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Channels with Peter Kafka

BuzzFeed's video boss Ze Frank on going viral at scale

Channels with Peter Kafka

Vox Media Podcast Network

Business News, News, Tv & Film, Technology

4.4585 Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2016

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

BuzzFeed Entertainment Group president Ze Frank talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how his newly re-organized video team is developing shows for YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat — and also TVs and movie theaters. Frank says online videos are crossing borders and boundaries that text and still images couldn't penetrate, but he acknowledges that some bits of culture may be lost as entertainment goes global. He also shares the behind-the-scenes story of Tasty, BuzzFeed Food's viral video juggernaut, which has attracted more likes on Facebook than Beyoncé. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Today's sponsor is FreshBooks, which makes cloud accounting software that's ridiculously easy to use.

0:06.1

FreshBooks has completely transformed how 5 million small business owners deal with paperwork.

0:10.6

They do everything from invoices to expenses to time tracking.

0:13.6

You can get a 30-day free trial and start saving time and money at freshbooks.com slash Peter.

0:21.2

This is Recode Media.

0:22.9

Peter Kofka. That's me.

0:24.2

I'm here with Zay Frank.

0:25.3

Zay, I normally describe you as the king of BuzzFeed video.

0:28.8

You have a more formal title.

0:30.0

What's the actual title?

0:32.0

Thanks for having me.

0:33.5

I'm the president of BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, newly.

0:36.9

That's a new title.

0:37.9

Before you were called something else and you guys have shuffled the org.

0:41.8

Actually, we'll just talk about that now and get it over with and have the rest of the conversation.

0:45.6

So you guys, the way I view it, there's BuzzFeed News.

0:49.5

I don't know if it's actually called that.

0:50.5

Ben Smith runs that.

0:51.9

He's super smart.

0:52.9

That is what it's called.

1:12.3

They're on the Oregon why. was a near time story I tried to explain what was going on. You and your own words can explain to us, the podcast listeners,

1:14.5

about how you guys have reshuffled the Oregon why.

...

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