WEBVTT - VENN Founders Eye TV’s Big Game With Streaming Network Launch 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:13.159 Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcast featuring conversations with 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:16.720 industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:20.600 Cynthia Littleton, business editor for Variety Today. My guests are 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:24.240 Aerial Horn and Ben Cuson, co founders and co CEOs 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.600 of ven v e n N is an acronym that 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.600 stands for video Game and Entertainment News Network. Then would 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.000 seem to be swimming against the tide of media today. 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:37.120 As a twenty four seven live streaming channel that is 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.880 advertising supported. Horn and Cuson see a big white space 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.199 for TV content that targets millennials and Gen Z, the 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:47.599 demographics that have never known a world without gaming. They 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.599 also see big opportunity for a streaming network that can 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:54.200 syndicate content on a number of platforms such as Twitch 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.520 and YouTube. The two have big plans for creating up 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.760 to fifty hours a week of original content, all paid 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:03.720 for by sponsor dollars. All of those things sound like 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.240 kryptonite for the on demand generation, but Horn and Cuson 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:13.520 see things differently, as they explain here. Ariel Horn and 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:17.800 Ben Cusin, co founders and co CEOs of ben a 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:22.280 new video game, entertainment and lifestyle network coming soon to 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:24.920 a platform near you. Thank you so much for joining 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:27.520 us today. Thank you, thanks so much for having us 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:31.920 excited here. So I'm going to start up straight up. 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.320 I'm not a gamer. I can I can probably measure 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.640 the amount of time in my life that I've spent 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:42.240 playing video games if telephone Solitaire doesn't count, probably measured 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:47.360 in hours, not days or weeks. Um. So tell me 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:51.000 for a lay person, tell me give me the elevator 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:56.520 pitch for then the video Game Entertainment News Network. It 0:01:56.720 --> 0:02:00.120 is a surprise. It is a surprise to me to 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.600 see that something that content like this would be launching 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:07.200 in a live, linear fashion. That seems a little counterintuitive. 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:10.440 Tell tell me about your venture. Sure, and by the 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.440 way of telephone Solitaire accounts, my parents are the biggest 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:17.519 gamers on Earth show. Give you the heads up there. 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:21.360 So yeah, Ariel and I are are both co founders 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:23.440 co CEO. We we've both been in this business a 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:26.320 long time and and kind of concurrently saw the same 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.960 opportunity both across linear TV, V O D and and 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:33.200 more about the demographics at large, So to to kind 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:35.480 of take this from a big fifty thousand foot view 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.280 down to a little bit of the micro Gaming is huge, 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.440 it's been. It's bigger than arguably all sports and entertainment combined. 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.200 A hundred fifty billion dollars this year, trending toward a 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.960 three hundred billion dollar year industry in a few years. 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:53.120 So by any metric, whether it's dollars or consumer engagement, um, 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:57.040 it's a real thing. And by consumer engagement, to give 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:01.839 you a sense, three hundred million people every single day 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.280 go on YouTube to watch gaming video content and that 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:09.680 ranges from people playing video games, to learning about video games, 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:13.280 to entertainment properties around video games or e sports. So 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:16.120 to say this category is is nothing short of a 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:20.760 powerhouse would be an understatement. And really this is an 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:25.079 elusive audience as far as television networks and marketers are concerned, 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.720 it is very hard to reach Gen Z and millennial 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:32.200 and the current TV landscape UM, and people are trying, 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:33.640 but at the end of the day, there is no 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.440 network that's dedicated to content for for this generation. And 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.240 when you step back and look at the generation, nine 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:43.560 out of ten Gen Z play video games regularly. So 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:46.120 when you say, like are you a gamer? That be 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.680 akin to asking, um, you know, a young gen z 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:52.839 or a mallennial kid. We can affectionately call them to say, 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:55.400 you know, hey, are you a music listener or you 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.920 a dinner eater? The reality is is is this is 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:00.640 something that's all they know that I should really be 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:02.200 is like what game are you referring to? Is it 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:04.400 Animal Crossing? Is it League of Legends? Is that call 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.720 of duty? Um? So, once you recognize the scale of engagement, 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:11.080 you really think about, Okay, we know it's big, but 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.360 how can we help cater an opportunity this environment and 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:16.640 create real engagement. So you've got the world of Twitch 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:20.039 that's out there generating billions of hours of watched content 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.920 per months in thing on YouTube, but there is they 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.040 are really kind of archival and not necessarily the destination. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:29.600 There's no real curated way to engage in the category. 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.200 And so, um, you know, just a little bit more 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.240 on this area. And I both saw the same opportunity 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:37.159 as that you can create a TV network that has 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:41.240 gone out and recognize the best content creators across this 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.600 universe taken this amazing production. I'm excited for Arial to 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:46.520 tell you about his experience and where he comes from 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.640 to take this wonderful TV production and hopefully elevate the 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:52.799 craft that people are doing and what's called a user 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:56.160 generated content manner, and create TV behind it and then 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:58.480 string it all together, you know, create a TV network 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:01.680 can allow a really safe space as for brands and 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.720 partners to advertise and reach these communities. Um. And so 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.320 that's what we've did, and that's that's where we are. Now. 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:10.880 Let me ask you again, let me ask the basic 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.400 question because I understand, I know that there's a lot 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.680 of viewing of people playing video games, people playing video 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.720 games in tournament fashion. Um, but this is really from 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:24.560 your slate. This is really lifestyle and entertainment shows for 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.599 the people that like to that like video gaming enough 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:31.960 to watch other people play it on on platforms. Um. 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.040 This is that's if I understand right, it is this 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:38.560 is a TV network for the streaming generation. And then 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:40.960 is a double on tunder it's the video Game Entertainment 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:46.960 News Network. But it really is the intersection of gaming, entertainment, music, 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.680 pop culture and really the generations. And that's the next 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:51.800 is where we live. I'll give Arial a chance to 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.400 get a word and edgewise on it. And Ariel, you 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:58.080 are speaking to us from your play of Vista your 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:02.400 studio in play of Vista. Uh sorry, Berril, you are 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.560 speaking to us from your studio in play a Vista 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:11.360 where you have expansive facilities, and you're rare and to go. Yes, 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:15.800 we are. Yes. So we launched actually on August five, 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:19.599 which if which is next Wednesday, depending on when you're 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:21.680 when you're listening to this podcast, maybe by the time 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.080 you're listening, we've already launched, and we hope to get 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.479 your feedback. If you're watching, we hope you're enjoying the 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:29.440 programs that we're putting out there. But yeah, I'm here 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:32.920 and we are in rehearsals. We've got all of our 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:36.600 shows are we have twenty hours plus of fresh content 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:39.279 that we're going to be putting out each week, which 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:43.800 against sort of the comp in the TV world, exceeds most, 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.000 if not all, of the networks. You know, if you 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:49.720 look at the amount of entertainment programming, live entertainment programming 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:52.799 we're creating, it it stacks up really high. We've got 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:56.800 a bunch of really interesting formats that both draw from 0:06:56.839 --> 0:07:01.159 the universes that Ben was describing of young people playing 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.520 video games in a very raw, authentic way with the 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.960 audience which you might see in Twitch. We're elevating that 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:10.720 format and curating it and distributing it back to those 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:13.600 same networks and those platforms where the young people are. 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:15.920 And Ben hinted at it a little bit, but the 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.720 way TV is currently set up, it's in a bit 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.480 of a crisis because it can't follow its consumers, right, 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:25.560 And that's a very basic concept that as demographies change, Right, 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:29.480 young people have been consuming content in a bunch of 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:32.320 a bunch of ways. They're not only looking for short clips, 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:34.800 they're not only looking to play video games, they're not 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.520 only looking to watch movies. But they are consuming a 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:41.680 lot of of content. And so the the version of 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:44.200 TV that I I see and Ben and I see 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:47.240 is really it's it's a more I guess you'd say 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:52.000 it's a more generous kind of definition. It's transmitting video 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.520 and sound in a bunch of different platforms in a 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:56.600 bunch of different ways. And so when you look at 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.920 young people, they are really consuming a lot of content, 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.120 and they play lots of video games. They might go 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.720 to the movies, they might um binge watch on Netflix. Uh, 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:08.600 they might have a second screen open on their phone 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.280 or on a second monitor that's next them, and so 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:13.880 what we want to do is create an authentic version 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:16.280 of content that they love and that they understand. And 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:20.360 because we are not uh sort of burdened I guess 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:23.920 you might say by carriage fees and mfns that exists 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:27.080 in the traditional TV world, we could think about a 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:30.680 TV network in a very new and novel way, right. 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.960 So we can create content that is akin to what 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.960 you might see on traditional network, but we can distribute 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.880 it to the channels where gamers and where young people are. 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:45.560 So we will be the first ever seven channel on Twitch, 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:49.160 on YouTube, on Twitter, right, but we'll also be on 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:53.400 connected TVs, will be on traditional m v p d 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.199 s like people like you might see on a on 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:59.360 a cable system right that is now shifting into a 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:01.840 more digital warm. We also will be on the v 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.439 m v p d s, which are the skinny bundles, right. 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:09.520 So we aspire to create content that is contemporary and 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:13.160 that is natively interesting for this streaming generation. Has Ben 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:17.360 calls it, bring it, bring those creators onto our network 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.360 creative virtuous cycle with them. So we helped to elevate 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:22.600 the things that they do natively really well and where 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:26.120 they've built audiences that quite frankly rival and exceed in 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:30.280 some cases traditional TV hits in the demo especially, and 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.560 bring them onto our network and curate a whole slate 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:36.600 of content for this audience. It sounds to me like 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:39.959 you want to be something of a food network or 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:43.520 h G TV. That is the sort of a destination. 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:45.760 It's it's a bit of comfort food. You may not 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:48.439 go for a particular show, but you know what you're 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:51.440 turning on when you get that channel? Is that? Is 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.839 that the thinking? Yeah? That that really is so the 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.160 way to look at the programming landscape. And I'm sure 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:58.720 your audience knows this well as as readers of Variety 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:02.080 is you've got to send really you know, young skewing TV. 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:04.880 You've got Disney, You've got Nickelodeon, you've got Cartoon Network 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:06.880 that really feels the you know, the young demos kind 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:10.160 of preteen, etcetera. There's really a chasm of programming for 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.240 gen Z and millennials. You kind of look at the 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:15.560 demos from the ESPNS or the Comedy Central, they've all 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.800 kind of skewed up in age. Now what you'll find 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:22.840 is gen Z and millennial type programmings intermittently dispersed across networks. Right, 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:25.439 it's not your Rick and Morty on Adult Swim, that's 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:29.080 your Game of Thrones on HBO. Depending on which platform 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.440 that you jump to. There are shows that tend to 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:33.760 resonate well with therese younger demos. What there is not 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:37.040 is a network that is essentially a cultural flag bearer 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:40.199 for these generations. You hearken back to MTV in the nineties, 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:45.040 right when people were gathering outside fifteen Broadway eighties nineties 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:46.920 were out there and VJs were all the thing. It 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:49.840 was a cultural movement with music. That's where young folks 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:51.839 would turn in to get their news or an attainment 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.319 in the pop culture information, et cetera of what they love. Right, 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.640 there's just not that in today's day and age. You 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.360 mean MTV readily concedes that, you know, hun or ten 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.640 hours of a hundred, you know, forty or fifty possible 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:06.439 hours of a week in programming our repeats of ridiculousness. 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:08.720 And I actually happened to be a fan of that show. Um, 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:10.960 But it's when you program a network with that scale 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:13.840 of programming, it's it's very different than going head on 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.720 into creating his max amount of hours of live original, 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.559 unique first run programming as you can. So, to Arial's point, 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:23.559 we have more live original programming per week than any 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:26.840 other TV network we've We've done the math MTVS at 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:29.640 seven Discoveries about fifteen, sixteen, A and E right there 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.400 as well. We're starting with over twenty and migrating to 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:34.920 thirty and then once we open up our New York studio, 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.120 because we have to studios, one imply a Vista in 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.319 Los Angeles, the other one in New York at at 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.080 three World Trade Center overlooking the Oculus. That is our 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:44.920 kind of modern day homage to MTV in their studio 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.839 in Times Square. We're very excited to create a bicoastal 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.480 programming set which will be over fifty hours a week, 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:52.120 so we'll kind of be in a bit of rarefied 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:55.640 air there. That sounds amazing, but it also sounds expensive. 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.240 And as you said, you're not burdened with cable carriage fees. 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.520 That's a cavy lift for excuse me, that's a heavy 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:08.800 lift for purely advertising to support. How are you funding 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.000 all of this? So so I answer that kind of 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:12.960 twofold and I'll kick it over to Arials. So it 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:17.439 is expensive if you're programming is procedurals that are scripted, 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.160 that are big budget on locations, so on and so forth. 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:23.160 And candidly, there's been so much TV invested into what 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.160 is the next generation of a lawyer's show where this 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:28.280 doctor that sees ghosts or kind of iteration on either 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:31.920 you know, medical, legal, whatever kind of scripted programming. Younger 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:36.760 generations have really issued that really expensive scripted kind of 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.320 no been there done that type of programming in favor 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:42.439 of live programming, UM and programming that works really well 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:44.679 in a studio system. That's why you see such thriving 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.480 content on on YouTube and and on Twitch. And so 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.160 what we've recognized is there's a world where we create 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:52.679 TV and the tens of thousands of dollars per hour, 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.160 not the hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour, and 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.720 so our TV on average costs about nine less on 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:00.720 an hourly basis than what you see in traditional TV 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.600 prime time. That said, it's already proven to pull massive 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:06.840 numbers that rival what you see on the prime time 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.439 I'm give you an example. We have a talent called Austin. 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.439 He's amazing. He's essentially the Mark Burnett of what you 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.720 see on Twitch, he creates game shows, he you know, 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.480 he pulls in wonderful engaged audiences and and you know, 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:20.160 we're just such big fans. It is so Austin will 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:23.720 have a concurrent audience of seventy five thousand at one 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.040 time on Twitch. So let's say you part some of 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.040 that out globally and say there's Spilitch outside of the 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:30.719 demo he's pulling let's say thirty to forty thou in 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.400 the demo. If you take a network that's a very big, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.199 you know, nationally syndicated network, let's go with with Discovery. 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:39.760 Discovery Network across all platforms, every single bit of pay 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.320 TV does about sixties sixty five thousand people in the 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:46.719 demo in prime time. So on one platform, you've got 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.560 a single individual who's pulling comparable numbers to what you 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.520 know a Discovery network is is pulling within the demo. 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:55.599 And Discovery obviously generate hundreds of millions of dollars a 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:58.120 year in revenue and and aims at a at a 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:01.440 different demo. But but to your your anti still valid, Yeah, 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:03.160 So I guess to the point is it aims to 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:05.440 the higher demo as well as all the other networks 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:08.160 aiming to the higher demos. I shouldn't say the older demo. 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:11.040 I misspoke older demo that will make sure to get 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:12.880 our nomenclaits are right. But yeah, I mean to the 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:16.400 point if we can show what one platform someone can do, 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.480 and if we can help elevate that art make it 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.320 look like television. And by the way, my wife, she 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:24.520 doesn't watch Twitch, she doesn't watch YouTube. She's assuredly not 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:26.840 a gamer except animal crossing every now and then, but 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.320 that will definitely qualify it as a gamer in today's 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.560 day and age. But you know, she watched previews of 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:33.560 these shows. She goes, oh my god, this is amazing. 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:36.800 This is kind of like MTVS Challenge meets Fear Factor 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:38.960 with a kind of new twist for streamers. I'm like, yeah, 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:41.080 that that's what we're doing. She's like, I haven't seen 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.960 this before. And that's the reaction we're trying to get 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:46.680 to is this is a new breed of programming that 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:50.160 people will understand and recognize and watch. Is familiar premium 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.960 produce entertainment, but it will feel new and novel, and 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.680 that may cover video games, that may cover music. We 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.040 have a partnership with Proximity is one of the biggest 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.800 E d M distribution channels on Tube to have almost 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.120 ten million subs. We're gonna be creating a unique and 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.520 engaging music content. We've got pop culture celebrities coming in 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:09.040 with movies, TV shows, et cetera. This is going to 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.960 feel like premium TV for the younger generation and that 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:14.480 is our bat that it will draw the kinds of 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.160 eyeballs across all platforms that advertisers are looking for in 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.080 a brand safe manner and again with less costs on 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.880 the production side, and we think comparable revenue on that side. 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.080 We think that's a not only a survivable business model, 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:29.600 but what we think ultimately a very profitable And you 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:36.120 have a f understand right you have distribution deals with Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, gaming? 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.360 Is that a rev share or an ad inventory share? 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:44.760 How do those deals work? So so it will vary, 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.160 so it varies, so it obviously varies. We have built 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:53.680 an amalgam of TV, TV experience, game experience, entertain experience 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:55.960 at our company and that's something that I think was 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.480 part of the answer for the last question too. We 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:02.080 realize that there are certain core competencies that that you 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.520 need to bring to the table to create a TV network. 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:08.680 So our CEO is the former Discovery Channel c CEO 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:12.200 and CFO name is Neil Kirsch. We've brought his entire 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.680 pricing and planning team to the table. Our head of 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:18.360 sales is from Facebook. Guy named Dave eckenstein uh is 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.440 who's the head of our head of sales now. But 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.800 he was with Facebook, he was at um Bleacher Report 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:27.440 in BuzzFeed, and even before that he was he was 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:30.520 in sales and at Fox and NBC. So we have 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:36.080 an incredibly refined, purposeful team that understands how to build, 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:40.120 build media plans and how to actually sell TV. Now 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:42.880 you look at what we're making, and we're making something 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.120 that's in it's elusive in a lot of ways for advertisers. 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.200 Let's just talk it through for a second. It's elusive 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:51.960 because the demo is usually pretty pretty like fragmented and 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:54.920 hard to find. It's delusive because of some issues with 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:59.320 brand safety, right. It's elusive because the digital platforms where 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:02.480 the traditional TV networks can they cannot go there because 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.160 the shackles that they have with their mfns and their 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:08.720 carriage fees, they're they're they're kind of like not able 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:11.000 to be there, and so what is left there in 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:13.679 that space is something that's a little bit hard to 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.119 understand for most brands, and they're not sure that they 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:18.159 want to wade into the water and figure out like 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:20.600 do I want to invest in a specific U g 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.639 C creator? Do I want to invest in a team 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:26.120 in E sports? Where do you want to invest? So 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.360 as we're looking at our business model, it's built very 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:33.879 much on the back of natively understanding what the market likes, 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:36.960 how do they like it like that, you know, little 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:39.880 things like let the let the pacing be a little 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.720 bit more more casual, Like you don't have to overformat, 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:46.000 you don't have to overproduce things. Because this audience that's 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.400 built they're sort of like taste buds on streaming content. 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.639 They really they're used to watching really long form content 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.800 where they're engaging directly with the audience. You have to 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:58.679 also really think about what does engagement look like on 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.200 our network. And so when we building our studio here, 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:05.480 we invested almost exclusively in digital signage because we want 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:08.439 to create um interactive formats with the audience rather than 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:11.040 building lots of scenic structures. I mean, there's there are 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:14.320 just so many ways that you can you can build 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:19.719 affinity with with gamers, but but also distributed in a 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:25.560 very mature way that is comforting for for advertisers. Right 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.760 that are that are so that are so focused on 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:33.680 on targeting gamers now, especially with COVID, where there's there's 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:37.960 been this like a massive mainstream light shining down on gaming, 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:40.919 right when everyone's sort of inside gaming numbers are up, right, 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:43.920 everyone's playing games. This is not really news to Bend 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.199 and me, but it has been further validation for our 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.399 business model, which is which is like great authentic content 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:53.040 for this market, make it in a way that's palatable 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:56.920 for them and really easy for for investing. I want 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:58.960 to yeah, I want to get specifically to your question 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.679 about distribution because this is a very big component and 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:05.080 it's the way that we've gone into structuring our business 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:09.400 with any TV network. With ABC, for instance, go take 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:11.960 your phone out, go to ABC dot com. The first 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:15.240 question you're going to be asked is please authenticate with 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:19.760 your TV provider. Right. That is a fundamental roadblock to 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:22.760 access and that is the unfortunate downside of the way 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:26.080 that the TV business models were constructed, which are twofold. 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:29.280 It is an ad inventory share model. So it's what's 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.200 called national airtime, right, and the network sell those national 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:35.040 airtime on their own, you know, every day, week, etcetera. 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:38.600 It's what upfronts are. There is then platform or local 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:42.520 or affiliate time to where regional broadcasters, whether it's your Comcast, 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:45.240 whether it's a Samsung Smart TV, etcetera, will take a 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:47.840 share of inventory and they will turn around and sell 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:50.159 that inventory on their own. So you could be watching 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.440 a feed on a platform like Video or Samsung, and 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:54.560 you would see an AD that comes from a national AirPod. 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:57.280 The next AirPod, the next commercial pod, you may see 0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:00.920 an AD that Samsung sold specifically for that platform. So 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.040 we understand and accept that model, and that is the 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.680 backbone of what we're doing. However, TV is also set 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:09.040 up with what what's called a sub feme model, to 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.960 where essentially it's like, okay, you know, Spectrum or Comcast, etcetera, 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:16.560 pay us for you know, per sub to be able 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.360 to the right to carry our content. The problem that's 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:21.720 happened in television is these distributors say, hey, we don't 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:24.800 have the money to pay your ever increasing sub fees, 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:27.280 and so this is highly problematic and TV networks are 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:29.320 going fine, well, don't carry us, and that essentially is 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:33.280 mutually assured destruction. So what happened is with those deals 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:36.800 they have what are called MFN or most Favored Nation clauses. Right, 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:40.040 that means is if I charge spectrum ex send per 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:43.520 and I charge Comcast less spectrum then drops down to 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:47.639 the Comcast level. Right, creates all kinds of havoc, and 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:51.240 all kinds of havoc. But what you assuredly cannot do 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:54.520 is take your feet and then make it free. And 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:57.240 that is that is the crux of the issue now 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:02.359 with television is younger demographics. Consumption patterns have migrated across 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:06.080 different platforms with any industry, whether you're in fossil fuels 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:10.080 and you're we're seeing the largest entertainment players have to 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:16.280 plow billions into read engineering their operations to to reach 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:19.840 that demo. And and still that you know, the death 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:23.640 screen of authentication is still for you know in many 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:26.240