1 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: which we speak with some of the brightest minds working 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: in media today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety. We are 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: months away from the launch of HBO Max, but you 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: better believe my next guest is already plenty busy. He's 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: Jeremy leg chief technology officer at Warner Media. He's the 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: one who will make sure HBO Max is streaming into 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: your home seamlessly, with all the bells and whistles of 9 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: the product functioning. Thanks for coming in, Jeremy, Thanks for 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: having me, and it's great to be one of the 11 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: brightest minds. My staff is an elite, elite group of people. 12 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: That's awesome. UM So we're sitting here talking in early December. 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: The launch at this point is months away. I don't 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: think you guys have said we're public about that, and 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: so even though we're here in December, I'm just curious 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: in the process of ensuring this thing goes off without 17 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: a hitch. Where are you Well, So we're we're basically 18 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: at our first beta. Um So. We just launched an 19 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: internal beta recently um and brought in a lot of 20 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: the content from Turner and HBO and Warner Brothers um 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: and so we've expanded the HBO Now and Go application 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: as consumers might think of it, and rebranded it as 23 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: HBO Max and made it a multi tenant technology platform 24 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: that can support not just the HBO brand, but all 25 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: of the brands of the broader company. So we're it's 26 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: internal right now, we haven't released it out to the 27 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: broader consumer base, but there's an app there and it 28 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: works and when you press when you press play, the 29 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: video plays. Got it. And I assume there's you know, 30 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: plenty of meetings with with the the Green Blacks and 31 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: Riley's of the world. I'm talking about the gentleman who 32 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: we are running the content side of this. Do they 33 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: leave you to do your own thing? Or is it 34 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: all everyone's getting in each other's businesses, regardless regardless of 35 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: whether it's content or distribution. Well, I asked Bob and 36 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: Kevin to write code for me regularly, but they but 37 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: they but they have so far declined that honor. But 38 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: we work very closely with them, right So they're obviously, 39 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: you know, building the content, selecting the content, and then 40 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: we work collectively on how that content is going to 41 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: be featured in merchandise inside of the application, and also 42 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: a lot of the product features associated with what we're building. 43 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: So it's it's a you know, this is a this 44 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: is truly a corporate wide effort um involving you know, 45 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: both the leadership as well as the working teams across 46 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,239 Speaker 1: many organizations, and so we work very closely with them 47 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: on all of this. And you're not starting from scratch. 48 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: It's not as if the HBO or Turner brands are 49 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: new to streaming. You mentioned, you know, HBO Go and HBO. 50 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: Now how much of a leg up does that give 51 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: you or from an infrastructure perspective, is it like a 52 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: clean slate? It gives us a pretty significant leg up. 53 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 1: I mean, there's some downsides to it, but I'll talk 54 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,920 Speaker 1: about the positives first. On on the on the positive 55 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: side of the ledger, you know, we have a scaled platform. 56 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: That platform delivered Am of Thrones. We did four point 57 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: six four point seven million concurrent streams on the final 58 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: episode and millions more before that, and so we know 59 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: it can handle large video loads. We know it can 60 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: handle lots of consumers coming into the application, and uh, 61 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: you know it's a brand that you know, millions of 62 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: consumers have access to today and use the application today, 63 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: So you know, we're starting from a strong foundation, and 64 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: so we're working now on how do you merchandise more 65 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: brands inside of that application than just Hbo because obviously 66 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: this becomes everything from DC Comics to you know, Turner 67 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: Properties and other components or other content brands across the 68 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: broader company on the other side of the fence. And 69 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: the part that's a little bit more of a challenge is, 70 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: you know, you've got millions of people using HBO going now, 71 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: and they're going to start using HBO Max. So how 72 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: do you get seamless consumer transitions from those legacy applications 73 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: into um HBO max for example, UM how do you 74 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: translate all of their personalizations and recommendations into the new app? 75 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: How far do you go with that? And so you know, 76 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: those are things you wouldn't otherwise have to work through 77 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: if you had a clean slate and you were launching 78 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: the app for the first time. But I'll take those problems. 79 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: I'll take the problems of having millions of people using 80 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,839 Speaker 1: your application and working through that rather than starting at zero. Yeah, 81 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: it's a nice standing start. Does that mean that brands 82 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 1: like HBO Now will continue in the HBO Max era. Yeah, 83 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: it does. I mean the HBO Now and Go brands 84 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: are not going away. HBO as a brand, more importantly 85 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: is not going away. It's you know, a central brand 86 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: for the broader company. Um. The challenge for us is 87 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: how do you maintain HBO as a brand and a 88 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,159 Speaker 1: product separate apart from HBO Max, but then also take 89 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: HBO Max and make it a broader brand umbrella for 90 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: the other properties of the company. So it's a you know, 91 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: this is something we talked with with Kevin and Bob 92 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: about regularly, Andy Forcel and Tony Consalves on the on 93 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: the product side is how do we build the technology 94 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: in such a way that the publishing and editorial teams 95 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: can feature these applications in such a way that they 96 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: maintain their brand identities. And so it's it's a you know, 97 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: when I talk about sort of multi tenant, that's really 98 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: what I mean is, you know, how do you have 99 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: HBO live in there, but how do you also have 100 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: DC Comics live in there? How do you also how 101 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: do you also have the other brand properties of the 102 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: company living there. It's it's an interesting challenge for us. 103 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: You know, CNN is going to be in this application, um, 104 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: and so you've got a lot of brands that normally 105 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: people don't think about sort of coexisting together. And so 106 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: you have to bring all that into one application and 107 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: create a way for people to find that content, personalize 108 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: that content, recommend that content, and navigate around the application 109 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,840 Speaker 1: in a coherent way. I guess I I never stopped 110 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: to think of the as you put it, the multi 111 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: tendency as as an issue because I just assumed you're 112 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: grabbing a bunch of content. It all has different labels, 113 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: network brands, and you dump them into the streaming service. 114 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: I know I'm making this ridiculously simplistic, but are you 115 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: somehow SI justesting that even though we're kind of moving 116 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: away from the traditional linear system in this streaming world, 117 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 1: that these brands maintain some kind of distinct presence. Yes, 118 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: I mean, uh, you know there will be capabilities to 119 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: cut across brand so as you you know, as you 120 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: do search right, as you look at genres or things 121 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 1: like that, those aren't brands specific. But some of these 122 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: brands are very strong. They have um, you know, cult 123 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: followings and fan followings, and we don't want to diminish that. 124 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: So we want areas of the application to feature those 125 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: brands and allow consumers to dive deep inside of those 126 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: brands to discover things around Batman or Superman. I mean, 127 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: these are iconic kinds of things, and so we don't 128 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: want to simply merchandise things and just sort of throw 129 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: it all into one funnel and say, go find your content. 130 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: So they'll be you know, curated components of this. They'll 131 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: be brand areas associated with this, you know, much of 132 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: which we showed, for example, during Investor Day. But then 133 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: they'll also be ways for consumers to navigate to specific 134 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: content that they may want. So you know, you can 135 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: go into the search bar and it is not brand specific, 136 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: so you can go and find any content that you 137 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: want in that way. From a product perspective, is there 138 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: something about HBO max is a streaming service that you 139 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: think will set it apart from some of the others 140 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,239 Speaker 1: in this space. Is there some sort of strategic tech 141 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: that you guys are taking in terms of u X 142 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: or infrastructure. Well, I think there's I think there's a 143 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: couple of things that we're doing. One. I'll start on 144 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: the product side and then another I'll talk on the 145 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: tech side. On on the product side, Yes, we want 146 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: there to be computer driven algorithms associated with personalization and recommendation, 147 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: and we'll build those things. Those are valuable things, um. 148 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: But what we also want to do is is add 149 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,239 Speaker 1: an element of curation to this that we don't really 150 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: think exists in the spot space at the at the 151 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: degree to which we have or to degree to which 152 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: we're building into the product. So as you think about, 153 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: you know, the sort of endless scrolls of tiles that 154 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: exist across most of the spots us is they're largely 155 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: just driven by an algorithm. We want sections in there 156 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: where we can actually curate and publish content specifically by 157 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: humans and have that capability there so that if we 158 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: want to merchandise or feature certain things around you know, 159 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: Batman or Superman or classic movies or whatever, it might 160 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: be that they're publishing capabilities where you can feature things. 161 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: So akin to if you think about the way you 162 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: know Turner Classic Movies does thirty days of Oscar or 163 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: thirty days of James Bond, those are human curated kinds 164 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: of capabilities. We want those capabilities as well as algorithmic 165 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: capabilities to deliver consumers at different experience. Okay, I'm curious 166 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: also as we talk about HBO Max and launching into 167 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: the teeth of the so called streaming wars, do you 168 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: look around at the competitors. Are you kind of studying 169 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: them Disney Plus obviously in the market now, Apple TV 170 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: Plus in the market now or is it more like, 171 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:00,839 Speaker 1: you know, we just keep our head down and create 172 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: the product we're going to create. Well, I mean, I 173 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: hate to maybe a non answer answer, but the answers yes. Um, 174 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: of course, we look at what the competitors are doing, 175 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: and we look inside of their applications and the features 176 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: that are there. The consumers have clearly decided they like, 177 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: and we have to make value based decisions about, you know, 178 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:20,679 Speaker 1: whether we're gonna put that in our app or not 179 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 1: put that in our app. Um. But with all that said, 180 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: at the end of the day, you know, we can't 181 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: spend all of our time worrying about what Disney does 182 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,960 Speaker 1: or what you know NBC does, or what Netflix does. 183 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: We have an app we have to build, and we 184 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: have to believe in the product that we're building. And 185 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,439 Speaker 1: so while we pay attention to it and we look 186 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: up over the horizon and and certainly note the things 187 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: that they're doing. Um, you know, we obviously went in 188 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: and looked at the Disney Plus application when it launched. 189 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: At the same time, we've got a roadmap that we're 190 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: trying to deliver against. We've got a value proposition we're 191 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: trying um to deliver against, which we think is a 192 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: bit differentiated from our competitors. And we don't have time 193 00:09:57,960 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: to worry about it. We we've got to launch an 194 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: app and you know, five six months and there's a 195 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: lot of work to do. Do you have like those 196 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: next six months, uh six months you know sketched out 197 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: within an inch of itself? And in other words, is 198 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: there you just know everything that needs to happen operationally 199 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: at this point and it's all sort of mapped out 200 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: more or less. Yeah, I mean they're you know, we've 201 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: got all of our scrum teams, you know, assigned work 202 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: right up until the launch. We know when we're going 203 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: into QA, we know when we're going into code freezes 204 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 1: and all that. You know. With that said, there's always 205 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: requirements that pop up here and there via discussions with 206 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,559 Speaker 1: the studio side of the house, the product side of 207 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 1: the house, or the distribution side of the house, and 208 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: so there are new things that pop up, and we 209 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: we have to make prioritization decisions about squeezing one thing 210 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: out and moving it to a subsequent release. But for 211 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,960 Speaker 1: the most part, the roadmaps pretty baked. I mean, uh, 212 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:58,199 Speaker 1: if to launch something of this scale, um, you can't 213 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: be making it up at this age of the game. 214 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: You need to kind of have your ducks in a row. 215 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: I would imagine something like this. You know, in any company, 216 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: you get a sense of what are priorities, what perhaps 217 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 1: takes the oxygen away from other things. Is this kind 218 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 1: of like an all hands, all consuming thing that to 219 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: some degree presents a challenge in terms of balancing the 220 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: resources there versus you know, keeping the lights on in 221 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: other areas of the company. Yes, I mean, uh, certainly. 222 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 1: You know, I think one of the challenges that our 223 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: company has had, and I think a lot of media 224 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,320 Speaker 1: companies have had, is that you know, if you look 225 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 1: at a Netflix or or you know, a spot service 226 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: out there, um, and they you know, they do a 227 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: great job with their product, and you know, consumers have 228 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: clearly decided that they like it, but they have thousands 229 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: of people that work on one app UM, and historically 230 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: most of the major media companies really haven't done that. 231 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 1: You know, we're supporting dozens of applications and broadcast plants 232 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: and all those kinds of things. I think one of 233 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: the big things that's really changed in in the roll 234 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: out of HBO Max, and I would suspect it similar 235 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,320 Speaker 1: at some of our media appears, is that people are 236 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: taking this much more seriously than they have in the past. 237 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: They're throwing significant content resources against it and technology resources 238 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: against it. And so does it UM, you know, mean 239 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: that the sort of capital distribution across the technology organizations 240 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 1: is slanting towards HBO Max. The answer is yes, UM. 241 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: What I would also say with that is it should 242 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: you know it. We are at a moment in time, 243 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: I think, in our business model and cycle where we 244 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: have to start throwing more of the capital against UM, 245 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,079 Speaker 1: both the innovations that we're doing in the streaming space 246 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:44,079 Speaker 1: as well as as well as the product side of 247 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: the house. And that doesn't mean no other brands receive capital, 248 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 1: but it does mean that that you know, we're we 249 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: are really putting our shoulder behind doing this. It sounds 250 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: like a lot of plaque pressure too. It is, but 251 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: you know, this is actually the fun stuff, you know. 252 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,079 Speaker 1: I mean, yes, it's pressure, and and if it doesn't work, 253 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: there may be a new CTU of Warner Media at 254 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: some point. But but you know, you're building things, you know, 255 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: I mean, you're you're you're playing offense, um, and you're 256 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: gonna release a product, honestly that the company I think 257 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: will be very proud of. And I think that even 258 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: though people are working very hard, they're excited about what 259 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: they're doing because it will not only be a significant 260 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: event for the company, but we think it will be 261 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: something that resonates in the marketplace. UM. So that's sort 262 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: of the good pressure. There's other things that are bad pressure. 263 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: But but you know, I don't enjoy doing budgets all 264 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: the time, and I don't you know, enjoy, you know, 265 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: doing cost reductions. But you know, you have to do 266 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 1: some of those things in order to free up capital 267 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,319 Speaker 1: to do things you know, where you're playing offense. And 268 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: as long as as long as you know, look, we're 269 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: gonna have three swings at the plate on this and 270 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: and I feel good about our batting average. Well when 271 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: Disney Plus stepped up to the plate, as I'm sure 272 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: you saw tremendous demand, but then some technical problems that 273 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: came with that. Do moments like that give you pause 274 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: that you say, oh my god, I hope we don't 275 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: have to deal with that, or uh, what can you 276 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: really do even to to take precautions? Yeah, I'd say 277 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 1: that there is an unwritten code amongst c C t 278 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: O s where you feel for the other person. That's 279 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: that's going through it because anyone who's you know, run 280 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: large organizations or or you know how direct to consumer products, 281 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: you know, you've had stumbles and that's what technology. Uh, 282 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: that is unfortunately a reality of building scale technology. So 283 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: you know, I feel for my peers on the other 284 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: side of the world, and that's certainly not something that 285 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: they wanted to have to have happened. With that said, 286 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: you know, there are learnings associated with with UM. You 287 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: know all these things, and a lot of them are 288 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: around scale UM and how much scale you build in 289 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: the public cloud, not just for streaming, but for authentication 290 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: systems and entitlement systems and building systems. And you've got 291 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: to run through a pretty robust set of use cases, 292 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: both in terms of human banging on this and testing it, 293 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: but also automated scripting and automated testing to do load 294 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: balancing across all of these different areas so that you 295 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: feel like you're releasing an app that um is pretty 296 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: battle tested. I don't know exactly what happened on the 297 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: Disney application, but at the same time, they had enormous 298 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: demand for it out of the gates. So if if 299 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: you had to pick a reason that something failed, too 300 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: many people trying to get in, it is probably probably 301 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: problem of a high class problem. And you know, if 302 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: I I hope we don't have any technology failures, but 303 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: if we do, I hope it's because the demand so 304 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: high that that uh that UM, you know, we're we're 305 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: trying to meet the demand. UM, not for other reasons. 306 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: But is the nature of this kind of product, you know, 307 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 1: streaming software based the years, is it really no different 308 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: than say, back in the fifties when the television picture. 309 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: We'll have all sorts of problems. Is it the kind 310 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: of thing where these kind of problems you just have 311 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: to say okay for a technology in its infancy, this 312 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: kind of comes with the territory. Yeah, I think, UM, 313 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 1: to a degree, that's true. UM, you know the you know, 314 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: I run the broadcast side, for example, of the company 315 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,359 Speaker 1: as well, and those you know, deliveries to a television 316 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: set today and largely historically have been in closed ecosystems. 317 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: You know, the technology is largely wholly owned by the 318 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: programmer and the distributor, and so you have a higher 319 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: degree of confidence that when you deliver a video bit 320 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: from point A to point B, that it's going to 321 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: make it there because there aren't as many ways for 322 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: it to be interfered with. This is Internet distribution, and 323 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: you know, you you don't own the end to end 324 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,080 Speaker 1: way that video is delivered. You don't own the device, 325 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,960 Speaker 1: you don't own the operating system on the device, you 326 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: don't own the browser on the device. You own the 327 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: app on the device, but it's built for that specific 328 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: operating system. And the way video actually makes its way 329 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,920 Speaker 1: down through a CDN, or through the web, or through 330 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: you know, the various other methods that video goes down 331 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: to a device, you don't generally own those either. So 332 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 1: you're building software that sits on top of all of 333 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: these other things, and so the number of places where 334 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: you can have problems that you don't control U are 335 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: just broader than they are on the broadcast side of 336 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: the fence. Consumers don't care. Right. The consumer expectation is 337 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: is that this is going to work as well as 338 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: it does when I turn on my TV set, exactly right, 339 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,679 Speaker 1: And so they don't care about all the sausage and 340 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: how it's made on the back end. Um, I have 341 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: to do that. And so you know, we we for 342 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: the way videos delivered over the Internet, are going to 343 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 1: take our lumps around how we deliver this, whether it's 344 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: on demand video or live video, which is even a 345 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,640 Speaker 1: completely separate challenge on the Internet. Um, until we get 346 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 1: it right. And it's certainly vastly improved than it was 347 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: ten years ago. Um, but it's not all the way 348 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:04,680 Speaker 1: to where it needs to be relative to meeting consumer 349 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: expectations about the way traditional television was delivered. And I 350 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 1: guess in taking your lumps, you learn, you figure out 351 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: where the problems the vulnerabilities are and you're better off 352 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: for it. Or is that just kind of well you 353 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: you do and and you know, look there's this and 354 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:21,880 Speaker 1: I think it's just this interesting trade off right now 355 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,040 Speaker 1: is that on traditional television, for the most part, the 356 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,639 Speaker 1: video works when you turn it on, but the consumer 357 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: experience around the video isn't great, you know, if it's 358 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: a traditional set top box, whatever it might be, And 359 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 1: consumers have clearly said, I don't really like the way 360 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,359 Speaker 1: that this video is delivered to me, even though it 361 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 1: comes on right away when I turn on my TV 362 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,880 Speaker 1: or I changed the channel. On the Internet side, it's 363 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: feature rich, it's software based, in the set of capabilities 364 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: and ways you can watch video is vastly better than 365 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: it is on traditional television. But the video delivery ecosystem 366 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,439 Speaker 1: that sits behind that, uh, is not wholly owned and 367 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: it's not a closed system. So yes, I mean, the 368 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: short answer to your question is is you do have 369 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: to learn about all these different mechanisms and figure out 370 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: methods that you can use in order to smooth things over. 371 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: So you know, here here's just a simple example. The 372 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: reason primarily that live video when it travels over the 373 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: Internet lags the delivery time associated with television, right, and 374 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: your notes it's seven or ten seconds behind on you know, 375 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 1: in some cases will be up to fifteen seconds behind 376 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: on live video streaming over over the open Internet is 377 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: so that you can fix video problems upstream before they 378 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 1: ever hit the consumer device, right, and so you can 379 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: fix video bit problems along along the video river that's 380 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: going down to the device. Um, and so lots of 381 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:52,679 Speaker 1: that kind of stuff happens, and there's a little checkpoints 382 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 1: along the way for the way video is delivered that 383 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: enable people to fix it before the consumer ever sees it. 384 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: Over time, that will prove over time you will get 385 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: to low latency video feeding, low latency video feeds all 386 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: the way down to the device. Um. But today, uh, 387 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: it's harder to do that because the tech stacks are heterogeneous. 388 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 1: So the more heterogeneous the end in tech stack is, 389 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: the harder it is to do those types of things. 390 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: You've been at Warner Media long time before it was 391 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: called Warner Media, back at the time Warner days Turner. Um, 392 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,640 Speaker 1: I'm the last I think A O L refugee that's still. Yeah, 393 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: there's there's only I know that everyone they wanted only, 394 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:37,959 Speaker 1: but there's not many of us left. Yeah, I actually 395 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: originally started at A O L. So it's uh, there's 396 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 1: a few of us hiding out with our A o 397 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: L T shirts on. Well, the thing I was wondering 398 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,879 Speaker 1: about and it's it's actually this question I think becomes 399 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: more interesting by your A o L background as well. 400 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:57,679 Speaker 1: Is is there something about launching this massive streaming software 401 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: based product within not just a traditional media company, but 402 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 1: also now that a T and T is in the picture, 403 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:10,880 Speaker 1: you know, a telco, uh, not a traditional tech company 404 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: like a Google or a Facebook. Is there a cultural 405 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: challenge that comes with taking this on in that kind 406 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: of environment? Um? Yes, in the sense that you know, 407 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: they've been very focused on traditional telco infrastructure, and so 408 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: you know, you're working with telco building systems and other 409 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: types of things that you know aren't things that you 410 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:33,359 Speaker 1: would normally encounter it an Amazon or at Google. But 411 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 1: I think that's honestly more than offset by the distribution 412 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 1: opportunity that we have through bundling with wireless and bundling 413 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 1: with fiber, and a lot of the infrastructure capabilities that 414 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: a T and T has, you know, I mean they've 415 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: got now it is a hundred and fifty or some 416 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 1: odd million direct to consumer relationships that we can now 417 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: leverage to distribute HBO Max. And so while there are 418 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: technical challenges in doing bundling with the way that you know, 419 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:03,040 Speaker 1: wireless accounts are created, did that's a problem were solving? Um? 420 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: Because it's a unique proposition that we have given that 421 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: all that sits in the same company, where we can 422 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: look at how we bundle HBO Max with other owned 423 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,199 Speaker 1: properties across the broader A T and T enterprise. But 424 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: culturally speaking, is there something about product building that is 425 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: uniquely a function of a true tech native culture or 426 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,120 Speaker 1: you know what if media or telco's spend enough time 427 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: and money on it, it's the same thing. Um, I 428 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: would say culturally there are differences, um, you know, because 429 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 1: there are. You know, it's really the difference within you know, 430 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,399 Speaker 1: say an A T and T between a pure software 431 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: culture and then a networking and infrastructure culture. You know, 432 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 1: and and it's all tech and it's all important tech, 433 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: and consumers don't get to watch anything if all that 434 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: stuff doesn't work together. But obviously most of of A 435 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: T and T s broader organization, and it's a big one, 436 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: is focused on wireless, you know, last mile fiber delivery, 437 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,400 Speaker 1: UM and networking infrastructure. And they're excellent at doing that, 438 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,840 Speaker 1: and they're better at it than we are. Um. We 439 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: are more of a software based culture. And that's not 440 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: to say there aren't certain parts of A T and 441 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: T that have that, but you know, they don't release 442 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 1: a lot of apps UM, and so we work with 443 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:21,920 Speaker 1: with different parts of that organization that have the software 444 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: based culture. That's that's more consistent with the way that 445 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: we've worked in the past, but we're also learning how 446 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: to work with some of the other organizations that exist there. 447 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: And it's worth doing because you know, when you when 448 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 1: you think about UM, you know, high end video delivery, 449 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: you want to work with the five G people at 450 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: A T and T, you know, you know, so those 451 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,439 Speaker 1: kinds of things, while culturally it's a little bit different. 452 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: You know, a wireless network engineer is not a software engineer. 453 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,440 Speaker 1: That's a that's a marriage that's worth trying to broker 454 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: between the software person and then the network engineer because 455 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 1: ultimately you can deliver video down to the humor at 456 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,920 Speaker 1: higher quality and lower cost if you get those two 457 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 1: people talking the same language. I also wanted to drill 458 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,920 Speaker 1: a little more into this notion of A T and 459 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: T s leverage. It's some giant mobile footprint. I feel 460 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: like that gets to the whole underlying rationale for the 461 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: A T and T acquisition of Warner Media. This combination 462 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: of distribution and content could do great things. So for 463 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:27,879 Speaker 1: if I'm the consumer, if I'm an A T and 464 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:33,160 Speaker 1: T handset owner, uh am, I going to see things 465 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: with HBO Max that will be uniquely examples of what 466 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: it is to combine these two things. Yeah, I mean, 467 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: certainly they're they're on. There's several answers to that question. 468 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: Certainly on the marketing side. You're going to see that 469 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: in the way that we bundle, you know, HBO Max 470 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,360 Speaker 1: with the different A T and T products, for example. 471 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,199 Speaker 1: But the other things that we're able to start you 472 00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: know doing, some of which will be at launch and 473 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,679 Speaker 1: some of which will be later, are tho way of 474 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:04,159 Speaker 1: folks authenticate into the product. So I mean, if we 475 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:07,280 Speaker 1: know and already have a directed consumer relationship with you, 476 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: why do you have to sign in twice? Right? You know? 477 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 1: Why why can't you do things like simcard based authentication. 478 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,359 Speaker 1: Why can't you do things where you enter a certain 479 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: set of credentials into an A T and T phone 480 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: and it automatically authenticates you into HBO Max and do 481 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: various flavors of single sign on. So things like that. 482 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,479 Speaker 1: We are very much investigating as to how we we 483 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: essentially remove the friction between the consumer and the application itself. 484 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: That's not to say that we wouldn't do that with 485 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:40,960 Speaker 1: other providers. Um, we certainly would, but it's obviously easiest 486 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: to start with ourselves and build some of those sets 487 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: of capabilities so that you know, the the experience that 488 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: a consumer has through an A T and T phone 489 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: is as optimized as it can be. So I'm guessing 490 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: these days, HBO Max, it's taking your time or upwards 491 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,639 Speaker 1: of that. What else does a CTO you at a 492 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:04,639 Speaker 1: television company in terms of broadcast operations? What other things 493 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: are or maybe not as top of mine as HBO Max, 494 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: but top of mind. Yeah, I'd sort of divided into 495 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: several buckets. So you know, we work very closely on 496 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,480 Speaker 1: on the data and advertising side. So both are you know, 497 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: are digital across all of our digital properties, whether it's 498 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:23,160 Speaker 1: CNN dot Com or or um you know, March Madness 499 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: or other properties that we serve. So we still have 500 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: to you know, serve that video and enable advertising in 501 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: it and work with Zander and and the other parts 502 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: of A T and T to leverage the data that 503 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: they have to create audience segments that help us target 504 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: advertising and target content to consumers. So we spend a 505 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: lot of time working on that we've recently actually deployed 506 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: you know what I think is the largest I P 507 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: broadcast facility certainly in the country. UM. And so all 508 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: of our networks, inclusive of HBO and CNN and our 509 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,400 Speaker 1: entertainment properties run under an IP broadcast UM model at 510 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: this point. So I ronically need no JS developers on 511 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,679 Speaker 1: HBO Max and I need them in our broadcast world 512 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,879 Speaker 1: because that's formally transitioned. And then obviously we have the 513 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: election coming up, so I spend a lot of time 514 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 1: on on CNN and and you know, whether it's the 515 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: primaries or it's the debates or all those things. You know, 516 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,679 Speaker 1: we provide the technical infrastructure that sits across all of 517 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,440 Speaker 1: that UM as well as CNN Digital and those other 518 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,439 Speaker 1: and those other digital properties. So it's, UM, it is 519 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: a very busy time between HBO Max and the election. 520 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: I don't know how you're gonna sleep in, but yeah, 521 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: it's UM. I mean that's the fun part, you know. 522 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: I mean it's it's a lot of pressure. UM. But 523 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 1: you know, that's kind of the stuff you remember when 524 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: you you know, if you look back on your career, 525 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: you remember those moments, UM and and how well you 526 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: did or you didn't do in those moments, So enjoy that. 527 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,159 Speaker 1: And I have a great team that that assists this. 528 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: It is, but it is hardly me that's doing all this, 529 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,440 Speaker 1: that's for sure. Well, speaking of that team, is it 530 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: a team that I assume has been beefed up considerably 531 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,360 Speaker 1: as all these new challenges come to your on your plate. Yeah, 532 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: we're we're you know, certainly the HBO Max team has 533 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: expanded significantly, you know, since we really made that commitment, 534 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: and then we've done a variety of things in terms 535 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: of combining technology organizations, primarily between Turner and HBO UM 536 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: to really give us more scale and specific areas. And 537 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,719 Speaker 1: then we recently did this on a global basis, so 538 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:31,119 Speaker 1: it's both domestic and international UM and uh, you know, 539 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: those organizations support all of the aforementioned brands and properties 540 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: UM and so in some cases we've cut back because 541 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 1: those businesses no longer warrant, you know, the levels of 542 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: attention that they've had historically. But it's essentially a capital 543 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: redeployment exercise. It's not a let's cut for for cutting sake. 544 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: It's you know, these are the places the companies decided 545 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: to invest, and so whether it's you know CNND Digital, 546 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: or its sports, or it's you know, data and advertising, HBO, 547 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: max As or you know, probably the four biggest pillars 548 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: associated with our growth. And and so we're we are 549 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: open for business and have a lot of open roles. 550 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: Uh that so any engineers that are out there paying 551 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 1: me on LinkedIn, I mean imagine it's probably quite a 552 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: race out there between you and other companies in terms 553 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,760 Speaker 1: of getting the best engineering talent. You feel that, oh, absolutely, 554 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:21,920 Speaker 1: I mean it it. Uh, there's there's a race for 555 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 1: tech talent. And you know, I I like our position here. Um, 556 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,960 Speaker 1: we have a lot of geographic diversity. You know, we 557 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: have a significant presence here in l A. We have 558 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: a huge presence in Seattle and New York as well 559 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: as in Atlanta domestically, and then we have international locations 560 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: from London to Amsterdam, duennas areas. So it's, um, there's 561 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: a lot of opportunities and a lot of different parts 562 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,880 Speaker 1: of the globe. And you know, we were you know, 563 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 1: there's a sort of essentially call it the race to 564 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: the middle. You know, we've got we've got media companies 565 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 1: that have been great at content for a long time 566 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: that are now trying to get great at tech, and 567 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: you've got a lot of tech companies that have been 568 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: great at tech for a long time, and they're trying 569 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: to get great at media. And we're all kind of 570 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 1: racing to the same place, but on two different paths, 571 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: and we're all now competing for the same group of 572 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: tech talent. And so, you know, the way we recruit UM, 573 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 1: we're recruiting the same groups of people, but our pitches 574 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: are a bit different, you know. UM. You know, one 575 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,480 Speaker 1: of the best recruiting tools that we have beyond obviously 576 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: you know, paying competitively and those types of things, is 577 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: you walk someone around the studios at HBO or CNN 578 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,320 Speaker 1: or Warner Brothers and say, hey, you know, would you 579 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,600 Speaker 1: like to come here and work on this stuff? And 580 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 1: you know, we usually get those people. So it's there's 581 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: a compelling value proposition between you know, really being in 582 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: a scaled content company and then a technology arm of 583 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: a content company that's in investment mode. And you know, 584 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: so we've had a lot of success, you know, pulling 585 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 1: folks from some of the traditional technology companies UM and 586 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,240 Speaker 1: historically they've pulled folks from US and UM. I like 587 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: the trends well My guess is you're gonna be doing 588 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: a lot on the hiring front this coming year. Looking 589 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: forward to seeing HBO Max come out of the gate 590 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,120 Speaker 1: in t Thanks for coming in to talk to me today. Yeah, 591 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: it was great. I appreciate it, so thanks for having me. 592 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,400 Speaker 1: This has been another episode of Strictly Business. Tune in 593 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,000 Speaker 1: next week for another helping of scintillating conversation with media 594 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: movers and shakers, and please make sure you subscribe to 595 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:32,120 Speaker 1: the podcast to hear future episodes. Also leave a review 596 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 1: in Apple Podcast let us know how we're doing.