The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Phil Schiller arriving at court last week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Blissful Ignorance on App Store Profits

By Martin Peers · May 18, 2021 5:00pm PDT

If Apple executive Phil Schiller is to be believed, Apple executives don’t know whether the App Store is profitable. That subject “doesn’t come up” in internal Apple discussions, Schiller testified today at the Epic-Apple trial. This is a business that by some estimates generates between $10 billion and $12 billion in annual profits for Apple—... If Apple executive Phil Schiller is to be believed, Apple executives don’t know whether the App...

Creator Economy

TI Creator Economy: A Table of Tipping Take Rates; Cameo Gets a New Rival

By Kaya Yurieff · May 18, 2021 4:04pm PDT

Online tipping has quietly exploded over the last two years as social networks try to appeal to creators, who are looking for new ways to make money directly from fans. Our latest chart shows how much these features can vary, particularly in the percentage, or take rate, a technology company gets. While a handful such as Clubhouse and ... Online tipping has quietly exploded over the last two years as social networks try to appeal to...

Hugo Barra at an Oculus event in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Barra Bids Facebook Farewell, DigiLens Debuts Design v1

By Mathew Olson · May 18, 2021 11:00am PDT

Facebook is losing a big name in its AR/VR efforts with Hugo Barra’s departure from Facebook announced yesterday. The social media giant has plenty of talent in that space now, though, most notably Mark Zuckerberg himself. So what’s the impact of Barra’s exit?If there is any disruption it would be to Facebook’s Ray-Ban non-AR smart glasses... Facebook is losing a big name in its AR/VR efforts with Hugo Barra’s departure from Facebook...

On the Market: Veterans of Google, Microsoft and Facebook

By The Information Staff · May 18, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

On the Market: Veterans of Google, Microsoft and Facebook

By The Information Staff · May 18, 2021 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

The pandemic did little to interrupt the flow of tech and media executives moving in and out of senior roles. In The Information’s latest batch of Free Agents, we profile some top executives who are considering their next move. They include one of Microsoft’s senior officials, Google’s longtime payments chief and a co-founder... The pandemic did little to interrupt the flow of tech and media executives moving in and out of...

AT&T former CEO Randall Stephenson. Photo by Bloomberg

AT&T Hangs Up on WarnerMedia

By Martin Peers · May 17, 2021 5:00pm PDT

AT&T’s agreement to sell WarnerMedia to Discovery ends the telecom firm’s six-year dalliance with the entertainment industry, which as expected turned out to be an egregious waste of shareholder money and management attention. Including its DirecTV acquisition, AT&T spent $126 billion and assumed billions of dollars more in debt on two... AT&T’s agreement to sell WarnerMedia to Discovery ends the telecom firm’s six-year dalliance...

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins in 2018. Photo: Getty Images

Creator Economy

Why Twitch’s Streaming Cost-Cuts Make Sense; Twitter Teases an ‘Undo’ Feature

By Kaya Yurieff · May 17, 2021 3:33pm PDT

Twitch, the livestreaming platform popular with gamers, is making a big push to appeal to more viewers outside of the U.S. by slashing prices on subscriptions to its streamers’ channels. The move makes sense, given the wide gap between people who watch Twitch and those who want to pay for it regularly. But Twitch has to proceed gingerly:... Twitch, the livestreaming platform popular with gamers, is making a big push to appeal to more...

MGM's headquarters in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon Pondering Deal to Buy MGM

By Jessica Toonkel and Nick Wingfield · May 17, 2021 2:58pm PDT · 4 comments

Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM Holdings, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant’s biggest move yet to expand in entertainment. MGM owns a major film library, with interests in the long running James Bond franchise as well as other well known titles such as Rocky and Pink Panther. It... Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM Holdings, said a person familiar with the situation,...

David Ebersman, cofounder and CEO of Lyra Health. Photo courtesy of Lyra Health.

Mental Health Startup Lyra Health Valued at $4.6 Billion in Coatue-Led Round

By Berber Jin · May 17, 2021 1:58pm PDT · 1 comment

David Ebersman, cofounder and CEO of Lyra Health. Photo courtesy of Lyra Health.

Mental Health Startup Lyra Health Valued at $4.6 Billion in Coatue-Led Round

By Berber Jin · May 17, 2021 1:58pm PDT · 1 comment

Lyra Health, which provides mental health benefits such as virtual therapy sessions to employees of large companies, is raising a new, $200 million round of funding that will value it at nearly $4.6 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal. Hedge fund Coatue Management is leading the financing as a new investor, the people said. ... Lyra Health, which provides mental health benefits such as virtual therapy sessions to employees...

Consumer Trends Shaping the Future of Entertainment

By The Information Staff · May 17, 2021 1:27pm PDT

The Information hosted a Video Summit to discuss the trends and technology shaping the future of in-home entertainment with the CEOs of Hooked and Kinema (previously Storyspaces) in partnership with Comcast Universal LIFT Labs. “I think there still is an appetite for people to gather around films,” said Christie Marchese, founder and... The Information hosted a Video Summit to discuss the trends and technology shaping the future of...

Snap’s Spectacles 3 smart glasses. Image: Snap

How Snap and Microsoft See Consumer AR

By Mathew Olson · May 17, 2021 11:39am PDT · 1 comment

According to a new report from Snap and Deloitte, 73% of people can correctly identify AR when they see it, but people generally have “a hard time defining or describing what it is.”That presents a branding challenge for companies marketing AR-based products to consumers. If consumers know augmented reality when they see it but don’t quite know... According to a new report from Snap and Deloitte, 73% of people can correctly identify AR when...

AT&T CEO John Stankey. Photo by Bloomberg.

In WarnerMedia-Discovery Deal, Old-School TV Execs Reclaim Power

By Martin Peers and Jessica Toonkel · May 17, 2021 9:29am PDT · 1 comment

A new team is taking over at WarnerMedia—and it looks a lot like the old-school TV team that ran the company before AT&T bought it. The question is whether that mindset will help or hurt Warner’s ability to remake itself for the digital age. AT&T confirmed Monday morning that it will sell WarnerMedia to Discovery. In comments... A new team is taking over at WarnerMedia—and it looks a lot like the old-school TV team...

Photo: Bloomberg

Google Struggles to Match Apple on Smartphone Privacy Changes

By Sarah Krouse · May 17, 2021 6:02am PDT

Photo: Bloomberg

Google Struggles to Match Apple on Smartphone Privacy Changes

By Sarah Krouse · May 17, 2021 6:02am PDT

Pressured by Apple’s recent iPhone privacy initiative, Google is accelerating work to limit how app developers can track the 2.5 billion people who use phones powered by its Android software. The efforts are still in flux and have been delayed by internal concerns that such moves will diminish the $130 billion a year spent on U.S. mobile... Pressured by Apple’s recent iPhone privacy initiative, Google is accelerating work to limit...

Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Photo by Bloomberg.

Warner-Discovery Deal Talks Thrust John Malone and David Zaslav Into Spotlight

By Jessica Toonkel and Martin Peers · May 16, 2021 3:51pm PDT · 2 comments

AT&T is effectively throwing in the towel on entertainment. The telecom giant is in talks to sell WarnerMedia to Discovery Inc., the John Malone–controlled TV firm, said a person familiar with the situation. If the deal is consummated—and antitrust scrutiny will be a potential stumbling block—it will scramble the... AT&T is effectively throwing in the towel on entertainment. The telecom giant is in...

Incoming FTC antitrust enforcement chief Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel. Credit: DOJ. Art by Mike Sullivan.

FTC Picks New Antitrust Top Cop to Battle Facebook, Probe Amazon

By Josh Sisco · May 15, 2021 11:58am PDT

A little-known criminal antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Eyitayo St. Matthew-Daniel, is expected to be named the top antitrust enforcer at the department’s sister agency, the Federal Trade Commission, say three people familiar with the situation. The previously unreported pick comes from current Acting FTC Chair... A little-known criminal antitrust prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Eyitayo St....

How Our Amazon Trucking Investigation Came Together

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 15, 2021 7:45am PDT · 2 comments

One of my favorite things about being an editor is watching other reporters in action. I’m routinely amazed by their techniques and perseverance, both of which are necessary to produce excellent journalism.Paris’s efforts around her five-month investigation into the safety of Amazon’s highway trucking expansion were nothing short of impressive.... One of my favorite things about being an editor is watching other reporters in action. I’m...

The Real Cost of Amazon Prime

By Martin Peers · May 14, 2021 5:00pm PDT

The Real Cost of Amazon Prime

By Martin Peers · May 14, 2021 5:00pm PDT

In his annual shareholder letter a few weeks ago, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos calculated the value the e-commerce giant had created for its customers. He concentrated on how much time Amazon saves shoppers in freeing them from driving to a store to buy goods. His conclusion: The convenience of Amazon Prime is worth $630 a year for each Prime... In his annual shareholder letter a few weeks ago, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos calculated the value...

Apple and Uyghur Labor — The Information’s 411

By Cory Weinberg · May 14, 2021 4:34pm PDT

The Information found evidence of Apple working with suppliers suspected of using forced labor. How? Cory talks to Wayne Ma about how he discovered Apple's links to the Xinjiang region of China. Then, an interview with scholar Laura T. Murphy about how tech companies can look for evidence of forced labor in their supply chains. The Information found evidence of Apple working with suppliers suspected of using forced labor....

A still image from WPTV news footage of a truck crash last November in Palm Beach County, Fla. Image courtesy of WPTV

TI Investigation

The Deadly Toll of Amazon’s Trucking Boom

By Paris Martineau · May 14, 2021 6:00am PDT · 9 comments

Abdullah Baidas had just pulled over to help the victims of a minor traffic accident on a freeway north of Houston when the truck with the blue smiley-face logo on its side shattered his body. The 23-year-old mechanic was standing on the shoulder of the freeway reporting the original fender bender to a 911 operator by phone. The call provides a... Abdullah Baidas had just pulled over to help the victims of a minor traffic accident on a freeway...

Disney's headquarters in Burbank.

Why Disney’s Streaming Slowdown Isn’t as Bad as It Looks

By Martin Peers · May 13, 2021 5:00pm PDT

How many video streaming services does it take to profitably entertain America? That question has been top of mind for people in the tech and media industries over the past year, as numerous TV companies jumped into the market made popular by Netflix with their own streaming offerings. Whether there was enough demand for each of these to make... How many video streaming services does it take to profitably entertain America? That question has...

Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy. Photo: Discord

Why Even Discord Is Offering Creators Ways to Get Paid

By Kaya Yurieff · May 13, 2021 3:16pm PDT

Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy. Photo: Discord

Creator Economy

Why Even Discord Is Offering Creators Ways to Get Paid

By Kaya Yurieff · May 13, 2021 3:16pm PDT

Discord isn’t just a social network for video gamers anymore. The service has mushroomed into a 150 million-user hangout spot for everyone from high-school debate teams to karaoke singers. Now it’s helping Internet stars who have also gravitated to Discord get paid when they stick around. The San Francisco-based startup is using a familiar... Discord isn’t just a social network for video gamers anymore. The service has mushroomed into a...