Quibi launched this week into a world turned upside down by the novel coronavirus. How do things look on day two? dot.LA caught up with Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman – former boss of eBay and Hewlett-Packard, and one-time California gubernatorial candidate – to discuss.
Whitman shares her reaction to the initial flow of real-time data on Quibi users, what she'll be watching closely over the next few months, and what the well-heeled company's future may hold. She also forecasts how the streaming wars may play out, reflects on lessons learned about the tech world, and reveals her thoughts on the burgeoning innovation ecosystem in Los Angeles.
Life in Quarantine Proves a Bonanza for Funny Online Videos – and Jukin Media Wants Them
As Hollywood productions have ground to a halt and viewers run out of things to watch on Netflix, there's at least one entertainment company that seems to be hitting its groove.
Jonathan Skogmo, founder and CEO of the Los Angeles-based Jukin Media Inc., is all about user-generated content. A large part of its business is licensing videos and providing it in its library — now with some 65,000 videos — to major companies, brands and media companies.
Five years ago, "there wasn't a brand that would touch UGC (but) recently our videos were in the Super Bowl," Skogmo said. His company has done a campaign for the Oscars, and recently did one featuring athletes in advance of the Olympics in Tokyo.
But as COVID-19 has pushed the U.S. economy into recession, many businesses that were once viewed as recession-proof — including bars, as well as the media entertainment and production business — no longer appear to be so as officials order residents to avoid crowds that can spread the virus.
"Our prediction is that because physical production is down, whether you're a publisher, a brand, an agency, or television production (because) you can't create content," Skogmo said. "But because we have this really great library, we're an alternative."
Dee Dee Myers, the former White House press secretary who was the inspiration for "The West Wing" character C.J. Cregg, is leaving her position as Warner Bros. head of corporate communications after a five-year stint.
Myers leaves nearly two years after telecom giant AT&T acquired Time Warner for $85 billion, shifting the media giant more toward technology and streaming services. She also helped the studio weather a tumultuous point at the company after studio chief Kevin Tsujihara stepped down amid a scandal.