David Eilenberg, Roku Media’s head of content, stopped by the Variety Studio presented by Canva at Cannes Lions to discuss the trajectory of Roku, from the implementation of feature films, TV programming, sports programming and becoming a successor platform to basic cable.
Finding a place within the streaming marketplace, Eilenberg knew the company’s direction needed to mirror former success stories, but the executive noted for Variety, how he didn’t want the team to become “Netflix with ads,” he had a different goal in mind. Eilenberg wanted to examine what made networks like USA, TNT, A&E and AMC, “great” and dominate viewership “at their height.”
Eilenberg posed the question, “Is there something we can do in 2023 to be the successor platform to what was great about basic cable general entertainment when it was really at its best?” Eilenberg added, “Because basic cable platforms are really so dominated by news and sports at this point, and a lot of the general entertainment has come off of those networks. I think that creates an enormous opportunity for us.”
Eilenberg noted how they’ve recently been doused a bit of “good luck,” thanks to their “biggest breakthrough scripted property,” the 2022 TV movie “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”
“I think that was a bit of lightning in a bottle, just in terms of the subject matter, the timing, the execution — which I thought was pretty terrific — and we certainly caught audiences at the right time for that.”
As Roku expands its library of original content, Eilenberg noted the recent deal with Warner Discovery, has allowed the platform to entice audiences with titles from other entertainment companies, including “Westworld” and “The Bachelor.”
“I think it’s just indicative of the fact that we’re entering an era where co-windowing, territory by territory sales, all of these things are coming back. We lived for quite a while where a global cost plus in-perpetuity buyout was the sort of deal that everybody was making, and — I don’t think I would be alone in telling you that — there are different deals now emerging as the market deals with its new realities,” explained Eilenberg.
In addition to the realities of co-windowing, Eilenberg spoke to the increase of original features from streamers, explaining how “people just want an evening’s entertainment.”
“They don’t necessarily want to be invited to start the first of eight seasons of a show. And features, along with sports, fill that need, in a pretty easy and profound way.” Eilenberg continued, “Especially for non-intentional TV starts, which is to say, I turn on my TV, [on a] Friday [or] Saturday night, I don’t know what I’m going to watch yet. If I can put a feature on the home screen that’s appealing to you, [Roku] provided a solution to you as a viewer that doesn’t command a commitment that goes beyond tonight.”
Watch the full conversation above.
