Smith said in the new forms of entertainment that currently are emerging, especially interactive television, people are being smart. The big networks are saying, show us how to get money. And they are looking for shared risks. I cannot say which one it is, but a very large network wants a partner for an interactive TV venture. Sony's Nicholas Wodtke said part of the problem was content on the Internet made everybody a producer, which raised false expectations.
Production is just one step.
People forgot that there has to be a business model. Yahoo and some of the early brands on the Web distinguished themselves and became recognizable names. But, as more products came out, they looked exactly the same and it became more difficult for consumers to differentiate. They did not understand the audience. Jeremy Welt of Maverick Records offered a different perspective.