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XStreaming Trends to Watch in 2021: Consolidation, Ads vs. Subs and Mobile Content Wars
Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

Everyone expected the streaming wars to heat up, but no one could have predicted that a global pandemic would upend the theatrical release window and reshuffle the entertainment landscape so dramatically moving into 2021.
While Netflix has retained its dominance, Disney Plus is catching up. WarnerMedia-owned HBO, once the king of cable, has struggled to lure subscribers to HBO Max, but made headlines by throwing the long-entrenched precedent of films debuting on the big screen out the window.
NBCUniversal joined the fray with Peacock while the much-anticipated Quibi quickly burnt out. It remains to be seen whether the vast array of niche services can survive. Meanwhile, cash-rich Amazon and Apple loom with fat balance sheets, setting them up to make big moves if they wish.
With 2020 receding into the rearview, here are three trends to watch in 2021.
Will Streaming Platforms Consolidate Through Mergers and Acquisitions?
The proliferation of direct-to-consumer streaming platforms has precipitated a content arms race. Streamers need to keep filling their pipes if they want to compete and they are looking to old favorites like "The Office," zeitgeist-capturing breakout hits like "The Queen's Gambit" and reliable franchises like "Star Wars" and "Marvel" that can spin off seemingly endless films and shows.
Meanwhile, the pandemic has brought the future of theatrical releases and even theater chains into question after Warner Bros. allocated their entire slate of 2021 films to a streaming release the same day the flicks debut on the big screen. If box office dollars shrivel and sales of the films released directly to streaming are strong, streamers will continue to look to this model as a viable option even after the pandemic subsides. This could add challenges for companies with strong libraries and production chops but lacking a premier streaming platform.
"How do you greenlight a $100 million movie if you don't know what it's going to look like when the lights turn on?" said Adam Goodman, former president of Paramount Pictures.
Related: The Economics of How and Where Movies Are Released
Those companies may be better off paired with one of streaming's established players. The Wall Street Journal recently reported MGM, which owns James Bond among other assets, is looking to sell. Who might be buying?
Apple and Amazon could pay cash for virtually any studio in town and still have money left over. Their interests in streaming are tied to selling other products and services, though, so their acquisition appetites will depend on how badly they think they need to make a move in order to retain and grow their respective competitive advantages. 2021 may reveal the size and scope of their ambitions.
Another area to watch is how the ongoing decline of cable TV may nudge WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal toward spinoffs from their corporate parents, AT&T and Comcast respectively. Some activist investors have been calling for this, in order to free up the cable companies to focus on their super high-margin internet service businesses. One intriguing possibility is a two-step shakeup, in which WarnerMedia spins off from AT&T and NBCUniversal spins off from Comcast, and then their two streaming platforms (HBO Max and Peacock) merge to take on the behemoths of Netflix and Disney Plus.
Then there are the niche services. Sony recently acquired Crunchyroll for $1.2 billion. Might we see more roll-ups into broader-serving platforms?
Can an Advertising-Based Service Compete with a Subscription-Based Model in Streaming's Upper Echelon?
With the exception of Hulu, which has lost some of its luster as Disney has assumed full control and prioritized Disney Plus, the big players in streaming have primarily been subscription-based.
NBCU's Peacock, however, went against the grain by offering both a free, ad-based tier and a premium subscription. Providing free service can help to attract younger audiences strapped for cash, but it remains unclear whether the model can generate enough revenue for Peacock to afford enough content to compete with Netflix and Disney.
To track how NBCUniversal is thinking this through in 2021, keep an eye on the extent to which Peacock invests in content and marketing for its free tier. A significant push in those areas could indicate that its ad business is doing well. Specifically, it'll suggest that Peacock can target ads with relatively high precision, and charge advertisers a premium.
Might Someone Pick Up Where Quibi Left Off, with a Twist?
Although Quibi flamed out spectacularly, it's possible that Jeffrey Katzenberg was onto something: there's arguably an underserved gap between premium content on streaming platforms and user-generated content (UGC) on mobile apps like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. Quibi tried to bridge that gap by combining mobile with premium, shelling out for big-name stars and charging users a subscription fee. The pandemic may have exacerbated Quibi's demise, but so did the bevy of alternative short-form video platforms that are free and just a thumb-tap away.
The question, then, is whether the gap that Quibi identified can be filled in another way. As to what that might look like, media analyst Laura Martin told dot.LA that the lesson of Quibi's downfall is that UGC models appear to be "more resilient" when it comes to mobile content.
Rather than turning mobile video into studio-quality content, 2021 could see a premium take on free-to-access UGC content. For example, influencers with big followings may start creating more series with narrative arcs and content with higher production values. It's a model that's been tried to an extent before, unsuccessfully, with Disney's failed acquisition of Maker Studios and the lackluster results of YouTube Red. But with the pandemic increasing consumption of social media and time spent on mobile devices, the environment has changed. Plus, as the influencer economy and ecommerce evolves, new business models and funding sources are emerging, which could open up a new realm of creativity in 2021.---
Sam Blake primarily covers media and entertainment for dot.LA. Find him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA
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Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake
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This Week in ‘Raises’: Improvado Hauls $22M, Clearlake Launches $14B Fund
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
This week in “Raises”: A pair of Web3 platforms for gamers landed funding, as did a Manhattan Beach medical startup looking to bolster primary care via nurse practitioners. Meanwhile, a Santa Monica-based investment firm launched its seventh fund with more than $14 billion in dry powder.
Venture Capital
Improvado, a marketing data aggregation platform, raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Updata Partners.
Web3 gaming platform FreshCut raised $15 million in funding led by Galaxy Interactive, Animoca Brands and Republic Crypto.
Medical startup Greater Good Health raised $10 million in a funding round led by LRVHealth.
Joystick, a Web3 platform for gamers and creators, raised $8 million in seed funding.
Open source data protection company CipherMode Labs raised $6.7 million in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors .
Mobile phone charging network ChargeFUZE raised $5 million in seed funding led by Beverly Pacific, TR Ventures, VA2, Jason Goldberg and Al Weiss.
Polygon, a startup aiming to better diagnose children with learning disabilities, raised $4.2 million in seed and pre-seed funding led by Spark Capital and Pear VC.
Pique, a virtual women's sexual health clinic, raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Maveron.
Psudo, a sneaker startup that utilizes recycled water bottles and 3D sublimation printing to create its shoes, raised $3 million in a seed funding round led by SternAegis Ventures.
Funds
Santa Monica-based investment firm Clearlake Capital Group raised $14.1 billion for its seventh flagship fund.
Raises is dot.LA’s weekly feature highlighting venture capital funding news across Southern California’s tech and startup ecosystem. Please send fundraising news to Kristin Snyder (kristinsnyder@dot.la).Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
LA Tech ‘Moves’: New Head of Originals at Snap, New President at FaZe Clan
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
“Moves”, our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.
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FaZe Clan brought on Zach Katz as the gaming and media company’s new president and chief operating officer. Katz was previously the chief executive officer of the music tech investment fund Raised in Space Enterprises.
TikTok brand factory LINK Agency promoted Dustin Poteet to chief creative officer. Poteet was previously creative director at the firm.
Livestream shopping platform Talkshoplive hired Tradesy co-founder John Hall as its chief technology officer. Universal Music Group Nashville's former vice president of digital marketing, Tony Grotticelli, also joins the company as vice president of marketing.
Anjuli Millan will take over as head of original content at Snap after three years of overseeing production for the division.
Tech and media company Blavity hired Nikki Crump as general manager of agency. Crump joins the company from Burrell Communications Group.
O'Neil Digital Solutions, which provides customer communications and experience management for the health care industry, hired Eric Ramsey as national account sales executive. Ramsey joins from T/O Printing.
Investment firm Cresset Partners named Tammy Funasaki as managing director of business development. Funasaki previously served as head of investor relations for Breakwater Management.
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Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Snapchat’s New Controls Could Let Parents See Their Kids’ Friend Lists
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Snapchat is preparing to roll out enhanced parental controls that would allow parents to see who their teenagers are chatting with on the social media app, according to screenshots of the upcoming feature.
Snap’s parental controls.
Courtesy of Watchful.
Snapchat is planning to introduce Family Center, which would allow parents to see who their children are friends with on the app and who they’ve messaged within the last seven days, according to screenshots provided by Watchful, a product intelligence company. Parents would also be able help their kids report abuse or harassment.
The parental controls are still subject to change before finally launching publicly, as the Family Center screenshots—which were first reported by TechCrunch—reflect features that are still under development.
Santa Monica-based Snap and other social media giants have faced mounting criticism for not doing more to protect their younger users—some of whom have been bullied, sold deadly drugs and sexually exploited on their platforms. State attorneys general have urged Snap and Culver City-based TikTok to strengthen their parental controls, with both companies’ apps especially popular among teens.
A Snap spokesperson declined to comment on Friday. Previously, Snap representatives have told dot.LA that the company is developing tools that will provide parents with more insight into how their children are engaging on Snapchat and allow them to report troubling content.
Yet Snap’s approach to parental controls could still give teens some privacy, as parents wouldn’t be able to read the actual content of their kids’ conversations, according to TechCrunch. (The Family Center screenshots seen by dot.LA do not detail whether parents can see those conversations).
In addition, teenage users would first have to accept an invitation from their parents to join the in-app Family Center before those parents can begin monitoring their social media activity, TechCrunch reported.
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.