Big Tech earnings bonanza; concentration and regulation; Super Bowl ads

Feb 8, 2024

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Columnist Nicola Kemp joins host Jack Benjamin, editor-in-chief Omar Oakes and reporter Ella Sagar to unpack earnings results from swathes of Big Tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Google, Spotify and Snap.

The group discusses the big winners of earnings season and whether media has become too concentrated in fewer, more dominant players. As US senators ponder regulation of social media, Kemp and Oakes consider moral and business arguments for doing so.

"We have this huge existential crisis as an industry in terms of what we are actually doing to adequately police these [social media] platforms, because clearly what we're doing is not enough, particularly when it comes to the impact on children's mental health," said Kemp.

Also mentioned: TikTok and Universal Music Group's fallout; Fox, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery's new live sports streaming service; what the latest Barb figures say about streaming growth; Apple Vision Pro's upsides and downsides; and whether Super Bowl ads matter as much as they used to.

Highlights:

5:13: Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery's live sport offering

7:27: Meta's impressive earnings and an "unprecedented moment" at last week's US Senate hearing

14:10: Why Snap doesn't want to be considered "social media"

18:30: Spotify's new non-exclusive podcast distribution strategy and growth in audiobooks

23:23: Is Amazon more of an advertising company than a retailer?

27:33: Does Google have a future-proof business model?

31:10: Adspend is continuing to consolidate: is this healthy for the industry?

34:50: Quick hits: Spotify takes aim at Apple; Apple Vision Pro reactions; TikTok and Universal Music Group's fallout; UK SVOD dips despite global uptick; Super Bowl Sunday.

Note: During this episode there were two mentions of United Music Group. This was supposed to be Universal Music Group.

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