The number of scripted streaming shows overshadowed the number of basic cable and broadcast shows for the first time ever, according to new 2018 projections from FX Network Research.
Why it matters: Online streamers are pouring millions of dollars into original content to lure viewers away from cable and broadcast TV. The number of streaming shows also saw the biggest jump year-to-year, by 27% from last year.Netflix alone had a goal of 700 original series for 2018.
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed suit Thursday against Target, Walmart and LaRose Industries in Albany County Supreme Court due to the alleged sale of lead-contaminated children's toys.
Details: Underwood said in a statement that companies allegedly "committed thousands of violations of multiple state laws by selling Cra-Z-Jewelz" kits with high lead content. Toy parts from the kits were imported by LaRose and distributed and sold at New York Targets and Walmarts between 2015 and 2016, prompting a nationwide recall. Underwood's office is seeking civil penalties for each toy sold as well as a court order to prevent lead-contaminated toys from reaching store shelves.
President Trump, who has deemed himself "a Tariff Man" and made tariffs a centerpiece of his presidential agenda, incorrectly explained how they work during an interview with Fox News' Harris Faulkner.
"We have placed tremendous tariffs on China. When China sends things into America now, they're paying 25% interest on everything they send in."
Reality check: Tariffs are a tax paid by importers — not by exporters. For example, if a Chinese manufacturer charged $10 for a particular product, the American consumer or business purchasing it would have to pay $10 to the seller and an additional $2.50 to the U.S. government (assuming the tariff was 25%). This is not the first time that Trump has incorrectly suggested that revenue from tariffs comes from foreign countries.
The FCC yesterday said it will consider reversing a longstanding ban on mergers between the "Big 4" broadcast television networks. It also plans to revisit rules that prevent the same company from owning two TV stations in the same market and ones that limit a company from owning too many local radio stations in the same market.
Why it matters: 2018 has been a banner year for media consolidation and, if the FCC gets its way, 2019 could follow suit. It also would be the second round of media deregulation under Trump's FCC, the first of which was reinstatement of the "UHF discount" and the elimination of "cross-ownership" rules on newspaper, radio and TV assets in the same market.
CBS News has reached a settlement with three women who accused the network of not doing enough to stop anchor Charlie Rose from sexually harassing them.
Why it matters: The settlement coincides with an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations against former CEO and chairman Les Moonves. Rose was fired last year after three women, two who worked at CBS and one who was his assistant, came forward in a report from the Washington Post. A CBS News spokesperson said that "the matter has been resolved," and at the plaintiff’s request, the settlement amount is confidential.
The 4 biggest companies in the S&P 500 are tech companies, and even if you go back to the height of the dot-com bubble in 1999, you won't see this degree of tech dominance in the index.
Why it matters: The companies that have become central to our lives and our politics are now also central to our markets.
The data breach at Marriott's Starwood hotel chain that exposed the personal information of as many as 500 million customers was the work of a Chinese intelligence-gathering effort that hacked health insurers, other hotels and the security clearance files of millions more Americans, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters, from Axios' Joe Uchill: Tying the Marriott hack to the Chinese adds yet another layer of strife to the charged U.S.-China relationship, which already includes allegations of economic espionage, a Chinese executive arrested for violating trade sanctions and a burgeoning trade war.
