Why did Comcast ever buy NBC?
My guest today is Peter Kafka, chief correspondent at Business Insider and host of Channels, a podcast about the media industry. And it’s a big week for the media industry — Comcast just announced that it’s splitting itself up, into the Comcast broadband company and the NBCUniversal entertainment company.
This dream, that you can combine distribution with big splashy entertainment properties, has failed time and again. But Comcast tried the content plus pipes strategy for longer than most. So Peter and I discussed what happened in the media and broadband industries over the last 15 years, and what might happen next.
Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Comcast is cutting NBCUniversal loose | Business Insider
Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock | The Verge
Comcast and NBCUniversal will go it alone. But for how long? | NYT
Comcast split shows bigger is no longer better | Deadline
A cable scion’s hardest deal yet: breaking up his family’s company | WSJ
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Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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What’s next for Netflix and Paramount in the Warner Bros. battle
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. Decoder is on our holiday break. We’ve got a lot of fun stuff coming up in the New Year, though, including a special Decoder Live at CES. Stay tuned for more details, including how to RSVP for free tickets.
In the meantime, we’ve got a great episode of the podcast Channels, featuring two of the best media reporters in the business. Host Peter Kafka sat down with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to talk about the bidding war between Paramount SkyDance and Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s the biggest story in entertainment right now, and this episode breaks down everything you need to know about the contentious acquisition.
Links:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing”: Lucas Shaw on the battle for Warner Bros. | Channels
Five things we’re getting wrong about Warner Bros.′ Netflix deal | Bloomberg
Warner Bros.’ bidders brace for a fight that will last months | Bloomberg
WBD wants its shareholders to reject Paramount’s latest offer | The Verge
There are no good outcomes for the Warner Bros. sale | The Verge
Netflix is “100% committed” to releasing WB films in theaters | The Verge
Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for $83 billion | The Verge
Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Amazon vs. Regulators vs. Walmart
Jason Del Rey is the author of Winner Sells All Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets. Matt Stoller is the director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project, and writes the Big newsletter on Substack. Ranjan Roy is the author of Margins. The three guests come together with host Alex Kantrowitz for an in-depth discussion about Amazon's challenges from government regulators and Walmart, and whether government action against the company could have an impact.
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Rebellion in Russia, Titan Fallout, and Guest Jason Del Rey
Breaking news: Kara Swisher will not referee the cage match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Also, SpaceX is looking to up its valuation, and Meta wants to shut down access to news in Canada. And this weekend’s insurrection in Russia revealed how unequipped social media is to cover breaking news. Plus, an investigation into the Titan submersible implosion may lead to new regulations. Will the same happen for space travel? Then we’re joined by Friend of Pivot, Jason Del Rey on the decades-long battle between Walmart and Amazon.
You can find Jason on Twitter at @DelRey, and you can buy “Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets,” here.
We’ve got some listener mail episodes coming your way soon, so send us your questions! Call 855-51-PIVOT or go to nymag.com/pivot.
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(TWTR SPC) Mathew Ball On The Metaverse And Jason Del Rey On Amazon After Bezos
Matthew Ball comes on to talk about his new book: The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything. Then, Jason Del Rey @DelRey talks to us about how Amazon has been faring in the post-Jeff Bezos era.
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Will Amazon Be Kinder After Jeff Bezos? A Conversation With Recode's Jason Del Rey
Jeff Bezos is headed for the door at Amazon, and because 2021 is the craziest news year on record, we mostly haven’t stopped to consider this seismic story and what it means for the business world.
Joining us to discuss what Amazon looks like after Bezos is Jason Del Rey, a senior correspondent at Recode and author of a forthcoming book on Amazon’s battle with Walmart.
Here's Jason's story on what to expect from incoming CEO Andy Jassy:
https://www.vox.com/recode/22264330/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-jeff-bezos-aws
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(Bonus) Peter Kafka on Media, Hollywood, Substack and TikTok
As promised, here’s Recode’s Peter Kafka, the dean of the media reporters, someone we should have had on the podcast a long time before this. Do checkout his podcast, Recode Media with Peter Kafka.
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295: ‘Signing Up to Take Some Vitamins’, With Peter Kafka
Peter Kafka returns to the show to discuss the news from Apple's "Time Flies" event -- new Apple Watches, new non-Pro iPads, and particularly the Apple One services bundle.
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Links:
“Ricky Jay’s Magical Secrets” — Mark Singer’s wondrous profile for The New Yorker in 1993. I just burst out laughing when I re-read this snippet I quoted from that piece for DF.
The complete Ricky Jay archives at DF.
Spotify’s statement griping that Apple One constitutes anticompetive behavior.
The latest episode of Peter’s own podcast, Recode Media, with special guest Ben Thompson.
Apple’s “Time Flies” event video.
My thoughts and observations on the event and announcements.
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” — Apple’s new retro style commercial for Apple Watch Family Setup.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
The screw-up-billionaire, quantum computers, and the skewering of Zuckerberg
Kara and Scott take a victory lap as SoftBank buys out Adam Neumann, the founder of weWork for a cool $1.7 billion. They talk about what the future might hold, now that Google has unveiled its quantum computer. Tesla proved Scott wrong and came out with some really big earnings this week. We also hear from Senior Recode reporter, Peter Kafka about what to expect from the streaming wars as Apple debuts its own platform. Winners are the women of Congress, who absolutely skewered Mark Zuckerberg in a Congressional hearing.
Here is more information on Peter Kafka's Code Media Conference!
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The State of Amazon With Jason Del Rey
The Vox/Recode family has a new podcast, Land of the Giants. And so we’re going to talk to Jason Del Rey, the voice behind the first season of this podcast, which focuses on Amazon. But look, I’ve wanted to get someone on to talk turkey with me about Amazon for a while now, because they're at this weird place where… maybe they’re the most powerful tech company in the land? What does that mean, for them AND for us? Jason Del Rey was the perfect person to ask.
Sponsor:
Vistaprint.com/ride
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248: ‘Equally Confused’ With Peter Kafka
Special guest Peter Kafka — executive editor at Recode and longtime reporter in the fields of media and technology — joins the show to discuss the announcements at last week’s “Show Time” event: Apple News+, Apple Card, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV Channels and TV+.
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Links
Kafka: "Apple’s Plan for Its New TV Service: Sell Other People’s TV Services".
Kafka's take on the event.
My brief thoughts on the event.
Designer Wyatt Mitchell's exquisite white jumpsuit.
"Joker" teaser, from director Todd Phillips.
Yours truly on Kafka’s Recode Media podcast back in 2016.
Figuring out Apple's TV plans with Recode’s Peter Kafka
Will Apple's new foray into streaming be able to swim in the same waters as Netflix and Disney, or will it go the way of Verizon's Go90? Recode executive editor Peter Kafka and Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel discuss Apple's plan for streaming, news, and more.
Subscribe to Recode Media with Peter Kafka.
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