Larry Namer | The E! Founder Who Saw Vertical Coming 8 Years Ago: The Vertical Buzz S3E7

What if the future of vertical entertainment looks a lot like the past of cable television? 📱📺 Larry Namer has seen this movie before. As the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television, Larry helped build one of the world's most recognizable entertainment networks from the ground up. But his story goes far beyond E!. From starting out underground splicing cable in New York, to moving to Los Angeles, creating E!, expanding media operations into Russia and China, and experimenting with digital media before the technology was ready, Larry has spent more than five decades identifying where entertainment is headed next. And when it comes to vertical entertainment, Larry isn't looking at it from the outside. He has been producing vertical content in China for years. After discovering that 73% of the audience for one of his shows was watching on cellphones, he asked a simple question: Why are we still shooting horizontally? 📱 In this fascinating conversation, Larry explains why he believes vertical will become the dominant way people consume video, why simplicity is one of the format's biggest strengths, and why Hollywood may be misunderstanding what vertical audiences actually want. He also breaks down the economics behind China's vertical model, including how a $150,000 movie could potentially generate a $35 "ticket price" through episodic paywalls. 💰 We also get into Larry's incredible history: founding E! after more than 100 rejections, the early days of Talk Soup, putting cameras in Howard Stern's radio studio, international media ventures, his wild stories from Russia, and his work helping develop China's media industry. 🌎 Plus, Larry talks about the future of vertical genres, why horror and sci-fi could be next, AI's impact on entertainment, consumer robotics, and the lessons he's learned from more than 50 years in media. And yes, there's Rapid Fire. ⚡ In this episode, you will learn: 📱 Why Larry believes vertical could dominate video consumption by 2030 🇨🇳 What China understood about vertical entertainment years before the U.S. 💰 How the Chinese vertical paywall model works 📺 How Larry and his partners built E! Entertainment 🚪 Why Larry believes creators no longer need traditional gatekeepers 🎭 Why vertical entertainment is essentially "soap operas on steroids" 🔮 Which genres Larry thinks could be next 🤖 What Larry is watching in AI and consumer robotics 🌎 Why entertainment is no longer geographically tied to Hollywood Chapters 00:00 Vertical Video Future 00:36 Asia Vertical Model 01:40 Show Intro Larry Namer 04:55 Brooklyn Roots 05:43 Cable TV Break In 10:30 LA Move Movie Trailers 13:28 Founding E Network 17:01 Pirate Programming Hits 19:32 Global Expansion Russia 25:57 China Media Reform Verticals 36:30 Televisioncom Gamble 37:22 Dotcom Crash Fallout 38:11 Going Global 2000s 39:17 Creators Without Gatekeepers 40:29 Why Vertical Wins 42:45 Paywalls And Pricing 44:51 Soap Operas Reborn 46:32 New Genres And Audiences 48:58 Rapid Fire And Robotics 54:23 Book Food And The Future Sponsor: AEIRO (Arrow Air Purifiers) AEIRO Air Purifiers help identify, reduce, and monitor airborne contaminants to create a cleaner indoor environment for homes and professional spaces. Featured in this episode: AEIRO AC150, powerful enough to clean rooms 300+ sq ft, quiet enough for production, with smart sensor controls and true HEPA plus carbon filtration. Website: AEIRO.co Guest: Larry Namer Larry Namer is a pioneering entertainment executive, global media entrepreneur, and co-founder of E! Entertainment Television. With a career spanning more than five decades, Larry has worked across cable television, international media, digital entertainment, emerging technologies, and vertical storytelling. Instagram: @larrynamer Host: Buzz Leer Buzz Leer is an actor, host, and veteran of the vertical film space. Instagram: @buzz_leer A Glendale Podcast Studio Production Instagram: @glendalepodcaststudio Social Media Coordinator: Ana Karina Cano Instagram: @anakarinacano Theme Song Grace Leer and Bryan Dawley, The Vertical Buzz Theme Song Public Relations and Media Robb Leer, Leer Communications, Inc. Thank you Special thanks to all of my support team, friends, and family. Host, Buzz Leer