> In this way, Jeffrey Katzenberg said to us, “I understand something about the world that others do not.” And yet, in saying so, he missed the essential lesson that could have been gleaned from his own industry: Popular culture is an existential conflict between what is “good”, what people like, and what people watch. This dialectic is the central feature of cultural businesses.
Dialectic and existential conflicts aside, I don't think the "gray area of public taste" really applies here. Quibi's content was BAD. [1,2,3] If there is an existential lesson here about entertainment platforms, maybe it's Don't:
* launch a $2B app
* with no library of content
* that is strictly walled off from your customer's social media
* and your customer's TV.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3IRvX9UaIk
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKyZWJ75nDM
3. https://twitter.com/zachraffio/status/1250273191810875392
Dialectic and existential conflicts aside, I don't think the "gray area of public taste" really applies here. Quibi's content was BAD. [1,2,3] If there is an existential lesson here about entertainment platforms, maybe it's Don't:
* launch a $2B app
* with no library of content
* that is strictly walled off from your customer's social media
* and your customer's TV.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3IRvX9UaIk
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKyZWJ75nDM
3. https://twitter.com/zachraffio/status/1250273191810875392