Jessica Reif, Managing Director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch joins Cheddar to discuss the changing media landscape in America, specifically the Disney / Fox 21st Century deal set to close soon.
According to Reif, this deal will reshape the entire media landscape. She talks about the Murdoch family and their willingness to sell. She says the deal will make other companies think about what they want to be, and how they will compete in the modern era.
Disney isn't interested in Fox's news or sports programming, and that may be because of regulatory issues. Reif says when it comes to sports, the best reach is still, by far, broadcast. She expects sports to stay on traditional TV for a long, long time.
Reif also talks about the amount of money the FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google) are spending on video content, and how they will compete with the traditional outlets.
Electronic Arts, the video game maker of “Madden NFL,” “The Sims,” and other popular titles, is being acquired and taken private for about $52.5 billion in what could become the largest-ever buyout funded by private-equity firms.
Merriam-Webster has fully revised its popular “Collegiate” dictionary with over 5,000 new words. They include “petrichor,” “dumbphone” and “ghost kitchen.” Also “cold brew,” “rizz,” “dad bod,” “hard pass,” “cancel culture” and more.
YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect.
