This is second in a series of recorded conversations from the stage at NXStream Global, the March 8 summit held by Advertising Week and The Ankler at UTA. The first was with Tony Vinciquerra.
Further proof of the topsy-turvy world of entertainment? In 2019, the WGA bitterly broke with the big agencies over packaging fees (money collected by agents from TV buyers that essentially bypassed writers). Now, with a May 1 strike deadline approaching, Jeremy Zimmer, CEO and co-founder of UTA, came out swinging in support of better economics for writers in a sometimes blistering conversation about the state of entertainment at NXStream Global on March 8. On writers: “We're not talking about driving Bentleys or Mercedes. What we're talking about is making a good working wage.” (15:46). Pointedly, Zimmer also assessed the unprofitable state of streaming, the great un-ordering of series, and stardom (“the stars didn’t get smaller, the movies did”; 29:49). As for dealmaking? “Our buyers are in some phase of trying to figure out what business they want to be in.” (4:47)
For a full transcript of today’s conversation, click here.
Jeremy Zimmer: I'm Siding With the WGA