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

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by AP.

Prime Time for Subscriptions on Amazon

By Steve Nellis · Jul 12, 2016 10:02am PDT · 6 comments

Amazon is now selling so many different subscription services that a consumer signing up for every single one would spend $839 a year. And that means subscriptions are an increasingly important part of Amazon’s revenue. The flagship $99-a-year Prime subscription alone could generate up to 7% of Amazon’s U.S. e-commerce revenue,... Amazon is now selling so many different subscription services that a consumer signing up for...

Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snapchat Misses Out on Big Political Ad Dollars

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Jul 12, 2016 7:02am PDT

This year’s election season was declared early on the “Snapchat election,” reflecting how political campaigns were expected to use the app for getting their message out to young people. But that doesn’t appear to extend to political advertising, where Facebook and Google dominate the digital ad spending.Ad buyers and... This year’s election season was declared early on the “Snapchat election,”...

Illustration by Matt Vascellaro.

Where Cars and Drones Collide

By Amir Efrati · Jul 11, 2016 10:01am PDT · 5 comments

If the idea of a drone flying into your backyard and setting down a package from Amazon.com strikes you as something out of “The Jetsons,” how about this alternative. A self-driving car arrives outside your house and a robot rolls out and delivers a package to your front door.As fantastical as either concept might seem, they’re... If the idea of a drone flying into your backyard and setting down a package from Amazon.com...

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Photo by Bloomberg.

Hope for Tax Break on Private Tech Options

By Reed Albergotti · Jul 11, 2016 7:01am PDT

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Photo by Bloomberg.

Hope for Tax Break on Private Tech Options

By Reed Albergotti · Jul 11, 2016 7:01am PDT

One of the biggest drawbacks for startup employees who receive stock as part of their compensation can be taxes. When employees’ restricted stock vests or they exercise options, they have to pay taxes on any built-in gains, even if they can’t sell the stock. A congressional bill expected to be introduced early this week aims to... One of the biggest drawbacks for startup employees who receive stock as part of their...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 9, 2016 8:01am PDT

Good Morning! It has been a week of saddening news in America. Let’s get right to our stories. Good Morning! It has been a week of saddening news in America. Let’s get right to our...

The Information’s 411 — Fully Vested

By Steve Nellis · Jul 8, 2016 2:34pm PDT

In this week’s podcast, Zara talks about her exclusive interview with Didi Chuxing’s first angel investor. Tom and Amir share what they’ve learned at Allen & Co’s annual media and tech retreat in Sun Valley, where the fleece vests and deal talk were abundant. In this week’s podcast, Zara talks about her exclusive interview with Didi Chuxing’s...

Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 8, 2016 12:12pm PDT

Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam at Sun Valley this week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Changes Likely Afoot for Ownership of AwesomenessTV

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Jul 8, 2016 8:47am PDT

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam at Sun Valley this week. Photo by Bloomberg.

Changes Likely Afoot for Ownership of AwesomenessTV

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Jul 8, 2016 8:47am PDT

SUN VALLEY, ID—Pay TV rivals Verizon and Comcast will soon find themselves unlikely partners in AwesomenessTV, perhaps the most successful digital media studio in recent years. But Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam on Thursday dropped a hint that this state of affairs wouldn’t last.That raises the possibility that Verizon will move to buy... SUN VALLEY, ID—Pay TV rivals Verizon and Comcast will soon find themselves unlikely...

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, Facebook CFO David Wehner and Facebook CEO at Mark Zuckerberg at Sun Valley this week. Photo by Bloomberg.

What We Learned at Sun Valley

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Jul 8, 2016 7:02am PDT

This week’s column comes from Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan, reporting from Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley conference this week. The gathering began more than 30 years ago as a forum for traditional media companies. But the power long ago shifted to tech companies. That’s reflected in the attendee list and much of what goes on... This week’s column comes from Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan, reporting from Allen &...

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Bloomberg.

ESPN Takes a Baby Step Outside the Bundle

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Jul 7, 2016 7:05pm PDT

Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network plans to unveil a package of live programming it will offer directly to consumers on the Web, said a person with knowledge of the plans. The move is a baby step towards ESPN becoming a direct-to-consumer service.ESPN’s new offering won’t include high-value content like professional football or... Walt Disney’s ESPN sports network plans to unveil a package of live programming it will...

Chinese angel investor Wang Gang. Photo by Zhang Yong.

The Angel Investor Behind Didi Chuxing

By Zara Zhang · Jul 7, 2016 7:02am PDT

In 2012, two executives at Alibaba pooled money to launch an app to help Chinese people hail taxis. The startup became Didi Chuxing, most recently valued at $28 billion. One of the co-founders, Cheng Wei, became CEO. The other, Wang Gang, has made so much money from Didi and an earlier stake in Alibaba that he is now one of China’s most... In 2012, two executives at Alibaba pooled money to launch an app to help Chinese people hail...

Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst. Photo by Flickr/Red Hat.

The Only Guy Making Money Off Free Software

By Steve Nellis · Jul 6, 2016 10:01am PDT

Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst. Photo by Flickr/Red Hat.

The Big Interview

The Only Guy Making Money Off Free Software

By Steve Nellis · Jul 6, 2016 10:01am PDT

There are now scores of venture-backed startups pushing open-source software. Some, like Cloudera, MongoDB and Docker, claim to be worth $1 billion or more. Each has a slightly different spin on the same question: How do you make money off free code?They’ve got a range of different answers, like selling tools on top of an “open... There are now scores of venture-backed startups pushing open-source software. Some, like...

Zenefits CEO David Sacks. Photo by Bloomberg.

Early Zenefits Investors Still Sitting Pretty

By Alfred Lee · Jul 6, 2016 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Zenefits’ decision to slash its valuation by more than half has been portrayed as hurting VCs who invested early much more than recent investors and employees. But a closer look at the details suggests that series A investors will still be sitting on a paper return of 1,800% after the revaluation. And despite a previously unreported... Zenefits’ decision to slash its valuation by more than half has been portrayed as hurting...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Bots in 2016: Mid-Year Check In

By Sam Lessin · Jul 5, 2016 10:02am PDT · 6 comments

In January I wrote a post on bots, conversational apps and Fin. In the post I called out that it felt like 2016 was the year of a broad shift in the developer ecosystem away from apps and toward conversational interfaces and bots.A lot of cards have flipped over in the past six months. Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple made various... In January I wrote a post on bots, conversational apps and Fin. In the post I called out that it...

Disney Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP.

Disney’s Digital General

By Tom Dotan and Martin Peers · Jul 5, 2016 7:02am PDT · 4 comments

For several months, Walt Disney Co. executives have been deep in discussions with Major League Baseball over a proposed billion-dollar investment in the league’s video streaming division. And the man leading the talks for the media giant hasn’t been an executive at the company’s ESPN sports network but one of CEO Bob... For several months, Walt Disney Co. executives have been deep in discussions with Major League...

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 2, 2016 8:01am PDT

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 2, 2016 8:01am PDT

Happy Fourth!The tech and media elite are heading to Sun Valley this coming week, where they can enjoy skeet shooting, whitewater rafting and tennis. And just maybe, they’ll do some business. We’ll be there, watching out for any signs of deals. Happy Fourth!The tech and media elite are heading to Sun Valley this coming week, where they can...

The Information’s 411 — Bury Them With Benjamins

By Tom Dotan · Jul 1, 2016 2:59pm PDT

Cory explains why sharing is down on Instagram. Steve discusses why Salesforce is in a tough place in the wake of Microsoft's deal to buy LinkedIn. Then a lightning round on the bull or bear cases on some top tech companies.You can find our RSS feed here or subscribe via iTunes and SoundCloud. Cory explains why sharing is down on Instagram. Steve discusses why Salesforce is in a tough...

Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 1, 2016 11:51am PDT · 2 comments

Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Coming Tech Referendum

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 1, 2016 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

After Britain slapped the European establishment in the face with Brexit and Trump supporters are doing the same in the U.S., I’ve been wondering: Who’s next?I haven’t had to look very far beyond my ZIP code. The next wave of populist anger is heading for the tech elites and the businesses they’re building. After Britain slapped the European establishment in the face with Brexit and Trump supporters are...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Amazon’s Bezos Does Best in Survey

By Peter Schulz and Steve Nellis · Jun 30, 2016 9:10am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg.

Subscriber Survey

Amazon’s Bezos Does Best in Survey

By Peter Schulz and Steve Nellis · Jun 30, 2016 9:10am PDT · 1 comment

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella got A grades from a solid majority of The Information subscribers responding to our latest month survey. At the other end of the spectrum, Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and Jack Dorsey, who runs both Twitter and Square, got a C from most subscribers.Subscriber... Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella got A...