OPINION: The race for fourth
By Paul Sweeting -- Video Business, 1/11/2008
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According to the peculiar folkways and business climate of Hollywood, no studio decision-maker wants to be the first to take his or her company into any new technology or strategy. The risk is simply too great.
True, you look smart if you’re right, but if it turns out you’re wrong, it can mean your job. But while you don’t want to run at the front of the pack, you don’t want to be an also-ran either. The last guy in gets the worst deal, because whoever is behind the new technology doesn’t need the sixth out of six to assure the venture’s success.
The best place to finish in Hollywood—the safest spot—is always third. The third studio in still gets a good deal because it can put the new venture over the tipping point to success, and because by then, you’ve had time to learn what the first two really got. Best of all, nobody ever remembers the order of finish in the middle of the pack, so if it turns out you’re wrong, you’ll have plenty of company.
Read the full column at ContentAgenda.com.
