Andrew Rosen, PARQOR’s Founder, joins Cross Screen Media CEO Michael Beach to shares his insights on how the genre wars and “coopetition” are affecting advertising and streaming today in our latest Screen Wars Thought Leader Interview. Watch the interview here and read takeaways from the discussion below.

Takeaways from the discussion include:

• Andrew created four PARQOR frameworks based on his research on OTT streaming over the last year:
  • The Curse of the Mogul: Helps to identify the “right” types of disclosure. It is a reliable red flag when a CEO talks up content spend and talent on a streaming service, but does not disclose how investors will be rewarded.
  • Visionary vs. Fiduciary Executives: Strategic decisions involve trade-offs. Visionary executives articulate these decisions with clarity of vision and purpose, and are incentivized to execute their vision. Fiduciary executives are constrained by legacy business models.
  • Product Channel Fit: Digital content distribution has created multiple channels to which products must adapt and evolve. The framework identifies companies who understand technology and product development to optimize their service within and across different distribution channels.
  • The PARQOR Hypothesis: Not all companies are constructed or equipped to succeed in streaming. Success will belong to those business with (1) an aspirational Brand, (2) Existing user base at scale, (3) multiple Avenues for monetizing the same IP, (4) Daily accessibility, and (5) physical and digital retail Sales channels.

• Continuing to produce enough quantity of content with the right audience fit, and a heavy focus on user interface and data-driven marketing, will be the keys for streaming platform success.

• Pluto TV has been a strong investment for ViacomCBS because it provides an additional distribution channel for TV advertising, with the same content, and includes targeting and first-party data which advertisers are willing to pay more for.

• Streaming services Peacock and Paramount+ actually have very similar issues to prove out, which could dictate their level of success:
  • What’s the value proposition of sports to the consumer?
  • What’s the value proposition of kids content to the consumer?
  • What’s the value proposition of their broader library to the consumer?

• Some streaming providers (e.g., STARZ and AMC’s horror-focused Shudder) are finding success by focusing on content for undervalued audiences and building user behavior analysis into their production decisions. For example, factoring in the “pause dynamic” which means instead of customers permanently churning, they subscribe, watch something specific, and then temporarily churn, returning later for additional content.

• Andrew’s Book Recommendation: No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings

See the rest of the Screen Wars Thought Leader Interview series here!

Get the latest must-read content from Andrew Rosen’s must-read Parqor blog here!

Andrew A. Rosen is the founder of PARQOR LLC. He is a former Viacom Executive (MTVN, BET) who has been researching and writing about the streaming marketplace for C-Suite executives and investors since 2015. He is an independent, sometimes contrarian, writer who leverages a blend of factual evidence and analysis to deliver tangible, actionable business insights for his readers. His research focuses on the incentive structures and psychology of executives and businesses across the OTT streaming marketplace – from incumbents to visionary disruptors to investors. Mr. Rosen holds a BA in History with Distinction from Yale University and a JD from New York University School of Law. He is a member of the New York State Bar, and was a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2006 to 2012.  

Cross Screen Media is a marketing analytics and software company empowering marketers to plan, activate, and measure Connected TV and audience-driven Linear TV advertising at the local level. Our closed-loop solutions help brands, agencies, and networks succeed in the Convergent TV space. For more information, visit CrossScreenMedia.com.