PODCAST · technology
Bloom in Tech
by David Bloom
I talk with (and about) smart, innovative people and companies in tech, media, entertainment, VR/AR, games, esports, AI, blockchain and advertising. I'm a long-time journalist and former studio executive. I write regularly for Forbes, Next TV, Tubefilter, and TVRev, and consult on communications and content strategy.
Episodes
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Building A Better Streaming Service For Latin American Markets
I moderated a panel this past week for streaming-video trade organization OTT.X as part of a free mini-conference designed to provide nascent streaming services in Latin America with tips, best practices, lessons learned and more from a range of streaming services, OEMs, platform operators with...
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It's An Ad's World: Apple TV+, Friday Night Baseball, Advertising, and Adweek's New Podcast Network
I sat down to talk with Adweek CEO Juliette Morris and Sr. Producer Al Mannarino about their new podcast network and what it means for the trade publication going forward, the state of podcasting and advertising, and more. And I have some thoughts about the future of Apple as it ventures in live...
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Taking The Oscars Online, And Talking With Topico CEO Andy Walraven
There's been a whole lot of talk about That Slap, but I'm more interested in what happens to the Oscar broadcast now that the Motion Picture Academy has embraced streaming enough to hand out awards for Best Picture, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature and other major categories for projects…
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Streaming Services Head For A Big Oscar Night
Netflix alone has 10 films with at least one Oscar nomination, part of a phalanx of top contenders for the movie business's most glamorous awards. Which streaming-first or streaming-mostly projects are lining up for a big night in Sunday's Oscars? Will Netflix flex The Power of the Dog? Has Apple...
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Which Streaming Services Are Set For Big Oscar Night Wins?
The 2022 Oscars are fast approaching, and films that mostly or solely appeared on streaming services are set for a big night. Bloom in Tech looks at which streaming-first films are likely to take home a Little Gold Man or six as the Oscar broadcast unfolds. Netflix has 10 films with nominations,...
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Writer-Director Neill Blomkamp On 'Demonic,' Volumetric Capture, Videogames and His Next Projects
South African-born writer-director Neill Blomkamp has been using tech in smart ways to create thoughtful, groundbreaking movies ever since his first feature, District 9, a smart sci-fi take on apartheid, arrived in 2009, and grabbed an Oscar nomination for its visual effects. Since then, he's...
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The Logan Paul-Floyd Mayweather 'Fight' And The Celebrity-Sports-Live Event Mashup
Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather had a boxing exhibition this week, and yes, someone punched Logan Paul in the face. Also, both participants made a huge amount of money. They won't be the last to try this either, as influencers lace up the gloves for a similar chance to build their fan base,...
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The World After Covid With Deloitte Chief Futurist Mike Bechtel
What's likely to change in business, entertainment, media and tech in the years after the Covid-19 pandemic finally eases? What's NOT likely to change? I talked with Mike Bechtel, managing director and the chief futurist at Deloitte and a professor at the University of Notre Dame business school,...
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Maestro Media's Javon Frazier on Marvel, the Binding of Isaac, Umbrella Academy, and Creating Spinoffs Fans Love
I talked with Javon Frazier about his work creating games, board games, subscription boxes, toys and more for fans while at Marvel for nearly a decade, and then at online-video company Studio71, before launching his own company, Maestro Media, over the past year. A self-described "black nerd" as…
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Tastemade CEO Larry Fitzgibbon On Streaming Video's Watershed Year And What's Next
Tastemade creates video about "food, travel, home and design" for social-media sites from YouTube to TikTok, skinny bundles such as Hulu Plus Live, ad-supported services such as Tubi, and more. Co-founder and CEO Larry Fitzgibbon has been there from the start, and tells what its like to create...
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Streaming Video Year-End Grades And 2021 Trends To Watch
The big streaming-video services were more important than ever in 2020 as the pandemic sent viewership and subscription levels soaring even as several big new services launched, and struggled to get their feet under them. So how did they do, and where are they headed in 2021? I go through my...
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HBO Maxes Out Movie Gambit As WarnerMedia Faces An Expensive, Transformative 2021
WarnerMedia stunned Hollywood this past week when it announced that its entire 17-film slate will debut on streaming service HBO Max the same day the films arrive in theaters, blowing up decades of lucrative "windowing" in the movie business. Those day-and-date releases include some hotly...
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The Role of Social Media In Our Elections Still Needs A Lot Of Work
We've finally come to the end, more or less of the 2020 election season, helped along in part by significant changes by the big social media platforms in some of their most problematic "engagement" tools. Let's keep those tools on ice, and consider some other changes in the role that YouTube,...
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Lessons From Quibi's Fall, And Curio's Govind Balakrishnan On Subscription Audio
I'd been expecting the Quibi collapse for a year before the mobile video site even launched,, but that doesn't mean there aren't lessons to learn from its just-announced and still-unfortunate fall. I talk about those lessons in this episode, plus share my recent conversation with Govind...
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Tubi Chief Content Officer Adam Lewinson On AVOD Streaming's Big Years
Tubi is the biggest ad-supported video service in streaming, and was bought by Fox earlier this yea for a hefty $440 millionr. I sat down with Adam Lewinson, the company's chief content officer, this week as part of the virtual NATPE Streaming Plus conference. We covered a lot of ground, talking...
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How Hollywood's Most Important Labor Day Weekend Ever Sets Up Film's Future
Labor Day Weekend is normally a dumping ground for the movie business, but not in 2020. Two blockbusters, "Mulan" and "Tenet," are using very different platforms to reach audiences this weekend. One is a pricey premium addition to streaming service Disney+, the other is available in whatever...
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Oscar Winner Walter Murch On 'Coup 53' And The British Secret Agent Who Overthrew Iran's Government
Walter Murch is a pioneer in using digital non-linear editing software to create films, and helped create the notion of "sound design" as well. He's won three Oscars in sound and film editing (for The English Patient and Apocalypse Now) and been nominated for six more. He talks with me about his...
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Disney, NBCU and ViacomCBS Make It A Red Letter Week in Streaming History
Three of entertainment's biggest media companies - Disney, NBCU and ViacomCBS – helped make it a red letter week in the history of Hollywood's grudging embrace of streaming video, as all three took actions that will pivot them ever more sharply toward online distribution platforms for their…
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Universal and AMC Turn The Movie Business, And Maybe Streaming, Upside Down
Universal, the big movie studio, cut a landmark deal this week with AMC, the nation's biggest theater chain. The business of showing movies may never be the same, though not just for what it means for those two big companies. This episode of Bloom in Tech looks the direct impacts of the deal for...
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Grading the Big Video Streaming Services in Quarter 2, 2020
My quarterly grades for the big subscription-video services is out. I talk about which "students" did well, and which need a lot of work among Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Peacock, Quibi, and CBS All Access. I suspect there's little surprise about who's at the head of the class…
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Paket Media's Raffi Bagdasarian On Solving Subscription Video's Sign-In Chaos
Raffi Bagdasarian is founder and CEO of Paket Media, which is building a product designed to simplify what’s emerging as a significant headache for millions of streaming-video consumers, and for the streaming services they buy into. The headache: dealing with managing multiple subscriptions from...
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Building and Buying Into the Metaverse with Peter Levin Of Griffin Gaming Partners
Peter Y. Levin is a partner in Griffin Gaming Partners, which invests in the game business, and chairman of Immortals, the big esports team with backers such as AEG, Meg Whitman and Michael Milken. Before all that, Levin was a founder of Nerdist, and former head of interactive for Lionsgate and...
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Ken Jennings, Richard Garfield, Half Truth The Game, and Studio71 CEO Dan Weinstein
I talked with Dan Weinstein, the head of Studio71, the big online-video distributor, about "blocking and tackling" during the pandemic, new opportunities in streaming, why the OTT industry is loving what's on Studio71's shelf, and what's up with Quibi. We also talked about just-launched trivia...
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Duncan Trussell on Netflix's Animated Mind Trip "The Midnight Gospel"
I talked recently with comedian and long-time podcaster Duncan Trussell about his newest project, The Midnight Gospel, now available on Netflix. It's an extremely unlikely mashup of Trussell's deeply philosophical podcast conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers out there and the...
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Facebook's Phil Ranta on The Booming Opportunities for Video Game Influencers
Facebook is seeing a flood of celebrities interested in creating video game content for their fans during the coronavirus lockdown, Phil Ranta, the company's head of gaming creators, told me last week. Our conversation also got into the new tournaments capabilities at Facebook, the potential for...
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Talking With UTA Chief Innovation Officer Brent Weinstein on Hollywood And The Pandemic
Brent Weinstein is a partner and Chief Innovation Officer at one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, UTA. I interviewed Brent this week as part of the just-launched live-stream series Lets DEW Lunch, from the folks behind the Digital Entertainment World conference series. Brent has been…
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How Social Media Creators Can Thrive, And Help The Rest of Us Survive, The Pandemic
As big parts of the economy get hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, social-media influencers and creators have an opportunity to do well, reaching audiences stuck with little to do. But it's not the time for hype and huckstering. We need strategies to inform, entertain and most of all comfort each...
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Influencer Marketing Takes Center Stage, with Former Nike Exec Drieke Leenknegt and CreatorIQ CEO Igor Vaks
Influencer marketing is becoming a hot commodity these days, fueled in part by new data-privacy laws and Google's resulting decision to stop using cookies in its browser. That leaves social -media influencers and brand collaborations as a key way that companies can still extend their online...
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My Meta-Podcast About Podcasting, iHeart CEO Bob Pittman , And My Essay On Sticks, Boxes and Gratitude
Bob Pittman ran MTV and AOL when it was cool to run them, and has since done a lot of other big media jobs. These days, he runs iHeart Media, the nation's biggest radio group, and its biggest podcast group. At this week's Podcast Movement Evolutions conference in Los Angeles, Pittman sat down…
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Quibi's Oscar Coming-Out Party Was Big But Can Its Ad Blitz Buy Success?
Quibi used the Oscars and a Super Bowl ad to kick off what it promises will be a massive marketing blitz ahead of the April 6 launch of the mobile streaming-video service. But with the Olympics, elections, and oh so much streaming-video competition (not least from all the Disney-owned networks...
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Why Awards Season Will Never End For Netflix And Other Streaming Services
Hollywood's studios and TV networks used to exist in their own separate universes, with little crossover in on-screen talent, business models, or awards seasons. In the new era of Netflix and other subscription video services, such old-school differentiation no longer exists. For the same reason,...
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Deepfake Videos And A Divisive Election Are Both Upon Us. What Could Go Wrong?
We're about to see a flood of "deepfake" videos, which superimpose one person's face on another's body. Most of them will be fun and innocuous, thanks to new tools from social-media sites such as Snapchat and TikTok as well as stand-alone apps such as Zao, Doublicat and Morphin. Facebook and...
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Disney+, Apple TV+ Enter Dangerous New Territory: The Churn Zone
After high-profile launches in November, and early success with shows such as The Morning Show and The Mandalorian, new subscription streaming services Disney+ and Apple TV+ are now moving into new and uncertain territory. Subscribers may have seen the shows they wanted to see, and may be...
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The Coming Deluge Of College Athlete Influencers, and My Panel On The Influencer Lifestyle With YiZhou, Brendan Kane, Bruna Nessif And Others
The NCAA's recent decision to allow college athletes to profit from their "name, image and likeness" is likely to unleash a deluge of athlete/influencers, with a long list of unanswered questions about what it's all going to mean for influencers, influencer marketing, advertisers and college...
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The Lessons Claire Wineland Taught Us And Why Nick Reed Had To Make Her Documentary
Claire Wineland became a popular YouTube influencer talking about the thing that ultimately killed her, cystic fibrosis. But she also became popular because she talked about so much more than just CF, living a remarkable life and teaching us repeatedly that we need to pursue something bigger than...
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Power's Changing Face, And How OTT Video Services Can Attract More Subscribers
My East Coast trip last week included a stop at the Future of TV conference, where I sat down with Viacom SVP Christian Kurz to talk about their new report, Power in Progress, and to moderate a panel of marketing and biz-dev executives on how to get and keep subscribers. The Power in Progress...
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How Apple's TV+ Could Get 100 Million Users, Plus Philo's COO On Making A Skinny Bundle Make Sense
With one simple word, Apple may have unleashed a path to a huge user base for TV+, the streaming service it plans to launch Nov. 1. That word: free. The impact, possibly 100 million or more subscribers. During the first part of this episode of Bloom in Tech, I'll give you my reasoning for this...
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Making Online Video Pay, Whether You're Apple Or Niche Providers
Apple's big week of announcements included some bargain prices on its new TV+ and Arcade video- and game-streaming services. In turn, I suggest that may be a source of headaches for competitors such as HBO Max and Quibi.. As well, last week I moderated a panel of executives from several smaller...
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The Worldz Conference and Helping Brands and People Tell Their Stories Better
The Worldz conference starts this week, or at least the biggest expression of what's a year-round experience called Worldz, and a related professional network called PTTOW! (it's their exclamation point, not mine). The mothership launches Tuesday, Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 at the Long Beach…
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Netflix Triples Down On Theatrical Runs For its Biggest Oscar Hopefuls, And It Should
After winning four Oscars last year, Netflix is betting even bigger this year with special theatrical runs and awards handling for a whopping 10 films. Martin Scorsese's pricey mob picture, The Irishman, might be the most expensive bet, but there are plenty of other contenders in the Netflix...
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Jeopardy King Ken Jennings and Magic The Gathering Creator Richard Garfield On Their New Game "Half Truth"
Ken Jennings made a name as the No. 2-winningest player on Jeopardy, while Richard Garfield was the creator of Magic the Gathering, one of the most successful card games ever. Now they've teamed up for a new trivia game called Half Truth, designed to be a lot more accessible to an audience far...
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ViacomCBS, Tumblr and Houseparty: The Companies We Keep, And Those We Can't
A flurry of deals and deal-related news this week, led by the Viacom-CBS merger's long-anticipated merger and Verizon's dumping of former social-media giant Tumblr got me thinking about what it all means for the tech-centric entertainment world we're entering. I also have lots to say about a deal...
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Ninja Remixes The Gamer Live-Streaming Business With His Stunning Leap To Microsoft
Ninja (Tyler Blevins) has been the best-known star in the booming business of live-streaming online about games. Until the first week of August, he did that for Amazon-owned Twitch. Then he turned the business of live-streaming upside down when he announced he would jump to Microsoft's Mixer...
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Netflix's Stumble And How Tubi Can Thrive Amid The Streaming Wars
Netflix had a bad couple of weeks, for several reasons. In this episode of Bloom in Tech, I talk about the implications of Netflix's stumbles, and what it means for the looming streaming-video wars. And as all that was going on, I sat down onstage at the OTT_X Conference in Los Angeles to talk…
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World of Wonder Co-Founders On RuPaul, DragCon, Retail and Subscription Video
Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey have been running World of Wonder, their Hollywood-based TV production company, for nearly three decades. For the past 10 years, World of Wonder has produced RuPaul's Drag Race, featuring perhaps the best-known drag queen ever. The show's format has now been copied...
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Joey Graceffa Really Doesn't Want To Direct
Joey Graceffa has spent a decade as one of the most influential of online influencers, with more than 1.9 billion views of his YouTube videos by more than 9 million subscribers, along with a big footprint on Instagram and Twitter. I sat down with Joey at VidCon, the big influencer convention that...
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Gamers Outreach Founder Zach Wigal On Helping Sick Kids
During the recent E3 game conference, I sat down onstage with Zach Wigal, the founder of Gamers Outreach, which provides games and video game equipment for kids stuck in hospitals facing long-term care for serious and life-threatening conditions. It was one of four panels I did as part of the E3...
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Going Digital Means We Lose A Way To Share Culture Together
I've been gone for a little while, undergoing a huge move that's left me without virtually any of the traditional physical media that I've gathered over many years. That's all great. But as I and millions of others go full KonMari, are we giving up some crucial ways to signal to others around us...
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EDM Duo Vicetone On Dance Music In Nashville, Videogames And Their Big Asia Tour
At the recent E3 video game conference, I sat down with Victor Pool and Ruben den Boer, the Dutch duo behind the electronic dance music act Vicetone. They grew up in small Dutch towns, spent time in Amsterdam, New York and Los Angeles, but even as they started creating more EDM hits, they yearned...
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Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas On Producing TV And Film Together For 50 Years
Long-time pals Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas sat down together at the recent Produced By conference on the Warner Bros. studio lot to talk about, well, a lot. They met when Douglas was still in college in Santa Barbara, and have worked together as actors, producers, directors and friends for...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
I talk with (and about) smart, innovative people and companies in tech, media, entertainment, VR/AR, games, esports, AI, blockchain and advertising. I'm a long-time journalist and former studio executive. I write regularly for Forbes, Next TV, Tubefilter, and TVRev, and consult on communications and content strategy.
HOSTED BY
David Bloom
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Bloom in Tech have?
Bloom in Tech currently has 106 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Bloom in Tech about?
I talk with (and about) smart, innovative people and companies in tech, media, entertainment, VR/AR, games, esports, AI, blockchain and advertising. I'm a long-time journalist and former studio executive. I write regularly for Forbes, Next TV, Tubefilter, and TVRev, and consult on communications...
How often does Bloom in Tech release new episodes?
Bloom in Tech publishes regularly with 106 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Bloom in Tech?
You can listen to Bloom in Tech on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Bloom in Tech?
Bloom in Tech is created and hosted by David Bloom.
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