Is there a major difference in fandoms out there, say, between the folks who loveHarry Potterand those who demandThe Snyder CutofJustice League? Does Warner Bros. giving in to fan demand, at times toxic, set a precedent for future fandoms going foward?Tony Goncalves, the CEO of AT&T’s Otter Media division that oversees HBO Max, doesn’t seem to think so.
Goncalves spoke withNilay PatelandJulia Alexanderof The Verge for an episode ofThe Vergecastfocusing on the newly launched streaming service HBO Max and all that it entails.But if you’re confused by the mega-corporation’s hierarchy and how Goncalves fits into it, here’s a brief explainer from Goncalves himself:
I report into WarnerMedia Entertainment, which is Bob Greenblatt’s division inside of WarnerMedia. I’m overseeing the portfolio of Otter Media companies as well as the development and launch and the business operations of HBO Max.
Got it? Good. While you can find out more about HBO Max’s upcoming content, the behind-the-scenes deals that are still playing out, and the plan to bring 4K capability to the service, as well as upcoming Roku and Amazon Firestick apps, we’re focusing on what Goncalves had to say about The Snyder Cut here. And that discussion starts with the question that’s on everybody’s mind:
Essentially, Patel asks if HBO Max is going to wait until The Snyder Cut launches to force Roku to “cave” and allow the app:
I don’t know if caving is actually the way to think about it. I think the consumer wins at the end of the day, and I think we’ve put together a product offering that has multiple Snyder cuts. It’s got—
Alexander cuts in to clarify whether Goncalve means there are multiple Snyder Cuts. There aren’t, at least as far as we know. He was simply using “The Snyder Cut” as a shorthand for a passionate fandom:
The reference to the Snyder Cut is that it’s a passionate fandom. There’s a passionate fandom aroundFriends. There’s a passionate fandom aroundHarry Potter. There’s a passionate fandom around… I mean, you name it on that platform. The DC library. There’s a passionate fandom around Crunchyroll, passionate fandom around Studio Ghibli.
Alexander rightfully takes Goncalves to task here, laying out the many ways that the passionate fandom of The Snyder Cut carried out toxic and targeted practices, and asking if it sets a precedent for future fandoms to do the same. Goncalves responds:
Look, definitely not a precedent.
And you’re right. There’s different types of fandoms. There’s the fandom you just described, and there’s other fandoms. My reference to the fandoms is the fact that we’re in a space where consumers are loud. Consumers guide, and we absolutely have to listen as industry. I had a boss that once said, “Industry and consumers aren’t always aligned, but consumers do tend to win.” It’s a fine balance. And I think when it comes to video, when it comes to entertainment, when it comes to content, consumers have never had more choice, and they’ve never had more of a voice. But that doesn’t mean that we will go and invest our dollars in every single fandom that exists.
But I think the reference to the Snyder Cut and theFriendsfandom is the fact that consumers are speaking, and we have to listen. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to go redo every movie ever made. But I think that we definitely have to have our ear to the ground. And I think we do.
I just go back to look at the buzz that theHarry Potterlibrary brought us yesterday. It was a wonderful surprise and delight. It’s because consumers are passionate about these franchises.
Goncalves largely sidesteps the darker side of The Snyder Cut fandom here to basically say, “The customer is always right.” Sounds like a precedent to me.
