What's Next: Silicon Valley Sidesteps Hollywood: Apple, Amazon and other tech giants may forgo buying media companies and simply create their own, our best Silicon Valley and Hollywood sources say:
• Building A La Carte: Big tech has the capital to sign proven producers, showrunners and performers a la mode without spending tens of billions on the mixed bag of content that Hollywood studios have built over time.
• Owning Your Culture: Big tech companies have their own cultures and do not necessarily want to integrate traditional media companies that have their own bureaucracies and egos.
• Staying Nimble: "Content" now includes not just shows and films but apps, social media, shortform video, interactive, etc. Big tech can more easily integrate all this content by building from the ground up.
The Latest: Apple has signed Oprah Winfrey to a multiyear deal for new original programs. Winfrey is expected to produce and have an on-screen role as a host and interviewer.
Chart of the Week: "How Many Ryan Murphys Is That?" Netflix signed showrunner Ryan Murphy to a $300 million deal in February. Bloomberg's Shira Ovide says "Apple could hire 70 potential Ryan Murphys for less than the cost of buying CBS."
Exception to the Rule: Disney. Disney has so much valuable content -- Disney, Marvel, Pixar, "Star Wars," and potentially 21st Century Fox -- that it may be worthy of a wholesale purchase by an Apple or an Amazon.
What Else Is Next: Recode's Peter Kafka thinks Apple may launch a standalone subscription service like Netflix, only cheaper than Netflix. We think that's likely. | | | PACIFIC
The Agenda Welcome to PACIFIC. So long as 21st Century Fox has rights to the FIFA World Cup, we will pay for Fox -- whoever owns it or however its distributed.
Uruguay 1 - Egypt 0; Iran 1 - Morocco 0 ...
Portugal - Spain is 2-1 at the half. | | Rise of China
Welcome to the Trade War
What's Next: The US-China Trade War.
China says the US has "now launched a trade war" following President Trump's decision to impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. The White House is now drafting a second list of tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of goods, according to Reuters.
How It Hits Tech:
• The first round of tariffs intends to target China's ambitions to become the world leader in artificial intelligence, robotics and aerospace by 2025. The White House says it will not affect consumer products like smartphones.
• Tech industry insiders fear that it will, because tariffs on information and communications technology at this scale will have ripple effects across the market that affect key components of such products.
• "There's no question, that to get to $100 billion you're going to hit consumer products coming in from China," one person briefed on the tariffs tells Reuters.
Bonus: How far along are China's tech ambitions?:
• Booz Allen Hamilton CEO Horacio Rozanski says the US advantage is narrow and that the country is at risk of falling behind. "It's not the 50-year edge that we have in building aircraft carriers," he tells Bloomberg. "It's now a much closer race, without a doubt." | | How to Spend It
What will Masa Son buy?
Masayoshi Son's $100-billion Vision Fund has invested in artificial intelligence, autonomous cars and solar energy. DealBook's Michael J. de la Merced considers what the Softbank founder might invest in next:
• Quantum computing.
• Gene editing.
• Clean energy.
• Artificial meat.
The Big Picture: With a $100 billion fund, Son's investments mean a major infusion of capital into research and development of whatever new technologies he deems to be worthy investments.
Bonus: The Masa Son investment we're most excited about: The $25 billion proposal to create a FIFA Club World Cup. | | The Trust Crisis
A more open Facebook?
Facebook has traditionally failed to address controversies or scandals until they were exposed by the media. The departure of Elliot Schrage, Facebook's communications and policy VP and a close confidant of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, may be a sign of change.
What Facebook sources tell us:
• Schrage led the response to Facebook's greatest controversies, including Russian meddling, Cambridge Analytica and the surge of misinformation.
• Facebook has been slow to respond to scandals, and often downplayed their significance before owning up to the full scale of the problem.
• Schrage had been eyeing an exit for months, if not years.
• Facebook has not settled on a replacement. Sources dismissed reports about potential replacements like Rachel Whetstone as total speculation. | | | BENIOFF ON FACEBOOK Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff talks to NYT's Corner Office: "Never put growth before trust. If you put growth above trust, then all of a sudden you create a toxic culture. People don't want to work in that environment or use the product. Then you get these campaigns, #deleteuber, #deletefacebook. It's a referendum on the culture, not the product." | | | The Big Idea
Grace under pressure
Some unconventional wisdom for C-Suites and soccer teams alike, via The New Yorker's Alan Burdick:
• "Common wisdom holds that, in a must-win situation, a team will dig deep and come up with something extra. But research shows that applying too much pressure can backfire."
The Big Picture: Stay loose.
Bonus: The NYT profile of Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, "a laid-back leader and sometime dentist who sees success for Iceland's national team as a continuing journey unconnected to its 2018 World Cup finish."
Above, a stadium in Iceland, via CNN Sport. | | | | |
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