If you miss what (in retrospect) was the whimsical absurdity of the 90s, boy do we have news for you… much like 70s furniture, crop tops, and androgenous suits, the internet is bringing us our old favorites with new twists. Available today, you can enjoy a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week “livestream” of an AI created rendition of that era’s smash hit, Seinfeld, complete with its own Elaine (Yvonne) and Jerry (Larry).

Then again, maybe that sounds awful… either way, we’re here to tell you, get used to AI generated content. The show, which is created using generative, machine-learning technologies like DALL-E and Stable Diffusion, is simply an early indicator of how our content landscape is changing. From what we’ve seen, in an increasingly bizarre world nobody seems to be able to slow down, the appetite to make and consume this type of content is swelling.

So, our eyes have been peeled… looking for the vehicles that will help satiate the people’s appetites. One contender has stood above the rest, a company called Runway. Runway specializes in AI-powered content creation tools, offering a host of capabilities to build content from the ground up using some of the most advanced algorithms available. Their platform is coming together beautifully, and we want to talk about it.

The company just secured additional funds to the tune of $141 million via Series C Extension, thanks to investors Google, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, and others. Now valued at $1.5 billion, the funding builds on a December Series C. So, what is the tool used for? If you can dream it, you can make it… anything media and television, and it has already been used in content that has been award nominated. Most important, the tool is built with creator’s rights in mind.

Runway leadership seems to understand that creators are fed up with being beholden to a few powerhouses and not getting much in return. The recent Hollywood strikes are a testament… but we don’t think those same creatives have yet grasped that, instead of fighting with their old bosses, they can just go make their own darn movies. Runway could help do for content creation what the automobile did for the masses.

As you know, we like competition… so, we like this. We hope to start getting less sequels and remakes and begin to see new creators sprout wings and fly. In the process, they’ll bring us new art, perspectives, and opportunities. Runway’s leadership talks about the democratization of storytelling, and it’s the fact that they operate from a root cause up that makes us side-eye them in a hungry way.

But… what about content creation in places where we don’t often consider that, while what we’re watching is more structured, it’s still content? Places like… the news. turns out, people aren’t finding the news engaging much these days, and they are dropping out. Here’s how much viewership’s down since 2018 for places once thought unshakable: CNN at 50%, Fox News at 30%, MSNBC has lost 20%. That plus the fact that viewers are aging, without new folks showing up… you can see the issue.

In fairness… these networks may want to thank themselves for losing the trust of their viewers, but that’s a conversation for another day. Either way, it leaves a gaping hole, and there are plenty of folks looking to fill it. One such company is a startup that wants to give the final death blow to CNN through the introduction of an AI generated news channel.

With this company, we’d have a new format and a new product, but we’d be getting it from some pretty accomplished talent already fully aware of what the people want: Scott Zabielski (formerly Tosh.0) and entrepreneur Adam Mosam. If you’ve never heard of Tosh.0, it is to Millennials what Mr. Ed or Green Acres are to classic comedy content… except, you probably don’t want your grandmother watching Tosh.0.

Channel 1 News seeks to give traditional news a run for its money through the use of AI to generate news videos (we hope it’s like TikTok for the news, we’ll never leave). Initial launch will consist of a 30-minute weekly show, but the goal is to produce newscasts customized to every user, and lots of them. Regardless of how you feel about AI, it seems that, collectively, we’ve decided progress trumps caution and we’re off to the races.

With platforms like Twitter and Facebook falling apart, and traditional news losing engagement quickly, could places like Channel 1 News be the new lands of milk and honey for advertisers? We think it’s plausible, especially if they can bring any viewer anything they want, any time (at some point). We sure don’t mind relevant, helpful advertisements in our content… maybe these platforms will be just the ticket. Come back next week, we’ll have more from the IPO space.