Why Every Studio Wants to Be a Tech Company (And Why It’s Failing)

Hello readers,

If you've been paying attention to the media landscape lately, you'll notice a pattern: every major studio, be it Disney, Warner Bros. or Paramount, they are all trying to morph into a tech company. 

They're not just dabbling in streaming; they're attempting full-blown digital transformations.

But most of them are failing. Or at the very least, stumbling hard.

The Media-Tech Identity Crisis

Let’s call it what it is: Hollywood is in the middle of a full-blown identity crisis. 

Traditional studios have looked at Netflix’s explosive growth and thought, "Why not us?" 

The logic is understandable. 

Direct-to-consumer platforms mean control over user data, distribution, and ultimately, higher margins.

But Netflix is a tech company that does media. 

Most of Hollywood is trying to be a media company that does tech. 

And there’s a BIG difference.

Shifting Media Landscape? More Like a Tectonic Shift.

Streaming hasn’t just disrupted the media business, it’s rewritten the rules. 

Old-school models of theatrical releases, syndication, and cable licensing are collapsing under the weight of subscription churn, binge cycles, and algorithmic personalization.

Legacy players are scrambling to adapt. 

But adaptation requires speed, and Hollywood isn’t built for speed. 

It’s built for development cycles, greenlighting committees, and marketing windows. 

In contrast, Netflix tests thumbnail images, trailer variations, and even episode sequencing, all in real-time, using viewer data as its compass.

Crushing Debt: The Anchor Holding Studios Back

Let’s zoom in on Warner Bros. Discovery. 

The company is currently staring down a $39 billion debt mountain. (As of December 31st, 2024)

That’s not exactly a setup for nimble innovation. 

They’ve been forced to explore restructuring options, including separating their streaming and studio operations because, let’s be real, building tech infrastructure and buying IP simultaneously isn’t cheap.

Disney’s not immune either. 

Despite the success of Disney+, the Mouse House is under pressure to turn streaming into profit. 

They’ve made big bets like acquiring 21st Century Fox, launching ESPN+, revamping Hulu, but Wall Street wants margins, not just subscriber milestones.

Paramount, meanwhile, is arguably the most precarious of the bunch. 

Paramount+ has struggled to gain traction, and rumours of a sale are already making the rounds. 

When you’re constantly playing defence, it’s hard to build anything long-term.

The Tech Titans Have an Unfair Advantage

Let’s not forget who they’re up against. 

- Netflix has spent two decades perfecting the art of personalization and predictive content success. 

- Amazon bundles Prime Video with e-commerce, giving it stickiness other platforms dream of. 

- Apple runs Apple TV+ not to dominate streaming, but to deepen its ecosystem and keep you inside the Apple universe.

In India, we’re seeing the tech-meets-media playbook unfold in real time. 

Reliance’s Jio merged with Disney’s India unit, creating a behemoth with 100+ TV channels and two major streaming apps (JioCinema and Hotstar). 

It’s a strategic masterstroke because:

1. Disney brings content

2. Jio brings distribution and reach. 

That’s the media-tech synergy Hollywood dreams of.

Sony, ZEE, and even startups like Pocket Aces are building vertically integrated media-tech stacks. 

The future isn’t just owning the content, it’s owning the pipes, the data, and the distribution platform too.

What Studios Need to Learn from Big Tech

Traditional studios can’t outspend or out-tech the tech giants. 

But they can out-create them. 

Instead of trying to be Netflix, they should be figuring out how to 'partner' with Netflix or Apple, or Amazon, and build bundles, co-productions, and hybrid models.

Big Tech isn’t afraid to test, iterate, fail, and pivot. 

Studios need to adopt this mindset. 

That means hiring engineers, not just executives. 

It means treating data like a creative partner, not an afterthought.

And most importantly, it means knowing who you are. 

Tech-first doesn’t mean abandoning storytelling; it means enabling it, scaling it, and delivering it in smarter ways.

Final Thoughts  

The studios that survive this disruption won’t be the ones with the most content. 

They’ll be the ones who figure out how to make tech serve the story, not the other way around.

See you next Wednesday,

Vipul Agrawal.

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