Smith and Telang really executed on this book. I have been fascinated with the entertainment industry ever since I was little, and I wanted to learn more about how data informs decisions in this arena. To my surprise, plenty of firms that are major players in the space are well behind the curve. This has allowed tech companies like Netflix and Amazon to break into the industry and start to take over as rapidly as they are. House of Cards was also one of the shows on Netflix that first got me hooked to binge watching, and I had no idea this was intentional. Smith and Telang walk you through exactly how much of a risk this was. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, took a $100M risk to be exact. But it was a calculated one in that he knew, based on existing Netflix data, that subscribers loved movies Kevin Spacey starred in and ones that David Fincher directed. He also knew that most customers had ordered DVDs of the original BBC version of the show. So instead of offering a typical $5M for a pilot, they went for a full two seasons. And even crazier? They decided to release the entire first season because they knew the content was too rich to space out; you needed it all at once. This breakdown was electric to read and furthered my passion for entertainment. If you are curious about streaming or even wondering what is going on behind the scenes of your favorite movie studio you need to pick up this book.