Walter Presents. Standing guard.
There are more TV shows than ever, and you spend longer choosing than watching. An Italian bloke called Walter may have fixed it by putting his name and face on every pick.
THE GIST ON WALTER PRESENTS: "Natural Selection"
What is Walter Presents?
There are more TV shows available right now than at any point in human history, yet every night you spend more time choosing than watching. One Italian bloke has built a streaming service called Walter Presents that might have solved it.
Walter watches foreign language dramas from around the world and picks the best for you. It's a small curation service in 10 countries with 6 million subscribers, and he puts his name and face on every recommendation. If he picks something bad, it's on him.
Why can't Netflix do that?
Nobody at Netflix is personally responsible for what gets suggested, and that's why they can't solve the scrolling problem. Their whole business depends on making more content. More content justifies the subscription, the subscription justifies the share price, so they keep making more.
If they helped you navigate it, they'd be admitting you don't need most of it.
What happened to the gatekeepers?
We spent 20 years getting rid of people like Walter, the gatekeepers who told us what was worth watching. We called it elitist and replaced them with algorithms. The whole promise was freedom.
But unlimited choice hasn't opened people up. It's shut them down. You're overwhelmed, you rewatch what's familiar. Walter sends you somewhere you'd never have gone yourself, and that's what a gatekeeper always did.
So what now?
So Walter, if you're watching this, keep standing guard.
Do you want a curator or an algorithm?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
What is Walter Presents?
A streaming service where Walter picks foreign language dramas from around the world and puts his name and face on each recommendation.
Why can't Netflix fix scrolling?
Its business depends on making more content, and helping you navigate would admit you don't need most of it.
What did gatekeepers do?
They directed your discovery, sending you somewhere you wouldn't have gone yourself.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
The conversation
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