What if the future of vertical entertainment looks a lot like the past of cable television? 📱📺
Larry Namer has seen this movie before.
As the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television, Larry helped build one of the world's most recognizable entertainment networks from the ground up. But his story goes far beyond E!. From starting out underground splicing cable in New York, to moving to Los Angeles, creating E!, expanding media operations into Russia and China, and experimenting with digital media before the technology was ready, Larry has spent more than five decades identifying where entertainment is headed next.
And when it comes to vertical entertainment, Larry isn't looking at it from the outside.
He has been producing vertical content in China for years. After discovering that 73% of the audience for one of his shows was watching on cellphones, he asked a simple question: Why are we still shooting horizontally? 📱
In this fascinating conversation, Larry explains why he believes vertical will become the dominant way people consume video, why simplicity is one of the format's biggest strengths, and why Hollywood may be misunderstanding what vertical audiences actually want. He also breaks down the economics behind China's vertical model, including how a $150,000 movie could potentially generate a $35 "ticket price" through episodic paywalls. 💰
We also get into Larry's incredible history: founding E! after more than 100 rejections, the early days of Talk Soup, putting cameras in Howard Stern's radio studio, international media ventures, his wild stories from Russia, and his work helping develop China's media industry. 🌎
Plus, Larry talks about the future of vertical genres, why horror and sci-fi could be next, AI's impact on entertainment, consumer robotics, and the lessons he's learned from more than 50 years in media.
And yes, there's Rapid Fire. ⚡
In this episode, you will learn:
- 📱 Why Larry believes vertical could dominate video consumption by 2030
- 🇨🇳 What China understood about vertical entertainment years before the U.S.
- 💰 How the Chinese vertical paywall model works
- 📺 How Larry and his partners built E! Entertainment
- 🚪 Why Larry believes creators no longer need traditional gatekeepers
- 🎭 Why vertical entertainment is essentially "soap operas on steroids"
- 🔮 Which genres Larry thinks could be next
- 🤖 What Larry is watching in AI and consumer robotics
- 🌎 Why entertainment is no longer geographically tied to Hollywood
Chapters
00:00 Vertical Video Future
00:36 Asia Vertical Model
01:40 Show Intro Larry Namer
04:55 Brooklyn Roots
05:43 Cable TV Break In
10:30 LA Move Movie Trailers
13:28 Founding E Network
17:01 Pirate Programming Hits
19:32 Global Expansion Russia
25:57 China Media Reform Verticals
36:30 Televisioncom Gamble
37:22 Dotcom Crash Fallout
38:11 Going Global 2000s
39:17 Creators Without Gatekeepers
40:29 Why Vertical Wins
42:45 Paywalls And Pricing
44:51 Soap Operas Reborn
46:32 New Genres And Audiences
48:58 Rapid Fire And Robotics
54:23 Book Food And The Future
Sponsor: AEIRO (Arrow Air Purifiers)
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Featured in this episode: AEIRO AC150, powerful enough to clean rooms 300+ sq ft, quiet enough for production, with smart sensor controls and true HEPA plus carbon filtration.
Website: AEIRO.co
Guest: Larry Namer
Larry Namer is a pioneering entertainment executive, global media entrepreneur, and co-founder of E! Entertainment Television. With a career spanning more than five decades, Larry has worked across cable television, international media, digital entertainment, emerging technologies, and vertical storytelling.
Instagram: @larrynamer
Host: Buzz Leer
Buzz Leer is an actor, host, and veteran of the vertical film space.
Instagram: @buzz_leer
A Glendale Podcast Studio Production
Instagram: @glendalepodcaststudio
Social Media Coordinator: Ana Karina Cano
Instagram: @anakarinacano
Theme Song
Grace Leer and Bryan Dawley, The Vertical Buzz Theme Song
Public Relations and Media
Robb Leer, Leer Communications, Inc.
Thank you
Special thanks to all of my support team, friends, and family.
Host, Buzz Leer
