to people. And it's either like I have 318 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 4: an emotion that I need to express and then for 319 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 4: someone to receive it and go like, oh my god, 320 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 4: I'm not alone in feeling that. I've felt that, And 321 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 4: I think that's the beauty of art. And if you 322 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 4: don't discuss that or have that community or discussion about it, 323 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 4: I mean, why are you would be living isolated? 324 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 3: And I don't think that's. 325 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: Good liveing like Simon's character. 326 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 5: Yeah, now, yeah, I don't care what anybody says about 327 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 5: me as long as it's glowing. 328 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 4: Well, folks, I mean, I do have to say this 329 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 4: is in twenty years of being in this industry and 330 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 4: working I've got to punch James Bond in the face. 331 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 3: Connor McGregor has punched me in the face. You know 332 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 3: what about your on screen work? 333 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 7: Really, this show is I'm so proud of it and 334 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 7: so excited to be a part of it and like 335 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 7: AMC and Dan and Gina and the whole team twenty 336 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 7: years doing this. 337 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 4: I'm just like so grateful for this opportunity. It's it's weird, 338 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 4: you know, It's yeah, this is I think it's fantastic. 339 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 1: You have all the enthusiasm of an entrepreneur that has 340 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: just done their series. A congratulations everyone, It really looks promising. 341 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: Can't wait to see more. Thank you so much for 342 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: coming and sharing with us. 343 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 8: Thank you, Thank you guys. 344 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 3: Thank you. 345 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: And now we'll turn to my conversation with Roku founder 346 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:36,919 Speaker 1: and CEO Anthony Wood. We have a real treat today. 347 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: We are so grateful to Anthony, who winged in from 348 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 1: Austin for the occasion here. You know, Anthony doesn't do 349 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: a lot of these, so we are doubly grateful that 350 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:49,679 Speaker 1: you chose to make the time for it. 351 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 3: Thanks us great to be here. 352 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: Roku has been so far ahead of the curve, so 353 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: far ahead of the curve of the streaming media revolution 354 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: that I think. I think people, even tech savvy people, 355 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: even industry savvy people, don't fully appreciate the scale, the 356 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: size and scope of your business. Give us sort of 357 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: the elevator pitch of what Roku has grown to You 358 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: started in two thousand and eight, which is practically BC 359 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: times for streaming media. 360 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 8: At the high level of Roku's businesses, we're a TV 361 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 8: platform that connects viewers, advertisers, and content that our role 362 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 8: in the ecosystem is to connect those different stakeholders. You know, 363 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 8: we were the first streaming platforms TV streaming platform. We're 364 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 8: by far the largest by a large margin. Well over 365 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 8: half of US broadband households use Roku to watch television. 366 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 8: Probably forty percent of all streaming flows through our platform. 367 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,640 Speaker 8: Where the number one streaming platform in the US, Canada, Mexico, 368 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 8: and also very large in all of Latin America and 369 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 8: the UK. Our primary business is what we call our 370 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 8: platform business, which is advertising and subscriptions. That's just over 371 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 8: four billion this year. 372 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: The four billion in revenue and revenues Roku, as you 373 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: just told me, it started actually two thousand and two, 374 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: before the streaming but the push to streaming came around 375 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight. From that point, what was 376 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: the accelerant and do you remember when it happened? What 377 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: was the accelerant that allowed you to scale? 378 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 8: Yeah, well that's when Netflix entered the streaming business, so 379 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,879 Speaker 8: that that was really that was I mean, that was it. 380 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 8: So basically, you know, we partnered with Netflix. We shipped 381 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 8: the first Netflix streaming player. It was literally called the 382 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 8: Netflix Player in two thousand and eight. And at that point, 383 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,360 Speaker 8: Netflix was still primarily DVDs by mail, but they had 384 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 8: just started doing streaming and it was an add on, 385 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 8: like it was a free add on if you had 386 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 8: your DVD by mail service that you got your streaming 387 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:50,400 Speaker 8: for free and it was on p season. You could 388 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 8: buy a Roku Netflix Player. That's how we started, and 389 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,919 Speaker 8: then we quickly transitioned from just being a Netflix player 390 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 8: to being an operating system for TV. That was our goal, 391 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 8: it was to be a complete operating system. So you know, 392 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 8: we just started kept adding more and more features, more 393 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 8: and more content partners. I think after Netflix was Amazon 394 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 8: Prime was the one after that, and then you know, 395 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 8: we just kept adding more and more. We had the 396 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,680 Speaker 8: first app store for television. We had the first streaming 397 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 8: stick form facture, we had the first universal search. I mean, 398 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,680 Speaker 8: we basically been into all the features that are common 399 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 8: on streaming TVs today. 400 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: Let me ask you about how did that first Netflix 401 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,360 Speaker 1: partnership come about. Did you and Read Hastings run into 402 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: each other somewhere or were you aware you had been 403 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: tracking the evolution of Netflix. 404 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 8: So before that, I had started the first DVR company 405 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 8: and shipped the first DVR. But I always viewed DVRs 406 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 8: as like a stepping stone, like a feature, basically a. 407 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: Bridge, like a brick knowledge of bridge. And that was 408 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: replay TV. 409 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 3: That was replay TV. 410 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 8: Yeah, and so I always thought like, Okay, streaming is 411 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 8: going to be the thing. 412 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 3: That's the future. All TV is going to be streamed. 413 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 8: And so I viewed Netflix as like, clearly their name 414 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,199 Speaker 8: was Netflix, so like I figured they were going to 415 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 8: do streaming. So I just called up Read I didn't know, 416 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 8: and I said, Hey, it's me and. 417 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: Fellow serial entrepreneur, and yeah, I'm sure you did you 418 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,119 Speaker 1: speak each other's language right from the start. 419 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 8: I think so basically, you know, so I would have 420 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,640 Speaker 8: regular meetings and try and convince him to let Roku 421 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 8: make a Netflix streaming player, and he would say yes, 422 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 8: and he would say no. The short version is basically 423 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 8: I got when that They called me and said, we're 424 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 8: looking for a VP of Internet TV. Like we've been 425 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 8: sort of doing the streaming stuff on the side, it's 426 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 8: not really going well. We want to hire someone that 427 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 8: really knows about it. And I said, okay, well, i'll 428 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 8: you know, I've sort of given up at that point 429 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,880 Speaker 8: on trying to convince them to let Roku do their 430 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 8: streaming players, so I said, I'll do the streaming player 431 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 8: for you. I'll be your VP of Internet TV as 432 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 8: long as I can just keep wearing Roku as well. 433 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 8: And he was like okay, which I thought was pretty 434 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 8: cool that he was willing to be that creative. So 435 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 8: I worked there for nine months. I built the team 436 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,439 Speaker 8: that did the Netflix player. I started their licensing business. 437 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 8: I went out and signed up Xbox and. 438 00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 3: I think it was LG. 439 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 8: The first two is a license and then so then 440 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 8: what happened was READ was like, Wow, this licensing is 441 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,399 Speaker 8: going really well. I don't see why we need our 442 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 8: own streaming box. And he's like, maybe you should do 443 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 8: it at Roku, and I was like great, like, that's 444 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 8: that's the secret plan has come full circle. So that 445 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 8: team that I had built inside Netflix became broke employees, 446 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 8: and then we finished that when shipped the first Netflix players. 447 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:22,440 Speaker 3: That's the story. 448 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: That's amazing. That is right place, right time, and keeping 449 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 1: your finger on the pulse persistence. Well, yeah, definitely, that's 450 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 1: everybody in this room knows that. How to use a 451 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: new iteration for you? Tell me about what was the spark. 452 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,200 Speaker 1: Obviously we've seen the avad business just continues to grow 453 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: and grow, But what was the spark for going offering 454 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 1: that iteration of your service? 455 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 8: Yeah, So Roku's business is we're a platform for TV. 456 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 8: We distribute streaming services and streaming content. We're the largest 457 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,240 Speaker 8: distributor of streaming services and streaming content in the world. 458 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:57,920 Speaker 8: We have a very large description business, so that's our 459 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:02,360 Speaker 8: core business. But we've we've have also started building out 460 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 8: our own first party owned and operated streaming services, so 461 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:08,920 Speaker 8: you know the Rokue channels where we started. The Rokue 462 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,919 Speaker 8: channel is a big driver of our business. It's the 463 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 8: largest avot streaming service after YouTube in the world, I think, 464 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,919 Speaker 8: and certainly the number two app on our platform. So 465 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 8: that's where we started with our first our own streaming service, 466 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,239 Speaker 8: and we bought a small company called Friendly, which is 467 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 8: like a lightweight virtual MVPD, so we had that. That's 468 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 8: another product, and then a. 469 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: Real like a small bundle of channels like broadcast, like. 470 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 3: The cable bundle, but streaming. 471 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 8: But it's essentially it's you know, it's the niche in 472 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 8: it's niche is basically all the stuff that's not sports, 473 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 8: so it's a lot less expensive. It's like Hallmark and 474 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 8: Lifetime and A and A and channels like that. But 475 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 8: that's growing well, that's going good for us. And then 476 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 8: the opportunity for Howdy was if you just look at 477 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 8: what's going on in the streaming world with streaming services, 478 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 8: they're getting more and more expensive, they keep raising prices, 479 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,199 Speaker 8: and they keep adding larger and larger AD loads, and 480 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 8: so the part of the market where it actually started 481 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 8: low costs and no ads is gone. Now there's no 482 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,200 Speaker 8: streaming services that are addressed that portion of the market. 483 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 8: So that's the opportunity for Howdy. That's so it's three 484 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 8: bucks a month and no ads and it's doing extremely well. 485 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 8: You know, just like we built the Roku channel using 486 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 8: the promotional power of our platform. That's what we're doing 487 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 8: with Howdy. We're using that to grow it. But Howdy 488 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 8: has very broad appeal. You know, there's lots of people 489 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 8: in the world that want a three dollars a month 490 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 8: streaming service with no ads, and so it will start 491 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,680 Speaker 8: on Roku, but we'll also take it off platform as well. 492 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 8: I think it's going to be a really large business 493 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 8: for us. 494 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: And forgive me for clarity, Howdy includes licensed channels or 495 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:48,719 Speaker 1: it's all original Roku content. 496 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 3: It's all a library content. 497 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 8: So basically if the way you know, it's three dollars 498 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 8: a month, so like you can't do originals for three 499 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,400 Speaker 8: dollars a month, so but you can do really good 500 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 8: library content. And it turns out that if you look 501 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 8: at what people watch on streaming services, you know, originals 502 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,440 Speaker 8: are how the brands bring in customers, and people watch 503 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,400 Speaker 8: originals a lot of them, but actually most of the viewing. 504 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 3: Is library content. 505 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 8: And so this is a way to get library content, 506 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 8: good quality content, but without ads, for only three dollars 507 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 8: a month. It's not designed to replace a major streaming 508 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 8: service like Netflix or Disney. Is designed to be an 509 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 8: add on service. Most customers these days have multiple streaming services. 510 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 8: It's a great second or third streaming service. So that's 511 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 8: where it's positioned in the market. 512 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: Well, I mean again, part of what you were so 513 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 1: early on was that people want choices, they want the 514 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: discrete bundles that make sense for themselves. And it's so 515 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,679 Speaker 1: interesting that with the blending of a VOD and subscription 516 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,679 Speaker 1: that you, you know, the industry is kind of catching 517 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: up to your business model. Between the evolution of Netflix 518 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: and the HBO, Max's and paramount pluses. Has that alone, 519 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: the fact that more people are blending the two, has 520 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 1: that alone been an accelerant for Roku? 521 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:02,360 Speaker 8: I guess the way I think about it is our 522 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 8: core business is distributing streaming services, and we're very good 523 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:07,520 Speaker 8: at that. So distributing, I mean, it's not just distributing it, 524 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,960 Speaker 8: but marketing and promoting them, assigning up more customers. We're 525 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 8: the largest platform for those companies to distribute their services, 526 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 8: and then we have lots of tools to help them 527 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,679 Speaker 8: grow the size of their services, and that's how we 528 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 8: make money. We make money by helping our streaming partners 529 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 8: grow their installed base and build engagement on our platform. 530 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 8: You know, that's essentially a big part of our business model. 531 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 3: We get paid. 532 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:34,479 Speaker 8: There's various ways, but we get paid for that. And 533 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 8: so the more those services grow, the more they add 534 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 8: monetization techniques, the bigger they get, the better it is 535 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 8: for our business because we're their largest distribution platform and 536 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,880 Speaker 8: we monetize the content that we distribute. 537 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: So are you seeing as Amazon gets more aggressive with 538 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:51,119 Speaker 1: Amazon Channels? Are you seeing you know now that there 539 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,720 Speaker 1: are more competitors to try to be that portal to 540 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 1: make it easy for folks? Is that maybe one reason 541 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: why you're innovating with things like Howdy because the competition 542 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:01,400 Speaker 1: has increased. 543 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:04,719 Speaker 8: No, we're inventning with Howdy because we're looking we want 544 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 8: to build make our business bigger, and there's opportunities to 545 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 8: build new streaming services that have and you know that 546 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:12,639 Speaker 8: haven't been addressed yet. So how do you is basically 547 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 8: a way for us to have a pure play streaming 548 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 8: service that we own and operate. If I just look 549 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 8: at the market, and it's going to be a big 550 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 8: streaming service. So like Amazon, obviously we compete with them, 551 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 8: but they're also a huge partner where they're biggest distributor 552 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,399 Speaker 8: for Amazon Prime. We just announced a big deal with 553 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 8: them on on the ads side. 554 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:33,440 Speaker 3: We're working together on ads. 555 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,399 Speaker 1: So off off Amazon's air. Roku is the second biggest 556 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,880 Speaker 1: distributor for Prime for their content. 557 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 8: I'm pretty sure we are the biggest distributor of Prime 558 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 8: because we're by far the largest streaming platform, a lot 559 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,119 Speaker 8: bigger than fire TV for example. We have complicated relationships 560 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 8: with a lot of partners where you know how doy 561 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,399 Speaker 8: for example. I mean, as well as distributing streaming services 562 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 8: for big studios, we also license a lot of their 563 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 8: content and this tribute a lot of content. We license 564 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 8: a lot of content for the Rokie channel, and we 565 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,440 Speaker 8: license content for audi as well. 566 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: You could have predicted that this question was coming. How 567 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:12,399 Speaker 1: is AI transforming your business? Given all the inputs and 568 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: all the content that you're managing, I would imagine that 569 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 1: there's a lot of opportunity there. 570 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 8: AI is obviously huge. The way I think about it 571 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 8: is in three buckets. One is just business operations. How 572 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,119 Speaker 8: do we just make our business more efficient by adopting AI. 573 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,119 Speaker 8: We do that aggressively. You know, I think companies that 574 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 8: don't do that are going to be at a serious 575 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:31,040 Speaker 8: competitive disadvantage. They're operating expenses will be higher than their competitors. 576 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 8: So we're very focused on just being more efficient. Second 577 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,800 Speaker 8: is we use AI throughout our products. You know, targeted 578 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 8: ads recommendations, These are all AI based technologies, and that's 579 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 8: traditionally machine learning based eye but we're moving all that 580 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:48,600 Speaker 8: to generative AI. 581 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 3: It's next generation. But I think the way AI is 582 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 3: going to. 583 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 8: Disrupt the media industry mostly and then the big way 584 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 8: is just to lowering the cost of content creation. So 585 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 8: I think people underestimate how dramatic that's going to be. 586 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 8: I mean, obviously, I don't think people are going to 587 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 8: get replaced. Humans are still the creative force behind creating 588 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 8: content and hit shows. The costa is going to come 589 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 8: down dramatically, and that's going to change a lot of 590 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 8: companies business models, do you think, And that's why I'm 591 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 8: focused on how do we take advantage of that. That's 592 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 8: a big opportunity for us. 593 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: The sort of conventional wisdom has come that this is 594 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: this is, you know, the next this is the next 595 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: great leap forward after you know, the PC and then 596 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: the web browsing revolution. Do you buy that? You think 597 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: that the talk of an investment bubble will be ameliorated 598 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,760 Speaker 1: by these productivity gains over time. 599 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 8: I had no idea if there's an investment bubble, but 600 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 8: I know that AI is going to be huge, and 601 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 8: it already is so, and it's going to affect lots 602 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,080 Speaker 8: of different industries. But in our industry, it's going to lower 603 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 8: the cost of content production. I predict like within the 604 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 8: next three years we'll see the first AI one hundred 605 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 8: percent IA generated hit movie, for example, Ambitious. 606 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: Let's end here where we started. What was it that 607 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,480 Speaker 1: you saw that made you want to invest in streaming 608 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: media in the mid auds. 609 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 8: I've been very interested in computers and technology since I 610 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 8: was a kid, and also very entrepreneurial. 611 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 3: And you know, Roku. 612 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,280 Speaker 8: Is six and Japanese is my six companies. I've had six, 613 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 8: all very successful companies. And the first company I did 614 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 8: was actually making tools for using digital technologies for producing 615 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 8: video and audio production. So I've sort of been in 616 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 8: the industry for a long time and it just became, 617 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 8: you know, just clear to me that streaming was it 618 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 8: was the eventual future. 619 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 3: So that's why I started Roku. 620 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 8: So I don't know that answers your question, that. 621 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: Does that does very much well. I want to close 622 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: if anybody in this room is a fan of the 623 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: Fantastic music performance show Austin City Austin City Limits. You 624 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 1: can thank Anthony because you and your wife are big 625 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 1: supporters of that show and I watch it every almost 626 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: every week and love it. And thank you for supporting 627 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: wonderful music in the city where you live. Thank you everyone, 628 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 1: Thank you for your time, Anthony, appreciate you doing this. Thanks, 629 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,640 Speaker 1: thanks for listening. Be sure to leave us a review 630 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: with the podcast platform of your choice. We love to 631 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 1: hear from listeners. We'd also love to hear your thoughts 632 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,280 Speaker 1: directly by emailing us at Podcasts at Variety dot com. 633 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,479 Speaker 1: And please go to Variety dot com to sign up 634 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: for the free weekly Strictly Business newsletter, and don't forget 635 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 1: to tune in next week for another episode of Strictly Business.