LA Copyright Society

Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. PT

The War for Eyeballs: Who's Winning and Who's Losing?

Matthew Belloni, Founding Partner of Puck

In Conversation With LA Copyright Society President-Elect Dan Nabel

Fourth Annual Jamie Lichtman Members' Soirée

In 2019, Reed Hastings of Netflix famously wrote that “[w]e compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO.” When asked about this statement on an earnings call, he elaborated that Netflix seeks to win “entertainment time” away from other activities like Xbox, Fortnite, YouTube or HBO, by providing a better experience without advertising.

Today, Netflix is a year and a half into offering an advertising supported streaming plan and other streaming providers are also struggling to attain profitability. Netflix now also offers video games and is trying to upend how talent is paid. Meanwhile, Amazon has the most-watched streaming show in Fallout, but only 3.2% of total TV usage. Apple’s films aren’t profitable in theaters and its share of streaming eyeballs is nearly non-existent -- yet it continues to spend profligately on content. According to Nielsen’s new “media distributor gauge,” which shows total cross-platform view of audience engagement, the only media company exceeding 10% in total TV usage is Disney.

What are the different strategies being employed in Hollywood today? Who is ultimately winning the war for eyeballs?

Join us for a timely conversation about the future of the media and entertainment industry with Matthew Belloni, Founding Partner at Puck. The former editor of The Hollywood Reporter and an entertainment lawyer, Matthew is the author of Puck’s flagship What I’m Hearing, and the host of The Town, covering the real inside conversation about money and power in Hollywood.

Dan Nabel, Senior Director, Associate General Counsel leads the legal function for Games, Intellectual Property and Commercial Litigation at Riot Games. He currently serves as the President-Elect of the Los Angeles Copyright Society and began his career at Greenberg Glusker LLP successfully litigating numerous cases in diverse areas such as real estate, business, and intellectual property. His proficiency extends to academia, where he teaches "Video Game Law" at USC Gould School of Law and co-authored the notable work "Video Game Law in a Nutshell." Prior to Riot Games, Nabel directed the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Clinic at USC Gould, supervising law students in public interest cases. His leadership resulted in the first-ever Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemption for agricultural machinery repair.