# STERN BUSINESS Magazine | Entertainment in the Age of Upheaval ![The Hollywood sign in California](/sites/default/files/styles/866w/public/2026-06/adobestock_435231030_editorial_use_only.jpeg?h=2fa1530a&itok=qaYMhuRR) --- ## Entertainment in the Age of Upheaval *Professor Paul Hardart gives his hot take on Hollywood and more.* --- As entertainment, media, and technology industries undergo rapid transformation, Professor Paul Hardart—Distinguished Clinical Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern and Director of the Entertainment, Media and Technology Program—offers his perspective on the shifting Hollywood landscape, lessons for the streamers, how predictive betting is impacting sports, and new revenue models in the music industry. ## Q&A with Paul Hardart ![Professor Paul Hardart](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_375px_wide/public/2026-06/53678452785_c06556c8d7_k.jpg.webp?itok=PRaJhc9v) ### Now that Paramount is buying Warner Brothers Discovery there’s fear that consolidation could hinder creativity. Do you agree? I think people will always find ways to express themselves creatively, regardless of the constraints or challenges. People have been telling stories since the beginning of human history. In many ways, stories are how we collectively make sense of the world. The appetite will not disappear. In fact, with mobility and new platforms, the appetite for creative storytelling will likely increase. What continues to transform is how stories are created, financed, distributed, and consumed. The platforms, economics, and business models will continue to evolve. Though we are living through a period of significant change in how content is distributed and monetized, the underlying demand for compelling narratives will not diminish and will more likely increase—possibly leading to new forms of creativity. ### For years there’s been talk about the decline of the movie-going experience. What’s your prediction for brick-and-mortar theaters? The demand for seeing movies in theaters has been gradually shrinking for several years, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. As audiences grew comfortable watching premium content at home, behavior shifted. Movies will continue to play in theaters for many years, but audiences will increasingly demand experiences they cannot replicate at home: large-scale films, premium formats such as IMAX and Dolby, and true event releases. As storytelling formats continue to evolve, we will likely see fewer screens, fewer mid-budget releases, and continued pressure on theatrical windows. Theaters will function more as launch platforms for certain films, with shorter runs before moving to streaming services. Regal Theaters just launched the first $50 ticket for presales of the new Dune movie. From my perspective, the future of theaters is experiential. Spectacle, premium presentation, and cultural moments will draw audiences. Smaller films may still find theatrical space, but often as part of a broader distribution strategy. There is also a generational shift underway. Younger audiences are growing up consuming shorter, vertically oriented content on phones and tablets. Theatrical films now compete not just with television, but with gaming, social media, sports, and every other form of content vying for our attention. ### Box office revenues alone no longer define success. What does a “successful” movie look like? Success for a movie today is multi-dimensional. Box office still matters, but so do subscriber acquisition targets, ARPU (average revenue per user), global engagement, downstream lifetime value, licensing revenue, and cultural relevance. Studios no longer define success solely through theatrical revenue. Streamers, investors, Wall Street, and increasingly sophisticated data systems influence how performance is measured. And how a company measures success inevitably shapes the kinds of films that get financed and produced. In the past, a successful film was often the one that earned the most acclaim or reached the largest audience. Today, it may be the project that generates the most spin-offs, drives subscriber retention, or creates the greatest ancillary revenue. At the same time, cultural impact still matters. Ultimately, audiences decide what is a hit by where they choose to spend their money, time, and attention. ### Hollywood studios such as MGM and 20th Century Fox once largely controlled what was made and seen. Are there lessons here for the big streaming platforms? The classic Hollywood studio system understood and optimized portfolio management, talent relationships, and vertical integration. Studios invested in stars, managed long-term contracts, and controlled distribution. They treated content as a slate, not as isolated bets, and allocated capital accordingly. Netflix mirrors aspects of that vertically integrated model, producing, distributing, and increasingly owning its IP. YouTube, by contrast, operates more like a decentralized studio lot, with millions of creators instead of contract players. It provides infrastructure and distribution rather than centralized creative control. The key lesson for both services is that sustainable media businesses require loyal audiences, recurring revenue, durable IP, and disciplined capital allocation. What is different today is the feedback loop. Audience data flows in real time and is highly specific and actionable. Like old broadcast networks, these platforms aim to capture attention through compelling IP and retain loyalty by consistently delivering content within a trusted ecosystem. ### We're starting to see AI-generated actors—are we going to see more? Do you think audiences will accept them? We are already seeing AI used in advertising and in select film and television productions. Generative tools are being deployed in animation, visual effects, editing, scheduling, and pre-visualization. Many production functions are being streamlined in meaningful ways. AI will likely have a significant impact not only on how filmed content is distributed, but also on how it is conceived and created. We will see more AI-generated performers, digital replicas, and synthetic enhancements in the near future. The key issue is not simply whether the technology improves efficiency. It is whether audiences perceive authenticity. As long as there is a human core to the storytelling, audiences will likely continue to engage, regardless of how much AI is embedded in the production process. ### Let’s pivot to sports and gaming. What’s happening in this industry with the rise of predictive betting and the role of AI in live sports? Live sports remain the last form of true appointment viewing. That is why technology platforms are bidding aggressively for rights to the biggest sporting events. Advertisers love sports because they know the audience will be fully engaged. No one wants to watch today’s game tomorrow. Streaming platforms use data to personalize the viewing experience in ways traditional broadcasters never could. Betting platforms, whether good for society or not, deepen engagement by giving fans a financial stake in outcomes. Markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket extend that logic even further. The more interactive the experience, and the more invested viewers are, both emotionally and financially, the more time and attention platforms can capture. AI adds another layer. It can streamline production, personalize content, and reduce costs. At the Paris Olympics, NBC used an AI-generated version of Al Michaels’ voice to introduce events on Peacock. Michaels was not in Paris, but his familiar voice was. As sports become more global and digitally distributed, AI, betting, and interactivity will become increasingly embedded in the broadcast experience. ### In the music industry, what does the profit model look like now? The overall value of music has never been higher. With its portability and ubiquity, it permeates every platform, every feed, every piece of content. At the same time, it has never been harder for an individual artist to break through. Distribution is frictionless. Attention is not. Streaming provides reach, but for most artists it is not the primary profit engine. Touring, live experiences, brand partnerships, merchandising, and direct-to-fan monetization have become more reliable sources of income. Artists often use streaming platforms and social media to generate awareness. They then rely on live experiences, ticket sales, and merchandise to monetize their work. The artists who outperform treat music not as a standalone product, but as the core of a broader brand ecosystem. Artists who cultivate direct relationships with their fans and build multi-platform brands will have leverage. ### As the director of the Entertainment, Media, and Technology Program, how do you prepare students for this changing industry? What advantage does Stern’s NYC location offer? Our goal is not to train students for a single job function or format. It is to prepare them to think critically and operate within a dynamic, rapidly evolving ecosystem. There will be remarkable opportunities for our students to help shape how content is created, distributed, financed, and marketed in both the near and long term. Our goal is to help them anticipate change and be drivers of that future. The more effectively we teach strategic thinking and disciplined experimentation, the better prepared they will be to navigate both disruption and opportunity in a rapidly changing media and entertainment landscape. Stern serves as both a laboratory and a launchpad for exploring how media and technology markets are shifting in real time and NYC offers students a distinct advantage. New York is one of the world’s great tech and media hubs, where finance, advertising, production, distribution, and startups intersect daily. Our faculty, experiential programs, and guest speakers bring a deep industry perspective into the classroom. Students can walk from a hedge fund to a production company to a startup incubator in a single afternoon. We also have experiential learning programs that partner with Warner Bros to help give students experiences they can leverage while interviewing for their first job. That’s a big advantage. [ Read Paul Hardart's Bio ](/faculty/bio/paul-hardart) [Entertainment in the Age of Upheaval: Prof. Paul Hardart on Hollywood, Streaming & AI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WEgnMaGo9Q) STERN BUSINESS Magazine ## Podcast with Professor Paul Hardart Listen to the full interview with Professor Paul Hardart. [ Listen to the Interview ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WEgnMaGo9Q) --- ![The cover of STERN BUSINESS Magazine featuring Dean Bharat N. Anand](/sites/default/files/styles/640w_x_535h/public/2026-09/REVISED%20-%202026%20Stern%20Business%20Cover.png.webp?h=77b85495&itok=zrEd1e9y) STERN BUSINESS Magazine ## Read More Articles [ Return to Homepage ](/portal-partners/alumni/alumni-news-profiles/sternbusiness-magazine/2026) ---