WEBVTT - Google TV Embraces Microdrama Boom With Discovery and Navigation Tools as Producers Tackle Format: 'We Want to Be HBO Mashed Up With TikTok' 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.880 Get the entertainment you love with a little help from Google. 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:05.800 No more jumping from app to app. Google TV is 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:09.000 built into smart TVs and streaming devices that brings together 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:12.560 movies and shows from all of your subscriptions. Need inspiration, 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:16.880 get curated recommendations. Use Google's powerful search to find shows 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:20.520 across ten thousand plus apps, or browse hundreds of free 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:25.520 channels and with personalized profiles. Everyone's experience is customized for them. 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.479 Search for Google TV to learn more, or find us 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:29.720 at a retailer near you. 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.800 Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's weekly podcast featuring conversations with 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:49.320 industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:52.240 your host, Cynthia Littleton, I am co editor in chief 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:56.000 of Variety. Today's episode hails from Austin, Texas in the 0:00:56.040 --> 0:01:00.680 South By Southwest Festival. Kate Arthur, Variety's managing editor, hosted 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:03.720 a Strictly Business Live event on March fourteenth about the 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.720 burgeoning business of microdramas. Google TV is making a big 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:11.280 push into the format, adding apps to its central hub, 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.880 as well as discovery and navigation tools. Arthur speaks with 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:18.680 Juan Ho Duran, Global head of Media and entertainment content 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.040 Partnerships for Google and Tommy Harper, who was a veteran 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:25.120 producer of film and TV. Harper has just launched the 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:29.840 AI powered startup VU, which is producing and distributing microdramas. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.240 The two discuss the potential of the vertical drama market 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:35.720 and how they hope to grow it in the US 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:36.920 and other territories. 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:46.039 JUANH. Duran is Google's global head of Media and Entertainment 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:52.320 Content Partnerships and Tommy Harper is the founder and CEO 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:55.600 of VU, and he flew in from Dublin last night. 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.880 So can you talk about what Google TV is due 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:03.520 with the format and what the viewing experience is like. 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:07.200 To help understand, Like, there's the traditional way you consume 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.880 this content on where the content originates in the apps, 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:13.399 and the traditional ways you go to the app store 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.800 in this case Google Play and download the app and 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:20.639 consuming this content. Again, the reality is that at least 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:23.239 in this other side of the world, not everybody is 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:25.160 a work of that and it's a little bit foreign 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.079 on how to deal with that. So what we are 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:32.000 doing is on we have the Google TV app on 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:34.320 on mobile, which is a place where you engage with 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:37.720 content you have your watch list, you have your watch 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:41.280 next based on the streaming services that you are subscribing 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:44.360 and all of that, and that's the place where you 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:47.360 rent and buy movies. And what we're doing now is 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.960 we are making episode from most of our most major 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:55.280 partners available in the in the in the app, and 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:58.480 we just launched that last week. We're super excited about 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:04.280 it and it's tremendous way for us to showcase to 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:08.200 the audience, but also an interpoint in the industry for 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:12.520 partners like Tommy and many other producers that want to 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.040 get into space but perhaps don't want to go with 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.160 the hassle off managing and creating an app. 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.800 Tommy, when did you decide to get into this business? 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.120 I would say last May. I read an article it 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.200 was in the Financial Times about the vertical microdrama space 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.560 and the boom of it, and I wasn't aware of 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:33.040 it at the time, so I kind of like start 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.720 studying it from that point on. And I was in 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.200 Spain on a train reading the article and at the 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.840 same time, these team girls got on it and literally 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.280 popped it on their phone and started watching micro dramas 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.080 on their phone, and so I realized like there, it 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:47.560 just hit me right. It was all kind of the 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.200 stars aligned, and so I did a deep dive in it. 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.520 I started meeting with all the platforms executives at the 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:56.120 platforms CEOs and producers that were making the content. And 0:03:56.160 --> 0:04:01.119 traditionally my day job is TV and film, so I came. 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.920 I came into the space of like a student. And 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:06.520 one of the things what I did right away was 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:08.480 reach out to a few actors and I found one 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:13.080 that was producing a independent microdrama called Love Underfire, and 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:16.080 so I invested in it and produced it and just 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:19.600 learned at the ground floor. And I found it fascinating 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.800 because as a producer, I just liked making things and 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.320 I like doing I like this style of making it fast. 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:28.000 From the business side, I like the platform building. 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.039 How did you to start talking? How did you get 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:32.200 into business with Google? 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:36.920 My vcs are very tight with Google. They used to 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.320 run Google Ventures, and so there was a natural course 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.239 of let's connect you. And then from the first moment 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:44.600 on we sat down and start talking about it. We 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:46.760 knew there was a lot of opportunities at play here. 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:50.400 So we're continuing conversations daily and yeah, been great partner. 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.040 Yeah, similar I think we have really tied connections with 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:55.640 the English Fry under partners that we're managing, and we 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.320 began sharing our plans and how we were thinking about it, 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:03.520 and then that's how some of those deeper conversations came on. 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:07.280 Tommy, as someone who produces, like a show like Wednesday, 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:12.200 can you talk about the vast differences and how these 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:16.200 shows are made and in the productions, I mean the timeline, 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:18.159 the budgets, Like, how does that work? 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:21.279 From one side of the spectrum? Is you do Wednesday 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.520 or Top Gun. You're creating these things for years, you're 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.920 developing them. It is a massive undertaking to build the 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:31.920 world and kind of like the brand, and it takes 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:33.880 two years to get the script drive, it takes a 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:35.960 year or two to shoot them, a year to promote them. 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.640 The opposite with this. I was on the phone this 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:41.880 morning talking about a project and saying, Okay, can we 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:47.159 shoot in six weeks? And my producer for Verticals was like, yeah, yeah, 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.679 that's fine, the problem, We'll be ready. It's the complete opposite, 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:54.039 which I love. So that part excites me and I 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.400 think what we want to do is push the boundaries. 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:58.159 I want to do everything in the vertical space that 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:00.440 in a way I'm doing in my trudition TV and 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:04.120 film with the understanding of what works right, I'm not 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.159 going to try to change that. I understand what works, 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:10.479 I understand that efficiencies, But I want to do action. 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.640 I want to do you know, or I want to 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.120 do romance. I want to hit like you know gen 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:18.880 Z World, And we're very much PG thirteen. We don't 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.800 go hardcore seventeen and all that stuff. But I think 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:23.960 that the audience is this is a TV in your 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:28.080 pocket and everybody's on it. Everybody's watching. So if you 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:31.040 can give the content that people want to keep coming 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.560 back to, and you kind of learn what's worked in 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.040 traditional TV and film with good stories and good actors 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.480 and just making people kind of want to be engaged, 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.240 I think that can work in this format just just 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:43.719 as much as it does everywhere else. 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.240 Wanho there. Because this is such a new format, there 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:50.920 aren't a lot of like experts about this yet. Can 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:55.599 you compare what you're seeing with micro dramas to like 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.400 the wild West of the early days of YouTube another 0:06:58.520 --> 0:06:59.600 Google product. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:03.640 Began my career at Google YouTube, and some of the 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.680 trends that I see compared to what's going on right 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.720 now in micro dramas are so similar. I remember the 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:13.520 days when we're convincing big media companies to put their 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:18.240 content on YouTube and monetize that content, and it was 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.200 a part of the shift at the time they began putting it, 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:27.920 and then the process on created content also began for YouTube, 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:31.960 but then the problem was to helping them change how 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:35.200 they were producing for a platform like that. And I 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:37.800 see that happening right now. I see that what's going 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.320 on is you need to kind of forget what you 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:43.520 know and and but at the same time utilize it 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:48.840 to go and create content for a platform and a vertical. 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:51.760 That it's different in the pace, as Tommy was saying, 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.000 different how you think in the back end operationally, on 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.840 how you're releasing, how you're engaging with the partners. So 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:01.720 what we're doing is we're helping the industry. We're helping 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.680 with workshop. We're going to be having one in in 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.320 LA in late September to make sure that we are 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:12.640 fostering the industry. And really what is happening is that 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:16.800 transforming that lack of understanding of how things are going 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:20.160 to go into more proficiency and getting into that and 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:25.000 for for professionals and producers like Tommy being way easier 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:28.040 to get teams to work on this type of content 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:32.240 and make it it bigger. But yeah, tremendously correlation chained. 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:35.079 So you need to go and study what's going on there, 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:37.320 and we need to bring people that know, and that's 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.640 what we're doing, bringing people from APEX from Asia mainly 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.840 to help disseminate the knowledge. 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.280 What do they know in Asia that we don't know 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:48.160 yet here. 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.720 I think it's a correlation on how how you think 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:55.559 about the content and the data. Usually it's it's you 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:59.880 think different you you on traditional media and Tommy might 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:03.280 be or is way better suited to speak about this 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:05.920 than me. But the way you think about it, you 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.720 think about like the whole process in the beginning, and 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.760 they are thinking one batch at a time, and at 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:15.920 the same time, they are making adjustments and they are 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:20.199 completely shifting in different ways and they are utilizing that data. 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.520 And I think that's the piece which is very similar. 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.240 At the end of the day. As a YouTube creator, 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.320 you need to understand how your audience behaves and you 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:33.600 need to serve that audience specifically and utilize what the 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:38.400 platform tells you. So in traditional media you have several 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:40.720 ways of distribution. In this place, you're going to have 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.240 the app, you're going to have potentially the release on 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:47.040 a transactional platform like ours and goal to be so 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.840 you need to understand and be able to adapt and 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:52.600 make it successful. 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:58.199 Tommy, YouTube started as outside of the mainstream, and now 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:01.040 it is the mainstream. It'll have the ass in a 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:04.839 year or two, which is unthinkable when you remember back 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:10.240 to what YouTube started out as. Do you see microdramas 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:16.800 as feeders for mainstream entertainment in the way that YouTube has. 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:20.840 I think it's a place to actually find talent and 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:24.640 find ip I'm having these conversations now with studio partners 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:27.800 and different people. I think. I think what's interesting is 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:32.520 if I go make a movie, I'm paying more for 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:36.280 a script that I'm paying to produce a microdrama. So 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.640 I think it's a chance for every creator to go 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.040 make something on their own personally. Like for us, for 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.120 our platform, we don't have to produce it in house. 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:47.840 We just want to make kind of premium vertical content 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:50.600 to put on our platform. We want to essentially be 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:53.680 like HBO meshed up with TikTok and and so we 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.199 want to elevate the content put on our platform, and 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.800 in order to do that, we're open to stars everywhere. 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.960 And I don't think like a few of my directors, 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.440 for instance, I've found on YouTube, I've seen their shorts 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:10.560 on YouTube. I reach out on Instagram or whatever, I dmm, 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.439 they reach back, We do a zoom and then they're 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:16.560 writing stories now and one just directed one for us 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:20.600 two weeks ago. So I'm looking for creators everywhere. They're 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.600 going to have a shot. Then studio can hopefully look 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.640 at them and look at their stories that they're telling us. 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:29.000 And I think it's the same with actors. So for us, 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.480 for our platform, we're looking for actors that are in 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.000 the space, actors that have acting chops and they can 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:36.960 really bring it. But a few of the stories that 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.679 we're developing right now are with more influencers and either 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:44.080 on TikTok or YouTube, or comedians that are hilarious but 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:47.080 haven't gone in the narrative form yet, and we're going 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:48.240 to give them those opportunities. 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.480 Can I chime onto that once, please? I just want 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:55.560 to go back in time and think about several years ago, 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:59.160 would we think that streaming services content will be off 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:02.360 for nomination on the Ulscars and where we are right now, 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:05.360 and then if you change or add to that the 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:09.760 fact that consumption habits are completely changing. New generations are 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.760 watching in a new way. So I think going back 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:17.560 and summarizing yes, potentially, yes, but I think the industry 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.800 and everybody needs to adapt, and that's what we're trying 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:22.440 to do. So it's super exciting. 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.520 Get the entertainment you love with a little help from Google. 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.480 No more jumping from app to app. Google TV is 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.680 built into smart TVs and streaming devices that brings together 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:40.200 movies and shows from all of your subscriptions. Need inspiration, 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:44.560 get curated recommendations. Use Google's powerful search to find shows 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:48.240 across ten thousand plus apps, or browse hundreds of free 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:53.160 channels and with personalized profiles, everyone's experience is customized for them. 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.120 Search for Google TV to learn more, or find us 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:57.360 at a retailer near you. 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:07.280 Tommy, can you see turning it into a show or 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:11.640 a movie? For in the more traditional like would you 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:12.880 use it as an incubator? 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:16.040 That's what I want to do. We have a projects 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.120 that we have developed and have scripts for that are 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:20.480 like action franchises, that if they work in this space, 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:22.960 we could spin them off in TV or film. Same 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:26.880 with all genres. Essentially, I think that I think there's 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:30.400 a version of what happened in Asia where you had 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:34.520 the web novels that were very successful, they had the data, 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.720 they knew what worked, flipped them into microdramas, and then 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.439 now we're watching them here. We're not doing so much 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:42.679 of that, but what you could do is do the 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.880 microdrama version, if it works, flip them into TV and film. 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:48.600 And you're doing it at a cost point where it's 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.000 like you're not even you're barely getting a treatment out 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:53.720 of a writer on the feature side, and here you 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.160 have something that you can look at and study, and 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:59.720 you have data, you have all the information, and so 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.120 I think it's yes, we're very excited about that part. 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:03.640 I'm talking to studios about that. 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:11.280 In particular, I assume that there are academics somewhere who 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:15.640 are studying why Quibbi, which came out in twenty twenty, 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.440 I believe, and had a similar idea but a very 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:25.680 different business model. Huge stars, very high budgets, but short 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:30.000 consumable content on the phone right when everyone was stuck 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.760 at home, can you talk about what your thoughts are 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.440 about what Quibi knew and what it did right and 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:38.320 what it did wrong. 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:40.720 This is the first thing that comes up when we 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:44.520 began to discuss this type of content with traditional media partners. 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:47.720 They all have this fear of going into this space, 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.000 and that's what's going to happen. First of all, I 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:54.080 think they were ahead of their time and timing was 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.920 not perfect. But I think the main mistake, if I 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:00.200 can summarize there potentially as you were saying the or 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:02.840 should be major statues on this, but I think it 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.240 was treating the content the same way, just in a 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.040 different viewing ratio or aspect, just thinking the same thing 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:12.160 is going to work and I'm gonna consume it on 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:16.720 a vertical way, and that is what I think the 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:20.000 industry went into, Like yeah, it makes sense, the idea 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.320 makes sense, but you need to adapt and you need 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:24.520 to kind of think it in a different way and 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:26.800 not just like bring that. What we are seeing is 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:30.680 we're talking with traditional media partners since a couple of 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:34.120 years on when we began sewing this trend, and they 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:36.600 were not sure about it. And you see what's going on. 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:41.400 Disney and NBC announced on Disney Claws and Peacock this 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.920 week that they are going into vertical content. And the 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.080 announcement came with and this is public I'm not sureing 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.400 anything that it's not being shared already, but the announcement 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:53.680 came with the fact of them saying what Tommy was 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.640 going into, we are gonna utilize this to understand more 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.120 of how this content is being consumed. But then at 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:03.560 the same time we're going to be getting into some 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.440 things that are going to be from our carrent ip 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:09.520 being produced into some other things. I think you need 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.920 to spend some time again going back to the initial 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:16.560 questions on the correlation with YouTube and understanding and not 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:19.360 treat this as just the same media and just the 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:22.960 same consumption and habits. You need to understand that this 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:24.800 is potentially a different animal. 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.360 Tommy, were you thinking about Quibi's what they did right, 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:29.120 what they did wrong? 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.080 I get asked this question with every investor on the 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.400 film side, on the studio side versus a tech side. 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:37.160 Tech side, you can get through it pretty quickly. On 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.200 the film and TV side, they want to really know 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.800 what you think about it and listen. Thank them for 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.960 doing it first. But I think it's the model was 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.320 is drastically different, right, Like I think what works is 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:51.080 you keep the cost point efficient. 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.880 Can you talk about the aesthetics of the genre. I 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.880 watched Love under Fire and I enjoyed it, but it's 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.840 so different from there's like telenovella, can't be aspects to it. 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.000 Love Underfire is going to come out soon and this 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.040 is the one the independent that I that I produced 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:10.120 and invested in and we were I mean we shot 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.120 it over the summer and we used a virtual wall 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:16.000 to try to make the production value more and from 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.760 that point to where we are now is shocking with 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:22.639 what's happening with AI and visual effects mode AI. As 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.960 I say, but we're basically trying to just elevate things 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:29.240 to look better and to feel better and to travel globally, 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:32.320 and I think you can. And this one in particular 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:36.359 is very much like a action romance genre and Hanson 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:38.600 and the Stone or something like that from back in 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:42.040 the day. So you know the telenovelas they work for 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.679 a reason. So for our company, we're working with like 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:48.080 traditional TV and film writers in the space. But what 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:51.680 ends up happening is when those scripts come in, they're long, right, 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:55.119 So then I have a writer in Asia that consults 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.000 for us, and she'll give very detailed notes and then 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:01.560 literally I would say second or third past the writers 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.400 hit it, and so that that's really good to see 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.679 and the actors in the space that are working in 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:10.480 the microdrama space or reading the scripts going this is 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:14.439 actually really exciting for us because they're different stories. Like, 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.879 I think what needs to change really fast is you know, 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.560 like especially on our platform, we're not doing not abusing women. 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.840 We're not slappy, and we're not drugging, we're not doing anything. 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:25.679 We're not interested in that, We're not doing any of that, 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.520 and that genre needs to change immediately. But I think, 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:31.200 like aesthetically, back to your question, I think it's it's 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:35.040 all about helping the filmmakers have the tools. To give 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:37.800 them the tools and talk to them about it, about framing, style, 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.480 light costumes, all that stuff will elevate it immediately. 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:46.880 Wano. I just wanted to ask, do you see I mean, 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.520 we have a Google TV at home, and you know 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.280 we have the tiles like the Netflix and on the 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:56.160 HBO Max, and do you see there being like a 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:59.040 vertical drama? I mean, how much do you see this 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:01.600 migrating to an actual television. 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:05.040 The reality is that it has been happening for years. 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:08.879 YouTube in the living room has been that from factor 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:13.200 has been the fastest and largest for several years, even 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.919 from the time that I was working there. We just 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:20.160 recently launched about a month ago Instagram on Google TV, 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:23.679 and that just speaks about the fact on how different 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:27.320 generations are consuming the same type of content in different 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:30.320 form factors, and that's something that we're very excited about 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:32.520 in the platform. It's not only about the TV side. 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.680 You can watch and make it available in the car, 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:40.000 in your tablet, in your phone, smart speakers and different 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:44.880 things nowadays. But what's going on is that social element 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:48.800 of watching content. We believe that it's going to be growing. 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:52.600 So what we're doing is we're catering to that type 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:54.240 of content because at the end of the day, you 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.040 cannot treat it the same way as you treat like 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:01.800 huge ten poles from traditional media partners, and there are 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.640 some elements in the back end that are doesn't work 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.200 the same. So when you work on things that are 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:11.080 very useful for users, like they continue watching role, that 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:14.000 requires a lot of technical and edge work in the 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:16.480 back end, and we don't have the elements in the 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:19.399 past to work on that. Now we're working towards that 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:21.920 and we're going to be able to provide that same 0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:25.400 experience but for vertical content. So I think what you're 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:28.520 going to see this year and in the coming months 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:31.159 is that evolution on our platform and Google TV on 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:37.080 how you integrate not only script form but also social content. 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:40.119 Will begin obviously with our first party service, which is 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.480 the in house YouTube, but you'll see that roll out 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:47.640 to all of our other partners, and then hopefully that's 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:50.080 going to be a seamless way for you to connect 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.000 and consume content. And at the end of the day, 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:56.760 why I'm excited about this is this is going to 0:20:56.800 --> 0:20:59.639 be a way to showcase what's going on for a 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:03.199 lot of people that perhaps are not yet consuming dot content. 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:07.120 And the beauty again of Google TV, what I love 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:10.720 the most is you get content that means something to you. 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:13.400 With all the signals that we know about you as 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:15.800 a user, you're going to be able to get something 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:18.040 at the right time, at the right moment, and hopefully 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:20.239 this is going to be part of that experience for 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:20.800 the audience. 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:23.919 Thank you both so much for this. This was a 0:21:23.960 --> 0:21:25.240 great conversation. 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.040 Thanks for listening. Be sure to leave us a review 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:30.720 at the podcast platform of your choice. We love to 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:33.439 hear from listeners. Please go to Variety dot com and 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.679 sign up for the free weekly Strictly Business newsletter, and 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:39.440 don't forget to tune in next week for another episode 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:40.320 of Strictly Business. 0:21:40.359 --> 0:21:43.159 Get the entertainment you love with a little help from Google, 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:46.159 no more jumping from app to app. Google TV is 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.359 built into smart TVs and streaming devices that brings together 0:21:49.480 --> 0:21:52.920 movies and shows from all of your subscriptions. Need inspiration, 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:57.240 get curated recommendations. Use Google's powerful search to find shows 0:21:57.280 --> 0:22:00.920 across ten thousand plus apps, or browse hundreds of free 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:05.840