BNN Video - Shahid Khan makes Google, Hulu and Netflix media conference predictions

 

Business Day: Media Tech Conference

Business News Network (BNN) - July 5, 2011

The Who's Who of Media are gathering in Idaho's Sun Valley this week for the 29th annual Allen and Company Media and Technology Conference. Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are among the 300 participants scheduled to attend.

Mediamorph CEO Shahid Khan shares his conference predictions with BNN.



WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE

Shahid's Predictions

"I think the biggest thing going on right now is the Hulu deal. From my point of view, the most likely candidate and the best fit for Hulu is probably Google. For a number of reasons:

1) Google has been trying to build their premium content business for quite some time, and Hulu gives them some good offerings and some good content deals in place.

2) Google actually has the kind of cash that one would need to acquire a company like Hulu.

3) With the advertising capabilities, platforms and sales people that Google has, they can actually make a lot more money from the content that Hulu has, compared to what Hulu has been doing independently."

Research In Motion

"Research In Motion (RIM) needs to have a strong partner that can help them rethink what they stand for and strengthen their platform… Microsoft has been trying to do something in mobile for a long time… A combined Microsoft - RIM can be a very strong mobile player."

Activity on the Network Front

"These large companies, like the combination of Comcast and NBC Universal, they have a lot of networks that overlap with other networks. They need to figure which ones to keep, which ones to sell, which ones to acquire."

Latin America

"Latin America and the Caribbean is green field right now. It's very smart for Netflix to focus on that region… The biggest issue in expanding to Latin America is language… In Latin America you need a lot more local programming, a lot more Spanish programming, and that requires a lot of investment and alternative licenses. I think that is where Netflix will go and build an edge, and it's going to be very difficult for others to compete in that region after that."

Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates

"I think in Zuckerberg, Bill Gates probably sees himself a few decades ago. They are both visionaries, they both built great companies from nothing. I personally think it will be about the expansion opportunities. It's going to be about other ways these companies can make money. They already have a great partnership together."

Other Big Plays

"Disney has acquired a lot of social gaming companies, like Play Hub and Tapulous. There's a big play around social media and social gaming. You'll see a lot more synergies in that area."

"John Malone is trying to buy Barnes and Noble for the Nook product. The whole device-based distribution of content is a big play. So you'll see a lot of combination across different types of media, as well as across different platforms on which you can distribute media."

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE