The Future of Entertainment: 5 Key Insights from Industry Leaders at Milken Global Conference

A panel of top entertainment executives and creators gathered at the 2025 Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles to discuss the evolving landscape of television, film, and streaming. The conversation featured Casey Bloys (CEO of HBO and Max Content), Pearlena Igbokwe (Chairman of NBC Entertainment and Peacock Scripted), Mike Hopkins (Head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios), Ravi Ahuja (President and CEO of Sony Pictures), and Debora Cahn (Creator of Netflix's "The Diplomat"). Their discussion revealed five major insights about the current state and future direction of the entertainment industry.

1. Streaming Platforms Are Finding Their Unique Positions

The era of every streaming service trying to be "the next Netflix" is over. Each platform is now carving out its distinct identity in the marketplace. Casey Bloys noted that after the initial streaming wars and the "Netflix correction," companies are reassessing where they fit in the landscape.

"In the beginning of the streaming wars, everybody was going to be Netflix, and Wall Street was giving crazy valuations to everybody who said they were going to be Netflix, and the spending was crazy, and then reality hit," Bloys explained. Now, services like HBO/Max are focusing on what they do best rather than attempting to be everything for everybody.

Mike Hopkins described Amazon's strategy as "playing this slightly different game" by becoming people's "first choice for streaming" through a combination of original programming and partnerships with other streaming services. Sony has taken yet another approach, as Ravi Ahuja explained: "We're an independent studio. In film, we're decidedly theatrical. In television, we're famously an arms dealer. In direct to consumer, our focus is very specific, primarily with Crunchy Roll."

This strategic differentiation represents a maturation of the streaming marketplace as companies abandon the one-size-fits-all approach.

2. Evolving Release Strategies Impact Storytelling

The panel revealed how release strategies influence the way stories are told. The traditional broadcast model with commercial breaks, the binge model pioneered by Netflix, and HBO's weekly release strategy each create different rhythms for storytelling.

Debora Cahn noted how streaming has changed her approach: "Coming into streaming, it's been a learning curve for me to both enjoy the fact that I have an hour or 45 minutes to take people on a ride, but when we get to the end of the episode, we got to ding them again, so they're going to push 'next episode'."

HBO has firmly maintained its weekly release strategy. Bloys defended this approach: "It has worked so many times in my experience there, from Succession, Euphoria, Watchmen, Big Little Lies, White Lotus. Every week, we see the audience grow, and there is an entire ecosystem of people who write about, do podcasts about, and discuss TV shows. To not take advantage of that, I think is crazy."

The executives agreed that there's room for multiple models. As Mike Hopkins observed, "What's ironic about what we're talking about is that we're really talking about is TV. We're talking about distribution. Streaming is really a different way to distribute programming to customers' living rooms."

3. Live Programming Creates Cultural Moments in a Fragmented Media Landscape

In an increasingly fragmented media environment, live events have become crucial for creating cultural moments that bring audiences together simultaneously. Pearlana Igbokwe highlighted NBC Universal's strength in this area: "We've been in the live business for as long as anyone can remember, be it sports, football, be it Macy's parade, then July fourth parade, SNL, certainly, Olympics."

She emphasized that "live is what creates, a lot of times now, monoculture and water-cooler moments, given that we're talking about the fragmented environment that streaming creates. Because you can watch your show at 2:00 AM, and I'll watch it at 7:00 PM. But being able to aggregate everybody in one moment is, we think, an incredible tool."

Mike Hopkins noted that Amazon is following this strategy with Thursday Night Football and subsequently hosting Amazon Music Live concerts right after games - a digital version of the lead-in strategy that broadcast networks have used for decades.

4. The Future of Production Location Is Complex

The panel discussed the growing trend of productions moving overseas, with 60% of high-budget productions ($40 million+) shooting outside the U.S. in the first quarter of the year—a significant increase from previous years.

Ravi Ahuja framed it as "maybe more a California issue, honestly, than a U.S. issue," pointing to the uncertainty around California's tax incentives as a major challenge. "When trying to plan, because it's cast, you can't plan. You have to get into a lottery, and you're not sure if your show is going to get the tax break or not."

Despite these challenges, the panelists agreed that the talent pool and facilities in the U.S. remain unmatched. As Debora Cahn put it, "The facilities here and the talent pool here remains unmatched. We've had great experiences overseas, but you still don't get the designers, crews, crafts people that you do here anywhere else."

The solution appears to be a combination of competitive, guaranteed tax incentives and recognition that some productions will always need to shoot in specific international locations for storytelling purposes.

5. AI and Data Are Tools, Not Replacements for Creative Decision-Making

The panelists were united in viewing AI as a tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. Casey Bloysdismissed the idea that studios would use generative AI to replace writers or actors: "That I just have no interest in." He acknowledged that while some writers might use AI for idea generation, "I don't see replacing humans in the creative process, mostly because all of AI is based on what's come before. It's derivative."

Similarly, the executives approached data as informative but not prescriptive for creative decisions. Bloys emphasized, "At HBO, we don't test shows when we decide to pick something up. There's not a lot of research to say this could do well. Leaving those decisions to data seems like a bad idea to me."

Ravi Ahuja characterized data as "descriptive" rather than "prescriptive," while Mike Hopkins called it "directional" but warned against "false precision." The consensus was that creative judgment remains paramount, with data serving as supplementary information.

As the entertainment landscape continues evolving, these industry leaders expect some consolidation ahead, alongside improved user experiences driven by technology. Pearlana Igbokwe closed with an intriguing prediction that hints at a potential pendulum swing: "As technology continues to fragment us, the importance of broadcast and linear will become more and more clear as perhaps the one big aggregator still left."

Predictions for the Future:

Ravi Ahuja: There will be consolidation, but also quite a lot of deconsolidation.

Deborah Cahn: The movie industry is going to be a bit healthier. It feels like the juice is coming back into that.

Casey Bloys: This is all about distribution

Mike Hopkins: With the advance of technology I think customer experiences are just going to get better.

Pearlana Igbokwe: I think that as technology continues to fragment us, the importance of broadcast and linear will become more and more clear as perhaps the one big aggregator still left.