The Media Beat

We all love the BBC! But why? Claire explains all as well as admitting the British Strictly is the best! We also look at the new Google production arm, ITV results and Microsoft advertising. Also find out who owns not one, but two penguins and what fell on whom at Cannes this week.

We dive deep into the Box Office this time and ask the question "how healthy is it?" as well as look at Disney, Finsyn and Privacy. Some discipline is introduced into Podmojis with a unique card system.

Another deep dive on a "family favourite" - this time Maureen takes us down memory lane to tell the story of Netflix and its journey to prominence alongside its erstwhile companion Amazon. The news this time covers predictions, Government vs Big Tech and the deal of the year. Quick-fire podmojis force Claire and Maureen to make good use of unicorns and spectacles!

Claire thrills us this week with a deep dive on Wikipedia and uncovers some interesting facts about our erstwhile digital crib sheet and its founder. Add to that we present detailed reports on the ongoing TikTok saga, the release of Nintendo's Switch 2 and speculation over a possible levy on UK streaming. The podmojis this week make use of some old friends re props and facial expressions!

In this, our first ever "crossover" episode, Maureen and Claire talk to the wonderful Carlo De Marchis, host of the equally wonderful "Retention Zone" podcast, and jam about the state of the nation re sports rights, bundling, emerging viewing habits and, of course AI. Not only this, but we still have time for some podmoji action based around the Netflix drama everyone is talking about, the Samba R...

Do remember when YouTube was all about sharing your holiday videos? We do. But in addition, Claire remembers how it quickly evolved into a genuine disrupter and threat to conventional TV to where it is now. The service with easily the most streamed minutes on Earth. In this deep dive we go back to the beginning and tell the story of the rise of YouTube. We have results and deals in the news and ta...

With all that is going on in the world of media, we have had to postpone a deep dive until next time to have a bumper "In The News" which covers sports, closures, ends of eras and a focus on UK broadcasters. Podmojis feature NVIDIA and, of course, The Oscars.

The Deep Dive this week is a deep as the Mariana Trench as we explore the history and current state of a mysterious business phenomenon known as "Vertical Integration", although we are sure our listeners are savvy enough to know what that means. Add to that business results galore, Spotify turning a profit but The Trade Desk stalling and a fist full of podmojis, then you have classic Media Beat. E...

The Deep Dive jut has to be Deepseek of course and we do not disappoint with a great description of what it is and what it means technically and commercially. Mr Trump is tariffing and Oscar is mulling. Also we have a look at the latest Netflix results, the cost of a Superbowl add and bid a fond farewell to Eurosport.

It's been a little while since a "regular" edition, so you won't be surprised to find we have squeezed in a ton of chat into this one! We cannot avoid talking about Meta and TikTok in depth with sports drama, music behaviours and AI tugs of war in the news. We find out things we never new about Claire's tastes with regard to French cinema and WWE, while Maureen has to find new props with her shade...

Welcome to 2025! And with the new year come new predictions from Maureen and Claire on subjects covering streaming, music, sports, M&A, AI, content and, off course tips for the Oscars! Happy New Year!

As the end of the year approaches, we look back at some of the predictions made by Maureen and Claire at the beginning of 2024 and are astonished at how accurate they were. Mostly. The usual suspects such as AI, advertising, streaming and content raise their heads, but you will also remember their predictions about The Oscars, Gaming IP and The Euros. (Maybe not the last one). Did their crystal ba...

This time, Claire takes us through the critical importance of story telling recalling her fascinating Reykjavik panel. We also look at Ofcom Online Nation 2024, Amazon Nova, The Content London Conference and what's happening in the world of M&A. Maureen is very happy with the new Captain America casting despite possible production issues and other box office numbers look interesting. We have b...

Maureen and Claire have been in Reykjavik chairing panels, promoting women in leadership, having fun and watching the sun go down in the middle of the day. In the first of two special deep dives, Maureen shares what she learned from chaining a panel on the subject of, guess what, AI! Disney and three and a half mergers make the news and there are some very imaginative podmojis to describe how we f...

After a small hiatus where we have been travelling, working hard and, in one case, being interviewed by world-famous publications, we are back with a high-energy, high-fun edition. We talk quarterly results of the "big 7" (or 6 or 5) and 50% of Claire's predictions come true. Netflix stop playing games, London loves films and FAST succeeds in Europe! The Gilmore girls find an unlikely fan and we m...

If you don't know what "dayparts" are, then you are in for a treat as Claire leads the now famous MBDD on how the world of advertising has moved away from the concept of "primetime", but might be moving back! Elsewhere, YouTube and Lionsgate are doing exciting things in AI, The Observer might be being sold and is our love affair with Tolkien fading?

There is literally so much news this time, that we can't fit in the tiniest of paddle, let alone a deep dive! So it makes way for Netflix, UK production spend, film on-demand and gaming weirdness! Also in Podmojis, and although you can't find us on there, we discover that there is plenty of money to be made on OnlyFans! Who knew?

The joy of watching films all day in a cool location! What could be better? We find out that the answer is "not much"! We also talk about TV viewing analysis, getting Emily's clothes delivered to you direct from Paris and a massive podcast deal for the Kelces. There is also furious debate about what months are covered by Quarter 3.

And we are back! After a short summer break which we have spent scouring the world for stories and, with varying degrees of success, "catching tan" we return refreshed and raring to go! In this packed episode we get to grips with Sora which turns words into movies right? Wrong! There are many many steps and slips in between as Maureen discovers. We also celebrate Paris 2024, commiserate with Param...

Our deep dive this time goes further into one of our favourite subjects, namely streaming, uncovering some interesting developments. "In The News" covers AI video generation, live music in peril and a new streaming service squeezing itself into a crowded UK market. We fly through podmojis as Maureen has to get to Wimbledon but still manage to cover the latest in the Paramount saga, marketing cocku...

This time we dive deeply into Ad Spend across the globe and have some positive thoughts. The news covers Apple's venture into AI and what is happening in Sports including, of course, Euro 2024. You will find out what Maureen and Claire think of Netflix's new offerings, Paramount's continuing woes and, as ever, we debate the key issues of the day such as what is more boring Cricket or Pétanque and...

In what might be our most content packed ep ever, Maureen and Claire dive and swim around in the "What We Want Engagement Report" AKA The Netflix Data Dump and discover who is watching what, when and how, and speculate on "why". Paramount uncertainty, sports viewing and AI dominate the news and in "100 ways to use sunglasses" we podmojise newspapers for sales, newspapers going to the dogs and whet...

Back to the studio this week for an intriguing deep dive in which we explore the world of calculating viewership: from paper forms to consolidated digital feeds, this is a fiendishly difficult problem which is very much more interesting than you might think. Apple, Disney and ITV are in the news, and we give our opinion of The Fall Guy and Scarlett vs AI. Enjoy!

Well, we have made it to 50 episodes, which, of course, is super awesome! To celebrate we reminisce about how Maureen's idea has bloomed into half a century of insights, news, views and fun! In this special episode we cut to Maureen and Claire's starring performance at the DTG 2024 Conference, where a highly appreciated audience of over 400 media executives and press was lucky enough to witness......

Following on from their barnstorming performance at DTG 2024, Maureen and Claire are back in the studio to tell us all about the story of Hulu, the rise of bundling and whether Disney can make money on streaming. Add to this 1,001 ways to wear sunglasses, live streaming on Netflix and Claire's beef with Richard Osman and you have, what we would call, a very full episode of TMBWMAC!