For decades, television built its business around scale. Morning shows chased mass audiences, cable news courted national conversations and entertainment programs tried to speak to everyone at once.
Now a new generation of creators is pursuing the opposite strategy: speaking to almost no one — at least by traditional broadcast standards.
According to a new report by Andrew Zucker at the Hollywood Reporter, across YouTube, X, LinkedIn and Instagram, livestream talk shows are emerging that serve extremely specific professional communities. There are programs devoted to freight logistics, others focused on advertising executives, and still others aimed squarely at Silicon Valley founders.
And increasingly, Hollywood itself.
The phenomenon — sometimes called “nichecasting” — is gaining traction at a moment when traditional television audiences are shrinking and the economics of media are shifting toward targeted communities rather than broad viewership.
Broadcast morning shows today draw roughly half the audience they did fifteen years ago, leaving space for smaller, specialized formats to capture viewers who want information tailored to their professional interests. Creators are filling that void with livestream programming that resembles a hybrid of cable news, podcasts and trade publications.
The question now facing Hollywood: Could the next influential entertainment media outlet look less like CNN or Variety — and more like a livestream built for industry insiders?
A Talk Show for Trucking
Consider Malcolm Harris, a former sports talk host who now leads a livestream series about the freight industry.
Since September, Harris has hosted “What The Truck?!?”, a thrice-weekly program produced by FreightWaves that discusses logistics news, interviews trucking executives and tracks industry developments in real time.
The audience is small by broadcast standards, but intensely focused: freight executives, shipping companies and supply-chain professionals who rely on the program as a daily briefing.
“This is how people are getting content today,” Harris said in reporting originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
For industries that rarely appear on television — trucking, advertising, or enterprise software — the model offers something traditional media never did: a show built entirely around their world.
The Rise of the ‘Micro-CNBC’
These livestreams increasingly resemble miniature versions of major cable networks, but targeted to professional niches.
Technology has TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network), a daily livestream covering startups and venture capital that functions like a Silicon Valley version of CNBC’s Squawk Box. Advertising executives are preparing their own livestream focused on Madison Avenue.
And now, Hollywood is getting one too.
On March 8, Warner Bailey — creator of the popular industry meme account Assistants vs. Agents — plans to launch a weekly livestream focused on the business of entertainment.
Bailey has built a following among junior Hollywood workers by posting satirical takes on agency culture, studio politics and industry hierarchies. His upcoming show aims to translate that audience into a live program discussing deals, trends and insider conversations.
“We only care about servicing that exact niche,” Bailey said. “Entertainment professionals, people working in entertainment, or students trying to break in.”
In other words: a SportsCenter for Hollywood insiders.
Why Livestreaming Works for Niche Media
Unlike podcasts, livestreams introduce immediacy and participation. Hosts often respond to audience comments in real time, creating a feeling of communal viewing.
“It makes you feel like you’re sitting in on the conversation,” said Jack Westerkamp, who covers advertising and is preparing to launch his own livestream program with collaborator Geno Schellenberger.
The format also creates an unusual advertising opportunity.
Because livestreams happen at a scheduled time and encourage participation, ads are harder to skip than in podcasts or recorded video.
“It’s like a truly unskippable ad read,” said Dylan Abruscato, president of TBPN.
And although the live audience may be modest, clips distributed afterward across social media dramatically expand reach. TBPN’s hosts say more viewers watch recorded clips of their show than the livestream itself.
What This Means for Hollywood
For decades, the entertainment industry has relied on a handful of trade publications — Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline — to shape its internal conversation.
But nichecasting could introduce a new layer of industry media: personality-driven shows that combine reporting, commentary and community.
Several potential impacts are already emerging.
1. Hollywood News Could Become More Personality-Driven
Livestream hosts often function less like journalists and more like industry interpreters — insiders explaining deals, strategies and cultural shifts to an audience of peers.
In Hollywood, that could mean agents, producers or assistants becoming media voices in their own right.
It’s a shift similar to what happened in finance, where analysts and traders built massive followings discussing markets online.
2. Studios Gain a Direct Marketing Channel
If niche shows attract entertainment professionals, studios may treat them as targeted publicity outlets.
Instead of promoting a film broadly on late-night television, a studio executive might appear on an industry livestream to discuss business strategy or production economics with insiders.
For recruiting, networking and dealmaking, the format could function as a digital town square for the industry.
3. The Trade Publication Model Could Evolve
Trade journalism traditionally relies on written reporting and exclusives. Livestreams, however, reward conversation, commentary and speed.
In that environment, analysis and community engagement may matter as much as breaking news.
That could push traditional outlets to experiment more aggressively with live programming, video commentary and interactive formats.
4. Hollywood Could Become Its Own Audience
Perhaps the biggest shift is psychological.
Entertainment media historically served both industry insiders and general audiences. Nichecasting suggests a different model: shows built almost entirely for professionals inside the business.
In a world of fragmented media, Hollywood may increasingly watch itself.
The “500-Channel Universe,” Reimagined
The trend echoes an earlier moment in media history.
In the 1980s and 1990s, cable pioneer John Malone predicted a “500-channel universe,” where specialized networks would replace broadcast generalists. Channels like Food Network, BET and QVC emerged from that vision.
Today’s algorithm-driven feeds may be creating something similar — but far more granular.
Instead of hundreds of channels, the internet can support thousands of micro-networks, each dedicated to a narrow community.
That includes logistics executives.
Advertising strategists.
Silicon Valley founders.
And increasingly, Hollywood insiders themselves.
Whether any of these creators will build the equivalent of a modern media conglomerate remains unclear. But the direction of travel is evident.
As broadcast audiences shrink and online communities deepen, the future of television may look less like mass entertainment — and more like a room full of specialists talking to one another, live.
