Yea for some reason, Katzenberg kept pushing everything full steam ahead, no matter how much the game on the field was changing dramatically

this is incredible lore, thank you

also yeah what terrible timing with covid

The issue was rollout and marketing strategy, not content strategy:

1. They hired a bunch of Netflix marketers, not ones that launched the service, but ones who really could do no wrong in their previous roles. 

Instead of focusing on the creators and the content (and how to market directly to their fans), they made a flashy TV commercial and put up some billboards, like what works when everyone just comes to Netflix and watches the homepage shows anyway.

How do I know? Because I interviewed for the role and they didn’t like my strategy (bullet dodged though I guess haha)

2. The whole point was to watch “quick bites” on the run on your phone, but they launched into COVID when there was no “on the run.” 

They needed a minor pivot that included connected TV apps and some way to cast to a larger screen from your phone. 

People actually did want any kind of new content at that time, but they wanted to watch it on TV. They were too stubborn (possibly got too caught up in the quibi = quick bites thing that nobody knew other than them)