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

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The Briefing

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

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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...

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...

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...

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

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...

SoftBank CEO Masa Son. Photo by Bloomberg

SoftBank's Year of Dramas and Crises

By Martin Peers · May 12, 2021 5:00pm PDT

What a year SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has had. The Japanese investment giant was arguably one of the worst affected by the Covid downturn last year, given its high debt and significant exposure to companies like Uber and WeWork that were walloped by the lockdowns. Even before the worst of the economic impact had hit, SoftBank reported a $9... What a year SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has had. The Japanese investment giant was arguably one of...

The New York Stock Exchange during a winter storm. Photo by Bloomberg

Digital Media’s SPAC Scramble Heats Up

By Martin Peers · May 11, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Digital media’s great SPAC scramble of 2021 is under way. Today we published new details about BuzzFeed’s plans to go public via a SPAC merger, including its discussions about simultaneously merging with lifestyle publisher Complex Networks. Meanwhile, Vice Media is preparing to pitch investors on its SPAC deal this week, the Wall Street Journal... Digital media’s great SPAC scramble of 2021 is under way. Today we published new details about...

Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple and the Repression of the Uyghur in China

By Martin Peers · May 10, 2021 5:00pm PDT

Of all the big stories in tech over the past decade, the one that is likely to reverberate long into the future may be the one that draws the least attention from consumers right now. And that’s the horrific repression of the Uyghur people in China—which the Biden administration has described as genocide. Part of the story is that the Uyghur are... Of all the big stories in tech over the past decade, the one that is likely to reverberate long...

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

YouTube Checkmates Roku

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.

YouTube Checkmates Roku

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

In the power struggle between YouTube and Roku, the Google-owned video giant may have just outmaneuvered its smaller rival. YouTube today announced it was making YouTube TV, the cable TV-like subscription service at the center of the dispute, available within its main app on Roku devices and later on other devices. The move effectively... In the power struggle between YouTube and Roku, the Google-owned video giant may have just...

CBS personality Stephen Colbert with ViacomCBS' Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish. Photo by Bloomberg

TV’s Bleak Advertising Picture, By the Numbers

By Martin Peers · May 6, 2021 5:00pm PDT

It must be galling to be a TV executive nowadays. Over the past few weeks, they’ve had to watch a parade of tech companies reporting ad revenue up 30%-75% for the quarter. Now it’s the media companies’ turn—and their numbers haven’t been quite as bountiful. Most so far have reported little or no real growth.Take ViacomCBS, which today reported... It must be galling to be a TV executive nowadays. Over the past few weeks, they’ve had to watch a...

Microsoft executive Lori Wright outside the courtroom in Oakland, Calif., today. Photo by Bloomberg

Trial Testimony Cracks Open Microsoft’s Black Box

By Martin Peers · May 5, 2021 5:01pm PDT

Greetings!The big news coming out of today’s proceedings in the Epic–Apple trial had nothing to do with either company. It was that Microsoft does not now, and never has made any money from the sale of its Xbox console. For a device that has been on the market for 20 years, it’s surprising that Microsoft has yet to figure out the economics so... Greetings!The big news coming out of today’s proceedings in the Epic–Apple trial had nothing to...

A Lyft driver hub in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg

Lyft's Q1 Numbers Show Pandemic Recovery on the Way

By Martin Peers · May 4, 2021 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Greetings!There’s a saying, most recently popularized by former Obama adviser and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, that one should “never let a good crisis go to waste.” It seems that the executives at Lyft, at least, took that advice to heart when it came to the pandemic. Brutal cost-cutting forced by last spring’s lockdowns has put the company much... Greetings!There’s a saying, most recently popularized by former Obama adviser and Chicago mayor...

Yahoo's headquarters in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Verizon Dumps Yahoo-AOL for Rock-Bottom Price

By Martin Peers · May 3, 2021 6:12pm PDT

Yahoo's headquarters in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Verizon Dumps Yahoo-AOL for Rock-Bottom Price

By Martin Peers · May 3, 2021 6:12pm PDT

Greetings!For digital history buffs, Verizon’s $5 billion sale today of its Yahoo-AOL media group to Apollo is an opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane, marveling at how much the value of the two former internet titans has shriveled in 20 years. But the pitiful amount of money the business fetched isn’t just of academic interest—it's a... Greetings!For digital history buffs, Verizon’s $5 billion sale today of its Yahoo-AOL media group...

Apple's Phil Schiller, a key figure in the upcoming trial.

Europe Opens New Front in War on Apple’s App Store

By Martin Peers · Apr 30, 2021 5:10pm PDT

After the earnings party comes the hangover. The European Commission’s preliminary ruling today accusing Apple of abusing its “dominant market position” in its treatment of music streaming rivals like Spotify crystallizes the regulatory risks facing the iPhone maker. Related issues will be litigated starting next week in the trial of Epic’s... After the earnings party comes the hangover. The European Commission’s preliminary ruling today...

An Amazon truck. Photo by Bloomberg

Amazon, Twitter Round Out Tech’s Bonanza Quarter

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2021 5:02pm PDT

Another day, another blockbuster result for a tech company. This time it was Amazon’s turn, posting a 44% lift in first-quarter revenue to a stunning $108.5 billion. This was the third quarter in the past 12 months where Amazon’s topline increased more than 40%. In 2019, pre-pandemic Amazon’s sales grew just 20%. That tells you how much of a... Another day, another blockbuster result for a tech company. This time it was Amazon’s turn,...

Apple's San Francisco store this week. Photo by Bloomberg

Apple and Facebook United in Big Profits

By Martin Peers · Apr 28, 2021 5:30pm PDT

Apple and Facebook are feuding about privacy and ad targeting but they had one thing in common on Wednesday: bonanza earnings. Coming in the wake of healthy reports from Alphabet on Tuesday, it’s clear that consumer tech companies are benefiting enormously from the post-pandemic economic recovery. How often do large companies, particularly... Apple and Facebook are feuding about privacy and ad targeting but they had one thing in common on...

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: Tech is Booming, Quarterly Numbers Show

By Martin Peers · Apr 27, 2021 5:31pm PDT

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: Tech is Booming, Quarterly Numbers Show

By Martin Peers · Apr 27, 2021 5:31pm PDT

Tech companies are awash in cash. That’s the takeaway from earnings results for the March quarter so far, including today’s numbers from Alphabet, Microsoft and Pinterest. And it means more cash to be invested in their businesses and, for the bigger companies, to be returned to shareholders through buybacks or dividends. We... Tech companies are awash in cash. That’s the takeaway from earnings results for the March...

Alphabet and Google chief Sundar Pichai. Photo by Bloomberg

The Briefing: Roku Goes Up Against Google

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2021 5:32pm PDT · 1 comment

If there ever was a time when small companies feared going public with their complaints about big tech, that time has passed. We saw that last week when Spotify and Tile complained to Congress about how Apple wields its power. And it was demonstrated again today when Roku sent a note to customers informing them that they might lose access to... If there ever was a time when small companies feared going public with their complaints about big...

Apple CEO Tim Cook seen at a virtual product launch last year. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: Next Week’s Tech Earnings Parade

By Martin Peers · Apr 23, 2021 5:31pm PDT

Get ready. All five of the big tech companies—Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft—are reporting earnings next week. And just to keep us on our toes, Twitter and Pinterest are releasing their results as well. Of all the companies, the one that probably deserves the most attention is Apple. It’s easy to overlook a... Get ready. All five of the big tech companies—Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Briefing: Snap’s (Mostly) Great Quarter

By Martin Peers · Apr 22, 2021 5:30pm PDT

If Snap’s earnings today are any guide, the digital advertising sector had a booming first quarter. Snap continued a streak of robust results by reporting 66% higher revenue and, for the first time, generating real cash. The top line increase, which was better than Snap had projected, marked the third quarter in a row where Snap’s... If Snap’s earnings today are any guide, the digital advertising sector had a booming first...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar at today's hearing. Photo by Bloomberg

The Briefing: Tile’s Powerful Strike Against Apple

By Martin Peers · Apr 21, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Sen. Amy Klobuchar at today's hearing. Photo by Bloomberg

The Briefing: Tile’s Powerful Strike Against Apple

By Martin Peers · Apr 21, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Congressional hearings involving tech executives have lately been dull affairs, with politicians ranting on one side and tech CEOs offering bland assurances on the other. But Wednesday’s Senate hearing into app stores was a different matter. In the testimonies of Tile general counsel Kirsten Daru and Spotify global affairs chief Horacio... Congressional hearings involving tech executives have lately been dull affairs, with politicians...