TV Production Should Use Social Media Influencers to Take Big Swings, Says Roku Content Chief

In a TV production climate that saw a 20% plummet in Los Angeles last year and an overall drop-off of 40% since 2022, risky, large-scale prestige projects are no longer the name of the game. But Roku Media content chief David Eilenberg sees a way to keep “risk built into the system”: social media influencers.

Speaking at TheWrap’s annual Grill conference on Tuesday at the DGA Theater Complex, the entertainment executive posited that looking to “that convergence of the digital world with the TV world” and nurturing young talent is “one way to make sure that there’s still enough creative risk” in an industry that’s averse to taking any.

“It’s going to be interesting over the next five years to see some of the talents who came up via YouTube, came up via social channels, have their visions for what TV and film can mean to them,” Eilenberg said on TheWrap’s “Shaping the Future of Television” panel, presented by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and moderated by TV editor Jose Bastidas. “I think we’re starting to see it already a little bit in real time.”

There’s evidence to support his hypothesis, too: Brian Jordan Alvarez’s “English Teacher” at FX, Benito Skinner’s “Overcompensating” at Amazon’s Prime Video, Rachel Sennott’s untitled HBO comedy series all hinged on the success of its creator-stars’ social media fame before they were invited to make more traditional screen work.

Still, it’s no secret that the TV industry is becoming more risk-averse in post-labor strike belt-tightening. It remained the topic at hand for co-panelists Javier Pons Tubio, EVP of Telemundo Studios and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, and Jeff Grossman, EVP of programming at Paramount+.

Success in part relies on balancing risky ventures with surefire bets, Grossman said.

“You have to look at the overall mix of content, and you want to make sure you have diverse offering, especially if you’re addressing a whole household like we are,” he said, before pointing to his streamer’s Australian comedy “Colin From Accounts,” which is currently in its second season, as well as the documentary from the “South Park” creators “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” as riskier bets the he’s taken.

“Content like that we’re consistently trying to elevate in the service and bring to our subscribers, in addition to the more familiar tentpole content. So it is a mix,” Grossman said.

Tubio agreed with Grossman’s assessment. However, he’s also seen a shift in his own international business to more “mainstream” hits.

“Five years, eight years ago, when streaming began, all of those shows were far away from the linear TV, from the mainstream. And right now, two years ago, they are beginning to ask us to make for them long-form shows, more solid, like the historic mainstream shows that we have been doing for 27 years,” Tubio said. “So we have to mix and combine.”

But risk isn’t just present in international half-hours like “Colin From Accounts.” Eilenberg also emphasized that there is risk with established IP, pointing to one of Paramount Global’s biggest TV assets, “Survivor.”

“There’s going to be a question of, ‘How many places should this live? How are you using it to get new audience? When do you start cannibalizing an audience?'” Eilenberg shared. “Those are real risk-reward scenarios that any company has to sort through nowadays.”

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