Transcript 0:00 When you're running a growing business, the right systems can unlock your full sales potential and make fulfilling every order effortless. 0:05 Switch to ShipStation before peak season so you're prepped and ready before the rush hits. ShipStation connects Shopify, Amazon, TikTok Shop, and over 200 more marketplaces with one platform that does it all. 0:15 You can manage orders, sync inventory, track returns, all automatically. Everything your operation needs, all in one place. 0:21 Upgrade your shipping operations to stress-proof your biggest sales days and capture every bit of potential revenue. Go to shipstation.com and use code AUDIO and get 30 days free. [gentle music] Hi, everyone. 0:33 My name is Boye Kolade, co-founder and president of The Future Party. And I'm Chris Sawtelle, CEO and co-founder of Crosscheck Studios. 0:39 And welcome to The Future Forecast, a podcast where we explore the intersection between business, technology, and entertainment. 0:45 We've done the research so you don't have to, and we're here to give our opinions about news topics and have a thoughtful discussion on the shifting landscape of our culture. Boom. How's it going? How's life? 0:57 Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. All the things are great. Honestly, if you were a Sawtelle, you, you'd know. You know, it's, uh- [laughs] Life could be a lot worse. Life could be a lot worse. What? Boye. 1:08 Uh- What? We're good, man. What could be? We're, we're, we're really, we're really looking to lean more into the, into the summer, the pleasure of summer. I don't know really- Yeah... what that means yet. 1:20 The, trying to... You know, the back half of the year is always a, a, a, uh, a long slog, I feel like. It's, like, jam-packed. Everyone goes. It... 1:27 I almost feel like no- uh, people say that they, they don't work between the out- between July to September, or, like, people start to take time off. Yeah. Or take more vacation. That's true. 1:39 They're still doing events and activities, so it's still work, especially in our business. But I'm trying to subscribe to that a little bit, and I'm not. I love it. [laughs] You? 1:52 Uh, uh, what, what, what- Well- I mean, I, I, w- with this undisclosed lava rock fireplace- Mm... background, how are we doing? Dare I ask where we are? Oh, we're, we're good. 2:04 I'm, uh, I'm, uh, on a lake in Idaho, um, actually staring at the lake right now. It's beautiful. So I think I'm, I'm enjoying summer. Um, not to rub it in, but, um- You sound like- We're figuring it out. 2:16 [laughs] You're just so soft-voiced right now. You sound like, you sound like you're, like, almost embarrassed to own the fact that you're enjoying. You're like, "Uh, I am somewhere on, on a lake in Idaho. 2:26 I don't complain about it because I don't want people to know that I enjoy my life." [laughs] But... Meanwhile, I'm like, "Ah, God, I'm, I'm not wor- I'm, I'm not working hard enough. I'm trying to figure it out. Ah." 2:39 Oh, I love that. I love that for you. Yeah. I love that for you and your family. Way to get family time. Yeah, it's good. Very cool. Yeah. Very important. 2:46 Well, uh, apart from the summer, we've got a lot of fun topics to, to talk about. Uh, we are gonna dive into the phenomena of Love Island and the influencers that come from it. 3:00 We're gonna talk about Kai Cenat's Streamer University and all of the trials and tribulations of Netflix. But before that, this last weekend was huge. We should get into it. We had the World Cup finals. 3:15 We had the Odyssey premiere. Did you watch either? And, uh, you know, let's, let's, let's dive in. Dude, I, I... Listen, uh, listen, I, I saw the World Cup. Gotta, gotta watch. How do you not? How do you not- Oh, yeah... 3:28 participate in literally what is... It's the world's game. It is the World Cup. Mm-hmm. I mean, I mean, the Olympics doesn't even come close, in my opinion. That, I mean, that's, that's very dramatic. But- No, I agree... 3:41 I- [laughs] It's, like, the spectacle of one sport that, like, every country plays, you know? Yeah, yeah. That brings us together every four years. It's the world's Super Bowl, right? Yes, yes. Right? Mm-hmm. 3:52 I think people, once in a while, try to say cricket holds a good, a good, good, uh, good staple, 'cause technically speaking- Holds?... isn't cricket the largest sport, ironically? 4:02 And I think that's just simply by way of the fact that India covers the majority of- Yeah... of that, that level of population. [laughs] But, um- Largest, maybe not the most diverse sport. Um- Yeah, yeah. 4:14 Yeah, there we go. Not- Yeah. It's not the most diverse sport. Uh, uh, I definitely watched. I, I th- I think they should do the World Cup every two years. Like, I, I just enjoy it so much. Yeah. 4:26 Like, to wait four years again. And by the way, apparently it was just announced, uh, today or yesterday that it's gonna be in Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, uh, for the next one. Uh- Whoa. Yeah, yeah. 4:39 And then they're, because it's gonna be the 100 year-ish anniversary, they're gonna do some, like, commem- commemorative games in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. That's very cool for Spain. Yeah. It's very cool. Very. 4:51 After just winning, too. Spoil- yeah, spoiler alert for those that didn't watch. Spain won. [laughs] Totally, totally took, took Messi out. 4:59 There goes, there goes all the, the, the claims and, of, of FIFA bribery and, uh, and helping make sure that Argentina won. I mean, it was... Spain dominated the game. It- Dominated... Spain dominated. 5:11 There is not a question. There, there is zero question that they were not the better team. I think anyone- Mm-hmm... 5:17 that watched and, and appreciates soccer would understand or would, would, would say that the better, the, the better team won. Yep. 5:23 I, I found that the big highlight, or I think the biggest talking point, in my mind anyway, was the fact that this was the very first time there had been a halftime show, which- Mm... 5:36 is very apropos when you, the entire thing is based in the US. Yeah. You get the Americans to say, "You know what? We need to spice it up a bit and give it a halftime show." We gave it the old Super Bowl. 5:52 Uh, we gave it the old Super Bowl 12. Uh- Oh, yeah. Did you, did you see it? So I was, I was multitasking with family, so I did watch the game. I, I did not watch the halftime show. 6:05 Figured I'd catch the clips, of which- What seems to be the most viral moment, uh, was the Ted Lasso- Yes... Bieber experience, which is brilliant. I need to properly watch, but I saw the headlines. Interesting. 6:21 I would argue that that clip or that headline is predominantly more the Ted Lasso moment and less Justin Bieber. Mm. Simply on the basis of, it- that's not a knock at Justin, it's more just to say that 6:37 in terms of doing the show... Okay, to recap, for those that did not watch. Performances, Madonna opened, came driving in like a bat out of hell on a random, weird, futuristic pipe car. Oh, man. 6:53 Driven by Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, not Cristiano Ronaldo. What? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It was very awkward. It was very... It was clearly pre-taped. Not the best performance. Yeah. Just respect to Madonna herself. 7:06 But you could very much tell... I think, I think they, they opened with Music, which is a great song. Yep. Great, uh... 7:14 That said, it very clearly wa- though they were trying to unite the people and talk about the world- Mm-hmm... Madonna very much, you could tell, was older. 7:22 And so there, there's a reason why she opened the show and did not participate much further on after. Yeah, yeah. And- How was Burna Boy and Shakira? Shakira can do no wrong. 7:33 So, so the, uh, TLDR is Madonna opens, cut to, uh, we, we migrated to this Ted Lasso moment. Ted Lasso and, uh, and, and friend, uh, uh, uh, are walking down the line. 7:47 We see Justin Bieber, uh, being, uh, yeah, being readied by Ted Lasso himself to say, "Hey, get in there, JB. Get into the game and, and then, and bring the world together." He sings a ballad. He sings Hallelujah. 8:02 A lot of people are like, "We wanted a, a, a more upbeat Justin Bieber song." And then- Mm... we also witnessed, uh, we witnessed, uh, BTS, Shakira. Phenomenal. 8:14 That, I would say th- that was enough upbeat performance altogether. I will say, though a lot of people are shitting on the show, I thought that for me, I thought that it was a very, uh... 8:28 I'm sitting across from my wife Max, and we're talking about it, and it very much was a reminder that sports brings people together. Yeah. 8:34 You know, a lot of war, uh, there's been a lot of war the past couple years, and to take a moment and to be able to watch the world unite in competition like this, and be reminded that we are here to come together, 8:50 I guess, for competition, but also to excel in peak performance. That was exciting for me. And it reminds you that, like, life is not forever, and to prioritize, you know, you know, prioritize the ones you love. Yeah. 9:06 I don't know, not to get too- Getting deep. Getting deep... but yeah. You know what's interesting, getting deep on it, on, uh, uh, the Odyssey, um, switching gears a little bit. 9:17 I, I, I watched that, um, last night actually- Okay... and it was awesome. Extremely awesome, and very deep. Sentimental? Um, in ways. In ways, to be honest. Like, it, it's like a really awesome movie. 9:32 It's gonna get nominated for a ton of things, no doubt. And, um- What sets it apart from the rest? I mean, A, Chris Nolan is just, he's a G, man. Like, he's, he's one of the only directors that can fill butts in seats. 9:46 You don't even need to know what it's about, or it might not be the type of movie you, you'd think would be great, and it's gonna be awesome and you're gonna go see it. 9:54 Um, you know, uh, the classic, the classic things that he did, he played with time, which was really cool. Um, there's a lot of great action, but it's like, it's very emotional, and there's, there's a lot of themes. 10:08 You know, one big theme is about, um, um, like Zeus is a, is a big character in it, and there is a sort of thing you do back in, in, in the day, at least according to Chris Nolan's r- you know, adaptation, where, um, to... 10:26 When there's like a beggar or a guest in your home, you let them in and you take care of them because it could be a god. Mm. And so this recurring theme of doing good to those less than you permeated the book. 10:42 Um, but, uh, I mean, there were other themes as well, but it was well acted. It was the who's who of actors. It was, um... It's really good. It's, it's, it's, it's stellar. 10:53 One thing that I had, we had a conversation in our company meeting yesterday. I was curious. 10:59 This is a bit of a controversial comment that I gave, and again, I wanna, I wanna preface it by saying that I think that this actor is phenomenal and definitely one of the best, and, and I very deeply appreciate. 11:13 It was off the back of Chris Nolan's commentary of the casting of Matt Damon, where Matt, people were asking when you took on this role, when Chris came to you, what did you lobby? 11:22 And, and Matt very much commented that he felt like he had to take it because if he didn't, then it was gonna go out- outside of the circle of, 11:31 of Nolan's typical realm, and it would, like Josh Brolin or someone would have gotten it, and he couldn't let that happen, in jest. And Nolan jested back, uh, that it, it, it... 11:45 Something off the, o- off, off the, off the back of commenting on like Ma- uh, of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, and Cillian Murphy all passing on the project. [laughs] And Matt Damon was the one... 12:01 Literally, Chris Nolan in this interview, whether it was true or not, which I don't wanna speculate over, but could not tell- Very much- Yeah... 12:09 uh, Matt Damon was like, "Well, I had to take the movie because who next, who's gonna be next? I couldn't let them, uh, win the Oscar." And Nolan goes, "Yeah, well, the other ones passed, so you were the next in line." 12:19 [laughs] And it just made me think, because I don't know if I would've gone to Matt Damon first for Odysseus, for, you know, I'm not, I'm not sure if you read- But when you-... read The Odyssey... 12:29 when you wa- when you watch it, though, it's like he is Odysseus. That's- I will say that... by the, by the way, that, that is what many said in the room, which- Yeah... which was, uh, which was nice to hear. 12:41 I mean, of, of course he's an actor. Yeah. I think sometimes when I think of... This is so sad and funny at the same time. I think 12:49 I sometimes lose my thought of Matt Damon, Jason Bourne, because I now can't unsee Matt Damon in The Great Wall. You, you did not see The Great Wall. [laughs] You did. I did see The Great Wall. 13:03 I, I don't think a lot of people saw The Great Wall. 13:04 But just as a reminder, The Great Wall, if you, if you did not see the trailer and then decided not to go to the movie like everyone else, it's Matt Damon on a m- on, uh- I saw it... it's... Yeah. Oh, God. 13:17 It's, it's Matt Damon. It... The Great Wall, it's Matt Damon on the Great Wall shooting arrows at aliens or monsters with a ponytail. It's ba- oh, dude. Oh, dude. And I can't unsee it. 13:28 I can't unsee it, so now I'm like anytime I think of Matt Damon as a warrior- Yeah... I'm like, "Oh, dude. Don't do it to me." So you're saying this is the redemption? It was, it was a paycheck. Yeah. Oh, oh, oh. 13:39 This is... It's a movie. Go see it. The Odyssey was a paycheck? Got it. Every... No, no, no. The Great Wall was a paycheck. Yeah, I know. No, I know. I know. [laughs] I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Thank you. 13:48 Thank you for the clar- clarification. [upbeat jingle] Business is booming. Is your fulfillment ready for peak season? Switch to ShipStation now and handle more volume with confidence when it counts. 13:59 ShipStation connects Shopify, Amazon, TikTok Shop, and over 200 more integrations with one platform that does it all. You can manage orders, sync inventory, track returns, all automatically. 14:09 Everything your operation needs, all in one place. Right now, qualified shippers get a real dedicated person to get you set up and switched over for free, so when peak season hits, you're ready to go. 14:19 Switch today at shipstation.com, code AUDIO. [upbeat jingle] Okay. Cool. Well, let's dive in. So, uh, what, we'll, we'll kick it off with Love Island. 14:32 Uh, we, uh, uh, a friend of ours, Natalie Jarvey, shout out to Natalie Jarvey. She recently just wrote a piece about this 10-day war that happens, uh, to sign the buzziest Love Island stars. Pardon the overlap. 14:50 For those of you not aware, Natalie Jarvey is a, uh, writer at The Ankler and a formidable, knowledgeable individual both in the creator economy and entertainment at large. You were saying, boy? Yes, she's wonderful. 15:04 Um, so she wrote this piece and, um, it's actually a really fascinating piece. Um, the high level is that, um, Love Island in particular mints creators overnight. 15:19 Um, you've got Elandria, you've got Rob, um, you got so many other folks who when they go through this ecosystem, they start with, uh, several thousand followers and they come out of it with sometimes millions. 15:37 And it, A, begs us to really think about Love Island's role in culture, but two, even bigger, the power of unscripted. 15:50 Because, you know, on a smaller level you do see this happening, um, with shows even like Survivor where people will go on and they'll come out with more followers. 16:03 And, and part of me wonders is, is this an, a, a new path now to become a creator, is just end up on, on reality TV? You know, a- and vice versa. 16:18 Like is this a path, a solid path for a creator to hop on, um, reality TV? Like you're starting to see more people who go on one show and they'll go on several after that and, um, you know, it's just interesting. 16:35 It is interesting. Uh, partic- particularly, particularly because when it comes to scripted content, you know, we're not, 16:44 we're not allergic nor are we not aware of the fact that for many, many years if you were an actor on a show or a movie and you're discovered or you're seen, it's much, uh... 16:57 There's far less surprise in you garnering audience or fans or followers because there's a connection to artistry or there's an assumption that, that this is an art form that you are, 17:13 that you have procured and that you have worked towards, and these people following you, watching you, and witnessing you. "Witness me," for those Mad Max fans out there. 17:24 Uh, there's an appreciation for the art that you are producing. 17:28 Whereas in unscripted it, there, there's for s- for, for some time now, which is so unfortunate, for some time unscripted has always been deemed trashy television or, or, or trashy content because it is not sophisticated. 17:46 It is you offering yourself, you as an individual, you just solely as a person in society. 17:54 Though when you talk about Love Island, I think what is, what it's really helping highlight is that people want to attach themselves to meaningful moments or, or meaningful representations in pop culture. 18:08 You mentioned Elandria. 18:10 I think the beauty of Alandria, not just superficially as a beautiful Black woman in society, but it's also what she represented or how she showed up on that show, as well as how she handled herself in situations or scenarios that might be deemed a little racy or inappropriate or just navigating the world. 18:32 Uh, she has become, in her own right, a great... 18:37 I think the community has looked at her as a fantastic representation of a woman in society and a great representation of, of a role model that others should, uh, look up to and want to live life. 18:50 Yeah, I think there's something, there's something re- definitely relatable when it comes to reality TV. Like, the, the casting folks, they do a good job, and that's why people fall in love with these characters. 19:03 I, I, I, I believe I heard a rumor that, um, Love Island intentionally doesn't want to cast creators, right? Yeah. Um, and my assumption would also be people who just want to be creators, right? 19:17 Uh, you know, and I, I think they have to. 19:19 They have to cast people who are just genuine personalities and looking for love, but in the back of them- their mind, they must know at this point what it means to be on this show. 19:29 Like, for example, I didn't watch this... I watched the last season. I didn't watch, um, well, last year. I didn't watch this season. But s- some stats. 19:37 The, the top five most followed contestants on Instagram: Trinity Tatum, 2.6 million; Melanie Munro, 1.8 million; Caleb McDaniel, 1.4; Ania Harvey, 1.2; Bryce Dettloff, 1.1. 19:53 And really what's happening, and this is a quote from, from Natalie, is emerging from this experience, these people have an instant fan base which can be disorienting, right? Chandler was a nursing assistant. 20:08 Tatum was an employee at a hardware store. Moreno managed a bikini shop, and now these folks are, like, larger than life. 20:16 And I think the, the one thing we should definitely talk about is representation's role in seeing these numbers and wanting... 20:26 It's like, how do you, how do you make a star out of these people who a month before were your everyday person? Listen, that's a very difficult task regardless, right? 20:38 The, I, I think a lot of that, much of that is done by way of happenstance or chance, right? That, that isn't something that... That's not to take away any of the work that 20:51 the representatives are doing for any of these talent at all, but it is to say that it's the combination of right place, right time, and capturing lightning in a bottle. I'd also say that representatives... 21:05 What I think what I- I think what we were talking about offline, the beauty of Natalie's article is not only just documenting and talking about the phenomenon that is these peop- the, the, these individuals growing on Love Island, but it's also about the pursuit of signing the talent in the immediate moments coming off of the show. 21:28 That is what is so, uh, th- I think that was what was so compelling, is the, the mad dash as a representative to sign the talent. 21:38 No different than, than what happens when, when Steven Spielberg casts a no-name person as the lead role of his movie. The, the, the... Specifically, I remember when West- West Side Story was cast. 21:56 Rachel Ziegler was a no-named actress, and she got the role via Spielberg, and every agency heard about this. 22:07 And we're talking people were flying to s- to meet with her, to talk to her, to sign her, getting on Zoom call. Every, every big, big one, ICM, CAA, uh, ICM at the time, CAA, WME, UTA, everyone was all over it. 22:22 And that race, that, that dating... One, getting in front of the talent. 22:27 Two, getting them to trust you with their brand or, or having the same common values and the belief that you can bring their vision to life if they have one. 22:38 And if not, and they don't know what to do, that you will have the vision for them and help them grow and have longevity in, in the world. Yeah. 22:46 That's very much the same, the same energy that is happening at the level of unscripted on Love Island literally days after the show wraps. And so that's, you know- Yeah... 23:00 that's very, it's very interesting to see happen. I think brand deals- There, there are-... what we see happen the maj- the m- majority of the time. 23:07 That's the first, that's the first wave, is capitalizing on the pop cultural moment via brand deal. Definitely. And, and there are moments where, you know... 23:20 A great example, what I'm also reminiscent of is the film festival circuit, right? When a movie will premiere at a film festival with a bunch of unknown director, you know, talent, um, agents will flock to sign, right? 23:36 And, and so there are certain key moments in the, the life cycle of talent that become opportunities for representation to say there's a there there. And, you know, one thing in particular, you mentioned brands. 23:54 I think what's beautiful about... Maybe beautiful is not the right word. What's unique here is that ITB is, is starting to recognize this. They're starting to recognize- Yeah... 24:05 the representation that want the people to end up on the show, the brands that wanna be a part of it, and now they're actually creating a, uh, agreements and an ecosystem essentially to benefit Right? 24:19 Um, so, um, ITV will do a one-year exclusive contract. 24:25 They need to take a piece, uh, uh, of, of, um, a brand partnership if Love Island is mentioned, and, uh, which again I think is, is brilliant. 24:38 Uh, I know there's i- internal relationships with some of these representation that are there as options, you know, to these individuals. 24:47 So yeah, I think- That's, that's no different than how a casting director would make an introduction to an actor, to an agent at an agency, right? Yeah. Everyone, you know, people... 24:59 It's the, what, what, what happens behind the scenes, you know. Friends wanna help out friends. Help- friends will help guide friends to other friends. Yeah. Yeah. No, I, I, I see that no different than that of, uh... 25:10 It's no different than you asking me if I have a great carpenter or groutsman. Yeah. Is that what they call them? I don't know. [laughs] Groutsman. Yeah. I don't know why grout was the thing that I thought of. It's... 25:22 What was, like, something so mundane and random. [laughs] Yeah. It's, it... 25:25 W- what I will say though, because ever since I, you know, 'cause I, I started at, at WME, um, through a short stint there and, you know, being sort of in the mix, oftentimes I'll c- I'll have people ask me, like, "How do I get an ag- how do I get a manager?" 25:42 And, um, I'll, I'll tell you what I, what I tell them now, but I, um, I will say this is becoming a path. 25:53 I actually had a friend who, uh, she, you know, at the time wanted to be an actress, but she ha- I, I remember she just had this, like, uh, she still does, this awesome, bubbly, outgoing personality. 26:05 And in my mind I'm like, "You'd be so good at reality TV." Like, "That should be your goal. Try to get casted in unscripted, build an audience, and then go do your acting thing." 26:16 And so I actually think it's a, it is a path for people. But when people ask me, I say, "Look, like, you need to, A, do your own thing," because really representation wants what already works. Yeah. 26:31 And so you going to a representation to, like, "Sign me, sign me," like, that's not how it works. They, they want something that's already going without them, and they wanna help empower that. 26:41 And two, I actually think the secret is, is going to producers, um, people who are making the content that, um, have the ear of all of the representation and can put you in front of, of them. 26:56 And so, um, that's sort of how I, I see this opportunity, right? It's another way for, for people to, to, to find representation, you know- Yeah... whether they know it or not. 27:09 I always tell people, "Don't, don't, don't find them. Let them find you." When, when you find them or when it's guided by way of you asking others to intro you, I just find it's like putting a steak in someone's lap. 27:27 And as great as you are, that, that person didn't order the steak, but they're gonna go, "Oh, yeah, I would love... Why not? I won't say no to this." And, but they didn't pay for it. 27:41 And to me, they didn't pay for it, they didn't work for it. That doesn't mean that they won't do the job. I just think that they don't appreciate it the same way. 27:51 And I think the beauty of being chased or letting someone else organically do the intro... 27:59 Example, you're an actor, you happen to do a short film, and to your point, your reference, and say a, a producer happened to see the, see you in the movie or someone in the business happened to see it. 28:12 They don't know you. Them sharing by way of word of mouth, "Hey, I saw this thing. This person's great in it," or, "Hey, I just produced this thing. You should see this thing. It's awesome. 28:22 I really think you should think about them," that is so much more powerful in my mind than, "Hey, friend that's a producer, can... Do you have any agents that you know that would represent me? 28:34 I'm looking for representation." Of course, like, I will always help out a friend if I can and... But I just, I s- I still even think even in me positioning it and, and saying, "Hey, I think this person's great. 28:45 You should look at them," it still comes off more as, "Hey, are you looking for new business? Hey, here's an opportunity." It doesn't... 28:53 The energy, the, the belief in what they're getting is not s- is not there in the same way. Yeah. 28:59 And that's why I would, I would at the end of the day just circle back of, like, create content, create something that people want to consume, they wanna be a part of, and representation will follow, right? Yeah. 29:13 Cut, cut, cut to this com- cut to this commercial. If you're a, if you're a talent out there looking for representation, don't chase them. Make them chase you. Call now, 999999999. Don't chase them. Let them chase you. 29:29 We'll represent you until they figure it out. [laughs] I love it. I love it. Um, is that the ad for Crosscheck Studios? Yeah, yeah. Could you imagine? I don't know why I went with nine, but, like- Yeah... isn't it... 29:43 No, it's 55555. 5555. [laughs] Nine. [static sound] Uh, what else we got? Well- What's next on the docket? Speaking... Yeah. 29:52 So, so speaking of, um, creators and, and influence, uh, we should talk about Kai Cenat and what he's doing with, with Streamer University. Uh, this is something he's been doing the, the last several years. 30:07 Um, it's a multi-day in-person creator boot- bootcamp. Um, it, uh, it's becoming more popular. This is year two. This is year two, just for the record. Yep, yep. Second edition. Uh, it was done in Arkansas. 30:22 Uh, and more than 120 content creators-... personally selected by Sinan, lived on a campus, attended content creation classes, and streamed regularly. 30:36 Uh, they weren't allowed to leave the premises during the event, and, um, there was a closing awards ceremony. Uh, I think this is brilliant. 30:43 You know, just high-level Kai, like for those who don't know, they should know, is the world's most subscribed and most followed Twitch streamer with more than 20 million Twitch followers. 30:54 Um, he obviously gained popularity through his video game streams and challenges, and he's had everyone from John Cena and Kevin Hart on his, his streams, and now he's kinda giving back. 31:06 But I wonder if this is also self-serving, you know. Um, but, uh, you know, we were talking about how, uh, Love Island is making major stars. The reality is, so is Kai Cenat's Streamer University. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 31:23 Did you watch any of it? Honestly, no. Just, just, just the headlines. Um- If, for you and anyone else that hasn't watched, I have to say it is... If Mr- if MrBeast is the biggest YouTube star, 31:34 or, or has been anointed, if MrBeast is seen as the big YouTube star, not to negate anyone else that's big on YouTube, Kai, no question, is, he is the MrBeast of Twitch. I mean, Kai is Kai. 31:47 Kai is the biggest, biggest streamer on the platform. Uh, and- Which is funny because Night, Night has represented both, and represents Kai currently. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. 31:58 What, uh, point of me mentioning that is, you mention it when you, uh, when you, when you talk about Love Island, which in itself is an edited, pared down, it's a television version of livestreaming in a way. 32:09 I mean, it's television. Yeah, true. It's edited, it's edited within 24 hours, but you witness it there- Yep... very fresh. 32:18 To witness the so- i- i- the social experiment that was Streamer University at, in its second, it was, it was content that was so perfect for the internet. Meaning, 32:32 I, uh, meaning or, or, or so perfect for, one, the platform, but also what felt so relevant to what I, what I interpret as fast-moving comment section internet culture. Mm-hmm. Because 32:47 it literally felt, uh, if you, when you, when witnessing... The way it worked was that all the talent that participated were all livestreamers. 32:56 They were all content creators, but they were all specifically content creators that were focused around being live on Twitch or on Kick, but livestreaming nonetheless, hence Streamer University. 33:10 And what Kai did is that he got big reputable talent to participate either, uh, a- at, as role, as, as, 33:22 he got big level talent to participate first as r- uh, as roles similar to that of, think of it like Hogw- he set it up almost like, like Hogwarts or, or a high school. 33:36 He was the dean, so culturally there was nostalgia of him like walking around with keys in his hand. Mm. 33:43 He'd be the guy, you know, uh, he'd be on a, on a cart and just kind of almost like politicking in a way, but making sure that, that he was making sure no one was- Yeah... doing anything inappropriate. He's Dumbledore. 33:54 But also being... Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But then he also cast, though they submitted themselves, he cast other prominent talent as professors- Right... as security, uh, basically as roles that 34:13 you didn't have to be a professor, but you were receiving a role that anointed you a purpose and a place- I love it... that was familiar as a, a main staple character in this universe, as if it was a TV show or a movie. 34:27 And I think what was so- Mm... what I think was so important, uh, in doing so is that you, you created, you created each purp- each, each person became a symbol of something. So if you were the security guard, 34:41 there, it was, it w- if, if, if someone had been dubbed the security guard, there was this, a nostalgic reaction as a viewer to, "Oh man, I remember Mr. Gates. He was a security guard in high school or in middle school. 34:57 That guy lo- reminds me of that." Like you, there was such a, a clear moment of relatability to these people walking around. And also with those roles, it kind of crafted this... 35:13 It, it honestly just became a live action Fortnite lobby. 35:18 So because on one end of the spectrum you're witnessing someone run a bit trying to create like a livestreaming bit, uh, with a bunch of other creators that are no-names trying to like make a name for themselves, and in the other corner you have Lacey in a wheelchair who joke, I'm joking here, but like is reminiscent of like Drake when he got shot in, in, uh, what's the, what's the TV show, uh, that he was a part of? 35:45 Degrassi. Classic. In Degra... You know, you know what I mean? 35:48 Like, there's always, if you think about the high school or middle school shows, there's always like the kid in the wheelchair, and like Degrassi had that with Drake, uh, there was Kevin in Glee. 35:58 Like, it just, it made a lot of sense to have that moment- Yeah... where he's just the guy in the wheelchair running around. Uh- Yeah... Marlon was the jock, Yona was the awkward fun girl but also pseudo-cheerleader. 36:12 It just, it was very interesting to see how everyone took on a symbolic role to the high school or college experience, and we got to see all these talent in different scenarios. 36:24 And the beauty of university or, or u- dubbing it university, there was actual STEM or actual... uh, knowledge based content to be consumed. 36:36 So if you were at home, you could literally live stream a class via these other talent. Oh. And that was very interesting. Ludwig probably, I th- uh, like, candidly, I think Lud- Ludwig 36:51 gave the best class, uh, throughout the show because he gave the best information. Yeah. Okay. So I love this. So, uh, everything you're saying is actually really fascinating. 37:03 I actually personally didn't understand how deep this, this rabbit hole went. A couple, a couple things though that I, I, I have learned. 37:10 Apparently, at one point in time, uh, more than 690,000 people were watching, um, Sanatsu live stream simultaneously. Yes. 37:23 And last year, the 2025, uh, edition generated 27 million Twitch watch hours. 37:32 Um, and, you know, a lot of brands were involved in th- in fact, um, there, there were brands committed about eight figure sponsorship, um, resources to the event per, um, the Tech Times. 37:43 So, so there's already like an ecosystem being built around this and, and I'm just thinking about this in relation to our last conversation. 37:52 You know, if I'm Kai, and maybe he's already doing this, how can I capitalize on, like, is this the new version of a creator house, right? Is he getting in on the deals- Yeah... that these other creators are, are doing? 38:05 Is he, you know, if I was representation, I would be i- intently watching this for who, who might be coming in unsigned, right? 38:14 Um- Well, that's why, that's why they charged- And- I don't know if you know this, but they charged people, uh, the bigger streamers. Oh. They charged their, uh... 38:21 The head- there was a headline first that was like, "Why are people expected to have to pay to participate?" Mm. And- Yeah... 38:29 when you discover that part of the reasoning is, well, you have access to selling your own brand deals to your own stream, we know you're gonna get views off of it, so you have to contribute to the overarching production of the series. 38:47 Uh, the one thing I was just gonna add as we wrap up is next year Streaming University is actually going to be in Europe, and there will be some returning cast of characters from 2025 and 2026. 39:00 So, uh, it feels like this could be a big thing. Like, if he keeps going with it, like, it's already a big thing, but I mean, like, 39:07 massive, like a tent pole thing people are always paying attention to, like, beyond just, like, the creator ecosystem and their fans. 39:14 Um, it'll be interesting to see for sure, especially if he gets, starts to get European talent and maybe even- Oh, definitely... takes it to other countries. No question. Yeah. I love it. 39:28 Uh, well let's talk about, um, our, our last subject for today. We are diving into Netflix. Uh, so really the headline is that Netflix doesn't seem to be doing too well according to- [laughs]... 39:42 the court of public opinion. [laughs] Um- Yeah. Stock down? Stock, stock price down? But- Is that what you're saying? [laughs] Stock price is very down. 39:51 Um, since their attempt to, uh, acquire Warner Brothers, their stock has taken a massive, massive, massive hit. Um, uh, I believe somewhere around 50%. Um, I'm gonna quadruple check. 40:08 And, uh, the, 40:11 the, the PR momentum right now is actually not going in their favor, from topics about how people don't watch, um, Netflix on, uh, the, the second season of shows to how they're really just trying to compete with YouTube right now. 40:29 Um, obviously not winning Warner Brothers was a sting. 40:33 The, the question is, is this just a, a little bump, uh, in the road of Netflix's eventual success, or is this actually a watershed moment of the, the beginning of the demise of, of Netflix? Let me ask you this. 40:48 Let me ask a question with a question. What do you think will happen first? Is Netflix primed to become YouTube, or is YouTube primed to become Netflix? I think I ask that question- The-... 41:00 because I believe that that is gonna be at the crux of what we witness as it pertains to the success or the evolution of YouTube and/or evolution of Netflix. Yeah. The going saying is that Netflix, 41:16 that, that I've heard from people, is that it would be smart for Netflix to keep doing what they're doing, which is creating premium content. That's what they were made for. 41:27 So to, to try to play this zero sum game of wanting to compete with YouTube may not be wise, 'cause YouTube's going to win. 41:38 Um, but to answer your question- But if you're always making premium, but if you're always making premium content and you're losing the attention span of the viewer or the watcher by way of not being able to produce content at a speed in which the consumer is consuming, can you really continue to permeate culture in the same way? 42:00 It's a, it's a great question. I mean, there's different purposes, you know. Uh, HBO creates premium content, and they don't create as much as the other platforms, and yet we still flock to HBO because of- Yeah... 42:14 of the quality and its effect on culture, right? Um, but to answer your question, I, I think there's, there's a world where they kinda do both. 42:23 Um, I, I do see a world where Netflix, you know, has a solid YouTube-esque presence, maybe a future where people can actually upload Their own content. I, that, that- Yeah... that, that could be coming. 42:38 YouTube though is interesting because they've tried, you know, they've tr- they've tried originals, and you know, part of me wonders if they'll just stay successful just doing what they're doing. 42:49 Um- They're trying, they're trying it again... but- They are trying it again. Really? Tell, tell me- We talked about it on one of the other episodes. 42:56 There is, there, I, I, there is a trend out there now where people very much, just like how we... It, it was on the, it was on the episode that we talked about the TPG CAA fund. 43:06 I mean, you, you might, I think you were gone for this episode, so apologies. Apologies. No worries. But- No worries... we talked about the fund. 43:13 We talked about how both private equity, studios, and family offices are trying to get in on the YouTube channel or social channel ownership or content ownership. 43:27 But can I, can I say though, 'cause I've seen a lot of that. What I've- Mm-hmm... seen more though is not YouTube doing it. It's been other people building- Right... on the YouTube platform- Right... and ecosystem. 43:41 And there are... Right, I'm with you. And those discussions are now starting to garner... Let me say this. Would it be not... It wouldn't be sur- If you're YouTube, 43:55 and you already know that shows are coming to live on your channel, or sorry, coming to live on your ecosystem, you could play, you could do the Apple play and say, "Hey, we're just the framework. 44:06 Come live on our platform. You guys all make the content. We'll just, we'll just receive." 44:11 But eventually get to a point where if people are building on your platform, you wanna have some of the m- some more of the upside. True. Right? So you get to a point where you wanna have the Apple original. 44:22 Now, if you're YouTube, could you say, "Hey, we're the platform. 44:25 We'll help boost or we'll, we'll help give you be- better s- uh, placement, because we wanna make sure that we have more of the share of the brand dollars." 44:33 So if you're a studio, and you're already putting content on a, on a YouTube channel, what if we do a 50/50... What if we, what if we do our, uh, do a s- uh, uh, do a split? 44:45 It's, it's honestly, ironically enough, I, I very much just believe that the model's gonna be recycled similar to that of film finance. 44:53 All the film finance money is just now starting to pour over to social media, and if we're witnessing that model be replicated, it's no different than that of like Warner Brothers saying, "Hey, we just produced, we just produced The Joker." 45:07 Okay, we all remember that time where The Joker was, I think the budget was like $120 million or something like that, and that's not including marketing. 45:16 You know, the studios, when they know that they have a hit, they do output deals with other studios or other financiers, and a lot of the times what they'll do is they'll say, "Hey, do you want to participate in this movie on our slate or this movie that's not as reputable? 45:31 Great. Why don't you jump in on this one? You can own the upside or, or buy in to this movie and, and co-finance it with us, and ride the wave." 45:43 In those buy-ins, I remember like one, one studio, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, Brawn specifically, participated in The Joker as one of the... Because they, they, they added additional dollars to that production. 45:57 They also bought into like several other movies that were not hits at Warner's. But what, what's to say that YouTube w- uh, very long-winded way of saying, what's to say that YouTube won't do the same with 46:10 NBC, whatever, Paramount or whatever the new iteration of Skydance Warner's is, Netflix, Fox. What do you think is gonna happen first? YouTube becoming Netflix or Netflix becoming YouTube? 46:25 Comment down below or, or give us your little vote in the little, the little box here. What do you think's gonna happen first? YouTube becoming Netflix or Netflix becoming YouTube? Let us know. I don't know. 46:37 That's great. Great, great thoughts. Um, definitely would love to hear everyone's input as well. I mean, it's gonna be a constant conversation. I, I, I personally think Netflix is too big to fail. 46:49 Uh, I'm gonna reiterate that, uh, I think they'll buy NBC Universal- Oh... and I think when they do, they'll, they'll come, they'll come roaring back. Uh- Damn, that's scary... again, I- That's scary. That makes me sad. 47:03 Yeah. The reality is I think every major studio is gonna be owned by a tech company in- Yeah... 10 years. Yeah. You know? And, and, and we'll see, we'll see Claude and OpenAI join the fray eventually. Yeah. 47:16 It's just the way of the world, you know? Yeah. It's a good point. Um, so, so I think it might be sad at first, but then when you think of, you know... 47:25 Well, I guess at that point, most of them will, will be scooped up by... I mean, Sony is Sony, right? That's a tech company. We just kinda failed to remember that it is. Um- 'Cause, 'cause honestly though- Who's left? 47:37 I think-... Sony gets a bad rap because Sony gets seen as like the fledgling one of the mix because it doesn't have a distributor or because, or because it doesn't have its own platform. Yeah. 47:47 But what's beautiful is they- they're, they're thriving because they get to be the arms dealer to all the other- Yeah... s- platforms, you know? Um- And I only, I- Lions Gate, you know... 47:57 think it's sad because of the consolidation, right? As long as, as long as it ha- uh, as long as all these purchases have homes, and there's enough, uh, there's enough buyers and enough 48:07 dollars to actually purchase content, then fantastic. Then, then let's keep running and going and doing. Yeah. It's just more a matter of- Yeah... 48:15 a wave of consolidation just means that there's, you know, it takes more time to get those companies back up and running to, to buy more content. 48:24 Uh, and just to sort of add to what I was saying about tech companies, you know, um, Amazon owns MGM, right? So that's already a tech company- Yeah... 48:36 owning a studio Uh, I think Lionsgate, um, has the opportunity to be scooped up by someone. Yeah. Yeah. Um, you know, Skydance and, you know, even though Ellison runs it, who's behind it? 48:49 It's Larry Ellison and Oracle, right? Right. Tech company. Right. Um, you know, I actually think- I'm surprised that Walmart or Target never bought. Yeah, uh, at this point it probably doesn't make sense. 49:00 Remember Walmart talking about doing their own platform? Yep. Yeah. And they still might. They still might. But, you know, I think it's more likely that the tech companies, you know, will- Yeah... 49:10 will jump in, so in a way I think NBC is the only one left that doesn't have, like, a tech native overlord, uh, and Lionsgate, you know. And there'll be new studio entrants and, and all that jazz. Yeah. But... 49:24 Oh, Disney. Of course, Disney. Can't forget Disney. Um, anyways, uh, great episode. Uh, we, we ran through it all, man. I think it was a good, good convo. Lots to think about. 49:37 Uh, we're gonna wrap, but, um, you know where to find us. We are on TikTok, IG, YouTube, YouTube Shorts, uh, all the things. 49:46 Reach out, say what up, and, uh, definitely let us know your thoughts on Netflix becoming YouTube versus YouTube becoming Netflix and, uh, we'll catch you next week. Over and out. Peace. 49:58 [outro jingle] Still waiting in line? Again? That's time you will never get back. Save time and money with Stamps.com. Over four million businesses have skipped the line with Stamps.com. 50:13 Join them to save up to 90% off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail, registered mail, and packages in seconds. 50:22 Get $20 in free postage when you sign up for the pro plan at stamps.com/blackfriday2026. Terms and conditions apply. [outro jingle] This show is brought to you by The Future Party and Crossix Studios. 50:36 Produced by Chris Altiel, Buya Coladay, and Paul York. Special shout-out to our production team, Araceli Rubalcava, Max Goolen, Shannon Klein, and Eli Difior.
