The LX Factor

Risk-taking and being prepared to fail (but fail fast) are some of the key learnings from a news station which launched in the pandemic and is continuing to grow and find an audience.

In the latest episode of season three of the Making the Media Podcast, host Craig Wilson speaks with Matt Goldberg, vice president of content strategy at NBCUniversal Local.

In the episode, Matt details the strategy behind NBC LX, which went on air on a variety of different platforms in 2020. This is the second time Matt has spoken to the podcast, with the launch of the channel featuring in season one.

Matt outlines what he feels has worked well since they went on air and how they have learned and adapted to the ever-changing media landscape. He tells Craig that they have fostered a spirit of risk-taking within the channel and that is critical to its performance.

He says, “You have got to take big swings, and LX is a big swing. And, you know, there's a lot we could do to make it bigger and stronger. We could invest a lot more money in it. And there's a lot of things we're doing wrong, but a lot of things we're doing right. And I think as long as you're willing to take risk, you might fail, but you might succeed. And I think looking at some of the brands in the media space who were on the verge of failure or did fail and then came back to life bigger and better, that's all because they took a risk.”

Matt discusses how they have expanded their distribution platforms to include FAST Channels (Free to Air Advertising Supported Streaming TV), and how they work in conjunction with the wider NBCUniversal network of local channels and affiliates to share content. He also highlights awards they have won, including one at the Cannes Film Festival.

Not everything has been a success and that has been crucial in helping them develop the channel, Matt says, but he points out that it is also important to recognize quickly when something is not working. “I use this term—I think it's my marching order for this year—which is ‘fail fast.’ We have to try things—that's our spirit and our DNA. But we have to be comfortable saying ‘this isn't working’ or ‘it's not working like this,’ and ‘how do we change it or move on from it.”

Find out more on the next episode of the Making the Media podcast, available on all major podcast platforms on Friday, March 31.

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