So This Happened - 4th June 2025
Your weekly filter for what actually matters in the world of content, tech, and commerce
This week in So This Happened…Reed Hastings trades streaming for AI, The New York Times plays both sides of the AI game, Germany declares tax war on Big Tech, intimate group chats might just be the future of celebrity engagement (because apparently 1,000 fans > 1 million followers) and more!
The New York Times Strikes AI Licensing Deal With Amazon
Why It Matters:
How does a publisher simultaneously sue one AI company whilst embracing another?
The New York Times' licensing deal with Amazon reveals the sometimes contradictory strategy premium media companies are adopting toward artificial intelligence - one that prioritises attempting to control and be remunerated over blanket opt out resistance.
This partnership brings Times content to Alexa devices and Amazon's AI training datasets, covering editorial, cooking, and Athletic content. What makes this particularly intriguing is the apparent contradiction: the Times actively litigates against OpenAI for unauthorised content use whilst willingly licensing similar rights to Amazon. So whats the distinction here?
The distinction lies in the thorny issues of consent and equitable remuneration. So the point of friction is not AI training per se - it's the lack of permission and revenue-sharing. Consent to use a piece of work, and equitable remuneration for that use is the foundation of how creative content gets monetised - the basis of copyright law. The Times' dual approach illustrates the strategic thinking to maintain value in the AI driven reality of massive LLM’s scrapping of IP: don’t deny the beast exists but defend against exploitation - embrace controlled collaboration.
For the content commerce ecosystem, this deal has significant implications and moves the consumer or reader further along the path of full loop attribution from inspiration to purchase. Amazon's integration of Times content into Alexa creates a range of possibilities for conversational commerce, which is where we believe this is all heading. Imagine asking Alexa for a dinner recipe and seamlessly purchasing ingredients, or consuming financial news whilst making investment decisions through Amazon's services. This represents content becoming integral to AI-powered shopping journeys rather than separate from them.
The timing is particularly strategic. With users increasingly turning to AI tools for conversation search over traditional word based search, publishers face an existential choice: remain outside AI ecosystems and risk audience erosion, or engage selectively to maintain relevance and stay part of the conversation. The Times appears to be betting on the latter, recognising that premium content can enhance AI experiences whilst generating new revenue streams, and more importantly, allowing users to consume AI from a more trustworthy and legitimate source. Trust here is important. Conversational search benefits from a trusted and reliable brand (in this case The Times) and that is where publishers can reclaim lost territory - by leveraging their long history of delivering trusted and premium content to claim their rightful place as the go to point of information and conversation.
So this is why we believe this is important: this partnership provides a clue as to what is going into the infrastructure of AI commerce experiences. It is not enough to have a brand picture, or align yourself with the right search terms. Conversational AI-driven search, and conversational commerce needs engaged, interactive editorial content to meaningfully engage. So trusted editorial becomes a key part of the infrastructure for AI-commerce experiences - news, recipes, and sports coverage serving as contextual foundations for purchasing decisions.
This begs the next question: How will other premium publishers balance content protection and equitable remuneration with meaningful AI ecosystem participation, and what new commercial models will emerge from these partnerships?
Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings Joins Board Of AI Firm Anthropic
Why It Matters:
What happens when one of streaming's most successful strategists joins AI's most thoughtful company?
Reed Hastings' appointment to Anthropic's board marks a potentially pivotal moment in the convergence of entertainment and generative AI.
Hastings didn't just build Netflix - he repeatedly reimagined it, from DVD-by-mail to streaming pioneer to global content production powerhouse studio. This track record of navigating technological disruption whilst maintaining consumer trust and relevance makes him an interesting advisor for Anthropic, which has distinguished itself through its focus on AI safety and responsible development.
Why? We believe the timing is particularly significant. Hastings' involvement suggests Netflix is recognising that generative AI and beyond is going to transform the way content is made and the way audiences find and interact with content. This isn't about better recommendation algorithms—it's about fundamentally reimagining content creation, personalisation, and audience engagement.
For the broader content commerce ecosystem, this appointment signals several critical developments. First, it validates AI as essential infrastructure for media and content led companies, not merely a competitive advantage. Second, Hastings' emphasis on addressing AI's societal challenges - evidenced by his $50 million gift to study AI and humanity - suggests responsible AI development will become a competitive differentiator.
Most intriguingly, this pairing could accelerate the evolution of 'conversational content' - where AI assistants help consumers discover, engage with, and ultimately if inspired to, purchase from content experiences. Imagine AI-powered shopping within Netflix shows, or conversational commerce integrated into streaming platforms. It has been tried by Netflix recently around their partnership with Emily in Paris, but with friction at the point of purchase. This, however, could deliver a much better experience and new revenue models with enhanced sponsorship opportunities from brands and content.
The critical question emerges: How will established media companies balance AI innovation with audience accountability and what new business model opportunities will emerge from this convergence?
Prime Video Quietly Rolls Out Show-Level Ad Reporting
Why It Matters:
How does a streaming platform transform from content distributor to advertising infrastructure?
Amazon's quiet rollout of show-level ad reporting on Prime Video represents exactly this evolution - a strategic pivot that wants to effectively reshape connected TV advertising economics.
This capability, embedded within Amazon DSP's "content details" section, offers real-time visibility into impressions, CPMs, and content adjacency by individual title, genre, and rating. Yes thats right! This level of granularity is unprecedented among major streaming platforms, marking Amazon's commitment to transparency as a competitive differentiator.
We’ve consistently seen the frustration around CTV's opacity - Transparency is one of the key issues often cited when discussing the challenges around the CTV ad ecosystem: marketers invest significant budgets without understanding content context or performance drivers. Amazon's approach directly addresses this pain point whilst creating strategic advantages. Unlike Disney, Paramount, or Peacock, which provide post-campaign summaries, Prime Video enables live campaign optimisation based on content performance. This is a big deal for brands and content publishers!
The broader implications extend far beyond reporting. As PMG's Mike Treon noted, this potentially represents the foundation for performance-based content pricing which approaches the traditional linear television measurement metrics and responds to high value premium content. Imagine bidding algorithms that automatically value high-converting shows more competitively, creating a marketplace where content quality directly influences advertising rates.
From a strategic perspective, this could position Amazon uniquely within the streaming ecosystem. Whilst competitors guard content performance data to maintain scale and pricing power (and let’s see where Netflix goes with this) Amazon leverages transparency to attract advertiser investment. Their approach acknowledges a fundamental shift: in an increasingly fragmented media landscape, data transparency becomes a trust-building mechanism.
The timing is particularly astute and relevant for Amazon. As retail media networks demonstrate the commercial value of first-party data and closed-loop attribution, and ad spend pours into retail media away from traditional linear TV, Amazon extends this philosophy to premium video content, creating synergies between their commerce and entertainment ecosystems.
Lets see if anyone else follows Amazon’s example.
Germany is considering a 10 percent digital service tax on US tech giants
Why It Matters:
How do nations reclaim economic sovereignty from global tech platforms?
Germany's proposed 10% digital services tax reveals the evolving battleground between national interests and platform capitalism - a conflict with some serious implications for the global media ecosystem.
Under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany joins a growing coalition of nations asserting fiscal sovereignty over digital value creation. Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer's justification is particularly pointed: these corporations generate billions from German media, culture, and infrastructure whilst contributing minimal taxes or societal investment.
This represents more than a pure tax policy - its rational is rooted in a a desire to protect the funding and ROI of the local creative economies, and is fundamentally challenging what is perceived as the US platform economy's extractive model, where the US platforms have structured themselves to repatriates the maximum value for the content they are using to deliver relevance engagement and scale. Google, Meta and Amazon monetise German content, audiences, and cultural output whilst optimising corporate structures to minimise local tax obligations. This dynamic increasingly frustrates sovereign governments seeking fair value exchange.
The international precedent is significant. Britain, France, Italy, Spain, and others have implemented similar measures, suggesting a coordinated European strategy rather than isolated German nationalism.
And of course Trump's threatened tariff retaliation clearly also elevates this beyond fiscal policy into geopolitical strategy. The prospect of trade warfare over digital taxation reveals how deeply technology platforms, and it appears their owners, have become integrated into international relations - and how their business models, data capabilities and reach are now perceived to intersect with national security considerations. In the meantime, media companies and advertisers risk being caught in the storm.
What will be the impact of these mounting fiscal and geopolitical pressures and the increased regulatory scrutiny on how these large tech platforms operate regionally? One to watch.
Can Live Event Celebrity Group Chats Take Over the Second Screen?
Why It Matters:
How do you scale intimacy without destroying its essential value? WhatsApp and OffBall's "The Chat" experiment represents a noteworthy challenge to traditional celebrity-fan engagement models, trading broadcast reach for conversational depth in ways that could potentially reshape sports marketing.
How? In this instance, the mechanics are (deliberately) contained: 1,000 participants maximum, real-time celebrity commentary during live events, and authentic group chat dynamics rather than polished social media content. When LeBron James critiqued his hometown Cleveland Browns' NFL Draft choices within "The Chat," participants experienced genuine reaction rather than branded messaging.
What they are trying to achieve with this level of intimacy is to create exponentially higher engagement value than the existing metrics of pure follower counts would suggest. Group chat participants become advocates, amplifying conversations across their personal networks whilst maintaining emotional connection to the original experience. The psychological shift from "following" to "chatting with" celebrities transforms passive consumption into active community participation and of course delivers deeper more valuable engagement.
Going back into our content commerce focus, here is why we think this matters: Group chats enable seamless product recommendations, exclusive merchandise access, and direct purchasing within conversation flows. These intimate chats provide deeper opportunity for conversational commerce at its most sophisticated, where product discovery feels natural and personal rather than intrusive.
From a metrics and measurement perspective, this challenges fundamental assumptions about scale versus intimacy in digital marketing and this becomes relevant as we move to a conversational based engagement landscape. While traditional platforms optimise for maximum reach, "The Chat" creates premium experiences through deliberate scarcity. OffBall's 48,000 WhatsApp members aren't just an audience - they are a curated community with demonstrated engagement value.
The broader implications suggest, as we have been advocating for some time, that we are entering an era where authentic conversation becomes more valuable than broadcast messaging, where intimate access commands premium positioning, and where sports fandom evolves from spectatorship to genuine community participation.