Facebook has already begun digging into the TV space with Facebook Watch, so what might the social media company’s next move in video be?
Jesse Redniss, Chief Innovation Officer of Turner’s TBS and TNT networks, predicts the company might buy Roku.
“Facebook has been trying to be getting into the video space for quite sometime now,” he told Cheddar in a recent interview. “When you look at Facebook’s track record of growth, the acquisition of Insta, WhatsApp, Oculus. In some ways, in order for them to really scale into a marketplace, it’ll make a lot of sense for them to buy one of the leaders in a marketplace they want to get into.”
Roku shares fell steeply Friday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock, saying the streaming company is overvalued. Still, the company is trading well above its IPO price, and posted a 48 percent increase in active accounts in the third quarter, as well as a 58 percent increase in streaming hours.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/a-bold-prediction-on-why-facebook-would-acquire-roku).
While the Dow took a major slide on Wednesday, Chinese electric car company NIO is surging for the second straight day. But can the Tesla rival compete with its American counterpart? Tamara Warren, co-host of Cheddar Rides, points out the company needs to start producing its own cars first.
Robinhood has built its own clearing system that will let it clear and settle transactions and custody assets for its now six million customers without using any third parties. The stock trading start-up expects Clearing by Robinhood, a two-year-old regulatory and engineering project, to provide a faster and cheaper offering for users. Co-CEO Vlad Tenev likened it to Apple building its own chips in-house or Amazon running and investing in its own fulfillment centers. Clearing, he said, is a foundational layer, but it impacts the end user experience.
With less than 10 days left until recreational marijuana is legal across Canada, Alyson Martin, co-founder of Cannabis Wire, explains how rollout will go. As for the future of legalization in the U.S., she says it's inevitable. "Young people might be the path to legalization," she said.
As Aston Martin stock stumbles in the days following its IPO, the British luxury automaker is not interested in expanding its potential market with less expensive "entry-level" cars. CMO Simon Sproule said the company is focused on new electric models and a forthcoming SUV. And they will be expensive.
The tech giant unveiled two new Pixel smartphones, a smart home assistant with a touchscreen, and its first-ever Pixel Slate Tablet. Hope King was at the launch event in New York to get a hands-on look at all the latest gadgets.
As VC funds shovel money into start-ups, they have noticeably stayed away from Juul, even as it exploded in growth and catapulted to become the most valuable vape brand. Erin Griffith, correspondent for the New York Times, said investors appear to be taking a moral stand, even as they simultaneously invest in other nicotine-delivery products.
SoundCloud announced Tuesday that it is expanding its "Premier" feature, which takes a focus on the scores of musicians who use the service to record and promote their work. CEO Kerry Trainor said this feature will allow artists to be directly monetized on the platform, and it will rival any process at other streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music.
Google's Pixel event kicks off on Tuesday in New York City. The company is expected to announce three new phones, with one costing upwards of $1,000. Russell Holly, Senior Editor at Android Central and Ajay Kumar, Mobile Analyst at PCMag, give their predictions for the future of Google's hardware ecosystem.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Google had exposed over 500,000 Google+ users' data and failed to alert authorities. The company ultimately said it would shut down the consumer version of the social network. Douglas MacMillan, the reporter who broke the story for the Journal, said Google's handling of the information is causing a lot of speculation about the tech giant's business practices.
