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The TV Bubble Popped…

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The Best/Most Popular Series I’ve Written
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The 19 Best Articles I’ve Written
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Nerd Corner – Explaining Entertainment Using Your Favorite Franchises
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The “Business” of Entertainment…Explained
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Latest Stories...

Checking in on the Indie Studios (Not Really) Disrupting Hollywood

July 22, 2025 8:46pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Going into today’s article, I want you to keep an open mind. I’m pouring cold water on the overheated hype train for multiple theatrical genres and mini-majors, so part of

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The Streaming Mega-Hit Show No One is Talking About

July 18, 2025 9:18pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) A few weeks ago, I was out and about, and I wanted to find out what F1 did

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Lilo & Stitch Has Made As Much As All 2024 Horror Films Combined

July 15, 2025 10:23pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Here’s how you can create disagreement online: Just talk past the other person. It’s that easy! For example, I constantly read articles about how “horror is the most bankable film

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Be Bold, Paramount! Can New Paramount Disrupt Streaming Wars?

July 11, 2025 7:14pm

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) The story that’s drawn my attention this week will likely put me out on a limb compared to many—maybe all?—the other media

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Well, Actually, The Streaming Wars Are Getting More Competitive…

July 8, 2025 10:42pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.)  Sometimes, I wish I could let myself go wild rhetorically.  Specifically, I would love to write crazy, hyperbolic headlines. I pull a lot of data cuts every week, and it

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Long Reads for the Long Weekend – Summer 2025

July 4, 2025 2:07pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, then newsletter, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the

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The State of Theaters, the Decline of Cable, and Piracy

July 3, 2025 12:12am

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today is part two of my “Four Horsemen of the Media-pocalypse” check-in, which I started last week with a big ‘ol article on AI. Frankly, there’s just way, way (probably

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No, Seriously, Are the Streaming Wars Getting More Competitive?

July 1, 2025 11:12pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Is there anything I love more than finding a dose of conventional wisdom and smashing it to pieces?

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A Look at Both Sides of the AI Debate

June 26, 2025 6:23pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Right now, I recommend two different newsletters from two ideologically-distinct-but-similarly-named policy pundits. And boy howdy, do they hate each other. On Twitter, it gets personal. Both of them accuse the

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How I’m Using AI (And Why I’m Still Underwhelmed)

June 25, 2025 5:17pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) So many newsletters use AI to generate intro images these days, so I figured I might as well. Based on my inside joke about heading to my “data bunker”, I

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If a Streaming Show Flops in the Forest, But No One Writes About It, Did It Really Flop?

June 23, 2025 8:12pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Emmy season remains undefeated.  This week, we have so many new shows, but few hits. In fact, the

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11 Reasons For AT&T/WB/Discovery’s Streaming Wars Stumbles

June 17, 2025 8:34pm

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) One of the entries on my “Damn, I wish I wrote that article” list is offering strategic advice to Disney as they

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The 24 Month Gap Between Seasons Is Killing Your Shows

June 13, 2025 6:13pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get to today’s article, two fun digressions. First off, based on the response to last week’s

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A Case Study in Why Movies Should Go to Theaters

June 4, 2025 6:59pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Want to help me solve a mystery? Starting on 23-May, my Substack saw a huge boost in traffic

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The All-in-One Streamer is Dead

May 30, 2025 10:02pm

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Last year, in a bid to fend off a bill that mandates that large search engines like Google (Well, only, Google) pay

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Landman and Severance Show Beast Games What a Real Hit Is

May 29, 2025 5:37pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Today, I deliver on a long-promised topic.  As I wrote when Beast Games first started—the week of 16-Dec,

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No News is Bad News for Big Budget Hit Shows

May 23, 2025 11:24pm

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get to the last two weeks of streaming viewership data, let’s talk about “The Lizardman’s Constant”.

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Can Sports Replace Scripted Television Viewership on Broadcast TV?

May 21, 2025 8:09pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Normally, I just sneak a quick look at broadcast and cable TV show renewals into my regular Renewals and Cancellations update, without saying much else, but I’m not doing that

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Hit Shows Are Gettign Early Renewals, While Two Streamers Struggle in 2025

May 20, 2025 10:54pm

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) When I research and write up my data deep dives, I love slicing the data as many ways as possible. Frankly, I don’t have a choice. If you only look

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Recapping 2025’s Big Franchise and IP Developments

May 16, 2025 9:54pm

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) I won’t lie to you, reader. I’ve been waiting to write about “the content battlefields” of the streaming wars for a while

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The Entertainment Strategy Guy

@SriduttN I think you're two cents are right on here. My gut is their raise is similar to NFL, or maybe NHL. But not that much higher. Read More

Jul 28 2021
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The Entertainment Strategy Guy
The Entertainment Strategy Guy

@MasaSonCap Not at all, and even with the extra inventory, they aren't the NFL. But good to take control of the narrative! Read More

Jul 28 2021
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The Entertainment Strategy Guy

Yes, this headline is about the NBA. And Live Sports. Does it have implications for the streaming wars? You bet. Essentially, right as Live Sports are propping up linear bundles, the new OTT sports services need to buy sports rights. So it's boom town. Read More

Jul 28 2021
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The Entertainment Strategy Guy

🚨🚨🚨Folks, he's going threading! 🚨🚨🚨 Must read... Read More

Jul 28 2021
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The Entertainment Strategy Guy

RT @Denisgreen10: The NBA Final’s Ratings Were Down. Does It Even Matter? by @EntStrategyGuy #NBA #Finals Read More

Jul 28 2021
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The Entertainment Strategy Guy

RT @TimCushing: My employer, @techdirt, brings you great takes on Section 239, the First Amendment, and all sorts of govt malfeasance. And… Read More

Jul 28 2021
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