Frank Filiatrault

Heading into earnings, a great deep dive highlighting our Q4 streaming success and our strategy behind it: "In order to succeed, we need to identify subtle emerging signals, ones that are easily missed, of cultural trends that could go mass, in order to place calculated bets and make big hits that can transform our business,” Chris McCarthy said. “By embracing this strategy and delivering against Taylor’s creative vision, we succeeded in overcoming the obstacle of not having ‘Yellowstone’ for SVOD and turned it into an opportunity to reinvent the model, which has driven Paramount+ to industry leading growth four years in a row.” “To make up for lost time, we designed a strategy betting against the status quo that the winners of the SVOD war won’t be the ones with the most content, but rather the ones with the biggest hits that break through the crowded and competitive landscape,” McCarthy said. Since “Mayor of Kingstown” premiered in 2021, Taylor Sheridan’s universe of shows has resulted in an estimated $263 million in subscriber revenue for Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada regions, according to Parrot Analytics’ Streaming Economics model. While TV remains an unpredictable business, Sheridan has become as close as a talent can get to representing a sure thing, launching one success after another." Paramount

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I was just reading a LinkedIn post by Jeremy Jauncey, CEO of Beautiful Destinations, about the recent announcement that Google is now indexing Instagram Professional accounts. I wondered, what does that really mean? So, I came across an insightful article in Forbes that unveiled the potential opportunities this shift could bring. In essence, Google can now surface Reels, posts, and carousels from creators and brands directly in search results. This means social media and search are no longer separate worlds—they’ve converged, opening up incredible new possibilities for brands and content creators. For those of us in the tourism and entertainment industry, this is a game-changer. At Miral we’ve always focused on creating immersive, story-driven content that captures the spirit of Abu Dhabi and our destinations. Now, that content isn’t just inspiring — it’s discoverable by millions searching for their next adventure. Imagine someone searching “Best family attractions in Abu Dhabi” and seeing a lively Reel from Yas Island or SeaWorld, packed with tips and visuals. This is the future of search, happening right now. So, what does this mean for travel and entertainment brands? ✅ Invest in valuable, engaging content — travel tips, cultural insights, behind-the-scenes stories ✅ Write captions that are not only beautiful but keyword-rich and informative ✅ Think beyond social media — how are you appearing in Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other search platforms? This shift rewards brands that tell meaningful stories, educate, and create with purpose. The future of tourism marketing isn’t just paid advertising — it’s search-optimized storytelling that reaches audiences where they are. Let’s embrace this exciting change and lead the way! 🚀 https://lnkd.in/d6MqTJFY #Miral #TourismMarketing #DigitalStrategy #SearchOptimization #InstagramSEO #AISEO #AbuDhabi #EntertainmentMarketing #StorytellingThatTravels #ExperienceAbuDhabi

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Sports aren’t just content. They’re leverage. Without them, HBO Max loses more than live games. “Inside the U.S., sports have been less critical. It’s viewed [on HBO Max], but it hasn’t been a real driver for us.” — David Zaslav, June 2025 What’s missing from that statement is the foundational role sports have played in making TNT and TBS two of the highest-value cable networks in the country. That affiliate fee strength didn’t happen by accident. It came from three and a half decades of Time Warner investment in premium sports like the NBA, MLB, and NCAA. Those rights not only drove up per-sub fees, they also secured broad distribution and meaningful negotiating leverage for all of the Time Warner / WarnerMedia networks. More recently, that leverage has also helped position HBO Max as a must-have add-on in the broader affiliate deal bundles across the cable and streaming TV ecosystem. That’s setting aside the obvious. Sports remained one of the biggest drivers of ratings and revenue for the networks. Analysts estimate that the loss of NBA rights alone will cost WBD as much as $600 million in annual profit. 📉 I completely understand why WBD is playing down the risk of not having sports at HBO Max or in the broader portfolio, but the reality is that without sports, HBO Max will lose relevance as part of the core consumer bundle that includes must-watch sports. That shift will require heavier reliance on direct-to-consumer distribution, with much higher subscriber acquisition costs and higher churn. #MediaStrategy #StreamingWars #HBOMax #CorporateStrategy #SportsRights

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Reuters and USA TODAY Network have launched a first-of-its-kind content bundle – combining the best of global, national and local journalism in one powerful news solution. For local newsroom facing tight resources, this bundle means you can focus on what matters most to your community – while delivering world-class coverage without the extra workload or cost. Learn how this bundle can transform your newsroom: https://gag.gl/T4CMvR

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New streaming services from ESPN and Fox launched today, making their cable networks' offerings available for a monthly subscription for the first time. These offer sports fans a fresh way to catch games that long required a cable bundle or a live TV service—but the sports streaming world is still a messy landscape of subscriptions. The most valuable sports rights are increasingly divided among different media companies that package them in an array of streaming services and bundles. Isabella Simonetti and I break down the landscape: https://lnkd.in/eFi6RZxA

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For an industry that’s supposedly dying, cable TV is showing rare signs of life: ESPN is in advanced talks to acquire the National Football League (NFL)'s media arm; Charter Communications' cable distribution business cut its churn rate by 80 percent year over year; and, most intriguingly, NBCUniversal, which shuttered NBC Sports Network four years ago, is reportedly considering launching a new cable channel to simulcast sports that have moved exclusively to Peacock. Rather than try to re-create ESPN, FS1, or NBCSN—after all, cable is in irreversible decline—the new network would use a skinny bundle strategy to complement Peacock and appeal to price-conscious customers frustrated with traditional cable bloat. In our post-monoculture world, most legacy companies have bet on multiple distribution pathways for their sports offerings. At Disney, for example, there are the ESPN cable channels; FuboTV and Hulu+Live TV as hybrid solutions; and ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service (R.I.P. “Flagship”) for the cord-cutters and cord-nevers. Of course, this strategy has vulnerabilities: Virtual M.V.P.D.s like Fubo and Hulu+Live TV typically suffer massive subscriber losses once the NFL season ends. Even YouTube TV, the category leader, lost an estimated 500,000 customers in the first quarter, while the major v.M.V.P.D.s shed about one million subscribers overall—more than double the losses in the same period a year earlier, per MoffettNathanson. Welcome to the new normal. What remains of cable, meanwhile, has become the province of sports. (Only 11 percent of the estimated 50 million (or fewer) remaining U.S. cable subscribers retain the service for entertainment content, according to a recent survey.) This is why Comcast C.E.O. Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Matt Strauss are exiling Versant and exploring a model that’s working for Charter and DirecTV: high-demand content delivered via skinny bundles. Creating a presumably low-cost cable network to pair with Peacock’s exclusive sports adds a specific, if limited, revenue pathway, effectively riding out the last of pay TV’s lifespan, however long that may be. If executed correctly, the strategy could be a cost-effective way to reach users unwilling to subscribe to Peacock, or engage with it via aggregation. And if successful, NBCUniversal could tap into three revenue streams—streaming, wholesale cable bundling, and the new channel itself—without needing to acquire more rights or spend on supplementary programming. Smart economics, minimal expansion. Let's look at the math and strategy behind everyone's rediscovered love for cable. https://lnkd.in/ebmHFgpP

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Media's New Frontier: It's time for PR to focus on TikTok, Reddit and Substack I was honored to participate in an inaugural roundtable discussion yesterday with editors and producers at The Hill and cable news network NewsNation in Washington, D.C., alongside area communications professionals exploring "The Future of News." Our nearly two-hour conversation revealed a transformed media landscape that demands new approaches from PR professionals. Following Chatham House Rule, I can share a selection of unattributed insights: The monolithic media world is gone. Today's landscape is a mosaic of independent journalists, news influencers, content creators, and aggregators – most thriving on TikTok and Substack with subscriber numbers that dwarf traditional outlets. One of the emerging independent journalists is Aaron Parnas with an audience of 3 million. Legacy media's dominance is fading. Key takeaways that should reshape your communications strategy: • PR's client education challenge: Many executives will remain stuck in outdated media approaches, unfamiliar with platforms like Substack that now drive national conversations. We must guide them through this new reality – and accept that some will refuse to adapt. Generic press releases and mass emails won't cut it with today's content creators. • TikTok as media disruptor: We talked about how the platform hasn't merely shifted how millions get their news – it has fundamentally transformed how all media must operate to remain relevant. • Audience-driven content creation: Editors now rely heavily on SEO tools to understand what audiences are searching for and then create content their audience actually talks about and cares about. What a concept. • Reddit is the overlooked intelligence source: Newsrooms are sifting through Reddit communities for story ideas and audience insights. Smart PR professionals should follow suit, finding these subreddits and crafting strategies that align with conversations happening there. • Guest selection criteria: Media seeks voices who "move the needle" on major stories. A built-in social audience that extends interview reach through shares has become a significant factor – highlight this advantage in your pitches. While some Americans will cling to familiar sources that reinforce existing views, today's fragmented landscape offers the opportunity to curate diverse perspectives and form genuinely independent opinions. The catch? It requires effort. Our conversation covered a lot more, but this is a taste of what the new media landscape offers. PR pros who pay attention will be in a position to guide their clients and employers. We're well past the days of press releases and media lists. Thanks to Anthony Shop, Co-Founder of Social Driver and Chairman of National Digital Roundtable for organizing this forum and future discussions. Photo: Our roundtable team at the NewsNation anchor desk. #PublicRelations #DigitalJournalism #FutureofMarketing #FutureOfNews

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