Adam Ryan 🤝
@AdamRy_n
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CEO @Workweekinc | ✍️ 🎤 Perpetual
Austin, TX
Joined April 2011
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Workweek turned two this week. It’s been a crazy journey, and it's hard to believe how far we’ve come.
Here's an honest overview of where we're at as a business, my biggest mistakes, and what’s next.
If you work in the creator economy, media industry, or care about content to…
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The Barstool deal is the talk of Twitter.
The company was sold for $500M to Penn in 2020.
Three years later, Portnoy acquired 100% of the brand back for $0.
But that's not the whole truth. Here's what really happened 👇
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In 2016, Formula One was a struggling racing organization in desperate need of a cash infusion.
Now, with the Miami Grand Prix just days away, the group has reached a valuation of over $17 billion.
Here's how one great story turned a brand in crisis into a media juggernaut 🧵
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Today's media operations fail:
Parler sent an email to all users with 300+ of their verified users CC'd instead of BCC'd
Now hundreds of people are replying and everyone has access to the personal emails of many verified users and Parler investors
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During the first season of Friends, the 6 cast members each made $22,500 per episode
Here’s how they used a rare negotiating technique to start earning $20 million per year EACH - decades after the show stopped production
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In May 2021, FTX signed a 19-year, $135 million contract to secure the naming rights for the Miami Heat arena
How could company that hadn't existed for 3 years sign a 19-year contract?
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OnlyFans has more than 16,000 creators who make $50K+ a year.
Not sure any other creator platforms can close to topping that.
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Vice was supposed to be the next CNN.
At their peak, they had a $5.7B valuation and turned down an acquisition play from Disney.
Now, Vice is the latest new media group prepping for bankruptcy.
What happened to this media giant? A few thoughts.
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How to test if someone is a good person or not?
Watch them deboard a plane.
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Great products outlive their origin stories.
My favorite example? Flintstones Vitamins.
Here's the story of one of the most successful pharmaceutical products of all time 👇💊🦕
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Barstool is back in his control, and no one can tell him what he can or can't say.
To him, I'm sure that's priceless.
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Sending “??????” on Slack when someone hasn’t responded in 25 minutes 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
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In the late 80s, an up-and-coming comedian named Jerry Seinfeld pitched a "show about nothing" to NBC.
30 years later, Netflix paid over $500 million to stream the show for 5 years.
Here's the story of Seinfeld:
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Mr Beast revolutionized YouTube.
He first went viral when he gave $10k to a homeless person.
Now, he’s on his way to being the first YouTube billionaire:
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In total:
- Penn gets 50% of profits of future liquidity
- Barstool can't advertise any sportsbooks
- Barstool can't launch its own sportsbook
Dave gets...
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Is the Creator Economy cratering?
Creator economy platforms that raised millions are pivoting and struggling to raise more money.
A few thoughts:
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Did Twitter blow one of the greatest opportunities in social media history?
They acquired Vine for $30 million in 2012. TikTok wouldn't launch for another 4 years.
Today, Vine is defunct and TikTok is worth upwards of $100 billion.
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Red Bull is an energy drink company that sold 9.8 billion drinks last year
So why does an energy drink company spend $30 million on a space launch?
To understand why, let's take a closer look at Red Bull:
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If you feel like your business idea is too niche, just remember there's a professional tag league that landed a national broadcast deal with ESPN
Here's what professional tag looks like:
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Penn announced today they became the official sports book of ESPN.
ESPN gets 117M unique visitors/month vs BarstoolSports get 8M.
In terms of search traffic, it's no where close (see pic below).
ESPN is goliath and Barstool is David.
This is a huge win for Penn.
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While there is a ton of hype around Zuck copying and pasting another app, Elon's Twitter is shipping products that make a ton of sense.
We just got access to posting jobs on our company page.
Considering we've hired 20+ people from Twitter, this is a no-brainer.
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What’s the lesson for creators?
Being paid for your initial labor is good, but the ideal is to also be paid based on the success of your content.
Creators should think not just about getting paid for their work, but ensure they have upside in their performance.
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What makes Barstool loved by their fans, and a good place to promote sports betting, is also what makes them a nightmare for regulation.
Compare that to Disney-owned ESPN, who canceled their Barstool partnership after one show due to misaligned values.
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CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said, "Without going into the details, it's been a pretty good year for us. To the point where, frankly, we don't need to rely on the other 18 years to have the funds for this."
18 months later, FTX filed for bankruptcy and the contract is terminated.
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Looking for Founders who haven't raised - but trying to - or raised less than $2M with a big idea.
Respond with what you're doing and you'll be the first to know something big we're announcing tomorrow.
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For Penn, the Barstool Sports acquisition did not help them capture the market as they hoped.
In Illinois, Penn has the 7th largest handle of sportsbook with 3.7% of the market.
Compare this to Fanduel with 43% and DraftKings at 31%.
Not so great.
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Part of the deal is that Barstool has a noncompete with Penn.
Before the Penn acquisition, the largest advertising client of Barstool was sportsbooks.
Now, no money is coming in from their best profile of clients. Which puts constraints on the business.
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On top of that, what makes Stoolies go crazy is Portnoy and the team's pirate ship attitude at Barstool.
This attitude has caused Penn issues time after time with maintaining good standing with regulators.
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Lastly, if Dave ever does a liquidation event or dividend, Penn gets 50% of the proceeds.
So basically if there ever was a reason to sell Barstool Sports Penn would get 50%.
A pretty large number.
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Big life announcement 💥
For the past few months, I've been working to build a new media company.
Today, Workweek is officially live — and I couldn't be more excited.
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On top of that, Barstool cannot launch it's own sportsbook.
This is a small deal as it wasn't probable Dave would ever want to work with regulators, but it does cap the business's potential.
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They only collect 2% of the profits, but that still equates to over $20 million per year per actor.
The studio still collects over $1 billion in revenue per year from Friends.
Talk about a strong recurring revenue stream.
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The foundational issue of the creator economy is that most creators aren’t great at what they do.
It’s a power law game.
Check out the far right column:
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So that's why Penn wants out.
It makes sense strategically, financially, and operationally to align with ESPN.
So they just gave Penn back to Dave for free?
Not exactly.
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This 19-yr old dev is making millions on Roblox.
And he’s not the only teen making bank.
Here are a couple of success stories from the Roblox ecosystem:
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They stood firm and all demanded the same salary. No doubt Aniston and Scwimmer could've made much more individually, but decided to stick with the group.
The studio could have written one of the actors out if negotiations stalled, but they couldn’t write all 6 out of the show.
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In 2019, I met with 1 person a week for coffee I didn’t know or who I fell out of touch with.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
The fruits of that labor have been unbelievable. You can change your world by expanding your network.
Here are my top tips to make this happen 👇🏻
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One of the oldest media businesses that's still killing it: Hallmark
How have they thrived for 113 years?
The answer is Cultural Liquidity
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Portnoy just posted a blog on Barstool's site about his employees.
The tags of the post are "DUMB", "MORONS", AND "RICO BOSCO".
This is what the world expected.
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Here’s how much actor earned per episode over the next seasons:
S3: $75k
S4: $85k
S5: $100k
S6: $125k
S7: $750k
S8: $750k
S9: $1m
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According to CoinDesk, FTX paid $14 million upfront, but now owes $16.5 million - the contract specifies that in the event of default, FTX would still owe fees for the next 3 years.
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We’re at the 30 year anniversary since Power Rangers graced the US. Here’s the story of how their 800+ episodes galvanized America:
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However, at the end of season 2, the group of actors switched up their negotiating tactics.
Schwimmer and Aniston could have demanded massive raises, but decided to band together with the other 4 to form a mini labor union.
The studio could have all 6 of them, or none of them.
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Want to learn more about the media industry? I write a weekly newsletter that dives into stories like this one.
Sign up for free
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The actors negotiated a percentage of the syndication profits of the show. Syndication is when the studio leases the rights to the show to various TV stations.
Ever seen a Friends rerun on TV? They’re still very common, and the main cast members are still being paid for those.
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Ms. Rachel has one of the best re-watch rates I've ever seen on YouTube
Mr. Beast: 135M subscribers
Ms. Rachel: 3M subscribers
Yet, if we look at their videos the ratio isn’t nearly the same.
Ms. Rachel has just 2.2% of the subscribers, but ~33% of the views of Mr. Beast
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Elon Musk is buying Twitter (maybe) for $40B+
And Bezos bought the Washington Post for $300M+.
What you didn't know: 8 other billionaires have bought giant media companies.
Here're the 10 billionaires who’ve bought media companies (in order of net worth):
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If I were in my early 20s debating what I should do to accelerate my career here is the advice I would give myself and how much it would cost.
👇🏼
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In 2022, records accounted for $1.2B out of $1.7B in physical music sales.
Fans want vinyl and the stats prove it. But why?
The answer lies with a demo that wasn't born until a half-century after the invention of vinyl:
Gen Z.
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Life is short.
Work with people that make you excited, happy, and better at your craft.
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If you’ve seen American Idol, you know Ryan Seacrest as its host.
But the 47-yr-old is also worth about $500 million and earning $60 million plus per year.
Here’s how:
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This is only part of the sports-related spending FTX committed to last year.
The company signed $375 million worth of advertising deals just related to sports, including a deal to put FTX patches on MLB umpire uniforms
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A year later, the landscape is very different.
Take this as a reminder that hot sectors boom and spend money like crazy, but they can go bust in the blink of an eye.
That's why you always need to keep in mind who you're dependent on for ad revenue.
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• Attention is when your audience takes notice of you
• Intention is when your audience is willing to take action for you
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Jason David Frank tragically passed away last week.
He played the green ranger and later the white ranger in the hit show Power Rangers.
In his honor, here’s the story of how 800+ episodes of Power Rangers galvanized America:
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Fun fact: PewDiePie has 7m more subscribers than Mr. Beast, but only makes 8% of his income.
Further proof that follower count isn't everything
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Want to learn more how media companies like Barstool are using content to drive commerce (merch, events, etc.)?
I break it down in this podcast. Give it a listen and a review.
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1982: Billionaires buy TV stations and newspapers
2022: Billionaires buy social media platforms
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While these salaries were pretty juicy, this isn’t even where 99% of their money has been made.
Here’s where the real money was: Syndication
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Attention is cheap. It’s easy to grab. Even easier to fake. The impact: revenue doesn’t scale.
Intention is hard to gain. It takes consistency and purpose. It takes connection with your audience. The impact: revenue has a higher ceiling than you can imagine.
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When NBC declined to renew their broadcast rights in 2017, F1 sold those rights to ESPN (owned by Disney) for only $5M.
Soon after, F1 and Netflix announce a ten-episode docuseries that would offer "unparalleled and exclusive access to the world's fastest drivers."
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But not everyone believed in this content strategy.
Two of the biggest teams in the sport, Mercedes and Ferrari, refused to participate in Season 1.
But, this allowed the underdog stories shine. Showrunner Cassie Bennitt even said their absence was a gift to the story's power.
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20M households will eat green bean casserole today.
Love it or hate it, we all know the dish.
What you may not know is that it’s the result of a marketing play by Campbell’s that will make $60M+ this week.
Here’s the quick story behind GBC👇
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I wear my Apple Airpods Max for all my Zoom calls. I'd say 50% of the time someone asks me if I like them.
I make the same joke 100% of the time I'm asked. It always gets a laugh.
Sometimes it's about the ability to repeat, not create.
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This is one of the realities of the advertising business that operators must keep in mind, both in media and any other business dependent on ad revenue.
In 2021, crypto companies committed billions in advertising dollars.
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As Maven realized, that formula isn’t so easy to bring to life.
You need audiences with real intention. You can’t assume everyone has a 1,000 true fans, you have to help them get to a 1,000 true fans.
Let’s say goodbye to the “Attention Economy” and hello “Intention Economy"
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"Drive to Survive" premiered in 2019.
It had action. It had drama. But, above all, it told human stories. Audiences got to know drivers and teams, both on and off the racetrack.
Viewers fell in love - They made fan pages, countless memes, and even some fanfiction.
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The creator economy is alive & well on OnlyFans.
It's never been able to attract VC money.
Now, as CEO Ami Gan departs, it has 210M users and a valuation of ~$18B.
They had $2.5B in revenue last year.
Here's why they're winning while other creator platforms spiral:
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Gen Z and Millennilas, by and large, value optionality over security.
This is the biggest shift of generations compared to Boomers and X.
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Friends started in 1994 with a 24 episode season.
The 6 main cast members each earned $22,500/episode, or $540,000 total for the season.
But Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer emerged as the 2 main stars after season 1, and each were given $40,000 per episode for season 2.
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Diamond Sports Group, owner of Bally Sports and the largest portfolio of regional sports networks, is preparing to file for bankruptcy
They're struggling to make debt payments amid dwindling viewership
Here's why the regional sports business model is in trouble:
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Looking for a top notch generalist with an entrepreneural spirit.
Person can dabble in Figma, can spin up a prototype, and manage projects end to end.
Bonus if they’ve worked in B2B SaaS and have a wild imagination.
Comp and equity is 📈
Who’s out there?
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Now, every sport is chasing a DtS-style bump.
NASCAR has Race for the Championship.
Tennis has Break Point.
The PGA has Full Swing.
IndyCar's 100 Days to Indy debuted last week.
All of them are trying for the same winning formula: tell human stories; build a content empire.
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Couldn’t be more excited for
@TheHustle
. We hit 700K opens this week for our Daily email.
It’s been a hell of a journey the last 3+ years. I remember crossing 100K and thinking we were huge.
On to a million!
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But DtS wasn't just popular: it launched a content empire.
F1 & Liberty Media successfully built a flywheel around storytelling.
It looks like this: content fuels demand, which shapes business decisions, which open new revenue streams. Which fuel more content.
It's crazy to think just how much the Netflix effect is growing F1 globally, not only in the US.
The
@ausgrandprix
sold out in record time. And according to race organizers, 40% of this year’s tickets have been sold to *women* compared with 25 percent in years past.
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By 2022, the US fandom had grown 33%, with 53% of *all* fans pointing to "Drive to Survive" as inspiration, per Morning Consult.
The biggest surprise? 74% of those new viewers were under the age of 45 — The same demographic that previous Formula One leadership refused to pursue.
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I moved to Austin in January of 2013. I didn’t know a single person, where to get a taco, or a good date spot.
I worked hard building a network and learning the city. Now there are tons of friends moving here, so here are my top takes of Austin (food, bars, people, etc.)
Enjoy.
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However, everything changed when Liberty Media took over.
They immediately appoint 21st Century Fox alum Chase Carey as the new CEO of the Formula One Group.
Carey starts to expand and modernize their digital marketing, and build out the beginnings of a content-first strategy.
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After a war w/Amazon and a humiliated NBC, ESPN re-upped their rights for $75-$90 million a year.
Apple bought a movie from Jerry Bruckheimer, driver Lewis Hamilton, & Top Gun's Joseph Kosinski. It stars Brad Pitt & shoots this weekend...at the Miami Grand Prix.
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Today we have our biggest announcement at Workweek to date: Workweek Capital's $10M Fund I
We're launching the first ever creator-led venture fund. It's one more step for Workweek to help creators achieve their wildest dreams.
What does this mean and what's the impact?
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Ted Turner is the founder of CNN, TBS, TNT, ex-owner of the Hawks & Braves, and philanthropist of $1 billion+.
Most don’t know that he was mega-wealthy before starting CNN.
Here’s the story:
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The process of turning attention -> intention is so much more than just diversifying your revenue streams.
Attention is cheap, but flimsy. Attention models are fragile, and can't scale.
Intention takes consistency and quality, but creates true (and truly invested) fans.
• Attention is when your audience takes notice of you
• Intention is when your audience is willing to take action for you
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I just sold my $PEOPLE token for a 28X return.
If
@packyM
decides to sell his tokens and gets the same return he’d return 70% of his entire
@notboringclub
fund 5 months after launch.
Probably nothing.
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Mr. Beast sold 10,000 burgers in one day
YouTubers can make incredible amounts of money - We've known this for a couple years now.
But here's the business opportunity you can execute on if you're not a creator with millions of fans:
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By 2016, Formula One viewership had already been in steady decline for years.
A company called Liberty Media saw a huge opportunity outside the European market and they decided to acquire the F1 brand at a generous $8B valuation.
Liberty then set their sights on the U.S.
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• Substack did $9M in revenue in 2021 with $85M raised in funds.
• Maven did $9M in GMV over 18 months
• Patreon just laid off 17% of its staff
• Cameo’s consumer business has stalled
• Twitter’s Super Follow feature made a whopping $6K in its first two weeks
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Penn now owns 100% of Barstool after completing the $551 million buyout today
Barstool's revenue is $200m+. And I think the brand is still grossly under-monetized.
Penn got a steal. Barstool would be worth much more today as a stand-alone brand.
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In fact, F1's leader Bernie Ecclestone once scoffed at appealing to younger audiences.
He openly trashed social media—despite the fact that most F1 drivers were in their 20s and developing their own followings as creators.
The shot he took at Disney was especially prescient...
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You might know Schitt's Creek as the show about a wealthy family who loses everything and gets stuck up "Schitt's Creek", literally and figuratively.
But did you know that HBO and Showtime passed on the show before it became a hit?
Here's the story:
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🚨Announcement 🚨
Kylie and beauty products. Mr. Beast and burgers. Bloomberg and the terminal.
What would you launch if you had 1M+ executives and founders in your audience?
This was a question we asked ourselves from Day 1 at Workweek.
Today, we announce our newest venture.
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The problem was that America already *had* car races.
NASCAR and IndyCar were easy to follow — They had simpler tracks with more theatrics (crashes).
Meanwhile, F1 had complicated rules, hard-to-watch broadcasts, and a reputation as a sport for rich, out-of-touch Europeans.
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Substack now has 2M paying subs on the platform.
The average subscription is $9/month. 10% fees.
Substack has ~$22M in annual revenue.
Their last valuation was $650M.
There is no smart money that is going to even do half of that valuation on their next round.
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Billion-dollar brands are now being built by transforming audience attention (watching a popular show), into intention (buying tickets).
F1 is an entertainment franchise now. And because of that, their flywheel is picking up speed.
Just take a look at some of the numbers:
Attention is cheap. It’s easy to grab. Even easier to fake. The impact: revenue doesn’t scale.
Intention is hard to gain. It takes consistency and purpose. It takes connection with your audience. The impact: revenue has a higher ceiling than you can imagine.
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