Latest news with #PoptheBalloon
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Netflix is quietly searching for an exec to lead its video podcast efforts as it chases YouTube
Netflix is quietly searching for an exec to lead its video podcast efforts. The streamer is chasing YouTube, which has cemented itself as a video podcast titan. Podcast listening and advertising are on the rise, and media giants are investing. Netflix is quietly searching for a podcast leader as it looks to bring video pods onto the streaming platform, two people close to the company told Business Insider. Netflix had previously explored potential deals with podcasters as it sought new areas of growth, as BI first reported. The hunt for an exec to lead a video podcasting effort shows how seriously Netflix is taking the space. The streamer's interest comes as rival YouTube has cemented itself as a living-room fixture and video podcasting powerhouse. Netflix has also shown interest in creator content more broadly. "We're really excited about 'The Sidemen' and 'Pop the Balloon' and a wide variety of creators and video podcasters that might be a good fit for us, and particularly if they're doing great work and looking for different ways to connect with audiences," co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the company's second-quarter earnings call this month. "The Sidemen" and "Pop the Balloon" are two Netflix shows that began in the creator realm. Netflix has not publicized a podcast lead job opening and declined to comment for this story. One person who had conversations with Netflix said the company wanted someone who could make video-first podcasts for a big audience. Many of today's biggest podcasts started as audio-only endeavors and later added video as audience habits changed and YouTube gained prominence. The lines between video talk shows and podcasts have increasingly blurred, and newer podcasts often now start with video in mind. It's not clear where the podcast role would sit inside Netflix. A second person who had conversations with the company said they believed it would sit in Netflix's TV and film licensing arm under Lori Conkling rather than the original content side. That could signal that Netflix might look to license existing shows, as it's done with some YouTube creators like preschool entertainer Ms. Rachel, as well as make original shows with hosts. Separate content-side hires could follow. Edison Research has charted the continued rise of podcast listening. In a new report out this week, the firm said 73% of people ages 12 and over in the US listen to or watch podcasts, up from 55% in 2020. Video is on the rise, too, with 51% of people 12 and up saying they've watched a podcast, according to Edison. Podcast advertising grew 26.4% to $2.4 billion in 2024, according to the IAB. EMARKETER projects it will top $2.5 billion in 2025. Other media heavyweights have made big moves to chase the podcast-listening audience and the advertising that can come with it. In February, Fox acquired Red Seat Ventures, which produces Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and others. Amazon paid $300 million for podcast company Wondery in 2020, The New York Times reported at the time, after snapping up audiobook company Audible in 2008.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Pop the Balloon Birmingham' holding casting call for locals
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A local version of the popular online dating show 'Pop the Balloon' is filming in Birmingham and looking for people to take part in its first season. The show, 'The Krush Edition: Pop The Balloon,' is hosted by Koko Dennis, red carpet correspondent for the Stellar and Trumpet Awards, and TV personality with People TV, BeeTV, and Mawh Productions. 'We're bringing love, laughs, and surprises to the screen with 'Pop the Balloon,'' a press release stated. 'Cast members ask revealing questions to find a match—but if the spark's not there, the balloon gets POPPED!' Cast who have already taken part in the show are reportedly from Birmingham, Norway, Nashville, Chattanooga, Anniston, Tuscaloosa, and beyond. To apply for an audition or to learn more information, click here or email contact@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Insider
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Netflix has a new cure for decision fatigue
Netflix is refreshing its homepage for the first time in a decade as it tries to keep people on the service for longer. As Netflix has added sports and live events, its TV viewing experience has had to evolve, executives said in a blog post and presentation previewing the updates with reporters on May 6. The changes include moves to promote live events, use artificial intelligence in search, and help users get to search faster. "Our members do a lot of eye gymnastics when they're scrolling down and right and going back and forth between rows and title details on the homepage," Eunice Kim, chief product officer of Netflix, said in the presentation. "This makes it hard to absorb enough information to understand what is unique about each title." Why does that matter? Growth. As it matures, Netflix isn't growing as fast in its core markets of the US and Canada. It has more opportunities in Asia, where there's more upside for its lower-priced, ad-supported tier. In those mature markets, it's moving toward time spent as its North Star and away from subscriber growth. The more time its ad-tier subscribers spend on Netflix, the more ads they see and the more money Netflix makes. So, Netflix has to keep offering something for everyone, and shows and movies people feel they have to show up for. That means putting out an enormous amount of new titles that meet the varied tastes of its more than 300 million subscribers worldwide. It's why Netflix is rolling out more live programming like the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and the YouTube-born dating show, "Pop the Balloon." It's why the service is considering offering other kinds of content, like video podcasts, that people are increasingly watching on TVs. Despite being far and away the winner of the streaming wars, Netflix's share of US TV viewership has remained largely flat over the past year at around 8%, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, Google's YouTube has pulled away from the pack, to 12% of TV viewing in March, up 19% year over year. Here's a breakdown of the changes Netflix said it's rolling out to users in the coming weeks and months to get them to make viewing decisions faster: More information on titles, like whether they've won awards or ranked among Netflix's most-watched. More visible shortcuts, which Netflix moved to the top of the screen from the left-hand side. Recommendations that respond to people's moods and interests in the moment based on signals like what they gave a thumbs-up or searched for. A cleaner design. A generative AI search tool in its mobile app that lets people search using natural language. A vertical feed in the mobile app with clips of Netflix shows and movies that can be tapped to watch immediately, add to a list, or share.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brillstein Signs Brandon Berman & Harrison Forman, Creators Of Live Dating & Comedy Show ‘UpDating'
EXCLUSIVE: Brillstein Entertainment Partners has signed the viral series UpDating and its creators, comedian-producers Brandon Berman & Harrison Forman, for representation in all areas. A one-of-a-kind live dating and comedy show based in New York City, UpDating brings two singles on a blindfolded first date — right in front of a live audience. What follows is a 90-minute, unfiltered experience packed with laughs, raw reveals, audience participation, and real-time reactions to modern romance. The show is said to be like reality TV, unfolding and unedited, live on stage. More from Deadline Ralph Macchio Signs With Gersh 'Running Point' Actor Chet Hanks Signs With Paradigm Brillstein Entertainment Partners Adds Jared Ceizler As Manager So far, the show has been performed live in 100 cities all over the world. It's a bona fide phenomenon on social media with over 5 billion total views and over 5 million followers across all platforms. As streamers start to look to the creator economy for programming, with recent releases like Kill Tony and Pop the Balloon on Netflix, and Beast Games on Prime Video, UpDating is said to be in the same conversation, as it eyes an expansion into the world of television, publishing, branding and a live experience app for fans to connect at their shows. Berman and Forman host UpDating and produce every aspect of the show, from casting through editing. Coming off a winter tour with sold out shows at venues like The Wilbur in Boston and The Town Hall in New York, they're embarking on a spring continuation of their After Hours tour on April 26 that will take them to over 20 cities across North America. Currently weighing several offers for the audio rights to their format for a podcast offering, they and UpDating continue to be repped by WME and Yorn Levine Barnes.
WIRED
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
'Pop the Balloon' Was a Viral Hit for Black Daters. Then Netflix Gentrified It
Apr 17, 2025 11:49 AM Fans of the hit YouTube series are upset over Netflix's 'watered-down' remake, which one of the streamer's executives calls a 'tragedy.' Photo-Illustration:One of the more heated exchanges from the original Pop the Balloon or Find Love —a wildly popular YouTube show through which eligible Black singles ruthlessly assess each other's attractiveness face-to-face—should have culminated with a lesson in humility. Aaron, a 29-year-old plumber whose deal breakers included 'being promiscuous' and 'non-cleanly' had just finished insulting a woman for having too much hair on her arms when fellow contestant Kailah cut him down to size. 'You kinda look like a Ninja Turtle, you're not that cute, you need to relax, and you're stocky as hell,' Kailah said as the other women erupted in applause and cheers. Rather than backing down, though, Aaron shot back, 'you're not even qualified to be dealing with me,' before bragging that he had more money than her. The moment, like many of the exchanges on the show, brings its appeal into sharp focus: Pop the Balloon doesn't hold back. Set in a no-frills, stark white studio, with many slow-motion fit checks, the show is candid and vulnerable, often ridiculous, and sometimes problematic. It is the anti-thesis of a highly produced dating franchise like The Bachelor —but people have come to love that lack of polish; the show averages around 2 million viewers per episode and was recently parodied on Saturday Night Live . But much of the authenticity that fans loved was absent from Netflix's reboot, a live version called Pop the Balloon Live , which debuted last week hosted by comedian Yvonne Orji of Insecure , and featuring reality stars and contestants of all races. That episode is already dealing with accusations that it's 'watered down' and amounts to 'a paper bag test.' Which begs the question, what does a show lose, especially one that is anchored in Black culture, when it widens its scope to include everyone? 'Of course Netflix added DEIs,' @camsimply joked on Bluesky, upon hearing about the new version. 'We can't have NOTHING!' @princey5ive responded. 'They gentrified Pop the Balloon … UGH,' @richgirlenergy_ posted on X. It's 'a tragedy,' one Netflix executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, tells WIRED of the premiere, saying it wouldn't be surprising if the team that works on the show makes several adjustments given the overwhelming negative response. Netflix did not respond to requests for comment. Launched in December 2023 by Bolia Matundu and Arlette Amuli, who also acts as host, Pop the Balloon has followed the same bare bones approach to finding love across its 51 episodes. A group of single women or men stand shoulder to shoulder in a line, each holding a red balloon and toothpick. They are introduced to a prospective suitor who must ask and answer questions ('What's your love language?'; 'Do you have kids?'). Although the show features people of all backgrounds—entrepreneurs, doctors, educators, engineers, even alleged scammers—the contestants are predominantly Black, straight, and Christian. If at any time the contestants don't like what they hear or see, they can self-elminate by popping their balloon, but must explain why they did. Maybe contestants felt he was too short or they didn't like the sound of her voice; explanations run the gamut but lack of physical attraction is the most common deal breaker. Episodes have a tendency to veer into slapstick when a suitor has just walked on stage, hasn't spoken a word, and sets off a chain-reaction of popped balloons. Depending on the emotional temperature of contestants, interviews can erupt into arguments over shallow beauty standards, like a large forehead, 'crusty' lips, or a 'Willy Wonka'-style hat. While the original has been called out for portraying a surface-level representation of Black dating culture, those unique elements are also what many fans have come to appreciate about it. Netflix announced that it was taking the series 'to the next level' in a new live format, and likely has a much bigger budget than the original, but so far it hasn't gone over well. The series premiere kicked off with a young white woman unironically rapping about being an honors student within the first 10 minutes. Veteran reality TV star Johnny Bananas, 42, from MTV's The Challenge , was the first lucky suitor but soured on the women right away. In one exchange, which initially seemed to be directed at a Black contestant, he said that her feet looked like she 'sleeps from a tree upside down.' The next day he attempted to clear up his statement on X, writing: 'Hey morons, I was actually talking about the WHITE girl whose toes were hanging over her shoes who is literally dressed like a fucking tree!' The live version is being produced by Sharp Entertainment, the company behind 90 Day Fiancé and Love After Lockup . 'This new iteration builds on the original's core concept while pushing the boundaries of connection, chemistry and unpredictability,' executive producer Matt Sharp said in a statement. Exactly what Sharp means by 'pushing boundaries' isn't entirely clear given the heft of Netflix's influence, and the impact the company has had in remaking the future of Hollywood. A more pallatable version of Pop the Balloon isn't necessarily a better one. In fact, Netflix is one of the few streamers, maybe the only streamer, that can take a genuine shot on culturally niche projects because of how much reach and brand awareness the company has. 'I don't understand why they adapted it and I don't really get why it would be a smart play for them. What audience is it going to serve?' a former development lead at Paramount, who also wanted to remain unnamed, tells WIRED. 'It really feels like less of a creative evolution and more of a reactionary attempt to fill the gap in live content. I wouldn't be surprised if a white senior executive at Netflix saw this and assumed Black audiences would rally around it or that they could get white audiences and other audiences to care about it.' Everyone's chasing the next breakout format, and the instinct to capitalize on a viral hit is not a wrong one—that's just smart business—but maybe what gets lost in that pursuit, as a product moves from a user-generated platform to one without full creative control, is the secret sauce that originally made the show a success. Sharp Entertainment did not respond to a request for comment. Even with Netflix's most recent push into live-programming—which is very much a work in progress; critic Phillip Maciak called Everybody's Live with John Mulaney an 'ambitious mess'—you can't help but wonder if what real boundary pushing looks like is a Pop the Balloon not all that different from the original. Ultimately the failure of the show is a problem of translation, says Stephane Dunn, chair of the Cinema, Television, and Emerging Media Studies Department at Morehouse College. 'The original mission of the creator is not always the concern of the streaming platform,' she says. Dunn worries that as streaming platforms have become more 'content hungry,' they have discarded cultural specificity, the magic that made a show like Pop the Balloon a hit in the first place, for hollow metrics. (For now, new episodes of Amuli's original Pop the Balloon are still being posted to YouTube every Wednesday.) 'A lot of these streamers just see numbers. They go, 'We need to confiscate that. We get that on our platform.' But they're not paying attention to what makes the show unique,' Dunn says. 'Netflix believed they could duplicate that authenticity, but without certain makers—tone, aesthetics, a relationship to the audience—they have really just purchased a cultural skeleton of the thing.'
