Aug 29, 2017

The next big media IPOs to watch

Spotify could go pubic this fall. Photo: John Locher / AP

Spotify, Vice and Roku have all hinted towards potential IPO's this year. All three have made significant steps in reaching those goals over the past few weeks:

  • Spotify: The music streaming giant renewed its a licensing deal with Warner Music Group last week, clearing the way for a potential IPO. It had previously renegotiated deals with Sony and Unversal Music group this Spring. It will likely do a direct listing IPO this fall. Axios' Dan Primack explains here.
  • Roku: The streaming hardware company has increased its U.S. market share to 37% in Q1 2017 from 30% a year ago, per Business Insider. "Roku still commands market leadership over Amazon, Google, Apple, and others when it comes to media player ownership in the US." Sources tell WSJ Roku plans to launch an IPO before the end of the year.
  • Vice: Vice's investment in hard news documentaries has been paying off. Its on-the-ground coverage of the chaos in Charlottesville claimed national attention and was considered a breakout moment for the media company, which landed $450 million in funding ahead of potential IPO, bringing its valuation to $5.7 billion.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 32,471,119 — Total deaths: 987,593 — Total recoveries: 22,374,557 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 7,032,524 — Total deaths: 203,657 — Total recoveries: 2,727,335 — Total tests: 99,483,712 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
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Mike Allen, author of AM
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

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