Inside the red hot streaming wars (feat. Bill Demas)
TechieBytes3 Maalis 2020

Inside the red hot streaming wars (feat. Bill Demas)

Episode 60: We spoke with Bill Demas, CEO of Conviva, a company that offers streaming media intelligence and analytics. We discuss the ongoing streaming wars playing out amongst Netflix, Disney, Amazon, WarnerMedia, and others and what it means for consumers, his views on when it’s time for a startup to hire a professional CEO, and more. Enjoy!


Bill Demas, CEO of Conviva, a company that provides media industry giants, including CBS, HBO, Hulu and WarnerMedia, streaming media intelligence and analytics. Conviva has a global footprint of more than 150 billion streams per year across three billion applications streaming on devices.

Bill is a four-time CEO, startup mentor and angel investor. In the past, Bill was CEO of Shopkick as well as Turn and held executive roles at Yahoo!, Overture and Microsoft. Throughout his 25-year career, Bill has successfully scaled dozens of software companies – usually while simultaneously serving as a mentor, coach, board member, board director and venture partner. He has also been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

Jaksot(89)

How one of YouTube's biggest channels thinks about content, audience, and YouTube (feat. Ash Karbasfrooshan)

How one of YouTube's biggest channels thinks about content, audience, and YouTube (feat. Ash Karbasfrooshan)

Episode 48: We spoke with Ash Karbasfrooshan, CEO at WatchMojo, one of the largest YouTube channels with more than 20 million subscribers. We discuss how Ash realized YouTube was the best platform for video, why listicles have such staying power, how to keep your audience fully engaged, and if he's concerned about brand safety on YouTube. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

9 Huhti 20191h

How to build truly mobile-first video content (feat. Jesus Chavez)

How to build truly mobile-first video content (feat. Jesus Chavez)

Episode 47: We spoke with Jesus Chavez, CEO at Vertical Networks, a company building a mobile-first premium content studio featuring hit shows like Brother and Phone Swap. We discuss what it means to be mobile-first, what the future of mobile video looks like from a content and distribution standpoint, and what it's like being a first-time CEO. Jesus has a deep understanding of digital operations, content marketing, social platforms and business strategy, prior to becoming CEO at Vertical Networks, he was most recently the COO for Mitu a digital media company focused on Latino youth. Before building digital organizations in the startup world, Jesus spent almost 9 years with Univision in multiple senior leadership roles where he ran digital operations and strategy for the Univision Television Group (UTG) and previously the Local Interactive Media Group. Under his leadership the UTG digital group achieved profitability. He also successfully led the expansion of the local digital business for the Radio and TV groups, re-launched 70 online and mobile sites in a seven-month period as well as the first Univision music branded app. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

2 Huhti 201953min

Audience development and subscriptions: building an audience at scale (feat. Travis Bernard)

Audience development and subscriptions: building an audience at scale (feat. Travis Bernard)

Episode 46: We spoke with Travis Bernard, Senior Director of Subscriptions and Audience Insights at TechCrunch. We discuss what audience development looks like at TechCrunch, what analytics TechCrunch utilizes (as well as who gets access to them), and the recent launch of Extra Crunch (including a sneak peek of what's to come). Travis has helped TechCrunch nearly double its monthly active users since he started and is responsible for running paid and organic media campaigns to help promote TechCrunch's event business, resulting in millions of dollars in new revenue. He was also engaged in business development and partnership operations, including TechCrunch's work with Facebook Live, Messenger chat bot, and event integration with audio startup Otter.ai. He's currently running audience development for TechCrunch as well as leading the business operations and marketing effort behind Extra Crunch. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

26 Maalis 201953min

How to pitch reporters and save the media industry (feat. John Biggs)

How to pitch reporters and save the media industry (feat. John Biggs)

Episode 45: We spoke with John Biggs, entrepreneur and former TechCrunch East Coast Editor. He's currently working on projects including HypeHop, Tech4Reporters, and Typewriter Plus. We discuss TechCrunch in the early days, tips for pitching reporters, and ideas to save the media industry. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

19 Maalis 201941min

How to create compelling, credible, and effective branded content (feat. Melanie Deziel)

How to create compelling, credible, and effective branded content (feat. Melanie Deziel)

Episode 44: We spoke with Melanie Deziel, founder at Storyfuel and also an international keynote speaker who is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in native advertising and branded content. We discuss the biggest myths about content marketing, how to properly brainstorm your content, as well as how to distribute it effectively. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

12 Maalis 201951min

A quick update of what's to come!

A quick update of what's to come!

Hey guys, Jeff here from BestTechie.com! Today’s episode is more a quick update, as some of you may know in January I started in the Harvard Business Analytics Program and being that I do all the behind the scenes work of the podcast myself such as scheduling guests, research and writing of questions & topics, as well as editing and uploading, oh and of course hosting each episode—it’s been a little hectic around here. And that doesn’t even include my day-to-day stuff at BestTechie. That being said, I plan to continue hosting the podcast and releasing every Tuesday. I’m currently working on booking a bunch of really great guests, in fact, some upcoming guests include, early TechCrunch editor and entrepreneur, John Biggs, leading native advertising and branded content expert, Melanie Deziel, founder & CEO at Taboola, Adam Singolda, Senior Director of Subscriptions and Audience Insights at TechCrunch, Travis Bernard, and so many more! Thanks to everyone for listening, I’m super excited to continue releasing the podcast. I’d also encourage you to visit BestTechie.com for new content every day. If you want to get in touch with me, you can email me jeff@besttechie.com or feel free to tweet me @jeffweisbein or @besttechie. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

5 Maalis 20191min

The rise of conveners and why they matter (feat. Callie Schweitzer)

The rise of conveners and why they matter (feat. Callie Schweitzer)

Episode 43: We spoke with Callie Schweitzer, founder at The Callie Co, a creative strategy and consulting firm that helps businesses and individuals increase reach, relevance and revenue. She previously worked as Chief Content Officer at Thrive Global alongside Arianna Huffington. We discuss the future of media, including what Callie calls "conveners," how "town squares" will play an important role in the media landscape, and why engagement trumps everything. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

19 Helmi 201950min

How brands can effectively leverage social commerce to increase sales (feat. Apu Gupta)

How brands can effectively leverage social commerce to increase sales (feat. Apu Gupta)

Episode 42: We spoke with Apu Gupta, CEO at Curalate, a social commerce company that turns any image or video into a storefront for brands like Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and Crate & Barrel. We discuss how Curalate was born out of the ashes of a failed startup, the best ways to leverage influencers, the editorialization of ecommerce, and more. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/besttechie/support

12 Helmi 201952min