OpenAI wants to control the narrative. Literally.
AI giant Tech industry’s most popular talk show TBPN boughtOne deal was so shocking that one of its hosts joked that it was not a belated April Fool’s joke.
A good section of you may be asking, “What TBP?” You are not wrong to wonder. As popular as the three-hour weekday show is, it also focuses on technology. (This was intentional. John Coogan, one of the co-hosts, recently talked about TBPN is intentionally specific.)
Within that specific group, it’s huge. Dubbed the “Sports Center” for Silicon Valley, it’s basically A must watch for tech bros. That’s why people are freaking out about the biggest tech startup buying one of the most popular shows in the industry.
BI’s Peter Kafka has something Great analysis on why the deal makes sense. For the company that is thinking billions Dollar-wise, spending a few hundred million to acquire the most influential show in its industry (terms were not disclosed, but the number is being released) makes a lot of sense.
And it’s not just getting a show. It has a direct line to the people shaping the industry it wants to dominate.
(we also got Some more things on the news From other smart people on the interwebs.)
Questions are circling whether this OpenAI-version of TBPN will be able to retain its magic.
TBPN hosts Coogan and Jordy Hayes have stated that they will maintain editorial independence from OpenAI. But TBPN will also assist OpenAI in marketing and communications outside the show, potentially blurring the lines between coverage and promotion.
Still, it’s not as if TBPN wants to sabotage a major investigation or investigation like “60 Minutes.” Coogan and Hayes are both former tech founders who are fearlessly tech advocates. That formula has helped them attract the biggest names in the industry, and that’s unlikely to change under the new arrangement.
What Desire It will be interesting to see how many of the big names are willing to come on board now that the show has the support of their competition. Will Mark Zuckerberg welcome TBPN to Meta’s headquarters now that his rival Sam Altman is signing his checks? What about executives from Anthropic or Google?
OpenAI competitors need to ask themselves: Is reaching the TBPN audience worth helping a competitor against whom you are actively fighting for market share?
What seems inevitable is that we’re about to get Lots of TBPN imitatorsBI’s Sydney Bradley, Dan Whatley and Lucia Moses write.
Livestreaming talk shows were already on the rise. OpenAI’s bombardment of TBPN only adds fuel to that fire. And in an industry known for imitations, other AI giants may create their own version of TBPN.
However, the influx of new shows may lead to a decline in the market. SportsCenter was successful largely because it was the only place to watch sports highlights. This changed with social media, and was the beginning of the end of SportsCenter’s era of dominance.
TBPN may be at the center of the technology conversation right now. The question is how long can any one show stay there.
