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Facebook reportedly investing $1 billion in video content

Noah Berger / AP

Facebook is investing $1 billion in video content through 2018, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sources told the The New York Times two weeks ago that Facebook plans to spend $3 million per episode on a drama.

Why it matters: The investment matches the reported $1 billion content investment from rival Apple, as well as the billions invested by other major tech companies like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon. It shows Facebook's commitment to being a video-first company, a mission that has been reiterated to investors by executives continuously during Facebook's earnings calls this year.

Facebook officially launched "Watch," it's video platform this week, with dozens of shows planned from digital media companies, newspaper companies and TV companies. It has also been competing for lucrative live-streaming contracts. It recently lost a major bid to livestream cricket in India to 21st Century Fox but has signed deals to stream MLB and ESL (e-sports) games.

Go deeper

Ben Geman, author of Generate
21 mins ago - Energy & Environment

Biden's plan to upend Trump's environmental legacy

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden will on Wednesday order a government-wide review of over 100 Trump-era policies and direct agencies to prepare a suite of emissions and energy efficiency rules.

Why it matters: New information from transition officials offers the full scope of Biden's imminent, inauguration-day burst of environmental and energy policy moves.

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Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals
22 mins ago - Health

The public health presidency

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Joe Biden will take office today facing a challenge none of his modern predecessors have had to reckon with — his legacy will depend largely on how well he handles a once-in-a-century pandemic that's already raging out of control.

The big picture: Public health tends to be relatively apolitical and non-controversial. The limelight in health care politics typically belongs instead to debates over costs and coverage. But that will all change for the Biden administration.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Hadley Malcolm
24 mins ago - Economy & Business

D.C. braces for economic hit from scaled-back inauguration

Photo: Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The days leading up to and including Inauguration Day typically generate $31.4 million in additional sales for D.C. businesses — but not this year.

Why it matters: Washington's economy is already suffering from pandemic-induced closures, and could very much use the revelry and tourist dollars that Inauguration Day brings — instead of the large bills that will pile up if there's further mayhem or if visitors continue to stay away.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow