A former Disney government mentioned TV’s golden period has handed, and even AI can not help it now.
Kevin Mayer, who spent greater than 14 years in management roles at Disney, spoke on Yahoo Finance’s “Opening Bid” podcast on Friday about how tv is previous its peak. Mayer, who’s the co-CEO and founding father of Candle Media, served because the CEO of TikTok for just a few months in 2020.
“Content material’s squeezed proper now, and it takes some huge cash to create nice content material. In case you’re doing conventional movie and TV-length content material at a excessive manufacturing worth, it is costly, it is getting dearer,” he instructed Brian Sozzi, the podcast host.
“AI is perhaps useful there slightly bit, as a result of AI is a software that may assist enhance efficiencies in creating video and storylines and every thing else,” he mentioned.
Nevertheless, he additionally mentioned there is a restrict to how a lot AI might help the business.
“You possibly can’t actually depend upon AI an excessive amount of,” he mentioned. “However as a software for inventive executives and artistic folks, I feel it could it’s going to truly assist with the effectivity, however content material’s squeezed.”
Mayer mentioned TV peaked three to 4 years in the past, and “there is not any longer the income base to afford as a lot content material as as soon as was the case.”
“This isn’t sufficient cash to cowl that anymore, so content material is certainly coming down,” Mayer mentioned.
In his 14 years at Disney, Mayer was concerned within the acquisitions of Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and twenty first Century Fox. Because the chair of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and worldwide division, he led a staff that launched Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, in 2019.
Using AI in movie and content material manufacturing is a contentious concern. In 2023, greater than 11,000 Hollywood movie and TV screenwriters went on strike to protest using AI of their business and demand extra regulation.
Mayer’s feedback come at a tough time for the US media business. Conventional TV corporations have for years been grappling with the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+, which have rendered once-essential cable TV networks out of date.
Comcast, the American mass media, telecommunications, and leisure megaconglomerate that owns MSNBC, CNBC, USA Community, and different cable TV networks, mentioned in November that it could spin off virtually all of its TV networks right into a separate firm.
Representatives for Candle Media didn’t reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.
