Will Lee

🚀 New Jersey’s Film Boom Just Went Next-Gen – Here’s Why It Matters The numbers speak for themselves: NJ’s film/TV industry generated $1.2B in economic impact in 2025 alone, with Jersey City emerging as the hottest filming hub outside Hollywood. Blockbusters like Timothée Chalamet’s A Complete Unknown and Sydney Sweeney’s latest thriller aren’t just shooting here—they’re proving our state’s 35% tax credit is the smartest investment Trenton ever made. 🎬 Why NJ? ✔ 35% Tax Credit – Highest ROI in the Northeast ✔ Jersey City’s Versatility – Skyline backdrops + urban grit = 40% faster shoots ✔ Economic Domino Effect – Local businesses saw $300M+ in revenue from productions last year But here’s where it gets even more exciting… 🤖 The Next Wave: AI + Film While location shooting booms, forward-thinking studios are layering AI tools to: • Slash post-production costs by 50%+ (see: Runway’s new VFX tools) • Generate hyper-localized content (Fable’s Showrunner tech) • Personalize stories for global audiences That’s exactly why Keystone Studios is designing NJ’s first AI-integrated soundstage—where traditional filming meets generative storytelling. Imagine: ✅ AI-assisted pre-visualization to maximize tax credit efficiency ✅ Hybrid productions (shoot on-location in JC, enhance with AI) ✅ Training programs to upskill NJ crews in these tools 🎥 The Bottom Line NJ isn’t just competing with Georgia or Toronto—we’re leapfrogging them by combining: 🔥 Best-in-class incentives 🔥 Iconic locations 🔥 Next-gen tech infrastructure To Trenton & industry partners: Let’s keep this momentum going. The future isn’t just cameras rolling—it’s AI, tax credits, and Jersey grit rewriting entertainment economics. 👇 NJ filmmakers: Would you use AI to scout locations or enhance shoots?  #NJFilmBoom #AIProduction #KeystoneStudios P.S. Sydney Sweeney’s team isn’t just here for our skyline—they’re here for our tax savings. 💸 Smart creatives follow the incentives.

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I’m deeply grateful and incredibly thrilled to share some major news. Today, tvScientific has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Pinterest. This is a milestone that will bring search, social, and TV together into a single, measurable performance ecosystem. From day one, our mission has been bold: make TV a true performance channel by giving marketers the same level of measurement and accountability they’ve come to expect from traditional performance advertising channels. Over the years, our team has built the technology to make this vision a reality, using a science-based approach that’s anchored in transparency, trust, and real technology. And now, we get to take a massive leap forward. Through this acquisition, we expect that marketers will be able to plan campaigns across search, social and TV, reach high-intent audiences, measure outcomes with clarity, and connect the entire funnel at scale. This isn’t the destination; it’s an acceleration. This is a step forward in the evolution of performance marketing, and it’s only possible because of the amazing team at tvScientific. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built and energized for what’s next. The press release is linked in the comments.

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Through February 15, NBCU says Peacock has an AMA of 3.8 million viewers for the Winter Olympics, accounting for 15% of total audience delivery across digital and linear. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging 24.5 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms, and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network, making it the most-watched Winter Games presentation since the 2014 Sochi Olympics. #NBCU #streamingmedia #winterolympics #milianolympics #peacock #lineartv NBCUniversal #nbcsports

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TV (as an advertising category) has more potential than search. It’s more powerful, and now it can compete with paid search on measurement and optimization. I love paid search. I joined the company that invented paid search (GoTo.com) back in 1998 when we were pre-revenue and got to experience the earliest days of building the world's first paid search marketplace. We scaled that business, went public and eventually were acquired by Yahoo. Paid search was transformational to the industry for reasons we all know. But as TV has recently evolved with new measurement capabilities that enable performance marketers to buy and measure TV in the same way as paid search, TV has become the most impactful marketing channel for lots of reasons. Here are 4 reasons TV is now more powerful than paid search: 1. The primary purpose/motivation of paid search is to capture existing demand. The primary purpose/motivation of TV ads is to create awareness and new demand. 2. Time spent watching TV in the US is 5 hours per day. Time spent viewing Google search results in the US is 6 minutes per day. 3. The format of TV ads is much more powerful: - Average ad size for TV in US is 50 inches - Average ad size for paid search is 300 characters, or 0.5–0.75 inches tall and 6–8 inches wide - TV delivers site, sound and motion; Search delivers static ads - TV ads have 100% share of screen; search ads have 20% max 4. Ad time in view for TV: 14 seconds on average. Search ad time in view: 2.5 seconds.  Historically, paid search could best TV on measurement and optimization. But it’s always been an inferior medium to TV for making an impact on the consumer, especially for driving — and not just capturing — demand. Now that TV has caught up on measurement, there’s no comparison. TV is the most impactful marketing channel.

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The AI Ambition-to-Execution Gap (Roundtable Recap) What’s actually working—and what’s just noise? That was the subtext behind the media publishing roundtable I led last week at the Media Product Forum in sunny NYC. Huge thanks to The Rebooting and WordPress VIP—it was a terrific event! At our table, after some excellent on-stage programming, we tackled three key questions: 1️⃣ What AI-driven workflows are saving time or creating value for your audiences? 2️⃣ How are you measuring success and deciding where to invest further? 3️⃣ What’s your approach to integrating AI without disrupting existing product or editorial processes? The answers were honest—and a little sobering. Nearly everyone had launched something AI-related. But the maturity and impact of those efforts? Generally low. All of which underscores the fact that the AI ambition-to-execution gap is... well, still gapping. Some common threads: – Most AI efforts are still internal and operational—editing, summarising, tagging, basic marketing productivity lifts – Success metrics are vague, siloed, or only tracked loosely – Leadership often isn’t setting clear goals (e.g. "improve X by 80% by Dec 2025") – No one is really rethinking entire workflows—just rewiring parts of the ones they have – Experimentation is role-specific, siloed, and happening without a broader AI education or upskilling plan across the org – AI is being layered in, not integrated—it’s being treated as a pile-on, not a scale-up – Exploration is driven by individual curiosity, not a well-communicated organizational strategy That last one matters: early adopters are leading by default—not by design. This is great and commendable, but… it leads to uneven progress, fragmented change, and a reliance on AI-curious individuals who may not be best placed to bring the rest of the team along for the journey. So what can we learn from this? I come back to this time and time again: Practical AI needs structure. Not more tools—better frameworks. Clear metrics. Real integration. Goals. Because if you can’t measure impact, you can’t prioritize. And if you can’t prioritize, AI stays a side project. In my next post, I’ll jump into breaking down what to track—so we stop chasing potential and start proving value. Curious if this rings true for others leading AI implementation—what’s working (or not) for you? #PracticalAI #AIStrategy #DigitalTransformation #OperationalExcellence #Leadership

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Back from DPP Media Supply Festival in NYC. 🗽 One insight stopped me in my tracks: PA Media and Reuters — two of the most trusted names in news — are embedding AI into their core workflows. Not testing it. Not experimenting with it. Fully integrating it. Think about that for a second. These organizations built their reputation on trust and accuracy. If they're confident enough to make AI central to their operations, what does that tell us? The tipping point isn't coming. It's here. The event made it clear: if 100% of journalists can use AI, so can 100% of media companies. At Framedrop.ai, we're seeing this firsthand. Media teams aren't asking "should we use AI?" anymore. They're asking "how fast can we implement it?" The companies moving now will define the next decade. The ones waiting for "more proof" will be playing catch-up. What's stopping your media team from making the leap? 🚀

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Digging into Responsible Management in Crisis by Jason Miklian and John Katsos and while they don’t cover media companies, this seems like as clear a description as I’ve found for what’s gone wrong (and what can go right).

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On a daily basis, Ahmed Saad pushes my understanding of what AI is capable of. He truly deserves his spot on this list of top AI-Powered Executives

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The momentum behind Semafor World Economy 2026 is extraordinary. Today we are announcing a major new wave of global CEOs and leaders joining us in Washington DC next month. The speakers announced today join a global cohort of more than 450+ CEOs and top government officials at Semafor World Economy— spanning US cabinet secretaries, central bank governors, finance ministers, and the CEOs of leading companies from across the G20 economies. We're also announcing our full program today — covering the defining themes of the new world economy, from AI, geopolitics, and trade to health and biotech, digital assets, energy, workforce, and more. Every session is powered by Semafor’s newsroom and built with the rigor, curiosity, and global perspective that defines our journalism. I am so proud of everything the SEMAFOR team has built here. Next stop - Washington, April 13–17 — don't miss it! Here is a link to the latest and greatest - https://lnkd.in/edb9UaXP

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Free streaming is growing fast. Will it catch up with paid streaming in share of US time spent? YouTube, Roku, and Tubi have grown their collective share of viewing time from 10.9% to 17.2% in just two years. Paid streaming grew too, from 18% to 21.3%. But it's undeniable that free is paying off. YouTube's growth and its algorithmic flywheel have been covered a lot. Less so are Roku and Tubi, both of which doubled their viewership with extensive libraries, super-serving passionate communities, lean-back and lean-forward television. Most importantly, they don't have to convince people to become or remain subscribers. All they have to do convince them to create an account and log-in, which delivers far better monetization, and keep coming back. (I say "all" in jest, but acknowledge all of these things are incredibly difficult to do in practice). As Streamonomics® readers know, the Freemium Tightrope makes it difficult for streamers to offer free and paid under the same brand. Give away too much free content, it's hard to get people to pay. Hulu and Peacock once have free tiers, but discontinued them primarily for this reason. But as competition against AI-driven hyperscalers gets more intense, I've argued streamers will need multiple moats: 1. Content/UX/brand that drives frequency, duration, and willingness to pay 2. A self-funding, integrated upper funnel By self-funding, I mean profitable on its own (YouTube, Spotify). By integrated, I mean one app, one brand, easy upgrade path (the above plus Vix for Spanish-speaking audiences and JioStar in India) Free funnels can come in different forms. Netflix's original free upper funnel was password sharing. One of Amazon's is their constant inflow of people searching for single TV shows or movies, since they know they will always find them in the Amazon ecosystem. THE BIGGER PICTURE: → Free streaming's 58% growth vs paid's 18% signals a macro trend → Paramount is the only premium streamer that owns a free one (Pluto). Will the brands merge? → Roku and Tubi prove there's more than one way to win free streaming Which paid streamer cracks the freemium code first, and how?

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🎬 Let’s stop pretending indie film can be saved with AI tools, distribution hacks, or slate math. The real problem? Equity investors get burned first—and repaid last. That’s why smart capital walks away. Our new Principal Protection Platform rewrites the playbook—shielding investor equity from Day 1 and finally making independent film investable again. 🧨 This isn’t another patch. It’s a full-system reset. Read the full story on Capital Meets Story: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ggp9eypF #FilmFinance #IndieFilmCrisis #PrincipalProtection #CreativeCapital #InvestorProtection #AltInvesting #CapitalMeetsStory

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The odds of Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery keep rising. I don’t see how that deal beats Paramount’s. The structural, political, and strategic headwinds are too significant. • Netflix–WBD is a textbook horizontal merger by the dominant player in subscription streaming. The FTC has clear grounds to challenge it. Keep in mind that the first Trump administration sued to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner despite a weaker legal footing • The White House has already flagged antitrust concerns, giving WBD’s board political and regulatory cover to reject a higher bid. • The current administration wants CNN in the hands of allies. • The Ellisons benefit from this deal in ways others don’t: think TikTok data and algorithm management, federal cloud contracts, and preferential regulatory treatment. • The Paramount bid is also backed by sovereign funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, which the administration has moved to align with more closely. I wouldn’t think that their participation in this deal is accidental. If I had to guess, WBD is strategically leaking to boost Netflix as the stalking horse. Edit (after Netflix–WBD exclusive talks announcement): I am genuinely surprised that Netflix was willing to go as high as ~$27.50 per share and agree to a ~$5.8B reverse breakup fee. That said, this is still far from over. We should expect meaningful regulatory pushback in both the U.S. and Europe, which we are already starting to hear. Bidders may also make an improved offer.

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ICYMI - great piece by the prolific Brandon Katz on how the rise of #FeudalMedia and fragmented audiences in impacting the movie industry's marketing efforts: https://lnkd.in/euttmFTN

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Brands don’t just buy media anymore. They are becoming media owners in their own right. But the process of connecting brands to branded entertainment IP is still fragmented, opaque, and inefficient. So we built IPX - The Content Marketplace to connect the dots. IPX is world's first branded entertainment marketplace where brands discover, connect with, and partner on premium entertainment IP. If you’re a brand, agency, media owner, or creator interested in shaping the next generation of brand-funded entertainment get in touch :-) ---- 👋 IPX is part of Agency House Ltd, a new agency running multiple complimentary but independent business verticals including Saudi Agency Network (part of Agency House). https://lnkd.in/gfgpn4bE

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BREAKING: S&P just downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery to junk status (BB+) Why this matters: This downgrade reflects serious concerns about WBD's financial health three years after the Warner Media acquisition. With debt still weighing heavily on its balance sheet, the company faces critical strategic decisions. Key details: → S&P maintains a "negative" outlook on WBD's credit rating → Linear TV operations seeing accelerated revenue/cash flow declines → EBITDA forecast lowered to $9B for next three years → Leverage expected to remain above 3.5x until 2027 → Potential company split viewed as "credit negative" This downgrade highlights the ongoing transformation in media. Companies with significant linear TV exposure face mounting pressure as viewers shift to streaming. WBD's situation is particularly challenging with: • Higher exposure to general entertainment content • Weaker portfolio of domestic sports rights  • Loss of NBA broadcast rights after 2024/2025 • Smaller ad-supported streaming subscriber base than competitors My analysis: WBD faces a classic innovator's dilemma - invest in growing its streaming business (HBO Max) or focus on debt reduction. While streaming represents the future, the debt burden threatens financial stability. The company's reorganization signals potential separation, but S&P clearly views this as risky from a credit perspective. How should legacy media companies balance growth investments against debt reduction in this challenging environment? 👉 Follow me for more media industry analysis and updates. 🔄 REPOST to help others understand these complex media business dynamics.

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A very well timed WSJ article in my news feed - emphasizes the point of my earlier post about the impact of AI on search. Also shows how publishers are scrambling and diversifying - reinforcing the idea that you need to be engaged where your audience spends time - don’t just rely on search and your website.

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Must-read analysis by Joseph Singer (producer in the ‘90s, former Universal exec, now does M&A) that breaks down why, exactly, any acquisition of WBD would be objectively terrible for everyone except Zaslav & Co. I’ve not seen this level of detail before, which includes all the global entities that could potentially block it. And this also caught me: “There is an uncomfortable truth in this business that rarely gets said out loud: The company that controls distribution ultimately controls the market.” Full transparency: Even as I write about all the paths arising for independents to take greater control over their distribution, I still wonder how many will do this. It’s real and hard work that can feel like a nonentity against the prospect of a purpose-built company taking the lead. And then I read something like that and it snaps into focus. The work may be hard, but the value is real. Anyway, strong recommend. https://lnkd.in/gCKEyyNv

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The key here is regarding how AI lead to “content inspired transformation”. Every since the copyright laws were created, a dichotomic creativity police squad was created to counter piracy and sometimes, trying very hard to stuff the genie back into the bottle. #AI #Copyrights #Creativity https://lnkd.in/ghPfH8Fv

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