Aug 6, 2017

Tech giants could beat out TV networks for sports deals

Charlie Riedel / AP

"TV's Sports Problem: Amazon, Facebook, and Google could soon challenge the networks for big-time sports. And they've got deep, deep pockets" — Barron's cover story by Jack Hough:

  • Amazon "Agreed to pay NFL "$50 million for streaming rights to 10 Thursday Night Football games... five times what Twitter paid last season."
  • "For now, streaming is a mere sideshow to television in sports... But Amazon's encroachment should give media investors pause. Viewership trends in television are weak, and they're worse without sports."
  • Why it matters: "As those rights come due, the networks could enter an unwinnable bidding war with Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet."

1 stat says it all: By 2020, "Wall Street predicts, the big four TV networks and their parent companies — with their theme parks, movies, and other ventures — will generate a combined $30 billion in free cash flow. Alphabet, Facebook, and Amazon... more than $100 billion."

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10 mins ago - Technology

Facebook employees stage "virtual walkout"

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

"Dozens" of Facebook employees staged a "virtual walkout" Monday over the company's decision not to take action against President Trump's provocative messages in the face of nationwide protests against police violence, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: While Twitter added fact-check labels and hid the president's most inflammatory tweet — "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" — Facebook has said Trump's statements do not violate its policies, and that the platform aims to promote free speech.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Axios
Updated 14 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump lashes out at governors, urges them to "dominate" protesters

President Trump berated the nation’s governors in a video teleconference call Monday, calling many of them "weak" and demanding tougher crackdowns on the protests that erupted throughout the country following the killing of George Floyd, according to multiple reports.

The big picture: Trump blamed violence on the "the radical left" and told the governors, who were joined by law enforcement and national security officials, that they have to "dominate" protesters and "arrest people" in order to bring an end to the unrest.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Photo Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Noam Galai, Jamie McCarthy, Josep Lago/AFP, Alfredo Estrella/AFP, and Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto, all via Getty Images

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12:30 p.m. ET: 6,206,773 — Total deaths: 372,752 — Total recoveries — 2,661,643 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12:30 p.m. ET: 1,793,780 — Total deaths: 104,3450 — Total recoveries: 444,758 — Total tested: 16,936,891 — Map.
  3. Public health: Fauci says“My meetings with the president have been dramatically decreased” — Coronavirus looms over George Floyd protests across the country.
  4. Climate: Your guide to comparing climate change and coronavirus.
  5. Economy: A busy week for IPOs despite upheaval from protests and pandemic.
  6. World: Former FDA commissioner says "this is not the time" to cut ties with WHO.
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