This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry. You can sign up for it here.
This past week, I flew to Austin to attend South by Southwest, the annual festival now owned by PMC that combines networking and thought leadership with live music and two-stepping.
The distributed nature of the conference, where events were split between a handful of disparate areas, meant that folks in different industries or with different interests likely had radically different experiences.
I spent most of my time speaking with executives in the media and entertainment spaces, chatting mostly about advertising, AI, podcasting, and live-streaming. Below are 14 things I learned across the five-day event.
1. Podcasting is primed for a gold rush
When Netflix acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast The Ringer and Barstool podcasts on its platform in December, the entire media ecosystem took note. Compared to traditional film and television projects, podcasts are far cheaper to produce, and many of them come with preexisting fanbases.
If the experiment is a success, other streaming platforms could likely follow suit, snapping up popular series, adapting them to screen, and ushering in a second podcasting gold rush—the first such boom having come in 2020, when Spotify dropped north of a billion dollars acquiring top talent.
A few enterprising platforms have already begun testing the waters.
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Matt Starker, the CEO of Audiochuck, walked me through the deal his company signed in October with Tubi and Red Seat Ventures to adapt several of its series into shows, with the aim of translating its true crime hits into full-fledged shows. Similarly, vice president of sales at Crooked Media Giancarlo Bizzarro explained why his company penned a deal just last month with MSNBC, part of an effort from the linear network to age down its audience. And Karen Paek, the vice president of marketing at the streaming service Viki, told me her team was scouting out potential fits.
In the coming months, provided these early tests yield positive results, do not be surprised if a wave of popular podcast networks sign deals with streamers. The big question is whether they would accept the same exclusivity clause that Netflix asked of The Ringer and Barstool. Starker and Bizzarro both told me that reach and awareness are their primary goals, so such a deal would only make sense if the upfront payment were impossible to refuse.
2. Sports leagues ought to be media companies
A few months ago I spoke with Brian Szejka, formerly the publisher at Penske Media, who had taken a new role as the chief revenue officer at NBA Take-Two Media, a joint venture between the NBA and the video game company Take-Two.
In a follow-up conversation, Szejka and I discussed the space more broadly, but what really captured my attention was his claim that sports leagues have missed an opportunity: acting as media companies. So far, according to Szejka, only the NBA has begun to use its access to create content that tells stories about its players that extend beyond their lives as athletes, making their competitive set more similar to Complex or Uninterrupted than the NFL Network.
Take-Two sees that white space as its primary aim, creating video series with former players, launching social channels like NBAResDev, and using athletes’ love for video games to deepen gamers’ relationships with their favorite teams. The idea struck me as a no-brainer, especially given the astronomical popularity of sports and the production infrastructure they already have. I would be surprised if we did not see more of this in the future!
3. Apple Podcast’s HLS update is bigger than video
I thought I understood the importance of Apple Podcast’s HLS update, but the announcement last month goes deeper than just allowing podcasters to publish video versions of their shows alongside the audio versions.
According to Bryan Barletta, the cofounder of Sounds Profitable, the real unlock is that following this update, the video remains hosted by your podcast host—not the podcast platform or server.
So far, this only works for four different podcast hosting providers—Acast, ART19, Simplecast, and Omny Studio—but it has dramatic implications for ownership and ad monetization, according to Barletta.
This means that it is up to the podcasts, and their hosting companies, how they monetize their shows, rather than just leaving it up to Spotify or YouTube. The topic can get a bit technical, but Barletta explains it well here.
“So when the platform that started it all reinforces to podcasters that the center of their universe should be their hosting platform, along with supporting their rights to manage their own distribution and advertising flow, it’s a big deal,” he writes.
4. Brew Media Group is looking for more acquisitions
In 2015 we got Morning Brew, in 2024 it became Morning Brew Inc., and on March 3 Brew Media Group joined the world. The media firm launched the holding company earlier this month after it acquired the real estate events company Bisnow.
While Brew Media Group CEO Robert Dippel declined to share specifics on the tie-up, he reiterated that Bisnow is a 165-person company and profitable. But with Bisnow now under its ownership, the company realized it made sense to launch an umbrella organization to house a portfolio that was growing increasingly diverse.
More interesting still: Dippel tells me that MBG is actively looking for new acquisitions. Something must be in the water at the Axel Springer headquarters, as the German media company, which owns Brew Media, just dropped $765 million on The Telegraph earlier this month.
5. Breaking and Entering and Growing
The social-first creator duo Breaking and Entering were omnipresent at SXSW, a feat made more feasible by the fact that their team has grown from a lean two to a sprightly five, according to cofounder Geno Schellenberger.
The group, which just launched its thrice weekly live-stream, was on the ground for the first time alongside its management firm Smooth Media, another friend of the newsletter.
6. With Scout, Yahoo sits across the answer engine ecosystem
On Sunday morning, I watched Feed Me founder Emily Sundberg interview Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone about Scout, a new answer engine from Yahoo.
Beyond the broader resurgence of Yahoo, which Lanzone claims is profitable and growing, what I find most interesting about the company is its unique position in the advertising and media sector.
It is a prolific publisher, thanks to properties like Yahoo Finance and Sports, but it is also in the ad-tech game, thanks to its demand-side platform Yahoo DSP. It is also an aggregator of other publishers’ content, and now, with the launch of Scout, it has re-entered the search game.
Intriguingly, it is also part of the launch group for Microsoft’s content marketplace, meaning it will nominally pay the publishers whose data it uses to power Scout. But because it is also a publisher, it will also be paid by answer engines when it provides them content.
I cannot think of any other media company that is publisher, aggregator, demand-side platform, and answer engine all in one.
7. The era of experiential spectacle, even at South by Southwest, is over
There were fewer activations at this SXSW, and the ones that were there were somewhat lackluster. (The ADWEEK team ranked the available pop-ups, giving them between one and five tacos, here.)
According to a panel of marketers speaking at ADWEEK House, this is not necessarily a reflection on SXSW itself, but rather a new approach to experiential, driven by shifts in digital technology and consumer preference.
I thought it was fascinating to hear about how experiential marketing has to have a digital component nowadays—how a physical experience gets translated into social content—but also how that digital element must contend with a growing fatigue related to social platforms, which hardly deserve that moniker anymore.
I am generally skeptical of people who predict a decline in digital consumption or screentime, but if the appeal of events is getting people together in person, then maybe a pop-up creates a more compelling memory if it gets you to put your phone away.
8. Waymos were everywhere. They make the death of driving feel plausible
Austin is one of the few cities in the country with Waymos, and while I was there they felt ubiquitous. Maxell Tani at Semafor remarked that they really do make something that felt unthinkable for a long time—the end of driving—feel quite inevitable.
9. Big technology companies were conspicuously absent
The ubiquity of Waymo was in direct contrast to the conspicuous absence of any of the other big technology companies. None of the hyperscalers had any activations, advertising, or any attendees that I could see.
This is in part because many technology companies now prefer simply to host their own events to promote their new products, an opportunity that allows them to craft the narrative as they see fit and invite only their most ardent boosters.
Another reason is that, if SXSW used to be where consumer technology companies went to break out, all of the most important AI companies of the day belong to—or have received significant investment from—the incumbents.
As such, there is no need for guerilla marketing or a launch event; these companies came into the world fully formed and financed, bypassing the need to make use of SXSW as a marketing machine.
10. The next generation of directors will come from YouTube
I hosted a panel at ADWEEK House exploring how YouTube creators are increasingly bypassing the traditional movie production and distribution channels.
The timing could not have been more poignant, given that the YouTuber Markiplier has brought in more than $21 million on his self-financed film Iron Lung, which debuted in February. The film, which cost $3 million, has been a windfall for its creator, whose real name is Mark Fischback, and is a testament to the growing power of creators in the film space.
One of the panelists involved in the session was Aidan Gallagher, a YouTuber with a prolific following who makes content while exploring the country and living out of his van. Gallagher told me that he has written and filmed his first feature length film and is now just working to finance its distribution.
As technology makes film production simpler than ever, and distribution networks like YouTube amplify its reach, I have to imagine the next few years will see the emergence of a new wave of independent filmmakers who take their own route to auteurship.
11. The growth of the Guardian has gone overlooked
The Guardian ventured to Austin to promote its forthcoming daily show, Stateside with Kai and Carter, giving me an opportunity to catch up with its chief advertising officer Sara Badler and its head of North American marketing Vanessa Fontanez Pauley.
There, they and others impressed upon me the growth The Guardian has seen, as its newsroom continues to expand, its audience continues to grow, and it manages to do both profitably and without a traditional paywall. The publisher has a distinctly partisan perspective, something it touts as an advantage, and its new video podcast aims to own the emerging white space of daily video news products.
I wonder if any of this momentum has come as a result of the readership exodus at The Washington Post, which abandoned its resistance mindset and has seen its subscribership nosedive.
12. Chess.com is a sleeping giant
I mean this as a compliment, but Chess.com reminds me of Weather.com in that both are widely used but rarely considered.
While at a Vox Media party Sunday night, I spoke with Chess.com cofounder Danny Rensch about the success of the brand. Rensch, whose life story is more fascinating than The Queen’s Gambit, claims the sport is in the midst of a cultural resurgence, and the evidence is compelling.
It has become a wildly popular source of live-stream content, a devoted app user base, and counts more celebrity endorsements than you would imagine. (I suggested to Rensch that they make a show unmasking famous celebrities as closet chess devotees. I knew Victor Wembenyama and Gus Wenner were in the fan club, but I had no clue about the Wu-Tang Clan fandom.)
Perhaps there could be a board-game roll-up in the future? Only Chess.com knows its next move …
13. Vox Media is a creator collective
The most chic party of the weekend was undoubtedly the one hosted by Vox Media, which packed a room with media executives and podcast talent so tightly that I could barely bring my canapes to my mouth.
Of course, Vox Media is reportedly looking to spin off its podcast network, so it makes sense that the company used the party to fete its talent, including folks like Kara Swisher, Esther Perel, and Astead Herndon. Still, such a spinoff is more complicated than it might sound on paper, and how CEO Jim Bankoff structures such a deal will be of immense interest to would-be buyers.
But the company must be patting itself on the back for making its name nearly synonymous with podcast, a once-fledgling format that is now the center of the content ecosystem.
14. Media works best as a wrapper
As media analyst Brian Morrisey recently noted, the most stable media companies are those for whom media is only the entryway to a different business with better economics.
Morrisey and I originally discussed this thesis when talking about Outside Inc., but I have thought about it a number of times since then. It is true with Hearst, Dow Jones, The New York Times, Semafor, and Time, and I imagine such logic will only extend further in the coming years.
This came up in an on-stage conversation with Hallmark senior vice president of marketing Danielle Mullin, who discussed how Hallmark+ is just one part of a broader Hallmark ecosystem. Cory Corrine, now running The Intersect, told me half-jokingly earlier this year that good editorial is a kind of brand marketing.
When taken together, these ideas suggest a blueprint for a kind of media company whose editorial is primarily understood as a brand-building device, attracting audiences through media to engage with more lucrative businesses. It might seem less sexy, but it also seems far more durable.
Talking Heds
Dow Jones Doubles Down (SCOOP): On Friday, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch, and Barron’s added two senior hires: Andrew Essex as its brand director in residence and Delwyn Gray as head of events, according to an internal memo I obtained. Essex, notably, was the founding CEO of the renowned ad agency Droga5. His addition marks the third CEO in the last 18 months, alongside former Fortune executive Alan Murray and former Bloomberg Media CEO Scott Havens, to join the Dow Jones executive team. The hires reflect the increasingly deep bench of talent joining the company, which last week announced its intention to generate $1 billion in EBITDA within five years.
A Complex Acquihire (Exclusive): The media brand Complex has hired Adam Saleh, founder of the startup Presq, to join the company in the role of creative technologist. At Presq, Saleh has worked to dramatically reduce the time it takes to create products, such as clothing and collectibles, through a combination of 3D printing and streamlined production techniques. Complex, which was acquired from BuzzFeed by the live-shopping platform NTRK for $108 million in February 2024, has prioritized commerce more than perhaps any other modern publisher, a byproduct of its focus on the streetwear space. According to its chief creative officer Mark Eckō, roughly 75% of Complex’s commerce business comes from producing exclusive merchandise and collectibles.
Trade Desk Dereliction: Just one month after the holding companies Dentsu and WPP stopped using The Trade Desk’s OpenPath product, the French holding company Publicis has begun advising its clients to stop working with the demand-side platform. According to leaked documents obtained by my colleague Kendra Barnett, Publicis explained that The Trade Desk failed an audit conducted by a third-party consultant. A Publicis spokesperson confirmed the validity of the memo, while a spokesperson for The Trade Desk said that “Any notion that TTD failed an audit is not true.”
Social Media Week Returns: In just a few weeks, ADWEEK will once again be hosting Social Media Week, by far the coolest event in our portfolio and one whose insights can legitimately help make or break your brand. I will be on-site, moderating panels and trying not to look washed, and would love to see you there. So join ADWEEK, on April 14 – 16 in New York, to tap into the cutting-edge tactics powering social for the top brands, media outlets, agencies, and creators in the world. Click here to learn more.
Pulled Quotes
“The lasting effects of 2020 irrevocably transformed SXSW.”
Texas Monthly journalist Dan Solomon, on the year that upended the conference
READ MORE
“Your boy is currently in the middle of World War III right now.”
Daytrader Mike Babayan, an influencer in Dubai whose post contravened state-sanctioned social media propaganda
READ MORE
“And so early last week … I set out to obtain the president’s number and call him.”
Semafor’s Max Tani, on the allure (and accessibility) of calling the President
READ MORE
“Jeff Bezos called Matt Murray, the executive editor of The Washington Post, in late November to send an urgent message: Please do not quit.”
A New York Times triple byline, exploring how Bezos upended The Washington Post
READ MORE
Quote/Unquote
Dan Clancey is the chief executive of the live-streaming platform Twitch, a platform whose most prominent creators have lately burst from the fringes of content creation into the center of mainstream conversation.
As I wrote about last month, the undeniable humanity of live-stream content has proven a newfound source of appeal as social media feeds increasingly fill with artificial content. Similarly, the predominance of video among social media platforms has made Twitch, whose live-streams produce a vast quantity of raw video materiel, a natural starting point for many creators whose end product is video-based anyway.
I spoke with Clancey at South by Southwest, where we discussed the relationship between Twitch and YouTube, the atomization of content creation, and why publishers have struggled with the format in the past.
This interview has been edited.
Mark Stenberg: Between TBPN, Breaking and Entering, Clavicular, iShowSpeed, and others, it feels like live-stream—not a new content format—is having a bit of a breakout moment. Why do you think that is?
Dan Clancey: I think social media has become anti-social. It’s user-generated media, but it lacks the social component that it once had. If the platforms used to connect people, now they just entertain them, and I think people are left wanting. They want a connection with a creator, with a community, and they get that with Twitch.
Mark: Publishers have experimented with live-streaming before—two years ago, I chronicled the misadventures of outlets like Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, and Vice on the platform. Do you think publishers belong on Twitch, and if so, what went wrong on those earlier efforts?
Dan: Two things work really well on Twitch. First is community: If you are not connecting with someone horizontally, why would you be there rather than just watch the content asynchronously? To get that, you have to be very specific in your focus, and a lot of publishers’ content was too heterogeneous. With Rolling Stone, no one is a fan of all genres of music, so different people tuned in for different artists and the community never took root. Second, people only want to be there in the moment if their participation affects the content. A concert is not influenced by you watching it. If you are going to adjust your schedule to accommodate a piece of content, your presence has to influence the content.
Mark: What is Twitch’s relationship to YouTube?
Dan: Twitch and YouTube are symbiotic, but our website is designed around live content. We don’t keep video content on a long-term basis because our site isn’t optimized for that, but similarly YouTube is not optimized for live-streaming. We understand that our magic is the community experience.
Mark: Are you worried that one day YouTube will wake up and decide to eat the live-stream market?
Dan: They have tried—so have Microsoft and Facebook. Back around 2020, those companies had huge budgets to break into the market and overpaid our creators to join their platforms. Then, when the money ran out, the creators came back. Now Microsoft and Facebook have shuttered their live experiences, and YouTube Live is only really appealing for creators who go live every once in a while. People find our content on YouTube and TikTok, but then they come to us for the live stuff.
Mark: The macro trend in content creation seems to be atomization: To create compelling video, first it took a company, then it took a team, now it takes an individual. Is this good for the quality and health of the medium in the long run?Dan: This is the attention economy. People will adapt and adjust. Organizations can participate in this space—Universal Music has a Twitch channel—but they can’t do it the way they used to.