Lachlan Murdoch and Jason Kilar on the Way forward for Fox and CNN

Jason Kilar of CNN’s mother WarnerMedia and Lachlan Murdoch of Fox Corp. broke news at a Morgan Stanley conference yesterday – that’s their business, after all. The changing strategies of media giants are in the spotlight as the Trump era fades, the pandemic nears its terminal stage (we hope), and billion dollar deals for sports rights come up for renewal. Here’s what the media moguls that caught our attention said:

In the news cycle …

Fox says Biden is good for business. From a ratings perspective, “the main beneficiary of the Trump administration was MSNBC,” Murdoch said. “And that’s because they’re in loyal opposition, right? They called the President when he needed to be called. That is now our job with the Biden administration. “(Here’s what CNN thinks about it.)

CNN says the pandemic is good for business. “It turns out that the pandemic and the way we can help educate and contextualize the pandemic is really good for reviews,” Kilar said. He added that “CNN is killing it.” (Here’s what Fox News thinks about it.)

  • The question, however, is whether there are enough people paying for cable these days to make WarnerMedia’s affiliate fees generated by CNN worthwhile.

On offers …

Fox will look for acquisitions outside of the cable. Mr Murdoch said there was “an abundance of options” for deals, from gaming to streaming to others. (Fox Sports has the option to buy an 18.5 percent stake in the FanDuel gambling group this summer.) For M. & A. Observer, it’s worth noting that the two-year moratorium on dealmaking following Fox’s 21st century sale to Disney has now expired.

WarnerMedia will likely be selling more stuff to help manage its debt burden. like the sale of a stake in DirecTV to TPG last month. “We will continue to be aggressive and disciplined,” said Kilar. “And that can include some things that we bring to the company, but it probably also includes things that are not part of the company.” Potential potential deals could include a sale of Xandr, the advertising unit of WarnerMedia, or a connection between Dish and DirecTV.

  • Mr Kilar wasn’t asked about longstanding speculation that the company might sell CNN – speculation sparked when Jeff Zucker announced he was leaving the channel at the end of the year – even though the WarnerMedia chief had previously suggested no plans to have so.

About sport…

Amazon could carry many NFL games exclusively, According to the Wall Street Journal, which would shake up rights on a cornerstone of Fox programming. Mr Murdoch apparently referred to the Journal’s report that Amazon could take over Thursday night games from Fox starting in 2022, noting that “the most likely scenario” after negotiating with the league is that Fox will only keep the Sunday games. The per-season fee for this package could double to $ 2 billion, according to The Journal.

Read background …

To Fox: “As Trump Reels, Fox News has a message for viewers: stay with us”

On CNN: “Jeff Zucker helped create Donald Trump. This show could end. “

Another bad day – and week – for the market. The S&P 500 had another day of downtime dragged down by technology stocks and jitter over inflation that Fed chairman Jay Powell failed to dispel. With stocks poised for a third week of decline, investors will be looking for direction on the US monthly jobs report today.

China is setting robust targets for economic growth and is increasingly setting Hong Kong. At the Communist Party’s annual meeting, officials sought 6 percent annual growth, a sharp increase in military spending and an election overhaul in Hong Kong that would cripple the opposition there.

President Biden brings a leading critic of big tech to the White House. Tim Wu, a Colombian law professor and former Times Opinion writer, has been appointed to the President’s National Economic Council. It signals a confrontational approach by the administration towards the technology industry.

The Senate takes up the debate on the economic stimulus package. Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson urged employees to recite the 628-page plan, which lasted more than 10 hours yesterday. (If you need help getting to sleep, watch the video here.) The House will be debating amendments today. A final vote may take place in the early hours of Saturday.

Italy blocks vaccine exports, an escalation in global competition for supplies. Rome prevented 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine from being flown to Australia. This led to a surge in cases, slow adoption of the vaccine, and fears of mutations to encourage officials to take drastic action, potentially resulting in retaliation.

Eight years, six legislative sessions and thousands of lawsuits. That is why Congress has considered a bill that would give pregnant women clearer protection at work. Alisha Haridasani Gupta and Alexandra Petri report better prospects than ever for the In Her Words newsletter.

There is a renewed sense of urgency as the pandemic displaced millions of women from work. When the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, first proposed to legislature in 2012, was reintroduced last month, it had 225 sponsors, including 19 Republicans.

  • The law would clarify the “shelter” companies should provide for pregnant workers, currently governed by a patchwork of state law and ambiguous provisions in a 1978 law that made it illegal for employers to include pregnancy in recruitment, layoffs and promotion decisions .

In cases of discrimination during pregnancy, the courts usually take the side of the employer. A recent four-year study by the advocacy group A Better Balance found. Some of the housing courts have stated that workplaces are not required to provide additional toilet breaks and stools to sit on.

“It’s just a sensible piece of legislation to keep women in the workforce.” said New York City Representative John Katko, one of the Republican lawmakers who supported the bill. It is expected to happen to the house in the coming weeks.

– Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, at a hearing on Wall Street vs. Workers for the banking committee he chairs.

Some of the academic research that caught our eye this week summarized in one sentence:

  • Higher income people tend to feel better but don’t show more compassion for others. (Eddie Tong et al.)

Yesterday we highlighted some signs of people preparing to go out into the world again, from buying concert tickets to booking cruises to going to gyms. Here’s another one: Sonia Syngal, the CEO of Gap, told the Wall Street Journal that the demand for more elegant dresses is increasing. She expects a “peacock effect that occurs when people emerge from Covid”.

We asked you if you had other insights into life after the pandemic. These are some of the indicators that you reported to us:

  • Cape Cod vacation rentals for the summer are “out of sight,” said Ray. “They extend into autumn.”

  • “Brazilian and body waxing is way up,” said Nickie in Virginia (who should know because she runs a salon). “People are preparing for the vacation and swimsuit season.”

  • “I was stuck in a traffic jam on the 405 at 3:30 pm,” said Susan. “My thought: LA is back!”

A judge in Delaware recently threw down the “poison pill” policy introduced by energy company Williams to protect against takeover attempts during the pandemic. It was the first time in more than two decades that the influential Chancery Court, which directs most disputes in American companies, invalidated a poison pill passed by a public company. The ruling is likely to be contested, but corporate advisors have taken note of the possible implications.

It wasn’t a “typical” poison pill. The Board of Williams took action at the start of the pandemic to protect itself from unspecified activist threats should the company’s share price fall. It was unusually aggressive – the Delaware judge called it “unprecedented” – because it was triggered when an investor amassed a 5 percent stake, a lower threshold than most. The measures authorized the company to issue shares to dilute the activists’ power and also included “wolf pack” provisions to prevent unwanted investors from working together to build an interest in the company.

It still changes the conversation. Business consultants can no longer tell the directors of the company that poison pills are essentially always obeyed as this was no longer the case. This is important as activism increases and many pills introduced by companies at the start of the pandemic need to be renewed by shareholders.

deals

  • Jack Dorsey’s payment firm, Square, is buying a controlling stake in Jay-Z’s music streaming company Tidal for $ 297 million, and the rapper will join Square’s board of directors. (NYT)

  • On SPAC News, online insurance seller Hippo is merging with a blank check firm owned by Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus valued at $ 5 billion. Photo sharing service Shutterfly is reportedly in talks with a SPAC valued at up to $ 5 billion. and Chamath Palihapitiya sold his entire personal interest of more than $ 200 million to Virgin Galactic, which merged with one of its SPACs in 2019. (Reuters, WSJ, Business Insider)

Politics and politics

  • The SEC has set up a task force to investigate corporate claims on climate change and social issues. (Reuters)

  • The US has temporarily suspended tariffs on Scotch whiskey. (NYT)

  • The EU proposed a law requiring companies to disclose gender pay gaps. (NYT)

technology

  • Amazon spent the pandemic shopping in New York. (NYT)

  • Reddit has hired its first CFO, a clear sign that it is preparing to go public. (NYT)

  • Twitter reportedly is testing an “undo send” button. (Engadget)

The best of the rest

  • The black representation in the fashion industry was missing. Is that changing? (NYT)

  • A new supersonic jet is expected to transport up to 18 passengers from New York to London in an hour and a half. (Telegraph)

  • Clothing company Suitsupply has an interesting idea of ​​what life will be like after the pandemic. (Saying)

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