About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of AI on labor and marketing opportunities in distressed media assets.

We lead with the possible IPOs from OpenAI , Anthropic and SpaceX, and the much bigger question behind them: where is all that money supposed to come from? The capital markets seem to believe the answer is labor. If AI valuations are going to make any sense, then the bet is not simply that AI companies will sell more software. The bet is that AI will absorb, replace or reorganize a massive piece of the payroll line. Joe believes marketers need to prepare for a labor reckoning sooner rather than later. Robert is more skeptical. As usual, the truth may be somewhere in the middle. Then the boys break down Bending Spoons and its rollup of old internet and media brands , including AOL, Vimeo, Evernote and others. The lesson for marketers? Distressed media assets inside your industry may be one of the biggest opportunities nobody is talking about. In a world where building audience from scratch is harder than ever, the cheapest audience may be the one someone else forgot they owned. In Winners and Losers, Joe's winner is FIFA , which reminded every marketer that rented land is always rented land, even when your name is on the stadium. Robert's loser is Turner Classic Movies . In Rants…

People in this episode

Hosts: Joe Pulizzi, Robert Rose

Topics covered

• AI and labor
• capital markets
• media assets
• marketing opportunities
• audience building
• Winners and Losers
• new media models

Keywords

• AI
• payroll
• IPO
• marketing
• media
• audience
• FIFA
• Turner Classic Movies
• Pat McAfee
• MrBeast

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, Bending Spoons, AOL, Vimeo, Evernote, FIFA, Turner Classic Movies

More episodes of This Old Marketing - News Podcast Weekly with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose

• OpenAI Eyes Apple Revenues (541) · July 17, 2026 · 1h 8m
• The AI Trust Economy Is Here. Nobody Is Ready. (540) · July 10, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Is Tomorrow's Marketing for Humans or Bots (539)? · July 3, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Google Wants the Tools. Meta Wants Your Face. Walmart Wants the Ads. (538) · June 26, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Anthropic: Theater or AI Rented Land? + Fox's Big Distribution Play (537) · June 19, 2026 · 1h 10m
• The Media Reckoning Is Here (535) · June 5, 2026 · 1h 15m

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