Ask Skip: Should I Stick With Media or Pivot to Something New?

I was recently let go as part of a company restructure. I have a couple of opportunities lined up fortunately, but what’s the future of the media and entertainment space, especially as it pertains to the direct-to-consumer environment? One opportunity is in media and entertainment and one is still in M&E, but the company is also embedded in fintech. I’m weighing the options and wondering if it’s worth making a leap into something new, or doubling down on what I know.

— Media Professional

Let me start with the obvious: getting laid off sucks. Even when it’s not personal, and in restructures, it rarely is, it feels like a rug pull. But here’s the upside: you’re staring at a rare moment of leverage. Two offers, two paths, and the freedom to actually think about what you want next. That doesn’t happen often in this industry. Use it.

Let’s talk about the media and entertainment space first. You asked where it’s going… M&E isn’t dying, but it’s not exactly thriving either. We’re in the “long hangover” phase of the streaming binge. Cost-cutting is the new content strategy. Scale dreams have shrunk into ARPU spreadsheets. And every exec in town is secretly reworking their résumé to sound more “tech-adjacent.”

As for DTC? Media companies, generally speaking, never wanted to be DTC in the first place.

They tried. They had to. Wall Street demanded it. But fundamentally, media companies aren’t wired for direct-to-consumer. These are content companies. Storytellers. Brand marketers. Licensing machines. Their muscle memory is selling shows and rights, not building software, handling churn, or owning the customer relationship.

DTC success demands relentless UX iteration, data science, billing infrastructure, customer support, live operations, and on and on. These companies weren’t built for that. Hell, most still outsource their app development and we’ll tell you that “we build all of our apps in house”….and “want to become a tech company.”

We don’t.

The real shift in the last decade wasn’t that media companies became distributors, it’s that the distributors changed. Cable ops got replaced by Amazon Channels, Roku, YouTube TV, and the rest of the digital middlemen. Media companies are still doing what they’ve always done: feeding the beast, now through new pipes. Only difference is they also had to build their own apps..

So, if you’re staring at a fork between a traditional M&E gig and a role that leans into fintech, here’s my take: don’t fear the pivot.

It could be creatively and professionally refreshing to get out of the content bubble. New challenges. New frameworks. A chance to learn from a sector that’s better at tech, better at user behavior modeling, better at monetization. That’s not nothing.

And guess what? If it doesn’t stick, you can always come back. This industry will still be here. (I think.)

But don’t make this choice out of fear. Too many smart people cling to media out of familiarity, not ambition. If you’re drawn to the fintech role, if it sounds hard in the good way, not the bad way, go for it. You’re not abandoning the mission. You’re expanding your toolbox.

You already know how to think in stories. Now imagine pairing that with deeper insight into user behavior, payments, or product design. That’s a killer combo, especially if M&E ever does get serious about DTC. Which, again, it probably won’t.

Skip Says

Media companies don’t really want to be DTC, they just want control without responsibility.

The real direct-to-consumer platforms are tech companies wearing distributor hats.

Taking a step outside M&E isn’t a betrayal. It’s growth.

The industry will still be here when you get back.

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