Marissa Román Griffith Talks Tech’s Impact on Media and Entertainment

Akin Gump entertainment partner Marissa Román Griffith was interviewed by Corporate Counsel Business Journal for “Technology-Driven Change in Media and Entertainment,” featured in its May-June issue.

In this interview, Román Griffith discussed a number of ways in which advances in video, mobile, VR and other technologies have sparked or shaped the way entertainment and media are being delivered and consumed.

Among the topics covered:

• The impact on the market of virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMPDs): “[T]hey’re reaching untapped consumers—the folks who don’t actually have access to cable MVPDs in their area…[They] are also reaching people who do have those cable services in their area but are interested in cord-cutting—those who say, for example, that cable is too expensive and I don’t need access to 500 channels.”
• The future of virtual reality and augmented reality: “I think that’s a really big growth area, and projects in that space are not limited to using VR and AR to do marketing for non-VR and non-AR projects, which is much of what we’ve seen so far…now we’re starting to hear about more stand-alone VR projects beyond that type of marketing or outside of the gaming space. An official selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival was an episode of a three-part virtual reality series produced by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, called Spheres.”
• What media companies should note as they plan for growth: “[M]ake sure you’re not left behind with all these changes, particularly the VR experience. It’s very similar to moving from silent films to talking films – if you’re not on board, you’re going to be left behind. We’re also seeing increasing government scrutiny of acquisitions between entertainment companies…And companies have to be concerned about consumer backlash—if plans or services or access or pricing are changed, consumers will not be happy unless it’s done in a way that benefits them. And often, it isn’t.”

To read the full interview, please click here.