Episode Details

Premium streaming lost 89% of the subscribers that signed up for new subscriptions last year, and the audience it’s chasing is watching video in the bedroom, on the bus, and on the toilet. Evan Shapiro’s keynote makes the case that media has to redefine broadcast and follow the whole consumer.

In this keynote episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, recorded on stage at Jupiter Festival in Miami, Evan Shapiro unveils the newest Media Universe map and the Creator Ecosphere map. He walks through cross-screen attention data from 23 regions, including why YouTube, TikTok, and vertical video are winning the phone-first audience, how the creator economy is shifting toward the affinity economy, and why the “cannibalization” fear is a myth, using World Cup viewership as proof. He also covers streaming retention, the rise of advertising over subscriptions, vertical premium television, employee-generated content, and how brands and media companies can win by thinking like creators in the user-centric era.

Key Takeaways:

1. The User-Centric Era Is Here, and the Phone Is the Remote Control
81% of the world’s population is 54 or younger, and phones beat television sets for video time by more than two to one in the US and more than three to one in Brazil and Mexico. In the 23 regions surveyed, the bedroom was the top place to watch video, and 75% of the Indian Premier League cricket final was watched on phones.

2. YouTube Wins by Serving the Whole Consumer
The new de-duplicated cross-screen attention index (index.eshap.tv) puts YouTube first in the US because it is the only platform on both television sets and phones, with a vertical product. Among under-55s TikTok ranks second, and among under-25s TikTok wins total attention in the US.

3. Premium Streaming Is Plateauing as Advertising Overtakes Subscriptions
In the past year SVOD added 175 million subscribers and lost 156 million, a net retention of just 11%. PwC data shows advertising surpassing subscriptions in global revenue for the first time in a long time, which explains why premium streamers are rushing into ads.

4. The Cannibalization Myth Doesn’t Hold Up
During the World Cup, CazéTV in Brazil hit 24 million concurrent YouTube streams for the final while 70 million people watched on broadcast at the same time. RTL in Germany reports a 26% increase in paid subscriptions and a 126% increase in sampling from audiences reached on YouTube, and BBC Studios’ Jasmine Dawson says that in every case studied, social distribution is additive.
5. Think Like a Creator
Indie creators on the Affinity 100 list showed three to five times better engagement quality than mega creators. Heinz drove about $45 million in earned media and a 12% sales lift by mocking FIFA’s stadium branding rules, and Kit Kat’s stolen-truck posts reached 128 million people and $224 million in earned media. World of Wonder’s WOW Presents, built on its Drag Race fandom, reports 96% retention.

Interested in sponsorship? https://forms.gle/2LCWfX2HBNT8mtpx8  

Connect with us on Linkedin:
Evan Shapiro - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshap-media-cartographer/  
Marion Ranchet - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionranchet/  
The Media Odyssey Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-odyssey-podcast    

• (00:00) - Opening Banter
• (00:07) - Mapping the Media Universe
• (01:12) - User Centric Era Begins
• (02:30) - Creator Ecosphere Shift
• (02:59) - Who the Consumers Are
• (04:25) - Streaming vs Social Video
• (06:39) - Where People Watch Video
• (09:38) - Phone First Attention Index
• (14:31) - Affinity Economy Explained
• (17:51) - Bluey and No Cannibalization
• (20:08) - Sports Second Screen Fandom
• (22:58) - Vertical Video Explosion
• (24:27) - Brands Acting Like Creators
• (27:18) - Employee Generated Content Wins
• (29:25) - Drag Rac