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The James Altucher Show

Yelling Fire in the Movie Theater | Netflix, Redbox, & Movie Pass Exec. Mitch Lowe

The James Altucher Show

James Altucher

Education, Business

4.62.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 September 2022

⏱️ 60 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mitch Lowe has been a significant disruptor of Hollywood's distribution models over the past two decades, promoting all-you-can-eat subscription models on personal devices and at the box office. Netflix famously redefined consumer video distribution while Movie Pass infamously imploded in 2019. Today, Mitch speaks openly with James about why his companies ended up on their trajectories while describing the analytics that factor into their business plans.For a deeper dive into the dramatic evolution of the entertainment business, read or listen to Mitch's new memoir: Watch and Learn: How I Turned Hollywood Upside Down with Netflix, Redbox, and MoviePass?Lessons in DisruptionOther topics include:How Netflix's DVD queue saved the company (11:12)The genius of Netflix's auto-play feature (12:46)Content business models: ad sales vs. subscription (14:29)What led to Movie Pass' downfall? (17:46)Movie studios' stranglehold on movie theater pricing models (21:52)How Movie Pass used 'the float' in its business operations (29:22)The cost of acquiring digital distribution film rights (33:44)When does streaming become a commodity? (38:01)What will Netflix do to overcome the commoditization of the streaming market? (39:47)TikTok's algorithm vs streaming services (52:26)(Editor's note: Topic times don't account for sponsor ads and may appear a few minutes later in the episode on your podcast player)------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book Skip the Line is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe  to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsStitcheriHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on Social Media:YouTubeTwitterFacebook ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0

What's it like to start Netflix, Red Box, Movie Pass?

0:10.0

You've basically, when you've started those three companies, you've changed the entire entertainment

0:14.6

industry forever.

0:16.8

So I get to talk to Mitch Lowe, co-founder of these companies, his book is called Watch

0:20.8

and Learn.

0:22.1

And I ask him very direct questions.

0:25.2

I want to know what the future of content is, what the future of entertainment it is.

0:28.3

I've worked in the entertainment industry, pitched TV shows all over the entertainment industry.

0:33.1

I'm skeptical of a lot of things.

0:35.5

He was gracious enough to answer my questions.

0:38.4

Here's what we realized in the beginning of this podcast is that he was on the podcast

0:41.6

once before in 2014.

0:44.1

So eight years ago.

0:45.3

So welcome back to the podcast, Mitch Lowe, after an eight-year absence from it.

0:49.7

Here he is.

0:52.8

This isn't your average business podcast, and he's not your average host.

0:57.7

This is the James Altiger show.

0:59.3

Mitch, thanks so much for coming back on the podcast for your second appearance on the

1:09.0

podcast.

1:10.0

Mitch Lowe, co-founder of Netflix, a small little company you might have heard of.

1:14.5

Red Box and Movie Pass, Mitch was on episode 66 back on December 1, 2014.

1:22.7

We both had trouble remembering it.

...

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