Episode summary
Inside a Year of Chaos at Kevin Hart’s Media Company | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 12 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec, Emily Graffeo · Guests: Lucas Shaw
Summary
Kevin Hart built Hartbeat as an ambitious celebrity media company that combined production, short-form video channels, and brand marketing, but Lucas Shaw says the business never matched the scale Hart had envisioned. Hartbeat raised money at a roughly $650 million valuation during the streaming boom, yet as studio spending cooled and competition increased, the company cut back its ambitions and ran into internal management problems as well.
Shaw says Hart’s new deal with Authentic Brands Group changes the picture further. Authentic now handles Hart’s endorsement deals, and the arrangement gives Hart a path to buy out his private equity partner over time and regain control of his name, image, and likeness. The likely outcome, Shaw argues, is that Hartbeat is either folded into Authentic or slowly wound down.
The conversation also turns to Netflix’s content strategy. Shaw says Netflix is building toward an all-day service with live events, video podcasts, and more appointment viewing, in part to fill gaps like daytime programming. He notes that video podcasting monetizes better than audio and that the audience for it is real, even if many listeners are only half-watching in the background.
Key takeaways
- Lucas Shaw says Hartbeat peaked during the streaming boom with a valuation around $650 million, but the business later shrank as the market tightened.
- Shaw argues Hartbeat’s problems were both industry-driven and self-inflicted, especially around management and unclear priorities.
- Hart’s deal with Authentic Brands Group now routes endorsement work away from Hartbeat and may eventually lead to Hartbeat being folded in or wound down.
- Shaw says Netflix wants to become a broader all-day viewing platform, using live events and video podcasts to fill gaps like daytime programming.
- Shaw says video podcasts monetize better than audio, which helps explain why companies and creators are pushing the format.
Notable quotes
“He raised some money from private equity that valued the firm at about $650 million”
“the company never quite kind of got to a place where it could sustain and grow to the scale that he wanted on its own”
“most people think it's going to go away or that it will be kind of folded into this new venture”
“they hire these people to build a podcast slate. They didn't end up approving any of the slate”
“they announced a deal this morning actually where they already had the popular radio show, The Breakfast Club, as a video podcast on the service”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts, radio, news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. — Usually when we talk to Lucas Shaw, he's out there in sunny California, but we brought the bad weather for you.
No, this is great. I mean, the rain not so much, but the cool I prefer the temperate climate of today to the 90s of earlier this week.
Yeah, you and me both. I mean, and it's going to be a brutal uh summer if, you know, earlier this week was any indication of what's going to happen. Lucas Shaw is Bloomberg News managing editor, media and entertainment.
He's also the writer of the Screen Time newsletter, which you should subscribe to if you do not subscribe to it yet. He also is the guy behind the Screen Time event every year in Hollywood. Happens in October.
I imagine there are still tickets available because it is only May right now.
Haven't announced their speakers yet. — Haven't announced speakers. Uh but the uh the event is in full swing and it's uh it's still happening in October. — September 30th, October 1st, we will announce our first drop of speakers next week.
Uh I think five, six, depending on how you do the math. It's a good group. Um you know, continuing in our tradition of mixing kind of the the biggest executives with the biggest creative people across the business of culture.
Yeah. I mean, if we just remember who the some of the people were who were there last year, I mean, you had a great interview with Jimmy Kimmel. Um, Netflix's co-CEO Greg Peters was on stage with you as well. David Ellison Cougler, director of uh of Got Sinners, blanking on that for a second, but yeah.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- celebrity licensing
- media company restructuring
- brand management
- private equity buyout
- short-form video channels
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Authentic Brands Group
- Hartbeat
Watch the episode
Watch “Inside a Year of Chaos at Kevin Hart’s Media Company | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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