Next TMT Talks: The Intersection of Technology, Media and Telecom

Why are broadcasters stuck in a technology trap? Graham Sharp of BCNEXXT explains the structural hurdles limiting modern video delivery.

David Bloom sits down with Graham Sharp, VP of Sales and Marketing at BCNEXXT, to analyze the current state of the broadcast industry. They discuss how legacy infrastructure and rigid operational models have created a technology trap that prevents traditional companies from competing effectively with modern streaming platforms. The conversation is essential for those looking to understand why media companies struggle to adapt their video delivery systems to contemporary consumer demands.

Sharp outlines the specific pressures facing European and US providers as they attempt to modernize their workflows. By examining the disconnect between existing broadcast hardware and the agility required for digital distribution, the discussion highlights the core business risks inherent in today's media landscape. You will learn how these organizations can potentially navigate these systemic issues and why the transition to more flexible, software-centric models remains so difficult for industry incumbents.

Subscribe for weekly analysis on the collisions between media, entertainment, and tech. Let us know in the comments: do you think traditional broadcasters can successfully pivot to digital-first models?

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#Broadcasting #MediaTech #CloudVideo #BCNEXXT #NextTMT

Netflix can post strong earnings, but if Wall Street stops believing the story, the punishment comes fast. David Bloom and Daniel Frankel break down why Netflix’s latest numbers, leadership shuffle, and engagement concerns sparked fresh skepticism—and why the bigger issue may be that the company is still trying to solve the wrong problem.
They also unpack the wider media market story unfolding at the same time: Barry Weiss’s turbulent run at CBS News, Meta’s massive legal blow in New Mexico, and what those headlines reveal about power, politics, and credibility in modern media. Then the conversation shifts to the future of distribution, from Meta’s push to bypass mobile gatekeepers to Amazon’s growing sports ambitions and the Atlanta Hawks’ streaming experiment.

In this episode:
Why Netflix’s revenue growth and operating margin still weren’t enough to calm investors
What new creative leadership could change—and what it probably won’t
Why engagement, advertising, and stock-based compensation point to a bigger strategic challenge

What research on teens and screens suggests about programming for younger viewers
Why Barry Weiss at CBS News has become a flashpoint beyond one newsroom
What Meta’s legal judgment signals about tech accountability

How CoreWeave, Oracle, and rising interest rates expose risks in the AI infrastructure boom
Why Amazon’s Atlanta Hawks deal could preview the next era of sports streaming
The throughline: media, tech, and sports businesses are all being forced to answer the same question—what happens when the old growth playbooks stop working?
Hosts: David Bloom and Daniel Frankel, co-founders of Next TMT.

Video games aren’t competing with Hollywood anymore. They’re where audiences hang out, discover new IP, and decide what to watch next. David Bloom of Next TMT talks with Jason Platt Zolov, senior consultant at Hub Entertainment Research, about Hub’s new study on how gaming connects with film, TV, music, and advertising.

They cover why Fortnite has become one of entertainment’s most powerful promotional platforms, why Netflix subscribers are more than twice as excited for GTA 6 as non-subscribers, and why most young gamers now do most of their socializing inside games. They also get into which studios are best positioned as Hollywood and gaming keep merging.

Key stats from the conversation:
🎮 57% of young gamers say most or all of their communication with friends happens inside games
🤝 40% of gamers’ in-game friends started as game friends first, not real-life friends
🛒 79% of Fortnite players have paid for skins or extra content
📺 65% of gamers say playable ads feel more relevant than traditional advertising
💳 30% of weekly players have bought a product they saw in an in-game ad

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile just made their move — and it's aimed squarely at Elon Musk. David Bloom and Daniel Frankel break down the new joint venture the big three carriers are forming to counter Starlink's growing satellite ambitions, plus a packed week of TMT news:

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Why the big three carriers are banding together against Starlink Mobile, projected to be a $25B+ business by 2031

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Paramount Skydance's new name and why two Oscar-winning executives got pushed out right after their best year ever

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Netflix's engagement concerns and whispers of 10-15% layoffs

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Google wins its Chegg/Penske antitrust case — what it means for publishers

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NYC's new push for "click to cancel" subscription rules

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Amazon's AWS chief tells communities to stop fighting data centers

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The weekend's big documentary releases: the Elon Musk doc vs. the Zuckerberg biopic

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Who gets to decide what counts as great television, and does the question even make sense anymore? David Bloom and Daniel Frankel of Next TMT Talks take on the New York Times' 100 best TV shows of the 21st century and what the list says about who TV is made for.

In this episode:

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Antenna's new report on why fall is the biggest season for streaming sign-ups, bundles, and launches

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The NYT's top 100 list: Breaking Bad, The Wire, and who the list really speaks to

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Why the "American dream in decline" era of premium cable predates streaming

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A future of AI-generated micro-audiences with no shared TV moments

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Fauda's fifth season on Netflix, and why it's a hit in Lebanon and across the Arab world

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Kim Kardashian's new Netflix reality series about baseball moms

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Pay-to-play trade awards and what a trophy is really worth

Paramount-WBD Is Done. What Happens to Hollywood Now?

The $111 billion Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery deal is done after the state attorneys general backed down. So what happens to Hollywood now? Next TMT co-founders David Bloom and Daniel Frankel dig into what it really means: $77 billion in debt, $6 billion in promised cuts, and a Hollywood workforce that has already lost an estimated 57,000 jobs since the streaming wars ended.

David compares what's coming to the end of the Cold War, when LA's aerospace industry collapsed and took whole communities with it. Plus: why the AG "concessions" may not be concessions at all, whether Bari Weiss gets CNN, and why the new news oversight board may be mostly for show.

Also in this episode: Ari Emanuel's book tour and Hollywood's old-school workplace culture, FloSports bringing small-college football to Amazon Prime, and the NBA's plan to launch a league in Europe.

Produced in partnership with Media Play News.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

02:19 Why the AGs let Paramount-WBD go through

03:18 $77 billion in debt: what happens next

09:09 Cuts, synergies and merging tech stacks

11:40 57,000 jobs lost since peak TV

13:04 The threat to leave California

16:38 LA's aerospace moment

18:19 Bari Weiss, CNN and 60 Minutes

23:18 Does the news oversight board matter?

24:25 Ari Emanuel, Hollywood's toxic culture and Gen Z

32:36 FloSports puts small-college football on Prime

38:33 The NBA's Europe league

44:14 Wrap

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Sports Is Going Social | Gen Z Fandom with Jon Giegengack

Jon Giegengack of Hub Entertainment Research joins Daniel Frankel to unpack the latest wave of their ongoing study tracking how Americans consume sports — and the numbers tell a surprising story about who's actually watching more.

Half of 13-17 year olds say they're watching more sports than a year ago, compared to just 16% of viewers 55 and older. Giegengack explains why: social media has turned sports from something you passively watch into something you participate in, more like joining a community than tuning into a broadcast. Leagues are leaning in hard, and platforms are taking notice — YouTube reportedly out-drew the national broadcaster for World Cup viewership in Brazil.

The conversation also covers how streaming has made sports fandom radically more personal, from the rise of women's sports to niche, long-tail content like local youth lacrosse games available to anyone willing to pay for it. Giegengack breaks down the strategic thinking behind major streaming sports bets — Netflix's "tent pole" approach across the NFL, MMA, and boxing, Paramount+'s exclusive UFC rights deal, and how Peacock retained half its NFL-driven subscriber surge by pairing the game with strong new original content timed to launch alongside it.

From Inertia to Innovation: Inside Broadcast's Cloud Reckoning with Graham Sharp (BCNEXXT)

US broadcast has been promised the cloud for over a decade — so why are most operations still running the same infrastructure they had ten years ago?

In this extended conversation, David Bloom sits down with Graham Sharp, VP of Sales & Marketing at BCNEXXT and head of its US operations, for a wide-ranging look at what's actually holding the broadcast industry back — and where it's headed next.

Topics covered:

The Inertia Engine — Why early "lift and shift" cloud migrations left broadcasters burned, and the real reasons the industry has stalled: sunk cost in legacy hardware, a cloud engineering skills gap, and long-standing distrust between IT and broadcast engineering teams.

The Lift and Shift Mistake — A breakdown of the architecture and economics behind cloud-native playout. Graham explains how containerization and intelligent resource scaling can cut infrastructure costs by roughly 60%, and how it breaks the old one-channel-one-server model for good.

Cutting Through the AI Hype — Why Graham calls his approach "IA" — intelligent automation — rather than AI, and why narrow, purpose-built automation trained on decades of operator knowledge is outperforming generalist AI tools in production workflows.

The Next 3-5 Years — A look ahead at where broadcast engineering is headed: automating out of the industry's cost overhang, avoiding cloud vendor lock-in, and why the pressure to change has finally caught up with the industry.

Whether you're an engineer, a station executive, or just trying to understand why "moving to the cloud" means something different than it did five years ago, this conversation covers the real economics, the real obstacles, and the real opportunity.

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Everyone's talking about Nvidia's $13 billion acquisition of Hugging Face — but there's one angle getting far less attention. This week on Next TMT Networks, editor Dan Jones sits down with Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, to unpack the risk that Nvidia could quietly tilt the scales toward its own hardware on what has been the most open platform for AI models. Despite Nvidia's claims that it won't exert undue pressure, Gold lays out exactly what warning signs — like shifting GPU usage stats — would signal the platform is becoming less open.

The conversation then turns to the proposed Trump administration tariffs on semiconductors — and why Gold argues they could backfire badly, potentially pushing smartphone prices from $1,000 to $2,500, while accidentally strengthening China's domestic chip industry (including Huawei) at the expense of U.S. companies like Qualcomm, AMD, and Nvidia.

Later, Gold makes the case that Nvidia's dominance in AI may be nearing an inflection point, as the industry shifts from GPU-heavy training toward inference and agentic AI workloads better suited to CPUs — a shift that could benefit Intel, ARM, and Qualcomm over the next 6-12 months. The episode wraps with a discussion of the growing security risks posed by enterprise AI agents, and why Gold says he's personally "scared" about what's coming next.

Whether you're a chip industry watcher or just trying to understand how these decisions could affect your next phone bill, this is a candid, no-punches-pulled conversation about where AI hardware and policy are headed.

#Nvidia #HuggingFace #AIChips

Want me to tweak the tags to match too, or are the existing ones still solid?

With streaming’s global digital shelf growing more complex by the day, how can content merchandisers and distributors harness artificial intelligence to ensure their content gets seen?

In this hour-long panel discussion featuring guest Lucas Bertrand (Looper Insights) alongside industry experts, sharp technologists, and media distributors, we dive deep into the mechanics of digital shelf management, discoverability, and media placement value on connected TV devices.

In this episode, we cover:

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The Discovery Dilemma: Why consumers spend up to 14 minutes scrolling before giving up—and how AI search fixes the friction.

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Platform Redesigns: Inside Roku’s AI home screen overhaul and algorithmic shifts on Amazon Fire TV.

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The Algorithmic Class System: How placement value, recommendation engines, and storefront positioning determine viewer choices.

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Social to CTV: Strategies for using short-form social media discovery to drive viewers directly to connected TV platforms.

Whether you're a streamer, content creator, or media technologist, this conversation provides a practical playbook for navigating the future of AI-driven media distribution.

Episode Links & Resources

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Website: https://nexttmt.com

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Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Data centers, edge infrastructure, and AI RAN economics with Earl J Lum

Dan Jones talks with Earl J Lum, President of EJL Wireless, about how New York’s new data center moratorium could shape future state policy, what it means for mega watt and gigawatt builds, and whether edge data centers can fill the gap. They also dig into the practicality of Elon Musk’s small cell approach, and whether Nokia’s AI RAN plans will deliver enough performance to justify the cost.

Key topics

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In this episode: New York’s one year moratorium on large data center builds and why Earl thinks it could become a template for other states.

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New York’s requirements around environmental impact reporting, water usage, and rising renewable energy thresholds for approved data centers.

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Why Texas may face similar scrutiny, especially given its separate grid and the energy demands of large data center projects.

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The difference between five to ten megawatt edge data centers and the hundreds of acres required by hyperscale sites.

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A closer look at containerized edge data centers that use liquid cooling and are designed to avoid water impact.

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Earl’s view that integrating small cells with Starlink terminals creates major mobility and line of sight limitations.

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Why small cells are not a top priority for mobile operators and why macro deployments or tower repurposing may make more sense.

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Nokia’s AI RAN strategy, including how it differs from existing ReefShark based products and what operators would actually be buying.

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The economics of AI RAN upgrades, from GPU card cost to whether performance gains are strong enough to justify the expense.

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Where AI RAN is most likely to be deployed first: dense metro markets rather than rural or low traffic areas.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introductions and the data center policy conversation 01:12 - Why New York’s moratorium could set a national precedent 02:09 - Renewable energy targets and long term compliance requirements 03:31 - Environmental impact, water use, and the pressure on other states 04:19 - Texas grid concerns and the energy burden of hyperscale builds 05:44 - What counts as a large data center versus edge scale infrastructure 06:57 - Containerized edge data centers and liquid cooling 08:28 - Why Starlink plus small cells creates mobility problems 10:18 - Why small cells are not a practical first choice for operators 11:47 - Transition to Nokia’s AI RAN plans 12:40 - ReefShark, Marvell, Broadcom, and Nokia’s silicon stack 14:15 - How NVIDIA based AI RAN cards could fit into AirScale 15:31 - The cost hurdle for operators and the need for real performance gains 16:22 - Why field trials matter more than lab claims 17:33 - What kind of AI operators actually need in the RAN 18:03 - Energy savings, software subscriptions, and operating cost pressure 21:24 - Why AI RAN is more likely to land in major metro markets 22:29 - Closing thoughts and wrap up

Notable quotes

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"This could be New York could be a template."

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"The issue with that is if that is mounted on a rooftop, how does that user use mobility services outside of their home?"

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"An ASIC always wins out over a processor."

Join Next TMT co-founders David Bloom and Daniel Frankel as they break down the biggest structural shifts hitting media, entertainment, and tech this week. From the slow death of lucrative local sports networks to high-stakes antitrust negotiations, streaming shakeups, and the evolving mechanics of digital distribution, David and Daniel unpack what these industry moves mean for the future.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

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The Death of RSNs: Will Charter spin off or buy out its massive multi-billion-dollar local sports network deals for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers? David and Daniel discuss how changing pay-TV ecosystems and direct-to-consumer models are pushing regional sports networks to a breaking point.

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Paramount & Warner Bros. Antitrust Drama: Settlement talks heat up around the Paramount-WBD antitrust lawsuit. Is an early settlement realistic, what levers are state AGs holding, and where does Mark Ruffalo's critical commentary on studio leadership fit into the picture?

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Grand Theft Auto 6 Leaks vs. Netflix: A hacker leaks raw gameplay clips out of spite over digital-only distributions, just as Netflix prepares to host the extended look trailer. How gaming studios are handling the death of physical media and piracy-driven publicity.

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Marvel's Strategic Pivot: Disney retools its slate around Avengers: Doomsday and Doctor Doom. Is superhero fatigue setting in for Gen Z viewers, or can high-profile cast returns still dominate the holiday box office alongside heavyweights like Dune?

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EPL Betting Bans & Media Shakeups: The Premier League voluntarily drops gambling sponsors from team kits, while 60 Minutes introduces a rotating commentary lineup featuring Jerry Seinfeld, John Cleese, and Stephen A. Smith.

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Corporate Culture & The Future of Hollywood Jobs: Paramount termination lawsuits, Netflix’s infamous "Keeper Rule," and what consolidation means for Los Angeles workers and studio real estate.

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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): A preview of Next TMT's upcoming panel at the NDEC/DEG event at the Skirball Center, focusing on media merchandising, streaming visibility, and discoverability in the age of AI.

Timestamps

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00:00 – Intro & Episode Overview

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00:52 – Dodgers & Lakers Local Sports Networks on the Block

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13:16 – Paramount & WBD Antitrust Settlement Talks

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17:41 – GTA 6 Leaks, Physical Media, & Netflix Extended Look

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23:08 – Disney, Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday, & Evolving Audience Tastes

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26:49 – Premier League Kit Sponsors & 60 Minutes New Commentators

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35:37 – Paramount Lawsuits & Netflix Corporate Culture

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49:24 – Merchandising & Discoverability in the Age of AI (NDEC Preview)

Connect With Next TMT:

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Newsletter: Subscribe twice weekly at https://nexttmt.com/

What will the television and streaming business look like three years from now?

David Bloom and Daniel Frankel break down the forces reshaping the media industry — from the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery deal and the accelerating decline of cable TV to Netflix’s push into live sports, the future of ESPN, and the next battle over NFL rights.

The big question: Is linear TV declining gradually — or could it collapse much faster than the industry expects?

They also examine:

• Why the Paramount–WBD deal depends on squeezing more value out of declining cable networks
• Why streaming could overtake linear TV faster than expected
• The future of Fox, Fox One and the NFL
• Netflix’s strategy for live sports and why the Field of Dreams game may have missed the mark
• What baseball’s changing distribution model says about the future of sports media
• Whether ESPN will remain part of Disney
• The changing value of ABC and broadcast television
• Why live events may become increasingly important to streamers
• How Korean content, vertical programming and lower-cost productions could shape the next era of streaming
• What happens to Hollywood as the traditional TV ecosystem continues to shrink

The media business is entering a major transition — and the next three years could reshape television, streaming, sports rights and Hollywood.

Next TMT Talks is hosted by David Bloom and Daniel Frankel in partnership with Media Play News.

Subscribe for more analysis of technology, media and telecom.

In this episode of Next TMT Talks, David Bloom and Daniel Frankel are joined by Rick Ellis of All Your Screens (soon launching Too Much TV) to break down the massive $112B proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery.

They dive deep into the media spin, state AG pressure, and why selling off CNN or moving studio production out of California isn't as simple as it sounds. Plus, the team covers:Charter & Cox Deal: Charter moves to acquire Cox, forming an integrated communications powerhouse. Reed Hastings’ Next Chapter: The Netflix co-founder reflects on leading through AI innovation while rehabbing a ski lodge.

Creator AI Debates: Hank Green faces fan backlash over AI use, coinciding with strict new EU disclosure rules. Disney D23 & Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: John Favreau revives Disney’s original 1927 classic.

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00:02 The Big Merger: Charter and Cox
02:17 Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Merger Insights
05:41 The Role of Unions in Media Mergers
10:02 Financial Struggles and the Future of Warner Bros.
12:26 CNN's Digital Transformation and Challenges
15:32 The Stakes of the Paramount Merger
19:40 Public Pressure and the Future of the Merger
24:08 Disney's New Ventures and Franchise Challenges
28:01 The Quest for New Franchises in Media
31:50 Adapting Popular Media: The Case of Squid Game
36:14 Exploring Humor in Recent Shows
37:42 Rediscovering Hidden Gems in Streaming
39:42 The Future of Cable and Mergers
43:34 The Evolution of Content Creation and AI
48:38 Reflections on the Streaming Industry's Past
56:29 Navigating the Challenges of AI in Journalism

David Bloom and Daniel Frankel dive into the biggest shifts reshaping media, tech, and sports entertainment:

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The Streaming Upfront Shift: How ad-supported streaming tiers (HBO Max, Prime, Netflix) and FAST channels are finally matching viewership—and why traditional broadcast and cable upfronts took a massive hit.

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The $12.5B Lakers Deal: Bob Iger and Josh Kushner lead a consortium to buy the Los Angeles Lakers at a record valuation as Mark Walter faces SEC scrutiny.

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AI Slop vs. AI Streaming: The launch of Roku’s new dedicated AI channel and what it reveals about the future of low-cost content creation.

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Coyote vs. Acme Finally Arrives: Why Warner Bros.' shelved Looney Tunes film could be its most strategic franchise move since Space Jam.

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SpaceX & Elon Musk's AI Pivot: Elon claims SpaceX will soon derive the majority of its revenue from AI and hyperscale compute.

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Ericsson, Samsung, and Nokia are racing to put AI directly into the RAN, but the real question is which approach actually survives the jump from 5G Advanced to 6G. Daryl Schoolar — Analyst & Director at Recon Analytics breaks down what AI RAN really means, why some vendors are betting on CPUs while others push GPUs, and why the biggest opportunity may not be cost savings at all, but entirely new services and revenue streams.

Dan Jones and Daryl Schoolar unpack Ericsson's AI RAN deal with SK Telecom, how South Korea is becoming a proving ground for next-gen network trials, and why these announcements are more than just vendor theater. You will discover the difference between AI for RAN, AI RAN, and the even more ambitious idea of RAN for AI, plus why each one creates very different business models for operators.

They also get into the timing. If 6G is really coming around 2028 to 2030, these partnerships are the early proof points that will shape what the network stack looks like by then. Along the way, they compare Ericsson's and Samsung's CPU-heavy approach with Nokia's more aggressive GPU strategy and explain why inferencing could become a key part of the next phase.

Then the conversation shifts to SpaceX and Starlink's much-discussed "FEMTO frenzy" - and the reality check behind it. Daryl explains why becoming a mobile operator is a lot harder than announcing one, why small cells alone are unlikely to cut it, and why low-band and macro coverage would be essential if Starlink is serious. He also lays out the hidden complexity of spectrum, zoning, customer service, billing, OSS, and device provisioning that can sink even the best technology story.
If you're following AI in telecom, next-gen RAN architecture, or the chances of a Starlink mobile play, this episode is packed with sharp analysis and zero hype. Essential listening if you want to know what's real, what's marketing, and what's coming next in wireless.

Tubi is quietly building the stickiest rabbit hole in streaming, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are stuck in a deal that could reshape Hollywood, and Netflix just scored an exclusive first look at the biggest video game launch of the year.

David Bloom and Daniel Frankel break down the streaming strategy that’s working where everyone else is still guessing. From Tubi’s AI-powered discovery engine and its 110 million monthly active users to the future of FAST, the economics of cable-scale media, and why “free” is suddenly one of the most powerful words in entertainment, this episode is packed with the kind of industry context that explains where viewers are actually going.

You’ll discover:
Why Tubi’s “rabbit hole” approach is turning old library titles into a growth engine
How Fox turned a $440 million acquisition into a streaming asset that keeps compounding
What Hub Entertainment Research’s latest FAST data says about free vs. paid viewing behavior
Why Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are still waiting, and what every delay costs them
How Netflix landed a six-hour exclusivity window on Grand Theft Auto 6’s trailer
What Versant’s latest golf move signals about the future of legacy media brands
The conversation also veers into the state of Hollywood media power, the future of IndieWire, and the long shadow of Nikki Fink, including the unpublished book drama and the culture of gossip-driven entertainment reporting that shaped an era.

This is essential listening if you follow streaming, media M&A, ad-supported TV, gaming, or the business of Hollywood itself. If you want to understand what’s changing, who’s winning, and where the next audience battles are being fought, this one delivers.

00:02 Exploring Tubi's Expanding Universe
08:29 The Streaming Landscape: Tubi vs. Competitors
12:19 The Waiting Game: Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery
16:07 Nikki Fink: A Polarizing Figure in Hollywood Journalism
28:10 The Rise of a Media Icon
29:56 Navigating the Changing Landscape of Indie Media
33:30 The Future of Film: Trends and Innovations
38:43 The Complexities of College Sports Legislation
46:26 Cultural Conversations in Women's Sports
51:36 Strategic Moves in Media and Entertainment

After years of losses, is streaming finally becoming a sustainable business?

On this episode of Next TMT Talks, David Bloom and Daniel Frankel break down the biggest stories shaping the technology, media, and entertainment industries. They examine David Ellison's vision for CBS News and CNN as the Paramount-Skydance merger moves forward, why streaming services are finally posting meaningful profits, and what Spider-Man's record-breaking box office success says about the future of movie theaters.

The conversation also explores Disney's evolving streaming strategy, Scripps' AI-driven newsroom layoffs, SpaceX's latest earnings report and Starlink's expansion plans, plus the week's most anticipated streaming releases—including the return of Ted Lasso.

In This Episode

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David Ellison's media strategy and the future of CBS News and CNN

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The Paramount-Skydance merger

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Why streaming is finally profitable

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Spider-Man's billion-dollar box office performance

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Disney's direct-to-consumer business

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AI's growing role in local television news

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SpaceX earnings and Starlink's next phase

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What to watch this week, including Ted Lasso

Subscribe to Next TMT Talks for twice-weekly conversations covering the biggest developments in technology, media, telecom, streaming, AI, and the business of entertainment.

Roy Chua joins Dan Jones to break down the latest US policy moves, satellite D2D realities, and the ROI on enterprise AI.

In This Episode:

This week on the podcast, Dan Jones sits down with Roy Chua, Founder and Principal at AvidThink, to analyze the major policy shifts, market moves, and spectrum battles shaping the tech and telecom landscape.

Here’s what we dive into:

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🤖 The Humanoid Robot Ban & Private Networks: How potential US restrictions on Chinese robotics vendors like Unitree could impact private network deployments, inflate hardware costs for startups, and alter the US-China race for "Physical AI" supremacy.

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🚀 SpaceX Buying Verizon? Unpacking the viral rumors surrounding Elon Musk's satellite ambitions, the limitations of Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity, and why an MVNO model makes far more sense than buying a Tier 1 carrier.

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📊 Verizon’s Workforce Restructuring: Why Verizon’s recent job cuts are less about AI replacing workers and more about traditional retail and organizational cost-cutting.

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📡 The Race for 6G Spectrum: Breaking down the Upper C-Band auction, the NTIA’s federal spectrum pipeline, and why international policy divergence could create major headaches for device manufacturers.

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👓 Enterprise XR vs. Consumer AI Glasses: Why Industry 4.0 remains the primary driver for industrial augmented reality and spatial computing over consumer smart glasses.

Is the AI Bubble About to Burst? Oracle, Warner Bros., FIFA & Hollywood's Biggest Risks | Next TMT Talks

Is the AI investment boom reaching a breaking point?

This week on Next TMT Talks, David Bloom and Daniel Frankel examine the growing cracks in the AI economy, Oracle's massive debt-fueled gamble on AI infrastructure, and what it could mean for the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery–Paramount merger.

We also dive into:

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Why Oracle and Larry Ellison's AI strategy has Wall Street nervous

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Whether an AI market correction could ripple through the media and entertainment industry

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The latest twists in the Warner Bros./Paramount merger and what it means for Hollywood jobs

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Gavin Newsom, Ari Emanuel, and the politics surrounding the deal

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino's controversial private equity proposal—and why it sparked global backlash

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Netflix's $105 million lawsuit over a stolen Nicolas Cage film

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CNN's Dana Bash vs. RFK Jr. and the evolving role of journalism

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The changing economics of influencers and why building an audience is harder than ever

If you work in media, streaming, AI, entertainment, sports, or technology, this episode connects the dots between Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood in ways few others do.

Subscribe for twice-weekly conversations on the future of media, technology, telecom, streaming, AI, advertising, and sports business.

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Timestamps
00:00 Is the AI bubble starting to crack?
00:46 Oracle's debt and AI infrastructure gamble
04:00 Could Oracle's problems affect the Warner-Paramount merger?
12:55 Will the merger actually save Hollywood?
18:00 RFK Jr., Dana Bash & media accountability
24:00 The influencer economy is changing
30:30 FIFA's private equity controversy
37:20 Netflix's stolen movie lawsuit
43:00 Final thoughts

#AI #Oracle #LarryEllison #OpenAI #Hollywood #WarnerBros #Paramount #Streaming #Media #Technology #Netflix #FIFA #SportsBusiness #WallStreet #NextTMT