The Media Odyssey

59% of people now watch video on their phone first. If your content strategy doesn't account for that, Evan Shapiro has a message for you: you're already losing.

This keynote episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features Evan Shapiro's live Stream TV Europe presentation. It is a fast, data-driven breakdown of where streaming media, social media, YouTube, and TikTok are headed next. Built on original research from MX8 Labs and Evan's new Cross-Screen Attention Index, the talk argues the media industry is now entirely consumer-driven, and most legacy companies haven't caught up. 

Valerie Bertinelli has been a content creator since she was 12 years old. She just stopped asking permission to make the shows she wants.

This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features special guest co-host Valerie Bertinelli — television icon, actress, author, and Food Network — alongside Billy Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Visible Things, the direct-to-consumer platform infrastructure company behind Valerie's brand new streaming destination, Valerie's Place. 

The episode is equal parts media business case study and candid personal conversation. Billy walks through how Visible Things works as a white-label platform technology that gives legacy talent and creat...

1.7 million subscribers. A Global deal. Live Bundesliga rights. And a studio in Brooklyn for the World Cup. The Overlap built it all without owning a single match.

This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features Scott Melvin, CEO of The Overlap, the multi-award winning sports channel, for the beginning of the 2026 World Cup. What started as a side hustle for a Sky Sports pundit itching to do long-form conversation has grown into one of the most-watched football content businesses in the UK, now backed by media company Global and expanding its creator network on...

Full Disclosure meets Media Odyssey in this crossover episode of The Media Odyssey podcast with Roben Farzad, host of Full Disclosure on NPR and former Wall Street reporter for BusinessWeek and Bloomberg.

The episode covers a wide sweep of interconnected stories: the proposed Paramount-Warner merger, the editorial independence implications of foreign money in US media, the GameStop-eBay bid as a case study in social media-driven market manipulation, and the state of M&A activity across the Atlantic.

From Roben's firsthand perspective on the lack of US media coverage of...

Eight episodes, $25,000, 2 million views. One indie creator just proved you don't need a studio, a streamer, or a greenlight to break into the fastest-growing format in streaming media.

This bonus episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast features Eli Shell, founder of Sidewise Studios and creator of In-House, a vertical comedy series he wrote, funded, and launched entirely on his own. The vertical video market is almost entirely dominated by high-melodrama romantic drama and Eli saw that as a gap, not a template. In-House is a workplace comedy shot in vertical format, built on a...

10 billion views. 200+ episodes. A Random House deal and a streamer announcement incoming. Toonstar built it all without asking anyone's permission.

Welcome to this episode of The Media Odyssey Podcast with hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro featuring John Attanasio and Luisa Huang, co-founders of Toonstar, a next-generation animation studio built from the ground up to produce kids' and family content at the speed of the internet. Veterans of the Warner Bros. who got an early front-row seat to the rise of YouTube and the creator economy, John and Luisa are tacking a simple but...

Pure play digital is now capturing 75% of every US ad dollar and 60% of that goes to just three companies. What's left for everyone else?

This episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast brings in Mike Shields, founder of the Next in Media newsletter and podcast and one of the sharpest voices in streaming media and advertising analysis working today. Recorded during Upfront week, this snapshot of the advertising ecosystem addresses who's winning, who's losing, and whether traditional media advertising still has a viable path forward in the era of accelerating cord-cutting and big tech dominance.<...

What if fans could own a piece of the films they love and get paid when they hit? One company is making it happen, and Hollywood gatekeepers are not invited.

Welcome to The Media Odyssey podcast featuring Marc Iserlis, Head of Film at Republic, a platform built one simple but radical idea: fans should be able to invest in the films and studios they care about. Evan and Marion have spent the season exploring what they call the "affinity economy," and in a streaming media landscape where independent voices are increasingly squeezed out, Marc's...

Five companies just committed $725 billion to AI in a single year. Meanwhile, kids content is in freefall and the people who can least afford it are paying the price.

Welcome to the Media Odyssey Podcast! Evan, fresh off a surprise Webby Award win for Best Creator Thought Leadership, breaks down Q1 earnings from the five biggest tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple) and the AI Loop. Big tech’s collective $725 billion AI spending commitment is less a sign of innovation than a circular, self-reinforcing economy with dot-com bubble written all over it. Ma...

What if the future of entertainment fits in your pocket and a six-year-old startup from Ukraine is already building it?

Welcome to the Media Odyssey Podcast, recorded live at StreamTV Europe, featuring Bogdan Nesvit, founder of HOLYWATER TECH and the microdrama platform My Drama. What started six years ago as an interactive fiction app has quietly evolved into one of the most data-sophisticated entertainment companies operating today. One that is now partnering with Fox Entertainment and eyeing a full theatrical release.

If you've ever wondered how a media startup goes from zero to 7 million monthly...

Europe’s media industry leaders gathered in Lisbon this past week for the inaugural Stream TV Europe, and the prognosis is—to everyone’s surprise—refreshingly optimistic. Welcome to The Media Odyssey podcast!

In this episode, Evan and Marion break down the biggest moments from Stream TV including: the "renaissance" of the living room and the shift in digital strategy by global players. They are later joined by Denis Oštir to discuss V’s ambitious new V Index, a unified measurement tool designed to bridge the gap between traditional broadcast and digital streaming.

1. The...

You have six subscriptions, can't remember what's on any of them, and still can't find something to watch. Welcome to the subscription economy in 2026.

Get the full Subscription Signals 2026 report here: https://bango.com/reports/reserve-report/?utm_campaign=2026_Campaigns_SubscriberReport_ReserveReportMO

In this episode, Evan and Marion dig into Bango's Subscription Signals 2026 report: an annual study of subscription attitudes and behaviors across the US and UK. Then they are joined by Giles Tongue, VP of Marketing at Bango, to break down the findings. 

Bango i...

He helped create the most listened-to podcasts in history and then walked away from the New York Times to start over from scratch. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast!

In this episode, Evan and Marion sit down with Brian Reed, documentary podcaster and co-founder of Placement Theory, whose career spans documentary podcasts This American Life, S-Town, and now Question Everything. 

The conversation traces the origin story of Serial, which was expected to get a few hundred thousand downloads and ended up with hundreds of millions, all the way through to Brian's decision to l...

AI can't replace your editors, but it can do 80% of their most tedious, repetitive work in a fraction of the time. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast!

In this episode, Evan and Marion open with the news that OpenAI is shutting down Sora's B2C offering, unpacking what it signals for the AI and media landscape. They welcome Olivier Reynaud, Co-founder and CEO at Aive, a platform Aive built around the central challenge facing every creator and media company today: how do you produce enough high-quality, platform-tailored video content to keep pace with the...

244 million followers and a six-month content calendar: Jordan Schwarzenberger explains why showing up daily is the only strategy that matters. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast!

In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down the Nielsen/MRC measurement crisis that rocked the US advertising industry, then sit down with Jordan Schwarzenberger, CEO and co-founder of Arcade Media and manager of the Sidemen. The conversation reveals how the entire US advertising market transacted on flawed data for a year, while simultaneously showing how creator-led media companies are building sustainable businesses by thinking like traditional media. Rather...

Get The Stream by Tubi!
US: https://tubitv.com/thestream?utm_campaign=262713069-The%20Stream%202026&utm_source=influencer&utm_medium=thought%20leader&utm_content=evan%20shapiro
International: https://app.box.com/shared/static/h0cfoaqw4paub3hoi65pv0qxwdmhexf9.pdf

Paramount's $110B acquisition projects impossible growth, while Tubi data shows 80% canceling paid services. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast presented by The Stream by Tubi!

In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet dissect two reports: the Paramount investor deck projecting their Warner Brothers Discovery acquisition, and Tubi's "The Stream" report on consumer streaming...

Versant spins out with $2B free cash flow, ITV faces Sky acquisition, Banijay grows experiential 18%, and Canal+ hits 42.3M subscribers. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast live!

In this earnings coverage episode, Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro break down results from four companies undergoing major transformations: Versant's spinout from Comcast, ITV's potential acquisition by Sky/Comcast, Banijay's post-Endemol Shine merger performance, and Canal+'s global expansion strategy. The conversation reveals the challenges traditional media companies face as cable declines, the strategic missteps in corporate separations, and how European companies are diversifying revenue streams to...

Archive content finds new life on YouTube while broadcast TV is officially "a blip in history." Welcome to The Media Odyssey Podcast live from MIP London!

In this special live episode from MIP London, Evan Shapiro sits down with Martin Trickey, who runs Zoo 55, ITV Studios' digital distribution arm that launched just over a year ago. The conversation reveals how traditional broadcasters are finally waking up to the massive untapped value in their archives, how YouTube is television for older demographics as well as younger people, and why the broadcast era was just a...

Netflix backs out of the bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (aka “Disco Bros”), leaving Paramount Global — sorry, “Nepomount” — as the likely merger partner. Welcome to another live earnings edition of The Media Odyssey.

In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down the bombshell developments between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. Is this smart consolidation… or a true “Titanic meets the iceberg” moment?

Key Takeaways:

1. Netflix Walks Away — Political Pressure?

The timing raises eyebrows: Ted Sarandos’ White House visit came just days before Netflix exited the bid. Was there political pressure? Possibly. Re...

Pinterest loses 14% in five days, Roku posts its first profitable year, and Netflix's market cap drops $200 billion. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Live!

In this live earnings coverage episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down results from Pinterest, Roku, and TF1, while also discussing the ongoing Netflix-Warner Brothers Discover-Paramount saga. 

The conversation reveals how mobile-first platforms like Meta and TikTok are crushing traditional social media, how Roku finally achieved full-year profitability after pivoting from hardware to platform, and how European broadcasters are making deals with streamers to survive. R...

Amazon invests $200 billion in AI, Roblox pays out $1 billion to creators, and Spotify's ad sales decline. Welcome to another episode of The Media Odyssey Live!

In this live earnings coverage episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down results from Amazon, Roblox, Sony, and Spotify. The conversation reveals a massive AI spending race across Big Tech, the dramatic shifts happening in gaming away from traditional consoles, and the ongoing struggles of audio advertising. Rather than celebrating growth numbers, the hosts examine what the investments and losses actually mean for each company's long-term strategy and...

Google crushes expectations even as YouTube slows, and Disney names a CEO to distract from its numbers. Welcome to The Media Odyssey Live!

In this live earnings coverage episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down Google and Alphabet’s Q4 2025 wins and Disney's less positive performance. The conversation reveals surprising shifts in where advertising dollars are flowing, with mobile and social platforms capturing growth that once went to traditional video platforms. Rather than celebrating wins, the hosts dig into what the numbers actually reveal about maturing products, shifting consumer behavior, and the growing ch...

Apple, Microsoft, and Meta — with a quick detour into Comcast — have all reported earnings, and we’re breaking it down. Welcome back to The Media Odyssey podcast. In this episode, Evan and Marion ask the big question: why did the market cheer some results and punish others, even when the numbers looked strong?

The conversation dives into iPhone surprises, AI spending anxiety, advertising dominance, and what all of this says about where big tech and media are headed next.

Key Takeaways:

1. Apple: iPhone to the Rescue (Again)
Apple posted a better-than-expected quarte...

The Creator Economy has 1.5 million creators, billions in revenue, and… zero worker protections. Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast!

In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Shira Lazar, founder of What's Trending and a pioneer in the creator economy. The conversation covers Shira's journey from early vlogger at CBS News to building a digital media brand covering internet culture, and dives deep into her current work on the Creator Bill of Rights and mental health advocacy for creators through her organization Creators 4 Mental Health. 

Rat...

Google officially beat Apple and HBO Max is conquering Europe. Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! 

In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet focus on two media milestones that didn’t get the attention you expect: Google officially surpassing Apple in scale, and HBO Max’s long-awaited launch across key European markets. Rather than treating these as isolated news items, the conversation explains why both moments matter and what they reveal about platform economics, global strategy, and competitive positioning.

The episode is a reality check on how quick...

Netflix’s earnings beat expectations, but the numbers reveal a business increasingly reliant on optics, pricing, and financial engineering rather than underlying engagement growth.

In this live earnings breakdown episode of The Media Odyssey Podcast, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet analyze Netflix’s latest quarterly results, separating headline wins from structural concerns. 

While revenue, profit, and subscriber figures all came in strong, deeper engagement metrics tell a more cautious story. The conversation focuses on growth rates, viewing hours, ad revenue contribution, and the financial implications of Netflix’s proposed Warner...

CES isn’t about gadgets anymore, but who controls the interface between audiences, data, and distribution.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! From CES, Evan Shapiro and Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst of TVREV, unpack what this year’s show revealed about the future of media, entertainment, and technology while expanding on their predictions for 2026. 

Beyond the hype of AI demos and hardware announcements, the conversation centers on power shifts: who owns how we get information, who controls discovery, and which companies are quietly positioning themselves as the n...

The media industry isn’t heading for a clean recovery but bracing for another year of pressure, recalibration, and structural change.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast with a special thanks to Spectrum Reach! In this first part of their 2026 predictions, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet lay out what the coming year will likely bring for media, technology, and entertainment. They cover ongoing layoffs, fragile ad markets, the rise of global distribution strategies, and a new phase of AI-driven discovery. 2026 will test which companies have truly adapted and which are still relying on ou...

Happy New Year from The Media Odyssey podcast! 

We're regifting this episode hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet recorded live from IBC with Simon Farnsworth (ITV) and Adde Granberg (SVT), two CTOs (or as they call it, “Chief Transformation Officers”) reshaping European public broadcasting. The conversation explores how legacy broadcasters can adapt to a digital-first, fragmented world while facing off against trillion-dollar tech giants.

They discuss the shift from “doing digital” to “being digital,” how generative AI and cloud-based workflows can unlock beyond-human-scale production, and the biggest challenge broadcast is facing is mindset. Both guests stress that t...

Happy holidays from The Media Odyssey podcast! 

We're regifting this episode where hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro sit down with Dhar Mann, one of the most successful independent creators in the world, to unpack what it really means to build an owned-and-operated media empire in the age of platforms. With over 70 billion views across social media, Dhar has mastered the art of storytelling at scale without relying on traditional Hollywood systems.

In a sharp, insightful conversation, Dhar shares the mechanics behind his studio’s meteoric rise, the values that drive his content, and why cre...

Public service media isn’t outdated, instead, it’s fighting for relevance, trust, and survival in a fractured global information ecosystem.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast. In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Raney Aronson-Rath, Executive Producer of Frontline and Editor-in-Chief of Documentaries at GBH, for a conversation on the future of public media. From political pressure and funding cuts to platform expansion and audience trust, the discussion explores why public broadcasters must be everywhere audiences are without sacrificing journalistic integrity.

Through Frontline’s tran...

Media is not shifting, it’s revealing which predictions actually mapped the year and which trends will define what comes next.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! In this special “Predictions Wrapped” episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet revisit the forecasts they made a year ago and grade themselves on accuracy. They discuss YouTube’s explosive rise on CTV, Netflix’s unexpected innovation, creator-driven cultural dominance, the slow grind of CTV fragmentation and more. They break down the bets they nailed and the ones that missed the mark.

The conver...

Hollywood isn’t just consolidating, it’s entering a new era where politics, regulation, and financial pressure determine who survives.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! In this emergency episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet break down the stunning news that Netflix has emerged as the leading bidder for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming divisions. They unpack why the offer makes financial sense, why it’s already triggering political backlash, and how the deal could reshape theatrical windows, global streaming strategy, and the balance of power in Hollywood.

Key...

Modern media isn’t just transforming, it’s rebuilding itself around fandom, experimentation, and platform-native storytelling.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Holly Graham, Chief Commercial Officer, and Ben Arnold, SVP of Commercial Operations, of Little Dot Studios, one of the most influential digital operators in global entertainment. 

With more than 1,000 channels across YouTube, FAST, TikTok, and social platforms, plus a massive network of owned brands, Little Dot has become a blueprint for how media companies build fando...

Global media isn’t just transforming, it’s reorganizing itself around fandom, creators, and direct-to-audience ecosystems.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! In this special episode from MIPCOM Cannes, Evan Shapiro sits down with Pedro Pina, VP of YouTube in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Jasmine Dawson, SVP of Digital at BBC Studios, for a panel on BBC Studios’ success on YouTube and how traditional media and creator platforms are rewriting the rules of international entertainment. From YouTube’s rise as a global television network to BBC Studios’ creator-native reinvention, Pedro and Jasmine reveal why the ne...

Sports fandom isn’t just evolving, it’s becoming one of the most powerful engines of modern storytelling and audience engagement. 

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast! This week, hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro sit down with Jen Kavanaugh, SVP of Marketing and Media for the Philadelphia Eagles, for a masterclass in how today’s most successful teams build culture, narrative, and multi-generational fandom. From global expansion to creator-style content production, Jen reveals why the Eagles have become one of the most influential brands in sports and a case study for every marketer navigating the att...

The line between Hollywood and the creator economy is disappearing…Tubi is leading the charge.

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast! In this episode, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet are joined by Rich Bloom GM, Creators Program & EVP, Business Development at Tubi, to unpack how the Fox-owned streaming service is redefining the creator economy and the very meaning of “creator media.” With over 100 million monthly users, a 95% on-demand model, and a growing library of creator-driven programming, Tubi is blurring the line between traditional entertainment and creator-led storytelling.

The conversation explores how Tubi is empowe...

The rules of media have changed and the user is now in charge.
 

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast! In this live episode presented with PreciseTV, Evan Shapiro breaks down the shift from the gatekeeper era of top-down media control to the new user-centric era, where audiences, not executives, dictate what succeeds. Using his signature “media cartographer” maps and data-driven storytelling, Evan unpacks how Big Tech overtook traditional media, how generational shifts are transforming consumption habits, and why the creator economy is now the true center of cultural power.

From the “...

When billion-dollar deals make more noise than sense, who really wins?

In this episode of The Media Odyssey podcast, hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro pull back the curtain on the relentless cycle of media mergers and acquisitions where massive buyouts, strategy, and political agendas collide. With characteristic humor and precision, they trace how decades of dealmaking have reshaped, and even broken, the entertainment business, from Hollywood to Europe.

The conversation spans the latest shake-ups at Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Netflix, and Apple, while examining Media For Europe’s pan-European expansion and Canal+’s global ambi...

The new buyer isn’t Netflix, it’s the audience. 

Live from MIPCOM 2025, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Filmhub CEO Alan d’Escragnolle and Vortex Media CEO Justin Rebelo to unpack how independent producers and distributors are reinventing the film business for the creator economy.

Recorded at the first-ever The Media Odyssey Podcast live show at MIPCOM, this episode explores how companies like Filmhub are helping producers reach global audiences across AVOD, TVOD, and YouTube “Free with Ads;” and why the future of indie film depends on creators learning to sell directly to viewers...