Sprint just launched a new partnership with Hulu, offering the streaming service to its Unlimited subscribers. Doug Garland, Sprint's VP of Innovation and Partnerships, joins Cheddar to reveal why the relationship makes sense for both parties. He says he thinks the telecom company can play a meaningful role in helping consumers find premium content.
As for why Sprint chose Hulu as its content partner, Garland singles out the streamer's ability to let viewers watch "last-night's TV, tonight." The VP notes the major increase in how often smartphone users watch content on their mobile devices. Garland adds that the introduction of 5G technology will drastically expand the capabilities of on-the-go streaming.
Finally, we consider whether Sprint would ever get into producing its own content. While he says he "never says never," Garland says the company excels as a network builder, and does not have the personnel to fully invest in original content at this stage. While the carrier might not be getting into original content production, Garland does credit Sprint's strength in content-based marketing.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 28, 2022, with Elon Musk mocking Twitter's top legal exec Vijaya Gadde on the platform itself, a probe in George Floyd's death finding discrimination within the Minneapolis police force, the latest California drought leading to new water restrictions, and more.
Ford CFO John Lawler joined Cheddar News to talk about the auto giant's Q1 earnings report that beat on revenue and EPS. Despite the good numbers, Lawler spoke to challenges Ford had to navigate. "We also see the continued disruption to the supply chain impacting our production, and that hit us in the first quarter as well. So it kept us from having an even stronger quarter," he said. Lawler noted that chip shortages leading to the supply constraints should ease up throughout the year.
Tech giant Microsoft won a military contract for the production of its IVAS (integrated visual augmentation system) combat goggles, based on its HoloLens ARG tech, worth up to $21.9 billion over 10 years. However, the Pentagon is now saying that the device "has not yet demonstrated the capability to serve as a fighting goggle," and that the Army made mistakes in the program's initial stages by not clearly describing minimum performance standards. While testing continues, concerns have grown outside of the Defense Department to Congress and even within Microsoft itself. Cheddar's Ken Buffa takes a deeper look at the possible boondoggle.
U.S. stocks fell sharply to close Tuesday's session, with the Nasdaq dropping 3.95% and hitting a new one-year low. Frances Newton Stacy, Director of Strategy for Optimal Capital, joins Cheddar News to discuss her reaction to how markets closed the session, and to break down Q3 2022 earnings from Microsoft. "Netflix was sort of the big warning, and I think Big Tech was down today in anticipation of these earnings," she says.
