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Thursday, March 21, 2024

The U.S. files a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple, Max heads to Europe, Laurene Powell Jobs backs Bob Iger and the Disney board, the BBC launches a new app and website, Spotify data reveals just how popular "The Joe Rogan Experience is," Mark Zuckerberg announces Threads is finally integrating with the Fediverse, HBO drops the first trailers for "House of the Dragon," Margot Robbie gets to work on a "Sims" movie, and much more. Plus a special message for Joe Kernen. But first, the A1.

THE A1

From Reddit to Riches

CNN Photo Illustration/Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Executives at Advance Publications are likely popping champagne bottles. But as they sip on their celebratory bubbly they are now being confronted with some uncomfortable questions.

The S.I. Newhouse-founded media company, which owns the Condé Nast suite of prestigious magazines and local news outlets across the country, netted approximately $2.1 billion on Thursday when Reddit went public on the New York Stock Exchange in a long-awaited blockbuster IPO.

The social media company, which priced its offering at $34 a share, rocketed 48% on its first day, closing above $50 in an impressive public debut for the 20-year-old message board platform.

It's quite a return on an investment for Advance, which acquired the "front page of the internet" for a mere $10 million in 2006, before spinning it off in 2011 and allowing others to invest in the digital forum.

The windfall, however, comes at a notable time for the company. Like other media giants facing existential headwinds, Advance's publications have endured a sustained downturn in digital advertising and seen traffic from social media platforms decline, prompting uncomfortable belt-tightening and scaled-back ambitions.

Condé Nast has for months been engaged in a standoff with its union. The company announced in November that it planned to lay off 94 staffers, or roughly 5% of its workforce. (It has said it will keep operating costs consistent with the last three years, but that it wants to invest in different areas, necessitating the layoffs.)

Tensions have only escalated since then. Condé Nast boss Roger Lynch told Axios' Sara Fischer earlier this month that, while it missed its revenue target, there were no plans for further layoffs. But the Condé Union said this week that management had effectively gone back on its word and added another five staffers to its layoff list, inflaming already high emotions and prompting renewed protests Wednesday outside Lynch's office.

While Advance cannot sell its shares for six months, laying off staffers as it reaps billions of dollars from Reddit's IPO would present, at minimum, an optics problem for Condé Nast, which has been bruised in recent months during union negotiations. The earnings also offer a few uncomfortable questions for the company. Will Advance go through with such cuts while it rains cash over at company headquarters? How can Advance expect Condé Nast management to push through with painful layoffs while the parent company experiences a gold rush?

I asked representatives for Advance on Thursday if the $2 billion+ windfall it stood to reap had given it any second thoughts on allowing Condé Nast to move forward with the layoffs. As you might expect, representatives for the company were not too keen on answering such questions. My multiple emails went unreturned.

But the IPO bonanza has certainly secured the attention of employees at Condé Nast. And it is sure to be a factor as the union continues contract negotiations with management. While Advance is remaining mum about the massive sum it has made on its Reddit bet, the union is already speaking out.

"The fact that billions of dollars in wealth poured into Advance as we continue to fight for jobs illustrates where Condé Nast's priorities are," Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, told me. "Management needs to stop investing in threats and start investing in the concerns of the workers who power the company's success."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Mario Tama/Getty Images

An Apple of the DOJ's Eye: It is arguably one of the most consequential antitrust lawsuits filed by the U.S. government. The Justice Department on Thursday slapped Apple with a lawsuit, alleging the Silicon Valley titan illegally wielded its incredible power as the creator of the iPhone and monopolized the market. "Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits but by violating federal antitrust law," Attorney General Merrick Garland said, adding that "if left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly." Apple came out aggressively swinging at the lawsuit, arguing it would set a "dangerous precedent" and allow the government to shape the technology market. "We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it," Apple added in its statement. CNN's Brian Fung, Hannah Rabinowitz, and Evan Perez have all the details here.

🔎 Zooming in: The blockbuster lawsuit against Apple reflects the government's growing crackdown on Big Tech, which has for years escaped scrutiny, allowing companies to amass unprecedented amounts of power. The federal government in recent years has also filed legal action against Meta, Amazon, and Google.

⬇️ A bite of the Apple: The suit sent Apple shares south, with the company ending the day down about 4%, wiping out more than $100 billion in value.

🎵 Music to its ears: THR's Winston Cho pointed out that Spotify "could stand to benefit" quite a bit from the DOJ's action.

THE INDUSTRY

CNN Photo Illustration/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Max Heads to Europe: Nearly two years after Warner Bros. Discovery launched Max, the supersized streamer is heading to Europe. WBD (which, we should note, is CNN's parent company), said Thursday it will begin rolling out Max on the continent on May 21, just in time for the Summer Olympics. Details on pricing and various tiers were not disclosed, but WBD said they will vary from country to country. The service will first be available in the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe. The rollout will then continue afterward in Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. In total, Max will be available across 25 European countries and 65 countries across the globe. The Wrap's Adam Chitwood has more here.

► WBD streaming boss JB Perrette participated in a Q&A with Variety's Elsa Keslassy: "We recognize that we're sort of late to the party. On the other hand, we're not in the widgets business. We are selling something that is unique ... And from a storytelling standpoint, we're quite confident that these are stories and brands and franchises that people love and will want to come see once we get Max launch."

IN THE MARKET

Advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services backed Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners in the proxy battle with Disney. (THR)
Meanwhile, Laurene Powell Jobs sided with Disney's board and Bob Iger in the fight. (Deadline)
"At a crossroads": Alex Sherman's digital documentary on ESPN's future, featuring Bob Chapek's first post-firing interview, is live. (CNBC)
A judge tossed out DirecTV's antitrust lawsuit against Nexstar. (Variety)
Deloitte's annual Digital Media Trends survey found that consumers are shelling out an average of $61 a month for streamers. (Variety)
Janko Roettgers went "inside Redbox's rapid decline." (Lowpass)
"TV's latest epic battle": Brian Steinberg reported on how "upstart audience measurement firms" are taking "aim at Nielsen's ratings dominance." (Variety)

THE FOURTH ESTATE

If you read one thing from today, make it David Frum's beautifully written essay about his late daughter, who died suddenly last month. (Atlantic)
Lucien Jura, a Haiti-based journalist, was abducted on March 18 as the violence in Port-au-Prince worsens. (CPJ)
Law360 editorial staffers walked off the job to protest layoffs. (TBN)
Jason Koebler reports Deadspin, which G/O Media recently sold to Lineup Publishing, may become a gambling referral site. (404 Media)
Vox spun off Outsports to Q.Digital. (Digiday)
The BBC launched a new website and app. (BBC)
The BBC is also developing A.I. plans. (FT)
Morning Brew launched "After Earnings," a weekly show, to be co-hosted by Austin Hankwitz and Katie Perry. (TBN)
📚 Jim Sciutto's "The Return of the Great Powers" debuted at No. 8 on The NYT's Bestseller list; Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg's "The Formula" debuted at No. 15; and Kara Swisher's "Burn Book" remained for the third week, snagging the No. 7 spot. (NYT)

MEDIA MOVES

The AP named Victoria Eastwood as Middle East news director. (AP)
The NYT promoted Kyle Betts to senior staff editor, announced Rebecca Chao is rejoining the flexible editing desk, and revealed John MacDonald is headed to Metro. (NYT/NYT)
The FT announced it is opening a new bureau in Jakarta with A. Anantha Lakshmi as correspondent. The FT also hired Amelia Pollard as a reporter. (FT/TBN)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/CNBC

The Call From Kernen: Oh no! CNBC's Joe Kernen, seemingly quite hurt after we called out his ingratiating interview with Donald Trump earlier this month (you can read that here), is talking about "calling John Malone" on us. Kernen made the remark on Elon Musk's X as he elevated a hit-job from a right-wing site attacking us for being supposed liberals. Whether or not Kernen actually called or intended to reach out to the conservative Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder is unclear. Regardless, his actions will have no bearing on how we do our jobs. As long as we are here, Reliable Sources will remain fiercely editorially independent. Threats to tattle tale on us to company shareholders will have no bearing on how we cover the news. Our job is to call balls and strikes. So go ahead, pick up the phone, Joe. We welcome it.

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Bob Woodward: Donald Trump "does not understand democracy." (Deadline)
Truth Social shares could hit the stock market as soon as next week. Matthew Goldstein reports it will raise Trump's net worth "by around $3 billion — wealth that Mr. Trump may be able to tap to pay his mounting legal bills as he seeks a second presidential term." But he won't be able to sell shares for six months. (NYT)
👀 Dave Rubin said it's "fairly obvious" Candace Owens "wants to leave the Daily Wire" and suggested it is because she wants to join forces with Tucker Carlson to "take out Ben Shapiro." (Mediaite)
Ashley Carman pored through data collected by Spotify to see just how large of an audience Joe Rogan's podcast has on the platform. As of Thursday, the podcast had 14.5 million followers — nearly three times the size of the following program, "TED Talks Daily." (Bloomberg)
"Fox News wants its viewers to think that one of yesterday's witnesses at the House GOP's impeachment hearing is untrustworthy. But the network isn't concerned about the one who testified from federal prison after a fraud conviction, or the one who admits to having a grievance with Hunter Biden," Julie Millican reports. (MMFA)
The Truth and Courage PAC, which backs Ted Cruz, received $215,000 from iHeartMedia, fueling ethical concerns about the senator's deal with the company to produce his podcast. (Forbes)
"The royal family believe they have regained a measure of control of the narrative around Kate Middleton," Tom Sykes reports, "whilst accepting that wild theories on social media are simply something the royal family will have to learn to live with." (Daily Beast)

THE VALLEY

TOO MANY TABS

The FCC is probing Amazon. (Reuters)
Senators who received the classified briefing on TiKTok told Stephen Neukam and Stef W. Kight that China can use the app to spy on Americans and peddle propaganda. (Axios)
Of course, the key question is whether China is actually engaged in such activity versus whether it is technically capable of carrying them out.
Meanwhile, Jim Newell reported on how Senators are insisting they would not be "banning" TikTok. (Slate)
A court ruled 2-1 on Wednesday that Meta must face a class action lawsuit from advertisers. (Reuters)
Mark Zuckerberg said Threads is integrating into the Fediverse, launching a beta in several countries. (Threads)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Max

Summer is Coming: HBO on Thursday dropped a pair of dueling trailers for the much-anticipated second season of "House of the Dragon." One trailer focused on Queen Rhaenyra and the other Alicent. The show, which takes place 200 years before the events in "Game of Thrones," will premiere on June 16. The prequel, which delivered strong ratings for HBO and Max in its first season, will bring a much-needed original series boost to the network in the wake of the strikes that shuttered Hollywood, postponing work on many productions. CNN's Lisa Respers France has more here.

OFF STAGE

IATSE Local 600, the cinematographers' guild, reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP on camera and publicist agreements. (THR)
"Zone of Interest" director Jonathan Glazer received support from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tony Kushner. (The Wrap)
Managers at Channel 4 claim they didn't know about the allegations against Russell Brand during the actor-musician's time there. (BBC)
Alex Garland's A24 film "Civil War" is aiming for an $18 million to $24 million opening. (Deadline)
Hayao Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron" will stream on Netflix worldwide. (THR)
A "Sims" movie is in the works, with Kate Herron — the director behind the first season of "Loki" — set to helm the movie and Margot Robbie's LuckyChap slated to produce alongside Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo Entertainment, as well as Electronic Arts. (THR)
"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. (The Wrap)
Sony is slated to release an animated short, "The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story," on YouTube. (Variety)
Cillian Murphy will return for a "Peaky Blinders" film. (GQ)
Pete Davidson is throwing in the towel on a second season of "Bupkis," saying "this part of my life is finished." (THR)
Nicole Kidman will return for the second season of Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers." (Deadline)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your next week.

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