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☆ Peacock's NFL subscriber bump looks like it's over
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Peacock signed up a lot of new subscribers earlier this year because of an NFL playoff game. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Some of them may no longer be Peacock subscribers. Comcast, Peacock's parent company, reports that the service's subscriber count dropped by 500,000 between the first and second quarters of this year. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Peacock, —, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, It's Organizations: NFL, Service, Comcast, Business

☆ Twitter's not back. But it's not going anywhere, either. Ask Ezra Klein.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But Biden, like a lot of social media users, is a promiscuous poster: The same message went out on Threads and Instagram. Confirmed debate wasn't a… — Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) July 18, 2024Again: Klein has a column and a popular podcast at The New York Times, with all of the reach and clout that entails. I don't think it's good for the way I think most of the time. I don't think that's what Musk thought he was buying two years ago, and I don't feel great about using it myself. But I don't think it's going anywhere.

Persons: Musk, That's, Hasan Chowdhury, Joe Biden, Biden, Ezra Klein, podcaster, —, Senate Dems, Klein, I'd, I'm Organizations: Service, Business, The New York Times, Vox Media, Twitter, Dems, Senate, CNN Locations: United States, @ezraklein

☆ Apple quietly admits it's paying too much to run its streaming service
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Apple's streaming service has a well-deserved reputation for generous spending on TV shows and movies. Which brings up a recurring question for Apple: Why, exactly, is it running a streaming service? AdvertisementApple's streaming service makes programming that critics often like. As do the people who watch its TV shows and movies. The problem for Apple: Not that many people watch the stuff on Apple TV+.

Persons: — Organizations: Apple, Service, Business

☆ Warner Bros Discovery (basically) admits its merger didn't work
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That's basically the pitch the management of Warner Bros. Discovery is floating to investors today, via a story in the Financial Times: "A dramatic plan to split its digital streaming and studio businesses from its legacy television networks." And would the money from those declining networks be enough to service all that debt? Apple, most notably, inquired about buying HBO way back when its parent company was called Time Warner. If WBD can't split the company the way it's supposedly proposing now, it will end up selling off assets (maybe CNN?

Persons: That's, WBD, I've, hasn't, Pimple Popper, HBO hasn't, Jessica Reif Ehrlich, Rich Greenfield, you'll, it's, Time Warner, David Zaslav —, Donald Trump, he's, Zaslav Organizations: Service, Warner Bros, Financial, Business, HBO, Max, CNN, Netflix, Big Tech, Apple, Time, Sun, Paramount

☆ Vivek Ramaswamy told BuzzFeed to change. It hasn't. Now what?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewHere's an update from Vivek Ramaswamy's attempt to take over, or at least influence, BuzzFeed: Nothing's happening. There's a reason the non-news is worth noting today, though: It's July 15, the deadline Ramaswamy set for BuzzFeed to expand its board of directors by adding three new members he proposed. AdvertisementLast month, Ramaswamy and two of his proposed directors met with BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti via conference call, which people on both sides of the table described as cordial. And if Ramaswamy has any plans to ratchet up pressure on BuzzFeed, he has yet to disclose them. That is: We're still wondering if Ramaswamy has spent millions on BuzzFeed because he wants attention, or wants to make money, or maybe both.

Persons: —, Vivek Ramaswamy's, Ramaswamy, There's, Jonah Peretti, there's, Chris Balfe, podcaster Patrick Bet, Clay Travis, Vivek, Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy's, he's Organizations: Service, Republican, Business

☆ This Elon Musk crackdown is starting to look ridiculous
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Everyone has complaints about the way Elon Musk runs Twitter. Add European regulators to that list: They don't like the way he's changed the service's "blue check" program for "verified users." Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Elon Musk, — Organizations: Elon, Service, Business

☆ These new WhatsApp TV ads tell you a lot about the company's growth plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewTen years ago, Meta bought WhatsApp for some $21 billion. A few years ago, it announced that WhatsApp had 2 billion users around the world, and that's about it. That's where Meta has started running ads promoting the messaging platform, using the cast of "Modern Family," the long-running sitcom. This isn't the first time Meta has advertised WhatsApp on TV. I ran that thesis by Carl Woog, who runs comms for WhatsApp, and he … said I had it right: WhatsApp thinks middle America is a growth market.

Persons: —, Meta, Meta's, WhatsApp, Carl Woog, …, Woog Organizations: Service, Facebook, Business, Meta, Hulu, Prestige, NBA Locations: America, Miami , New York, Seattle

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav would like a new president, too
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Media and tech bosses hate Joe Biden's antitrust policies, which they think are holding them back from buying and selling each other. Not WBD CEO David Zaslav, though. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Discovery CEO David Zaslav has no opinion about who should win the US presidential election this fall. But he got plenty close Tuesday at Sun Valley, the annual media and tech mogul conference:Via Bloomberg:

Persons: Joe, David Zaslav, —, Joe Biden, didn't Organizations: Service, Warner Bros, Discovery, Bloomberg Locations: Sun

☆ Paramount's new owner says he's building a tech company. Come again?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But he is definitely leaning on the idea that he's building a media company that is also a tech company. That's partly because David Ellison isn't a tech mogul. But this reminds me a bit of the 2015 era when digital publishers like BuzzFeed and Vox Media told investors they weren't media companies but tech companies that made media. The bigger problem with the tech + media pitch isn't that tech and media aren't intertwined. AdvertisementThe real problem that Paramount — and just about every other big media company — has these days isn't that its tech isn't good enough.

Persons: —, David Ellison, Ellison, he's, David Ellison's, Larry Ellison —, We've, David Ellison isn't, Steve Jobs, Jobs, John Lasseter, it's, He's, Lasseter, That's, Rich Greenfield, It's Organizations: Service, Hollywood, Paramount, Media, Technology Enterprise, Business, Oracle, Apple, Pixar, Disney, Vox Media, Netflix, YouTube, Lightshed

☆ Waymo's robotaxis are better than some San Francisco drivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Waymo's autonomous driver is pretty damn smart, and aside from a few hesitations, the robotaxi offers a smooth, comfortable experience with competitive pricing against other ride-hailing apps. Lloyd Lee/Business InsiderWaymo's 5th generation autonomous driver could be best described as a safe but not an annoyingly cautious driver. It did the same thing to give itself more room when it detected a large parked bucket truck slightly in Waymo's lane. The expectation I had that the Waymo driver would be stiff, as the term "robot taxi" might suggest, was dispelled throughout the rides. The spokesperson said it's also possible I failed to notice something the Waymo car picked up.

Persons: —, San Francisco —, Uber, Lloyd Lee, Spokespeople, Lyft, Andrew Macdonald, Uber's, Waymo, Waymo's, BI's Peter Kafka, it's Organizations: Service, Business, Financial, SF, PACE, Jaguars Locations: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Pine

☆ Apple wants you to know it still doesn't like Meta
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Did Apple and Meta discuss an AI deal? Or is there no AI deal happening between Apple and Meta? download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementNews: Apple has talked to Meta, its fierce rival, about an AI deal. Also news: Apple is not talking to Meta about an AI deal, because Meta is a fierce rival.

Persons: — Organizations: Apple, Meta, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Service

☆ BuzzFeed really needs a 'Hot Ones' deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

BuzzFeed is trying to sell "Hot Ones," its hit video show. A deal would help BuzzFeed pay off some — but not all — of its $119 million debt obligation. This comes as Vivek Ramaswamy continues to scoop up BuzzFeed shares. 1: BuzzFeed has been trying to sell "Hot Ones," its hit viral video show, but has yet to make a deal. If BuzzFeed is successful at selling First We Feast, the company that owns "Hot Ones," then it will be in a better position to deal with Ramaswamy.

Persons: BuzzFeed, Vivek Ramaswamy, —, Jonah Peretti, Ramaswamy Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Elon Musk really wants advertisers' money. But he also wants to keep tweeting. He can't have both.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

His anti-revenue campaign reached its peak/nadir last fall, when he literally told advertisers to "go fuck yourself." And that's where Musk explained that when he told advertisers to go fuck themselves last year, he didn't mean all advertisers. "It was with respect to freedom of speech," he told Read. AdvertisementMeanwhile, the exodus of big brand advertisers has pushed Twitter ad rates way, way down. And I do shoot myself in the foot from time to time," he told Read.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Mark Read, Musk, Read, Oliver Darcy, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Joe, Puck, there's, It's Organizations: Service, Elon, Business, Cannes, WPP, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, CNN, Associated Press, Washington Post, Democratic Party, Republicans, Google, Media Locations: France, Mexico, Washington

☆ Pay TV is in so much trouble that even its one bright spot is dimming
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Pay TV just suffered its worst quarter in history — a stunning 6.9% drop. The TV industry used to hope that digital services like YouTube TV could make up for losses from regular TV. In fact, YouTube TV just had its first quarterly subscriber loss ever. AdvertisementIf you pay any attention to the TV business, you know that pay TV subscriptions have been falling for years. People who used to pay for TV are cutting the cord, and younger people aren't bothering to sign up for pay TV at all.

Persons: — Organizations: YouTube, Service, MoffettNathanson, Business

☆ Here's another reason for Elon Musk to support Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He also seems increasingly interested in Donald Trump, though he won't come out and say he's formally backing him. So here's another reason for him to move more firmly into the Trump camp: The US Securities and Exchange Commission, currently run by Biden appointee Gary Gensler, keeps dogging him. Caveats: The last time the SEC went after Musk, Trump was in the White House, and Trump appointee Jay Clayton was running the SEC. AdvertisementJust as important: The Journal piece includes lots of to-be-sures from legal experts about the difficulty of the SEC winning a case against Musk. But Musk would certainly prefer not having to go to court to find out.

Persons: —, Elon, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, he's, Trump, Biden, Gary Gensler, Tesla, Musk, Jay Clayton Organizations: Service, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Business, SEC, Twitter, SEC hasn't, Musk, Trump

☆ Did Apple just outthink everyone in AI? A chat with tech analyst Ben Thompson
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

When I try to get my head around big, complicated tech questions, I often rely on Ben Thompson, the influential tech analyst who writes the Stratechery newsletter. And that Apple gets the upside of AI without incurring many of the costs and risks other tech players are taking on. AdvertisementPeter Kafka: You seemed pretty enthusiastic about Apple's AI efforts before they announced them on Monday. One is some massive AI breakthrough, such that the phone becomes the commodity, as opposed to Apple making the AI the commodity. Peter Kafka: You've been speculating about whether Apple is paying OpenAI, or OpenAI is paying Apple.

Persons: —, Ben Thompson, Peter Kafka, They're, Tim Cook, Justin Sullivan, Who's, They've, Apple, You've, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Thompson, Mark Gurman Organizations: Service, Apple, Business, Washington Post, Bloomberg, OpenAI Locations: ChatGPT.com

☆ Is this 1987 video the origins of Apple Intelligence?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

There's a scary version of AI where AI takes your job and/or destroys the planet. Then there's the version that's much more chill: AI as a personal assistant who helps you with your tasks — remembers things for you, finds stuff for you, helps you create presentations for work. AdvertisementThe kinder, gentler version is the one Apple showed off yesterday, though we won't really know how it works till it goes live later this year. Right now, all we have to go on is Apple's pre-recorded demo video. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Organizations: Business

☆ Elon Musk is going to try courting advertisers. Again.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk, who has a ... complicated relationship with advertisers, is going to appear at a big ad conference. It's pretty standard for tech companies to court advertisers at the Cannes Lions event in France. AdvertisementLast fall Elon Musk told advertisers to go fuck themselves. Maybe he has a different message now: The man who bought Twitter, turned it into "X," and saw his advertising revenue plummet, is heading to the Cannes Lions ad summit in France next week. WPP, one of the world's biggest ad companies, said Musk will appear at an event with WPP CEO Mark Read on June 18.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Mark Read Organizations: Cannes Lions, Service, Twitter, WPP Locations: France

☆ Apple wants to put a friendlier spin on artificial intelligence, but many users could miss out
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at all the takeaways from Apple's big event , including its friendlier spin on artificial intelligence . Related VideoBut first, it's not AI; it's Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence — it's AI, just not that AI — is the company's first big swing in the space. Data is the name of the game when it comes to AI, and Apple's iPhones are full of it. However, the Apple Intelligence news and partnership with OpenAI is what really set the billionaire off.

Persons: —, we've, it's, Andrew Burton, Justin Sullivan, Rebecca Zisser, Tim Cook, Apple, Apple's, Insider's Jordan Hart, Katie Notopoulos, Pro Max, BI's Peter Kafka, Max —, wasn't, Elon Musk, Chelsea Jia Feng, Grzegorz Wajda, Elon, Bernstein, Toni Sacconaghi, Point72, Steve Cohen's, WallStreetBets, Tyler Le, OpenAI, Sarah Friar, Kevin Weil, who's, Sam Altman's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover, Annie Smith Organizations: Service, Business, Tech, Apple Intelligence, Washington, Getty, Apple, Pro, Elon, OpenAI, Academy Investment, GameStop, Planet Labs, Oracle Locations: Apple's, Chelsea, Silicon, New York, London

☆ Apple is stepping up its Vision Pro pitch to Hollywood after soft sales and mixed response to the headset
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewApple is stepping up its efforts to get Hollywood to make content for the Vision Pro as it prepares to roll out the mixed-reality headset internationally to boost sales. Director Jon Favreau brought the dinosaurs on his Apple TV+ show "Prehistoric Planet" to life through a spinoff for Vision Pro. Apple is talking up Vision Pro to talent agencies, filmmakers, and producers to fill the pipeline. Apple TV+ produces some, but not all, of the immersive content that's available on Vision Pro. AdvertisementLike the rest of Apple TV+'s shows and movies, Apple doesn't want controversial content for the Vision Pro lest it undermine sales of its consumer electronics overall.

Persons: —, creatives, James Cameron raved, Jon Favreau, stampeded, Alicia Keys, Chris Parnell, David Manpearl, there's, Parnell, Peter Kafka Organizations: Service, Hollywood, Vision, Business, Apple, Vision Pro, Disney, Netflix, YouTube

☆ Can Tim Cook sell you a new iPhone based on Apple's new AI features? It's a huge question for the company.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That's the scenario Apple sketched out Monday, when it tried to explain how it was integrating AI into its ecosystem. But it's also a very real problem for Apple since Apple is in the business of selling expensive, high-margin hardware. AdvertisementBut I do have a third, vibes-based theory about why the AI that Apple showed off didn't blow me away. And during Apple's Monday demo, the company played on both sides of that line: It would tell you that Apple's AI could instantly make your writing better. In Apple's framing, that's AI that's helpful, but not creepy; immediately useful, but not too disruptive.

Persons: —, Apple, it's, we've, Tim Cook, Craig Federighi Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, iPhones, AIs Locations: emojis

☆ Why a new NBA deal could mean cuts to your favorite NBC and Peacock shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

The NBA is close to a series of rights deals that will generate an astonishing $76 billion over 11 years for the sports league. AdvertisementIf you like watching basketball, this will likely mean some change: Right now, national NBA rights are split between Disney's ESPN/ABC and Warner Bros Discovery's TNT; in the future, those will likely be split between Disney, Amazon, and Comcast, which intends to show some games on NBC and some on its Peacock streaming service. So you may need to sign up for some new streamers (just like NFL fans have had to do). This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.

Organizations: NBA, Disney's ESPN, ABC, Warner Bros, TNT, Disney, Comcast, NBC, Business

☆ Sam Altman's OpenAI is paying publishers big money for content. That could be a lifeline — or blow up in their faces.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

You've heard this one before: A big tech company is offering a lifeline to distressed media companies. That's the argument against a slew of deals publishers have been making with Sam Altman's OpenAI over the past few months. But the OpenAI deals, the publishers emphasize, are straightforward licensing deals for stuff they're already making. AdvertisementWhich means — they say — at the end of these deals, publishers won't have to regret investing in another defunct Big Tech project. But the thing I'm most worried about as someone who makes words for a living isn't a replay of the old Facebook/Apple/Google deals publishers now regret.

Persons: You've, It's, Sam Altman's OpenAI, Axel Springer, Rupert, Barry Diller's Dotdash Meredith, Laurene Powell, haven't, OpenAI, it's, Jessica Lessin, Lucy, Charlie Brown, —, Let's, Bob Iger, ChatGPT, that's Organizations: Service, Vox Media, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Laurene Powell Jobs, Atlantic Media, Apple, Google, Facebook, The New York Times, Big Tech, New York Times, Microsoft, Netflix, ABC, Disney

☆ With Paramount's long and winding sales process coming to an end, here's what comes next for the media giant
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementThe media giant, which owns Paramount Pictures and CBS, has been in the news as an acquisition target since late last year. Skydance might not be as recognizable a name, but the company's owner and CEO David Ellison is. It's "is Paramount big enough to survive on its own?" The rush to corner the market on data centers is a move by Big Tech to secure the keys to the coming AI kingdom. Big Tech, finance, and consulting jobs are becoming harder to come by, upending the job search for young people.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Rebecca Zisser, Warner, David Zaslav, Byron Allen, David Ellison, Larry Ellison, he's, Phillip Faraone, Peter Kafka, That's, Larry Ellison's, Alyssa Powell, Savita Subramanian, Gary Shilling, Kitty, Keith Gill, Arif Qazi, Jason Zander, they'll, Apple's, Siri, Dominic Bugatto, that's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover, Annie Smith Organizations: Service, Paramount, Business, Paramount Pictures, CBS, RedBird Capital Partners, KKR, Warner Bros . Discovery, Sony, Hollywood, Getty, Tech, Bank of America, Wall Street, GameStop, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, BI, Washington Post, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Locations: China, India, Texas, New York, London

☆ Is Jeff Bezos' Washington Post trying to turn itself into BuzzFeed?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Washington Post is in trouble. This third newsroom will be comprised of service and social media journalism and run separately from the core news operation. AdvertisementStill, it's quite clear that Lewis, installed by Bezos last fall, has surveyed the existing Washington Post business strategy — run a newspaper with national ambitions and a subscription-based revenue model — and concluded that it didn't work. The more concerning part of Lewis' plan is that he now has two plans: There's The Washington Post, which will presumably continue to act like the old Washington Post. And there's the new, unnamed version of The Washington Post, which will operate very differently.

Persons: — Jeff Bezos, —, Will Lewis, That's, Lewis, It's, he's Organizations: Service, Washington Post, Business, Bezos, Facebook, Daily, Washington, The Washington Post Locations: —

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