Source: M+E Journal

The Center for Data Innovation spoke with Teresa Phillips, chief executive officer and co-founder of Spherex , a global entertainment technology and data company that addresses cultural gaps in film and TV for international audiences. Phillips spoke about the importance of cultural relevance, a new multimodal analysis tool called Spherex AI, and why the entertainment industry needs to embrace data driven solutions. Ayesha Bhatti: How is Spherex using data and AI to support the entertainment industry? Teresa Phillips : We work with the world’s largest media companies, movie studios, TV networks, distributors, and streamers to address the gap in understanding how international audiences perceive film and TV series. We enable media and entertainment (M&E) companies to expand their global reach and increase engagement while protecting their brands. With the rapid growth of streaming video and the expansion of global markets, it’s more critical than ever for content to be culturally relevant and compliant with local regulations. By leveraging our expertise and technologies, M&E companies can navigate these complexities to build larger audiences, drive more video views, and generate higher revenue. Spherex uses advanced AI to analyze and classify video content for regulatory compliance and cultural nuances. Our technology generates deep metadata and actionable insights, helping media companies adapt their content for diverse markets. This ensures content meets local standards, avoids legal risks, and resonates with global audiences, expanding reach and engagement. Bhatti: Why is culture such an important aspect of the entertainment industry? Phillips: Media is a global industry; and therefore, considering culture in filmmaking is essential to ensure content resonates with diverse audiences and is compliant with local regulations. By incorporating cultural sensitivity, filmmakers create authentic, engaging stories that promote cross-cultural understanding, contributing to a more harmonious world. This approach enhances the appeal and success of content in various markets globally by building trust and loyalty among viewers, making them more likely to engage with and support the content. Bhatti: Why is it important for the entertainment industry to embrace data-driven solutions? Phillips: William Goldman famously said, “Nobody knows anything…Every time out, it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.” Data-driven solutions provide precise, timely insights into regulatory compliance and audience preferences, enabling content creation with cross-cultural appeal and promoting distribution efficiency. These solutions ensure consistent, repeatable outcomes and scalability, helping companies stay ahead of trends and maximize viewer engagement. Without data-driven strategies, companies risk inefficiencies and missed opportunities, ultimately hindering growth and profitability in a highly competitive market. Bhatti: How is Spherex different from its competitors? Phillips: We have developed a first-of-its-kind platform called Spherex AI , which offers global video compliance and cultural intelligence in one solution. Unlike other platforms, Spherex AI integrates multimodal analysis combining visual, audio, and text data—to ensure thorough and accurate content evaluation and understanding. Our AI detects thousands of cultural events, interprets context, and classifies every scene by territory and business objective. With its unique geographic dimension, SpherexAI predicts how content will be received in over 200 countries and territories, providing unparalleled accuracy and relevance to expand audience reach and engagement, boost revenue, and ensure brand safety. No one else does what we do. Bhatti: Can you provide some case studies of where Spherex is supporting the industry? Phillips: Spherex has demonstrated its effectiveness across various sectors in the entertainment industry. We helped a leading streaming platform expand its international reach using Spherex AI . The platform broadened its audience by ensuring content met global regulatory standards and cultural expectations, which increased subscriber engagement. Similarly, a major film studio significantly reduced costs and increased efficiency by automating content analysis for compliance checks and cultural sensitivity. This allowed the studio to focus more on creative production. Finally, a major TV network improved viewer engagement by adapting content to be culturally sensitive and relevant, fostering a positive viewing experience for international audiences. These examples illustrate how Spherex streamlines processes, reduces costs and guarantees compliance, making it a powerful tool for global content distribution and audience engagement. Looking to the future, we hope Spherex will become the global standard for video compliance and cultural intelligence in the next five years. Our AI technology will be adopted by local regulators to classify content, ensuring consistency and compliance worldwide. We’ll expand our services to include short-form video and advertising, enabling creators to reach broader audiences across all media. By staying ahead of evolving regulations and cultural trends, Spherex will shape the future of global content distribution, fostering cross-cultural understanding and enhancing viewer engagement. We will be an essential partner for media companies seeking to maximize their global impact, drive revenue growth, and protect their brands.

The streaming wars have become a global battleground to reach broader audiences, increase engagement and reduce churn. The major streamers expect half of their revenue to come from the international marketplace within the next few years. Guest Teresa Phillips, Co-Founder & CEO, Spherex, explains why culture plays an integral part in successfully globalizing content and how Spherex’s unique AI supports the ecosystem to help create content that culturally adapts to meet the compliance needs in various countries while maintaining the integrity of storytelling.

Podcast

Friday Fireside with Teresa Phillips, Co-Founder and CEO of Spherex

In this episode, Teresa and I discuss the challenge of localizing and cultural fitting content for international audiences. Entertainment companies must navigate complex regulatory, economic, and cultural environments in each new market, so it’s no surprise that cultural missteps are fairly common – from Netflix running afoul of the Singaporean government for hosting drug-related content to the infamous Cuties movie poster debacle here in the U.S. In response, Teresa shares how Spherex uses technology and human expertise to help media companies successfully localize and extend their content to foreign markets. Finally, we comment on Netflix’s recent foray into gaming, ARPU differences between AVOD and SVOD platforms, and future M&A targets as media consolidation continues.