The Media Odyssey

Modern media isn’t just transforming, it’s rebuilding itself around fandom, experimentation, and platform-native storytelling.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! In this episode, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Holly Graham, Chief Commercial Officer, and Ben Arnold, SVP of Commercial Operations, of Little Dot Studios, one of the most influential digital operators in global entertainment. 

With m...

Global media isn’t just transforming, it’s reorganizing itself around fandom, creators, and direct-to-audience ecosystems.

Welcome back to The Media Odyssey Podcast! In this special episode from MIPCOM Cannes, Evan Shapiro sits down with Pedro Pina, VP of YouTube in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Jasmine Dawson, SVP of Digital at BBC Studios, for a panel on BBC Studios’ success on YouTube and how traditional media...

Sports fandom isn’t just evolving, it’s becoming one of the most powerful engines of modern storytelling and audience engagement. 

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast! This week, hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro sit down with Jen Kavanaugh, SVP of Marketing and Media for the Philadelphia Eagles, for a masterclass in how today’s most successful teams build culture, narrative, and multi-generational fandom. Fro...

The line between Hollywood and the creator economy is disappearing…Tubi is leading the charge.

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast! In this episode, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet are joined by Rich Bloom GM, Creators Program & EVP, Business Development at Tubi, to unpack how the Fox-owned streaming service is redefining the creator economy and the very meaning of “creator media.” With over 100 million mont...

The rules of media have changed and the user is now in charge.
 

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast! In this live episode presented with PreciseTV, Evan Shapiro breaks down the shift from the gatekeeper era of top-down media control to the new user-centric era, where audiences, not executives, dictate what succeeds. Using his signature “media cartographer” maps and data-driven storytelling, Evan unpacks how Big Te...

When billion-dollar deals make more noise than sense, who really wins?

In this episode of The Media Odyssey podcast, hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro pull back the curtain on the relentless cycle of media mergers and acquisitions where massive buyouts, strategy, and political agendas collide. With characteristic humor and precision, they trace how decades of dealmaking have reshaped, and even broken, the entertainment ...

The new buyer isn’t Netflix, it’s the audience. 

Live from MIPCOM 2025, Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with Filmhub CEO Alan d’Escragnolle and Vortex Media CEO Justin Rebelo to unpack how independent producers and distributors are reinventing the film business for the creator economy.

Recorded at the first-ever The Media Odyssey Podcast live show at MIPCOM, this episode explores how companies like Filmhub are helpi...

Who really runs the media world now — creators, corporations, or algorithms?

In this episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet unpack the newly released Creator Ecosphere Map, a first-of-its-kind visual of the entire creator economy, created in partnership with Shira Lazar (What’s Trending) and InfluencerMarketing.Ai. 

Recorded just after MIPCOM, they explore how creators, brands, and tradit...

What happens when a niche fandom becomes a global streaming powerhouse?

In this episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, the creative minds behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, and a streaming empire built on fandom. They explore how World of Wonder transformed drag culture into an international media brand spanning 17 territ...

Jimmy Kimmel is at the center of the conversation where politics, free speech, and billion-dollar mergers collide.

In this episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet unpack the dramatic suspension and reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel—a flashpoint that highlights the collision of politics, regulation, and the crumbling power of broadcast TV. Shapiro explains the FCC’s limited authority, why Chai...

In this episode of the Media Odyssey Podcast, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet record live from IBC with Simon Farnsworth (ITV) and Adde Granberg (SVT), two CTOs (or as they call it, “Chief Transformation Officers”) reshaping European public broadcasting. The conversation explores how legacy broadcasters can adapt to a digital-first, fragmented world while facing off against trillion-dollar tech giants.

They discuss th...

In a special episode recorded live from IBC in Amsterdam, the Media Odyssey Podcast brings together hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet with Whale TV’s Teresa Lopez and Chris Hock. Once a white-label operating system hidden inside millions of TVs, Whale TV has rebranded and stepped into the spotlight. 

The discussion dives into the shifting economics of TV hardware, why operating systems are now the key battleground for a...

After raising $55M in commitments in just 18 days, Angel is ringing the bell on Wall Street and the three founding brothers come on this special episode of The Media Odyssey Podcast for the first time ever! 

In this episode, hosts Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet sit down with the Harmon brothers—Neal, Jeff, and Jordan, founders of Angel—to explore how they’ve turned an outsider’s vision into one of the most disruptive force...

Welcome back to the Media Odyssey Podcast!
In the first episode of Season 2, hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro return from summer break to unpack the biggest stories shaping the media landscape on both sides of the Atlantic.
They cover everything from NBCUniversal’s cable spin-off and MSNBC rebrand, to European consolidation led by MFE and ProSiebenSat.1, and the growing dominance of YouTube on TV screens. They ...

Some quotes are memorable because they’re insightful, others because they come on a tin coffee cup.

Welcome to the season finale of The Media Odyssey Podcast, where hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro close out season one by sharing their last favorite clips – and the behind-the-scenes stories that came with them. From public spats with self-aware CEOs to surprising platform performance data and perfectly ripe metapho...

On this special episode of The Media Odyssey Podcast, hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro discuss their favorite moments from Season 1.

Evan and Marion select standout clips that capture the biggest themes, surprises, and insights from across the year. It’s a thoughtful, high-energy wrap-up on the state of media through the lens of prediction, collaboration, tech disruption, and creator evolution.

This isn’t just ...

Welcome to a new episode of The Media Odyssey Podcast, where we explore the people and ideas reshaping the media landscape. Hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro sit down with Dhar Mann, one of the most successful independent creators in the world, to unpack what it really means to build an owned-and-operated media empire in the age of platforms. With over 70 billion views across social media, Dhar has mastered the art of ...

Welcome to a special edition of The Media Odyssey Podcast from the Croisette at Cannes Lions! Hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro sit down with Pedro Pina, Vice President of YouTube EMEA, for a sharp and forward-looking conversation about creators, monetization, and YouTube’s role in the evolving media landscape. As YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary, the platform is no longer just a distribution tool—it’s a full-fl...

Welcome to a special edition of The Media Odyssey Podcast from the buzzing beachfront of Cannes Lions! Hosts Marion Ranchet and Evan Shapiro explore the collision of traditional media, streaming giants, and the creator economy in an environment buzzing with brand activations and bold narratives. With viewership migrating to digital but ad dollars lagging behind, the episode dives into how media organizations are rethinking...