The Information

Bill Nye, host of a show made by Stitcher. Photo by AP

Scripps Exploring Sale of Podcast Service Stitcher

By Tom Dotan · Jun 24, 2020 10:25am PDT · 2 comments

TV broadcaster E.W. Scripps Co. is shopping podcasting service Stitcher around, according to people familiar with the matter, in an apparent effort to cash in on a surge of interest in the podcasting industry from companies such as Spotify and satellite radio giant Sirius XM.Stitcher is one of the biggest podcast apps not owned by the two giants... TV broadcaster E.W. Scripps Co. is shopping podcasting service Stitcher around, according to...

Mukesh Amabani and Mark Zuckerberg. Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

How India’s Jio Won Facebook’s Heart

By Wayne Ma and Juro Osawa · Jun 24, 2020 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Four years ago, India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, set out to remake India’s mobile industry by launching a cellular phone service with rock-bottom prices that made it affordable for India’s rural poor. After Reliance Industries, his business empire spanning oil, retail and other sectors, invested $30 billion to build the... Four years ago, India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, set out to remake India’s mobile...

Endeavor Group's Ariel Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell. Photo by Alex J. Berliner/ABImages via AP Images

What’s Next for Endeavor?

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 22, 2020 6:46am PDT · 1 comment

For most of the past year, everything that could go wrong for Endeavor Group Holdings did go wrong. The entertainment firm—which owns everything from a controlling interest in Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts league, to WME, the powerful Hollywood talent agency that represents Matt Damon and Justin... For most of the past year, everything that could go wrong for Endeavor Group Holdings did go...

A TikTok sign at a ByteDance event in Tokyo last year. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok’s U.S. Revenues Expected to Hit $500 Million This Year

By Yunan Zhang and Tom Dotan · Jun 17, 2020 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

A TikTok sign at a ByteDance event in Tokyo last year. Photo by Bloomberg

TikTok’s U.S. Revenues Expected to Hit $500 Million This Year

By Yunan Zhang and Tom Dotan · Jun 17, 2020 7:02am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok has taken off like a rocket ship in the U.S. and around the world, creating a new mobile video experience that has left YouTube and Facebook scrambling to keep up. Now, under a new CEO, former Disney executive Kevin Mayer, the Chinese-owned social app hopes to turn that growth into billions in revenues. Mayer could look to the success of... TikTok has taken off like a rocket ship in the U.S. and around the world, creating a new mobile...

Google's digital wallet displayed on a smartphone screen. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Plans to Expand Google Pay Into Commerce Portal

By Juro Osawa and Nick Bastone · Jun 12, 2020 10:27am PDT · 2 comments

Google is working on a major overhaul of its payment app, Google Pay, in hopes of jump-starting its use in the U.S. Google Pay plans this year to let online and brick-and-mortar merchants set up their own branded buttons inside the U.S. version of the app, potentially turning it into a one-stop portal for commerce, say two people familiar with... Google is working on a major overhaul of its payment app, Google Pay, in hopes of jump-starting...

Shari Redstone. Photo by Bloomberg

O’Reilly Show Thrusts ViacomCBS Into Middle of Controversy

By Jessica Toonkel · Jun 10, 2020 11:01am PDT · 1 comment

ViacomCBS’ $340 million purchase of streaming video service Pluto TV two years ago was part of an effort by the aging TV empire to update its business for the digital age. But now Pluto is thrusting ViacomCBS into the middle of an increasingly contentious debate about the nature of content that big entertainment companies should carry.... ViacomCBS’ $340 million purchase of streaming video service Pluto TV two years ago was part...

A Hulu sign at a Disney Expo in Anaheim, Calif., last August. Photo by Bloomberg

Tensions Over Hulu Expose Fissures Within Disney Streaming

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · Jun 9, 2020 10:20am PDT · 1 comment

For more than a dozen years, Hulu was an oddity in video streaming: owned by a group of entertainment giants but controlled by none of them. That fostered a streak of independence at the service—one that employees, who called themselves Hulugans, were proud of. But that independence ended last year when Disney took control of Hulu and... For more than a dozen years, Hulu was an oddity in video streaming: owned by a group of...

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook. Her portfolio includes Facebook's ad business. Photo by Bloomberg.

Ad Buyers Should Rethink Facebook Spending, Says Media Watchdog

By Jessica Toonkel and Alex Heath · Jun 5, 2020 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook. Her portfolio includes Facebook's ad business. Photo by Bloomberg.

Ad Buyers Should Rethink Facebook Spending, Says Media Watchdog

By Jessica Toonkel and Alex Heath · Jun 5, 2020 7:00am PDT · 4 comments

Media Matters for America, the liberal media watchdog best known for getting advertisers to pull their spots from Fox News, has its eye on a new target: Facebook.The organization is drafting a letter urging advertisers to rethink their spending on Facebook following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent decision to leave untouched a recent post by... Media Matters for America, the liberal media watchdog best known for getting advertisers to pull...

Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom, stands outside the Nasdaq in New York on April 18, 2019. Photo by Bloomberg

Zoom in Talks With Google to Use Cybersecurity Service

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 4, 2020 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

At a moment when Zoom’s security practices are receiving renewed attention, the fast-growing video-calling company is turning to a big tech business—Google—to help make those calls safer.Zoom is in advanced talks with Google’s cloud division about using a Google security service that alerts users to the dangers of... At a moment when Zoom’s security practices are receiving renewed attention, the...

Testing for Foxconn's industrial robots "Foxbot" are performed at Foxconn factory in Longhua town, Shenzhen in 2016. Photo by Getty Images.

What Apple Learned From Automation: Humans Are Better

By Wayne Ma · Jun 4, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Eight years ago, Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook attended a meeting in China where they watched a video of an experimental manufacturing line for the iPad operated by robots rather than humans. Cook and the other Apple executives watched as iPad parts traveled along conveyor belts and were cut, chemically treated, polished and partially... Eight years ago, Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook attended a meeting in China where they...

Cruise CTO Kyle Vogt unveiling a Cruise vehicle in San Francisco in January. Photo by Bloomberg.

GM’s Cruise Quietly Acquired German Radar Manufacturer

By Amir Efrati · Jun 3, 2020 4:14pm PDT

Cruise, the self-driving car developer that is majority owned by General Motors, has acquired a producer of high-resolution radar sensors for cars, The Information has learned. The deal reflects a belief among major self-driving–car developers that getting control of their own sensor production offers a competitive advantage. Sensors... Cruise, the self-driving car developer that is majority owned by General Motors, has acquired a...

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning during last month's charity tournament that drew heavy betting. Photo by Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann

The Athletic and Bleacher Report Consider Betting Deals

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Jun 3, 2020 11:49am PDT

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning during last month's charity tournament that drew heavy betting. Photo by Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann

The Athletic and Bleacher Report Consider Betting Deals

By Jessica Toonkel and Tom Dotan · Jun 3, 2020 11:49am PDT

Over the past few years, online publishers have turned to commerce marketing as an important source of revenue. Now some publishers that specialize in sports, like The Athletic and AT&T’s Bleacher Report, are looking at doing similar deals around online sports betting, according to people familiar with the situation.Online betting is... Over the past few years, online publishers have turned to commerce marketing as an important...

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber’s Grocery-Delivery Expansion Plans Face Questions as Chains Rebel

By Amir Efrati · Jun 3, 2020 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Uber faces legal challenges in California over its handling of drivers, while its effort to acquire online restaurant food ordering pioneer Grubhub is likely to get mired in an antitrust review if the companies ever reach a deal. Meanwhile, Uber's effort to get into grocery delivery is running into problems before it even starts.Uber's... Uber faces legal challenges in California over its handling of drivers, while its effort to...

Tencent CEO Ma Huateng. Photo by Bloomberg

Tencent Continues Europe Deal Spree With $260 Million Investment in Czech Game Studio

By Wayne Ma · Jun 2, 2020 10:07am PDT

Chinese game giant Tencent has bought a stake of between 70% and 80% in Czech Republic–based videogame developer Bohemia Interactive for around $260 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. The investment is the latest in a string of deals Tencent has made in Europe to bolster its overseas videogame business amid tighter... Chinese game giant Tencent has bought a stake of between 70% and 80% in Czech...

YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl is encouraging employees to take Tuesday off to “focus on how to improve racial equity.” Photo: Bloomberg

YouTube Execs Encourage Staff to Take Tuesday Off for Nationwide Protests

By Nick Bastone · Jun 1, 2020 8:45pm PDT

Executives across YouTube are encouraging their employees to take Tuesday off or cancel their meetings in solidarity with nationwide protests of police violence against African Americans, according to emails sent to staff. YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl encouraged his reports, around 1,200 employees, to use the day to... Executives across YouTube are encouraging their employees to take Tuesday off or cancel their...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel in San Francisco on Oct. 4, 2019. Photo: Bloomberg

Snap CEO Spiegel Calls for Reparations Commission, Taxes to Address Racial Injustice

By Alex Heath · May 31, 2020 11:26pm PDT · 7 comments

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel in San Francisco on Oct. 4, 2019. Photo: Bloomberg

Snap CEO Spiegel Calls for Reparations Commission, Taxes to Address Racial Injustice

By Alex Heath · May 31, 2020 11:26pm PDT · 7 comments

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel called for the creation of an American commission to address racial injustice and comprehensive tax reform, saying in a lengthy note to employees that he was “heartbroken and enraged” by racism in America.“Economic inequality in America has reached levels unseen for nearly a century, people of color cannot... Snap CEO Evan Spiegel called for the creation of an American commission to address racial...

Short video app Kuaishou is launching in North America. Photo by the Associated Press

Chinese Rival Launches U.S. App to Challenge TikTok

By Yunan Zhang · May 28, 2020 1:49am PDT

Kuaishou, the $30 billion startup that is the second-largest social video app in China, is launching an attack in the U.S. against TikTok.Started in early May, Zynn is an app that allows users to upload, edit and share short videos. In a twist, it is paying users to watch content and recruit other users, a model that’s proving popular amid... Kuaishou, the $30 billion startup that is the second-largest social video app in China, is...

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap Inc., speaks in San Francisco in October. Photo by Bloomberg

Snap Plans Expanded Developer Platform That Echoes WeChat

By Alex Heath · May 27, 2020 7:44pm PDT · 2 comments

Snap is planning to let other companies build pared-down versions of their mobile apps within Snapchat, according to two people familiar with the plans, mimicking the approach of popular Chinese social app WeChat.The change is a notable shift in strategy for Snap, which has kept its flagship app largely walled off from outside developers. While... Snap is planning to let other companies build pared-down versions of their mobile apps within...

Photo illustration by Mike Sullivan

ByteDance’s Big Ambitions

By Alex Heath, Yunan Zhang and Jessica E. Lessin · May 21, 2020 7:01am PDT

Zhang Yiming, CEO of ByteDance—a $75 billion tech conglomerate from China that is behind some of the world’s most popular apps—needed help. Late last year, TikTok, the company’s app for sharing short videos, was exploding in popularity. It became the first social app from China to hit it big in the west. But the U.S.... Zhang Yiming, CEO of ByteDance—a $75 billion tech conglomerate from China that is behind...

Attendees at a Walt Disney Co. event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Disney Shakes Up Streaming Group Following Leader’s Departure

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · May 20, 2020 2:04pm PDT

Attendees at a Walt Disney Co. event last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Disney Shakes Up Streaming Group Following Leader’s Departure

By Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel · May 20, 2020 2:04pm PDT

Not long after Kevin Mayer arrived at Walt Disney Co. in the mid ’90s, employees gave the 6-foot, 3-inch former football player from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology a nickname befitting his beefy frame: Captain America. Now, with Mayer exiting the company for the top role at TikTok, he leaves a giant hole at the head of the... Not long after Kevin Mayer arrived at Walt Disney Co. in the mid ’90s, employees gave the...