Should CNN have hosted a town hall with Donald Trump last week? Everybody has an opinion, I’m sure you do. Inside CNN this question has prompted an existential crisis. According to numerous reports the atmosphere resembles a toxic cauldron of confusion, anger, bitterness, and embarrassment. Only those close to CNN head Chris Licht and his … Continue reading Trump, Twitter, and the Death of Television
Media
Posts about the crazy, exciting, ever changing world of media
Send Lawyers, Guns and Money
Wow. Wow. Wow. Monday, April 24th was a day like no other in recent history in the media business. By now you surely know what happened: Tucker Carlson bounced from Fox. Don Lemon bounced from CNN. Jeff Shell bounced from NBC Universal. (This happened the preceding weekend, but many people didn’t learn of it until … Continue reading Send Lawyers, Guns and Money
We Don’t Need No Education
Don’t stop reading, I promise this isn’t another blog post about Pink Floyd, or music in general. I’m only borrowing one of the band’s most famous refrains to make a point about the value of a college education in today’s workplace. Pretty much any parent who has written a college tuition check recently, or will … Continue reading We Don’t Need No Education
Time for Mandatory One Year Severance
There is a moral and ethical decay in many media boardrooms and c-suites today. Its most obvious manifestation is the massive wave of layoffs across the industry in recent months. Disney, WB Discovery, NBC Universal, Meta, Twitter, Netflix, Amazon – virtually every company across the ecosystem is letting people go. And lots of them. In … Continue reading Time for Mandatory One Year Severance
Good, Fast, Cheap
It’s a classic adage in business: “Good, fast, cheap – pick two.” If you want something fast and good, it won’t be cheap. If you want something fast and cheap, quality will suffer. And if you want something cheap and good, it will take longer. While this adage holds true for most things, it doesn’t … Continue reading Good, Fast, Cheap
Nobody Does It Better
Like millions of other people, I’m a big James Bond fan. Seen all the movies. Read all the books. Ian Fleming, the author who created James Bond, wrote his stories during the height of the Cold War. Sadly, Fleming died just a few months before the first Bond movie, Dr. No, premiered in 1962. For … Continue reading Nobody Does It Better
“The Answer to All Your Questions Is Money”
Why are world class athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo and Dustin Johnson playing in clearly inferior leagues when they can still compete at the highest level? Why is the college football playoff expanding to 12 teams? Why is the NFL considering hosting the conference championship games in neutral venues? Why is it becoming increasingly necessary to … Continue reading “The Answer to All Your Questions Is Money”
What’s On Tonight
That question was probably never uttered by any human until the mid-twentieth century and the arrival of the television set into the American home. But once watching television became our favorite pastime, I’d bet no question has been asked more often by more people. In the days before SVOD and AVOD services, when your choices … Continue reading What’s On Tonight
Bob, It’s Time to Sell ESPN
When I started writing this post, I had a different Bob in mind. But even though Bob Chapek is out and Bob Iger is in, the sentiment remains. Disney should sell ESPN. Like many others I’m not buying the company line that Bob Iger returned to stabilize investors and the creative community before resetting the … Continue reading Bob, It’s Time to Sell ESPN
Let’s Put An End to the “Streaming Wars”
Everywhere you turn in the media business people are talking about the “streaming wars.” It’s the catch-all label for journalists, bloggers (including yours truly) and analysts when writing about the latest developments with Netflix, Disney, or any of the other players in the space. As someone who is actively engaged daily in this so-called “war,” … Continue reading Let’s Put An End to the “Streaming Wars”
Backstage with the Brand Podcast
Recently I joined Andy Wiedlin's "Backstage with the Brand" podcast to talk media, weather, sports and my book All The Lies We Believe. Thanks to Andy and the team at Magnet Media for having me. You can listen to the interview here.
How Netflix Made the 2022 Upfront Completely Irrelevant
You probably saw the press announcements: Disney booked a record $9 billion. NBC Universal took home “its largest ever” upfront haul at $7 billion. WarnerMedia Discovery made a splash coming together as a combined company for the first time. They all boasted of record CPM increases and, most importantly, a massive shift of money to … Continue reading How Netflix Made the 2022 Upfront Completely Irrelevant
Roe v Wade, The NFL & The SEC
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, how would it impact the NFL and big-time college football? Before addressing this question, I want to make clear that I fully recognize that for millions of people, especially women, how football or sports in general would be impacted by a change in the country’s abortion policy is completely … Continue reading Roe v Wade, The NFL & The SEC
Why CNN+ Failed
CNN+ met an ignominious end last week, canceled after barely a month in existence. Since then, the industry has been awash in epitaphs and explanations for the collapse. To me, it boils down to one simple reason. No, it’s not because Jeff Zucker, the architect and primary advocate for CNN+, got ousted. Nor is it … Continue reading Why CNN+ Failed
Reed Hastings – The Ultimate “Mad Man”
The headlines last week were head-spinning. Elon Musk is buying Twitter, CNN+ shuttered barely a month into its existence, and Netflix took a pounding after announcing its first loss of subscribers in more than a decade. Consuming media is our national pastime so it uniquely captures the attention of millions of consumers in ways no … Continue reading Reed Hastings – The Ultimate “Mad Man”
The Streaming Wars – Return of the Aggregators
One of the fun parts of my current role as CMO at The Weather Group is it affords me a seat at the front line of the most contentious battle in the history of the media business – the race for market share in streaming television. If you’re in media or marketing you are bombarded … Continue reading The Streaming Wars – Return of the Aggregators
In Praise of Small Ball
Game 6 of the World Series is tonight. As a Yankee fan I admit to having a chronic case of Northeast provincialism when it comes to baseball, and sports in general. Basically, that means I believe that no championship contest truly matters unless a New York team is participating. But you’re not here to read … Continue reading In Praise of Small Ball
What If You Were Mark Zuckerberg
Imagine for a moment you woke up this morning and found yourself the founder and CEO of Facebook. You are one of the richest people in the history of humanity. You are world famous. You have absolute control of the most powerful social media company on the planet. The decisions you make impact billions of … Continue reading What If You Were Mark Zuckerberg
TV Strikes Back
Streaming, streaming, streaming. The traditional TV business model is dead. The future is streaming. If you work in media, frankly even if you don’t, it’s been impossible to avoid talk about how the pandemic finally put the final nail in traditional TV’s coffin. The future belongs to Netflix and the “pluses” – Disney+, Paramount+, etc. … Continue reading TV Strikes Back
Getting Paid to Call a Game
Why do networks pay their top sports broadcasters so much? It’s a part of the business that continues to mystify me. Increasingly it seems that conversations – and decision making – about the appropriate compensation for the “face of the network” are out of touch with reality. I thought of this when I read the … Continue reading Getting Paid to Call a Game
2029: The End of the World As We Know It
If you follow my blog you know how I feel about the NFL rights deal. But this is not another rant about the NFL. Now that the deal is done we can do what the industry loves to do after a major rights negotiation concludes: begin speculating about what it all means. And predicting what … Continue reading 2029: The End of the World As We Know It
Television’s Royal Mess
Were you one of the 21 million people that watched Oprah’s interview with Harry and Meghan last week? I was. Without question it’s one of the most talked about television events in quite some time. But as someone who’s worked in media for two decades, I found the experience frustrating. For all the positives, it … Continue reading Television’s Royal Mess
Time to Break Up the NFL
If recent press reports are accurate, the NFL is close to renewing its broadcast rights deals with NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN. Word is the broadcasters will pay twice their current rate and ESPN’s fee will increase 30%. Assuming these reports are accurate, is anyone else deeply troubled by the news? A handful of billionaires, … Continue reading Time to Break Up the NFL
My Kids Work in Media. Did I Screw Up As a Parent?
Oh God, what have I done? I’ve spent most of my adult life in the shallow pursuit of making the world safe for television and advertising, and now my kids are in it. Is this the example I’ve set? What happened to curing cancer or feeding the homeless? I hope readers appreciate the humor. If … Continue reading My Kids Work in Media. Did I Screw Up As a Parent?
Talking Baseball and Corporate “Cancel” Culture
Three strikes and you’re out. Even those who have never picked up a baseball know this rule. Yet the game of baseball actually is hard to explain. The only way to really learn is to watch the game played with someone who knows it. That’s not true for a game like soccer where the rules … Continue reading Talking Baseball and Corporate “Cancel” Culture
The Future of TV is Bright and Gray
The conventional wisdom in the media industry these days is that Covid 19 delivered the knock out blow to traditional television. For almost 20 years prognosticators have been predicting that the Internet revolution would ultimately disinter-mediate broadcast and cable television just as it did newspapers and magazines. Television held on longer because of the complex … Continue reading The Future of TV is Bright and Gray
Your Data or Your Life
There's a great old joke about a robber who sticks up a husband and wife on the street. The robber points the gun at the wife and says to the husband, "your money or your wife." After the husband doesn't respond for a few seconds, the robber says, "Well, what it's going to be?" And … Continue reading Your Data or Your Life
How To Win By Not Playing
The boycotting of games this week, playoff games no less in some cases, in the NBA, WNBA and MLB is unprecedented in modern sports history. The players who instigated the boycott were justified in expressing their outrage and frustration and were appropriately supported by leagues, networks and sponsors. Another shooting of an unarmed African American … Continue reading How To Win By Not Playing
Reinventing Sports Media In the Covid 19 Era
What impact will the pandemic have on upcoming sports media rights negotiations? Once the games return, team owners, league executives and collegiate sports administrators face huge decisions about the primary financial engine that drives each of their respective sports: the television broadcasting rights. Those decisions will impact millions of Americans. To cut to the chase, … Continue reading Reinventing Sports Media In the Covid 19 Era
Social Media In A Post Virus World
It's not hard to find predictions about the long term impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on the ways we work and live. History has a way of making fools of even the most intelligent prognosticators, so I tend to be skeptical of those who speak too confidently about what this means for the future. … Continue reading Social Media In A Post Virus World
TikTok vs Snapchat – A Guide for Marketers
Here's a link to invaluable overview for marketers of two of the most popular apps for younger demos from Charles Kush.
Impressions Matter
TV ad sales organizations are moving as quickly as possible to an "impressions based" world. This means that rather than selling on ratings, the size of an audience for a particular show or event, advertisers will have the ability to target and pay for the specific consumers they seek to influence regardless of what program … Continue reading Impressions Matter
Couldn’t have said it better
If you don't already, subscribe to Seth Godin's daily blog. It's a must for anyone interested in marketing. As a 20 year veteran of media I found his post today about the industry right on point. I share it in full below: The imbalance between media and advertisers For a very long time, major magazines … Continue reading Couldn’t have said it better
TV’s Marketing Problem
Television is still the #1 brand builder, but it needs some brand building for itself. Television, the #1 brand builder, has a marketing problem. Nothing gets your business known like TV. And yet, many of the same businesses that would benefit the most from the affordability and undeniable effectiveness that TV advertising offers don’t consider … Continue reading TV’s Marketing Problem
Where’s the competition to SportsCenter?
Bloomberg broke the news recently that Fox executives are considering a plan to launch a national sports network to compete with ESPN. The media largely focused on the impact of another deep-pocketed player in the lucrative sports rights marketplace. No doubt live events are the core of the business, attracting large audiences and driving big … Continue reading Where’s the competition to SportsCenter?
Fred Bucher 