WEBVTT - CEO Bob Bakish Shares His Game Plan for Keeping Viacom Vital 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:10.280 Welcome to another episode of the Variety podcast Strictly Business, 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:12.920 where we chat with some of the smartest folks working 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:16.079 in the media industry today. I'm Variety co editor in 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:19.840 chief Andrew Wollensky. Last week at the c E S 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:22.840 Show in Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to sit 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:27.640 down with Viacom CEO Bob Backish, with speculation rampant of 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.240 that a potential merger with CBS Corp. He addressed what 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:34.440 his strategic approach to leading Viacom is at a time 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:38.279 when his competitors are all scaling up fast. But as 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.360 Backish explained to me, he's got a plan for building 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.320 on the assets he has without making a so called 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:50.879 transformational deal. Have a listen, So, I guess what I 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.560 want to get a sense of is two years or 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.320 so into the top job, you certainly inherited your share 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.760 of challenges. Where do you see things now or or 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:04.479 at it? Maybe it's not quite mission accomplished? But are 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.560 you happy with the progress made or is it more 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:11.360 about the improvements still to come? Yeah? Sure, well, um, 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.440 I wouldn't. I wouldn't ever say anything's mission accomplished, and 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:16.760 certainly not in the in the changing world we're living in. 0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:19.959 But if if you looked at Viacom circa the end 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:22.960 of sixteen, which is when I was given the opportunity 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:27.200 to lead the company, UM, it was clear that there 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:30.000 were issues UM that and that the company was in 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.760 need of a turnaround. And and really our journey since 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:36.839 then has been about a turnaround and an evolution because, 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:38.720 as I said, as we all know, you know, the 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:41.720 world is changing, and just merely getting back to where 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:45.840 we were wouldn't be sufficient. So in the context of 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:47.560 the company at the end of sixteen, you know, we 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.920 had a Paramount Pictures unit that just came off a 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:53.120 year where it lost half a billion dollars and consumed 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.800 a billion two in cash, which is pretty good trick 0:01:55.840 --> 0:01:57.680 for a company that's a library that throws off three 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:01.680 hundred million UM. So that was clearly a problem. UM. 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:06.280 You know, we had our our domestic networks, UM, iconic brands, etcetera. 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.800 But we had some real friction in the distribution space 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:13.200 and there was a bunch of noise around that, and candidly, 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.959 the audience performance of some of those networks UM wasn't 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.000 what we'd like to be. And it was really a 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:22.640 trend line that had been moving in the wrong direction. UM. 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:27.040 And so we got to work addressing those issues. And 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:31.120 if you look at Paramount as an example today, UH 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:35.799 circuit the end of eighteen calendar eighteen, you know, that's 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.200 a business that now we have. We just finished a quarter. 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.000 We haven't reported that quarter yet, so let's skip the 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.720 most recent quarter. But prior to that, you know, we 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:48.960 had seven straight quarters of earnings improvement UM in eighteen. 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.360 You know, we clearly showed that we could make films 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:55.320 that matter and make money on them. And I'd offer 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.839 A Quiet Place as an example. I'd offer Mission Impossible 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.960 fall Out as an example, which was the sixth installment 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:05.200 of that franchise. It was also the most successful on 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.480 a box office basis, not only globally but in the US, 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.760 and that doesn't usually happen in the sixth iteration. UM. 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:16.360 And we had a television business that came from literally 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:18.680 nowhere a couple of years ago to deliver four hundred 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.600 million dollars in revenue as we delivered UH nine series. 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:24.960 So Paramount is in a fundamentally better place. That's the 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.880 result of a really a complete overhaul of the team 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:33.239 there now led by Jim Jianopolis, who's awesome. UM, as 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:36.760 well as really rethink on the strategy and the slate 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.600 construction and all those other things. So feeling very good 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.680 about that. UH. The most recent proofpoint on that is 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:46.040 Bumblebee UM. And you know, while we wouldn't I wouldn't 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:47.640 get into all of it. If you look at the 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:51.480 review of that movie versus the last Transformers movie, UM, 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:54.800 everybody agrees is fundamentally a better movie. The last one 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.600 we lost over a hundred million dollars on UM. This 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:01.560 one's nicely profitable. UM done about three hundred million in 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.839 box office to date and it will continue to play. UM. 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.920 So paramounts of good place. The distribution landscape in US, 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:14.080 we all know that's um uh complicated. UM. Back in 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:18.600 early seventeen, there was a lot of conversation going around 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.360 that we were gonna get dropped by Charter. UH. That 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.800 obviously would have been a problem. UM. And you know, 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:31.000 through really focusing on UH partnership, evolving our strategy to 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:36.000 not only provide the right set of access to rights, 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.920 so really trueing up our on demand grant grants and 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.560 TV everywhere and the like, which we hadn't really fully 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:47.640 UM provided, but also broadening the aperture, entering into advanced 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:51.480 advertising partnerships UM, as well as in the case of Charter, 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.800 a co production partnership. We got that deal done, very 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:57.240 happy with that deal, and we went on to a 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.520 new or extend well over half our sub base. So 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:03.120 that's in a materially different place, uh than it was 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:05.960 at the time. So there's a lot of great things 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:09.400 going on, and we'll dig into some of these things. 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.159 But you've been on record recently saying that you know, 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:18.400 Viacom doesn't require a transformational deal in this environment that 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:22.640 where companies even bigger than yours are consolidating. How is 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:28.560 that position tenable? Well, look, UM, we and I continue 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:31.080 to believe there's a lot of value in the assets 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:34.000 we already own. You look at that. I mean, in 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.679 the six Team, people thought MTV was dead and buried. 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:41.440 Today it's the fastest growing network in television. UM. It's 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.640 audiences up again in the current quarter double digits UM 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.240 and we're only beginning to benefit from that resurgence from 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.679 monetization standpoint, So I think there's a lot of value 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:55.520 in the assets we were we already own. We, unlike 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:59.120 most media companies, are truly global operating media company. We 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.200 don't just have say sales forces outside the US. You know, 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:05.640 we own the number one broadcast network in Argentina. We 0:06:05.720 --> 0:06:09.080 have a major broadcast networking Chinnel five. We're making content 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.680 all over the world. Were on half of a leading 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.480 Indian media company called Viacot my team which owns the 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.560 Colors brand. There's a lot of value there. And you know, 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:19.600 if you think about the transition we're in from an 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:23.520 industry standpoint, back in February of seventeen, we started talking 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:27.080 about something called the Flagship brand, and and flagship brand 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:31.279 was partially about prioritization, but it was also about unlocking 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:35.039 opportunity through true multi platform expression. And so if you 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:39.120 look at MTV, it's not only a linear cable network 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:43.360 with a substantial original programming slate, but it's also has 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.680 a piece of the paramount film slate. We started a 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:52.920 digital native division called Viacom Digital STUDIOSUM, which produces original 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:57.479 content for in short form for distribution both in front 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:00.920 of the wall, social and in other places. UM. That 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:04.359 consumption has ramped up dramatically, taken us from number twenty 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.320 two in the Space two into the top ten. UM 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.360 we've gotten in the experience. With my point being, there's 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.080 a lot of opportunity. And when you got to our 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.320 fourth fiscal quarter of a team, you saw we returned 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.600 our company to earnings growth, something that hadn't been the 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:20.960 case since fourteen. So we think there's a lot of 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.400 road ahead. And in fact, I think relative to some 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:27.600 of our peers, we're further along in making this transition 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.600 UM than others that are. You look at our ad business, 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:33.120 it's not all thirty second spots. We got an advanced 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:37.560 ad business where significant branded content assets, significant data driven assets, 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:41.000 we can insert dynamically and v O D homes in 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:43.960 the US, something nobody else can do. UM. So there's 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:45.680 a lot of value there. So we don't need a 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.920 transformational deal. UM. We have been doing M and A. 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.200 We've been doing what what I call accelerant deals. So 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:56.240 we bought a company called who say, branded content company, 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.560 materially increased our capabilities and kind of the lower end 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.640 of the ended content space from a price perspective, which 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.560 is important. We bought a company called vid Con, which 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:10.800 is ground zero for social influencers. Really UM strengthened our 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:14.400 kind of legacy with young adult audiences and talent and 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:17.920 associated talent. UH, and it's also an extension of our 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:22.600 experiential business. We most recently bought a company called Awesomeness, 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.080 which people think of as a web company, and it's 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:29.040 true that they're expert in marketing of content on the web, 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.720 but it's also true that it's a studio in its 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:37.400 own right, and increasing our participation in the creation of content, 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.880 including for third parties, as a big push we're making 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:44.600 as a company, and that that Awesomeness asset proved among 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:47.440 other things this year, or the eighteen um to All 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:49.080 the Boys I've Loved Before, which is one of the 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:53.199 most consumed films on Netflix. But these are there all deals? 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:55.720 Are you gonna need to make bigger deals or are 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:57.720 you just gonna be looking for more of the same 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:01.720 smaller deals? You know, scale is very much in vogue. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:05.560 Vertical integration is very much in vogue. Um. If you 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:09.640 look at the history of industry and certainly media, vertical 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:13.680 integration doesn't tend to work. Um, Bigger is not always better, 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:17.839 you know, So I don't think that is um the 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:21.040 necessary path. What is really important is that your plan, 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.360 you know where you're going, and you're executing against it 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.880 and you're achieving growth, and that's exactly what we're doing. 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.840 Of course, we look at lots of different things, UM, 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.120 but again, I feel very good about the path we're on. 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.319 We've got a couple other things UH in the pipeline 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:37.280 that are of a commercial nature, and you know, some 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:40.160 other smaller things we're looking at UH And I think 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.400 just as a team, we tracked through and it had 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.600 its twists and turns, but we emerged as a stronger 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:49.120 company than we were at the beginning of eighteen. I 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:51.959 believe nineteen will be the same. But let's address the 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.600 elephant in the room. There's plenty of speculation that Viacom 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:59.880 and CBS could be combined as as soon as this year. 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:05.719 How do you manage for an uncertain future? Are you 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:08.000 do you have this distinct vision of the one you're 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:11.719 trying to build it Viacom through these smaller acquisitions, or 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:13.800 are you trying to like build for a bunch of 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:17.960 different possible futures at once. Well, I'm a huge believer 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:21.000 in having a plan. UM. I think that is one 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.160 of the big reasons I got the job, because when 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:25.400 when all our management met with the board, you know 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:29.120 in sixteen uh, we were I ran international and running 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:32.080 for a decade. UH. And we came in and we said, yeah, 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:33.880 here's where we are. By the way, here's where we 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.960 came from, and here's where we're going. Because it's hard 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:38.760 to get where you want to go if you don't 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:41.080 know where that is. So it's very important to have 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:45.200 a plan. UM. Our plan is fundamentally based on the 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:48.400 assets we have, because that's the only thing I can 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:51.160 bet on for sure. UM. But of course you have 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:55.040 plan A, Plan B, plan c UM, and you know 0:10:55.120 --> 0:11:01.040 we track out accordingly. UM. And regarding the current narrative, look, 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:03.600 the more things change, and we all know our our 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:06.600 our world is changing, the more things data saying this 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:08.760 is now the third time this whole narrative has come 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:13.360 up in a relatively brief time. And I'll tell you 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.439 what I totally before and what more importantly I tell 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:20.600 my management team every day, which is we gotta focus, UM, 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.560 we gotta play through, we gotta execute, we gotta grow 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.600 because there's only one thing I know for sure. At 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.240 the end of the year, you're either gonna be talking 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:30.040 to me or you're gonna be talking to somebody else. 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.200 And what you don't want to have to say is, well, yeah, 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.000 we had this opportunity, but we kind of got distracted 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:40.160 and we didn't get it done. And so our mission 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:43.400 continues to be focused on the assets we have, focus 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:48.040 on execution, you know, look broadly to capture value, uh, 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:51.080 and then opportunistically see what else happens. And that's what 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:52.439 we do day in and day out, and that's what 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.360 we're gonna keep doing. So let's talk about some of 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:59.000 those core assets. Those flagship brands, MTV, Comedy Central, great 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:03.200 brands to have of However, in this climate where the 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:07.560 pay TV businesses challenged, Uh, you guys are dealing with 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.679 your tensions with some of the major distributors. Distributors that 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:14.040 could end up dropping key channels. MTV and a lot 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:16.000 of these channels were big for so many years because 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:20.120 they spun off all these additional channels. How do you 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.320 manage a future when there seems to be a secular 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:26.640 decline playing out for the business model that got you 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.640 so big in the first place. Sure, so, UM, I 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.880 think the essence of it is you have to make 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:35.000 sure you're adding value. Point one and point two is 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.760 you have to recognize how the world is changing. And 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:41.320 so to the first point, UM, you know, if we 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:43.880 talked about what we're doing in distribution, we broadened our 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.160 ability to add value for our mutual benefit both our 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:51.600 partners benefit an m v P d UH and Viacom's benefit, 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:56.040 and and certainly our whole extension into advanced advertising what 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:59.079 we call a MS UH you know, is fundamental to that. 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:00.960 The second thing I say, in terms of how the 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.920 world is changing, the fundamental thing that's going on UM 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:09.440 is fragmentation in terms of how people access content. The 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.760 world we used to live in was relatively simple. That 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:14.240 this is in the television space. Obviously we operate in 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:17.840 other spaces, but in the television space, you know everyone okay, 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.280 eighty five percent of people got the same product and 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:25.560 that was big basic UM and that was very nice structure. UM. 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.680 Today that's no longer true, and it continues to fragment. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.280 So you have people still the vast majority of people 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.400 in the highest priced UM segment, but you've got people 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.200 at forty oh actually no forty five dollars because that 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.920 price is starting to creep up as people try to 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:43.000 make economic businesses there. You've got people in the teams, 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.040 you got uh you know, people are on ten bucks. 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.040 In terms of the s FOD space, you even have 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:50.280 some single digit numbers, and you have free out a 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.040 VOD and so that world is not gonna change. That's 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.040 the world we're gonna be living in. And what's important 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:57.280 is that we take these what we can now call 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:00.000 flagship brands and we make sure we can we participate 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.679 eight in all those levels, um, the big basic levels. 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:07.040 That's fairly obvious. Uh. You know we are active in 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.439 the V M, v P, D or O T T space. 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:13.600 We are also active, uh in in the s VOD 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.600 space through our third party production business, where we are 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:20.200 making product really for everyone, and we're not just making product, 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.280 we're making hits. Did you watch Jack Ryan on Amazon? 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:29.080 We made that? Um? Did you watch um Maniac on Netflix? 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:31.080 We made that? Did you watch to All the Boys? 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:35.480 We were I Love before we made that? Um? And 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.480 you know we in terms of paramount television is are 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:41.520 We're gonna go from nine series to sixteen series in 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:45.320 this fiscal year, growing that revenue about fift At the 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.200 same time, we've gotten the domestic brands. If you're gonna 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:51.400 watch the Real World this year, you're gonna watch it 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.520 on Facebook and you could watch it the US version, 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:57.160 you could watch a Latin version, you can watch an 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.960 Asian version, all of which will be produced and by 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.080 the way, they'll be interactive. So that's another way we're 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:03.920 participating in that space. And you could think of that 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:10.040 as an a VOD space. So UM our brands are evolving. UM. 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.760 The product we're providing is segmenting across price points. Don't 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.720 be surprised if you shortly see our brands participating in 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.240 a differentiated mobile bundle. Today, our brands are carried on 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:23.560 a T and T watching the US and by the way, 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.280 that whole mobile carriage. And there's been a lot of 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.600 conversation up five G as there should be. You know, 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.640 at at CES this year. UM I probably went to 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.160 Mobile World for the first time five or six years ago. 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.840 UM And in the last eighteen months we've done mobile 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.680 deals outside the US. We have about thirty of them 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:46.240 now where Telefonica carries our flagship brands across Latin America. 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.240 UM in terms of it's in a real kind of 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.400 substitute abal video product. There's other We have a Paramount 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.520 Plus product in Europe which is rolling out, which combines 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:00.080 Paramount first window you could think of as HBO window, 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:05.840 UM films with women, Vico Media Networks, television product all 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.120 in a consolidated app available both on set top and 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:12.920 UM with leading mobile operators. Are those deals the future? 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.760 Are they big enough? They're absolutely future. I mean the 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:18.840 thing like we're in this We're in the state of 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:21.560 transformation of our industry. And you can either view that 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:23.920 as glass half full or half empty. I view it 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:30.400 as half full. And mobile distribution really is the catalyst 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.840 that will turn this whole decline of television argument on 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:39.320 its head because you have multiples UM of today three 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:43.040 G soon four G, never mind five G because five 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:46.600 G initially is more about fixed broad them. But whatever UM, 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.560 it will eventually be hand sent UM. Those are if 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:56.320 you have maybe outside the US five million pay TV 0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:00.440 homes at the high side, UM probably more like three 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.360 hundred million quality ones. If you take out India and China, 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:06.600 you've got a billion five three G homes and growing. 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.680 And so I think these kind of deals where you're 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:13.040 bringing product either product that looks like what you get 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:17.680 exactly on television. So that's Telephonica example, UM an aggregated 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.359 product UM that combines a lot of different things under 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:22.760 one brand. So that's like a paramount plus. With Telenore 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:27.040 product UM, you know, we're on We're in Indonesia with 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.119 a with a mobile care that's a hundred and sixty 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.320 million subs. Uh. We're on their data tier with our 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.959 Nick Play and Nick jr Play apps, which provides access 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:38.800 to you know that product on an on demand basis. 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.120 So and and by the way, some of these are 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.679 D two C, so you're opting in as a consumer 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.400 through an app store. We're taking sevent somebody's taken thirty. 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:54.280 Some of these are UM through a third party intermediary. 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.959 You could think Amazon Channel store, UM. Some of these 0:17:58.080 --> 0:17:59.960 are what we call B two B two C deal. 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:03.119 Those with carriers you could think about Telefonica or Telenore 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:06.760 or UM telcom Cell which is the Indonesian one and that. 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.040 So I think this this kind of hybrid economy of 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:14.800 distribution where unfortunately everybody doesn't get the same thing. People 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:19.439 are getting different products, bigger bundles, smaller bundles UM, but 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.720 fundamentally you have more reach. And by the way, all 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:27.479 those type platforms are addressable advertising. So you look at 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.800 the difference between UM sling and Dish in the US. 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:35.240 For us, we're carried on both. That's good, UM, but 0:18:35.400 --> 0:18:38.679 actually all the sling ads are dynamic. We can insert 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:41.879 a specific add to a specific person based on specific data. 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.280 On the Dish platform. We can't do that for obvious reasons. 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:47.439 It's the DTH going down. I mean, you can do 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:51.159 it because with some technical work. But that is another 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.639 UM big move forward in terms of our ability to 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:56.199 create value in the space, and we are in the 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:59.960 super early days of that UM so anyway, exciting time. 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:03.800 So you're focused more and more on production though, And 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.360 what's interesting about that is I wonder if there's sort 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.320 of a double edged sword to the success there. You 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:13.159 empower the Netflix is and the facebooks of the world 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:17.080 with your content. That makes it harder, doesn't it for 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:20.920 the comedy centrals and mtvs to get as many eyeballs 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:25.679 on their content because there these people are watching on Facebook. 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:29.359 So doesn't it kind of hurt your core business? Now 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.439 it doesn't, but here because for two reasons. One is 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:35.080 whether we make a show for Facebook or not, it's 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:38.600 not going to influence whether they have shows on their platform. Right, 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:40.600 So I'd rather have a young adult show with the 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:44.159 MTV brand than not. Point one point two is the 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:49.399 most important thing for from Rykom from a consumer perspective 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:52.400 is to continue to have our flagship brands be top 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.439 of mind for consumers as they think about entertainment. And 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:58.000 that entertainment might be going to see a movie in 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:02.480 the theater. That entertainment might be flipping on your flat 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:05.280 screen and watching a pay video bundle, that might be 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:08.040 accessing product on an app. That might be going to 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:11.159 a festival like slime Fest outside of Chicago, which we 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.840 do in the summer with Nickelodeon. That's what we want 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:19.919 and having a extended ecosystem of entertainment experience associated with 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:23.720 these brands that cross this fragmenting environment is what it's 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:27.120 all about because it will reinforce itself. It provides great 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:30.840 solutions for advertisers. I was with a major CMO last night, 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:35.320 UM talking about this before one of the many parties UM. 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:39.439 Just last week we were with another UM and with 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:43.240 another CMO in a different category, and it's all about 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:47.840 being able to get reach into say men eighteen and 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:50.000 thirty four, which is not an easy demo to reach 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:54.480 these days. Harder than ever use UM a cross section 0:20:55.080 --> 0:21:00.240 of platforms, you know, leveraging our linear distribution at NG, 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:05.440 our app distribution, adding um are over the top distribution, 0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:09.919 adding our vds, Vacom Digital studios, product that's resident, and 0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:15.800 variety of social media platforms. UM doing branded content in 0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:18.920 and UH in a program that's synchronized to reach that. 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:22.760 In this example, man male eighteen to thirty four, who 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:25.080 this particular client and a whole set of clients for 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:30.119 that matter, you know, are interested in influencing to buy 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:32.640 a product or service. And I think that's very much 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.880 the future. And and unless you believe, unless you realistically 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:39.919 understand that's what's going on. If you go to crawl 0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:42.600 into the ivory tower of we got to only stay here, 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:46.800 you'll never go your company and as a as a 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:50.120 you know, public company, UM and a company that wants 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:53.440 to create opportunities for its employees. By the way, and 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:55.440 we've been doing lots of work on culture and made 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:59.040 a lot of progress there as well. UM that growth 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:01.600 is very important. People have to see that there's opportunity 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:03.359 they can grow with. And so you've got to deal 0:22:03.400 --> 0:22:05.680 with this environment. So let's talk about that culture though, 0:22:05.720 --> 0:22:09.479 because via Com has been through a lot prior to 0:22:09.520 --> 0:22:13.919 you coming in there, How do you energize thousands of 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:17.719 employees who especially it's not even about via conversation when 0:22:17.760 --> 0:22:21.520 you look at it that broader macro media world. There's pessimism, 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:25.160 there's negativity. So how do you get people going? Well, 0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:27.480 I think it starts with you gotta have a plan, 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:29.840 and you have to make sure people understand what it 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:32.159 is so they can understand how they fit in. And 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:34.520 they can and you both you and they can understand 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:36.480 if you're making progress and if so, you can put 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:38.840 more fuel in the tank, or if you're not making 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:40.520 progress in one area, you can you can decide to 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:43.760