WEBVTT - Warner Bros. Reopens Talks as Paramount Signals Higher Bid 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:10.520 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. This is Bloomberg Business 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:14.680 Weekdaily reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:18.799 ahead with insight on the people, companies, and trends shaping 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:23.760 today's complex economy. Plus global business finance and tech news 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:28.280 as it happens. The Bloomberg Business Weekdaily Podcast with Carol 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:32.879 Masser and Tim Stenebeck on Bloomberg Radio, well on media News. 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:36.199 Warner Brothers Discovery has agreed to reopen negotiations with Paramount 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:39.639 Skydance after Paramount proposts raising its bid and sweetened other 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:41.840 terms of its offer, setting the stage for a renewed 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:45.280 showdown with Netflix. This according to a statement on Tuesday. 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:47.640 This wasn't news to any of you, though, because you 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:50.159 all saw Lucas Shaw and Michelle F. Davis's scoop on 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.599 Sunday when they exclusively reported that Warner Brothers was weighing. 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:55.840 Reopening networking over the weekend with Paramount. 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.360 Lucashaw's Managing editor for Media Entertainment for Bloomberg News. Michelle 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:01.640 Davis is the Bloomberg News Senior m and a reporter. 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.120 Lucas is in La Michelle is here in our Bloomberg 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.800 Interactive at Broker's studio, Michelle, I want to start with 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:11.600 you the deal, the Netflix versus the Paramount deal. These 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.680 are not apples and orange or apples to apples. It's 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:18.360 apples and oranges. What is different though about Paramount skuy 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.679 Dances deal this time versus you know, a few weeks ago. 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:24.840 Yeah, I mean, and this is the moment we've kind 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:26.960 of all been waiting for, because, of course, Paramount has 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:29.560 been saying for months, you know, thirty wasn't our best 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.399 and final offer. And what's really different. The big news 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.880 that came out this morning was that it came out 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.040 that Paramount's banker basically called Warner Brothers and said, hey, 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:41.480 if you guys engage with us, we will offer at 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:44.240 least thirty one dollars per share. This was after last 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:46.520 week Paramount had made some concessions that the Warner Brothers 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:49.440 board had been asking for, and so now during the 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.040 next seven days it's basically the time for Paramount to 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.960 show whatever it's best and final is. Warner Brothers has said, 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:56.600 you know, put your best foot forward. This is going 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:58.600 to you know, put up or shut up basically, and 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:00.920 so we'll see if you know what Paramount comes up with. 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:02.840 So now the ball is in the court of Netflix. 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:06.040 The ball is in Paramount's court right now. So right now, 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.200 Warner Brothers will be talking to Paramount to clarify the 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.360 terms of its latest offer. Basically, they want whatever Paaramount 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.680 has said in writing. If the board determines that this 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:18.520 is a superior offer, then Netflix will have a chance 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:21.960 to match it. And remember, as the incumbent, Netflix only 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.280 has to match or tie whatever Paaramount has put on 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.200 the table because they're not apples to apples. That means 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.320 it doesn't technically have to be the same number. The 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:31.440 board will have to weigh, you know, if they are 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.400 on equal footing, and that would put Netflix in the 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:33.920 lead again. 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:35.720 Hey, Lucas Shaw, come on in here. You're joining us 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.280 from LA. You've been following this deal, you know since 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:42.480 before the beginning. Is this a start of any bidding war? 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:47.160 That's what Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders are hoping for, right 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:49.400 I think Michelle talked about this a little bit. There's 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:53.120 been a desire that in the thought that Paramount would 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.519 go higher. That they are backed by the Ellisant family, 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:57.720 they have hundreds of billions of dollars and they can 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:03.119 spend even more, and it feels inevitable that Paramount will 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:05.040 offer more money, and then it will be up to 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.280 Netflix whether it wants to meet that or not. So 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:09.640 I think the price is certainly going up, but I 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:12.200 don't know if it's going to be a frenzy bidding war, right. 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.799 Netflix shareholders certainly don't want to see a crazy bidding war, 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:17.520 And even though Paramount shareholders don't ultimately have a say, 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.280 except for the Ellisons, I don't think they want to 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.240 see the company get even more levered and indebted than 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.520 it already is and will be if it does this deal. 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:26.760 Who's Hollywood rooting for Lucas. 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.440 Hollywood's pretty split, you know. I think initially the shock 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:33.760 of the Netflix deal made people against it. You know, 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.600 Netflix has had a big impact on how this business works, 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.360 some for good, some for bad. The more time goes by, 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:43.280 I think people are divided. Right, Folks who really care 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.560 about movie theaters still tend to be against the Netflix deal. 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:48.640 They don't really believe Netflix when they say they're going 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:52.360 to put movies in leaders. People who are perhaps liberal 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.600 leaning politically, which is a lot of Hollywood, are very 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.960 worried about the Ellison's impact on CPS news and then 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.000 in terms of jobs, it's sort of hard to say, right, 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.800 Paramount is would be way more likely to fire people 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:07.640 right away. They've pouted billions of dollars in synergies, but 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.120 you know, Netflix could have a more negative impact on 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.920 the larger ecosystem. Netflix is certainly arguing that they're better 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:16.080 for Hollywood, Paramount saying the same. Yeah, and I think 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:18.800 people don't really know how to feel well on that. 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.240 Netflix did issue a statement and they said, while we 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:24.919 are confident that our transaction provides superior value and certainty, 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.880 we recognize the ongoing distraction for Warner Brothers Discovery stockholders 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:33.159 and the broader entertainment industry caused by Paramount Sky Scott 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.680 Ants's antics. And this was a statement that they put out. 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:38.479 They go on to say, this does not change the 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:42.159 fact that we have the only signed, board recommended agreement 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:44.719 with Warner Brothers Discovery, and ours is the only certain 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:49.560 path to delivering value to Warner brother Discovery stockholders. 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:53.200 Okay, they're right, right, Well, will Michelle come on in 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:55.719 on that? I mean, is you know thirty one dollars 0:04:55.720 --> 0:05:00.760 a share? Would is this best and final coming from 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:01.679 Paramount's guidance. 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:05.000 I think that's the big question. The Paramount banker that 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:07.560 had reached out to Warner Brothers said we would offer 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:10.400 or Paramount would offer at least thirty one dollars per share. 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.840 But there's also some documentation issues that still need to 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.599 be worked through. Warner Brothers wants to be allowed to 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:21.080 operate kind of freely in the interim period before this 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:24.800 deal closes, and Paramount has held back on some things 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.320 that Warner Brothers has wanted. In an ideal scenario, Paramount 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:31.720 would just basically take the Netflix agreement, erase Netflix's name 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:33.760 and put its own name there and you know, higher 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:35.400 share price, and that would be enough to get the 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.400 deal done. It might not be as easy. 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:40.040 They want, but they want the Linear Networks too. 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:40.720 They do. 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:43.080 But there are you know, certain terms that are may 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:46.680 maybe friendly or to Warner Brothers that Paramount has been 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:48.360 dragging its heels on Lucas. 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.560 Is this about what David Zaslov wants ultimately for his 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.880 company or is it just about getting the best financial deal, which, 0:05:55.040 --> 0:06:00.920 to be fair, yes, but also as someone selling their company, 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.359 they do want to get the best deal for their shareholders. 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:05.000 I would assume. 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.560 Look, David As obviously has a lot of influence on 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:10.640 the process. Who's the CEO of the company. He's on 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.560 the board, a lot of people on the board know 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.640 and like him, But I don't think he gets to 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:17.040 make the final decision here. 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:17.280 Right. 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:21.200 You have a number of very experienced board members who've 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:23.040 been through a lot of deals. They added a few 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.919 people to their board over the last year two essentially 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:29.160 an anticipation of this moment. I think they're looking at 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.560 what's best for the company and what's best for shareholders. 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.800 It's pretty clear that the board has had a preference 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.880 for the kind of Netflix's offer, and also how Netflix 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.480 has gone about the process. I don't think that should 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:45.120 be a huge surprise. Netflix has a much larger and 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:48.479 more valuable company and has been run better over the 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:50.960 last decade than Paramount has. So if you're saying, who 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.000 do I trust to kind of handle these assets, that 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.520 would be Netflix. And so there's an aspect of what 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.760 they're doing here where they're basically saying Paramount blow us 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:02.039 away because we know, if you only go up a 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:05.200 dollar or two, Netflix is probably gonna yeah. But if 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.320 you go up five dollars, got it? Which probably can 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:07.960 and we got. 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.000 To take it all right, Lucas Shaw, so appreciate it. 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.520 Michelle Davis as well. The latest check it out on 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:14.120 the Bloomberg. 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:18.280 If you're listening to the Bloomberg Business Weekdaily podcast, catch 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:21.600 us live weekday afternoons from two to five pm Eastern. 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:24.240 Listen on Apple CarPlay and the Android Auto with the 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:28.120 Bloomberg Business app, or watch us live on YouTube. 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:30.840 When we look at the markets, we are also keeping 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:33.280 a watch on Apple because we are seeing that stock 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:37.360 move in today's session. The shares prices up about four 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.920 percent here, so quite a spike here. Happening on a 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:43.600 Bloomberg exclusive this the company is accelerating development of three 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:46.720 new wearable devices as part of a shift toward artificial 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:50.440 intelligence powered hardware. It's a category tim also being pursued 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.360 by Open AI meta platforms. I mean, everybody's kind of 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:54.119 moving into space. 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:55.720 I want to bring in a marker. I mean he's 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.160 in our LA bureau. He's Bloomberg News Managing editor for 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:03.160 Global Consumer Tech. Congratulations on yet another scoop glasses, a 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:05.240 pendant and camera AirPods. 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:06.400 What did you learn? 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:10.040 Yeah, so Apple's been working on these devices for quite 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.120 a while, and the strategy is to hit consumers wherever 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:15.400 they want their AI, whether it's on their face, whether 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.480 it's on their body, whether it's around their neck, whether 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.840 it's in their ears, creating different devices for different features, 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.360 with different types of cameras. You can see there's different 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:28.200 tears here. Obviously, the pendant is something entry level, it's 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:31.120 an accessory eyes and ears to the phone. The air 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:34.360 pods is something more substantial, right with that audio gear 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.920 in there. And then there's the high end of the 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:41.040 AI strategy being the smart glasses with the high resolution camera, 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:45.120 a computer vision camera, all sorts of functionality to really 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:49.199 augment without a display, your real world experience using AI. 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.520 Hey, so all built around the serie digital assistant. We 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.360 all know our love and dislike of all I know, 0:08:56.400 --> 0:09:00.200 I know and being a little obnoxious. Are frustrated, which 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:02.440 it was Siri. Don't they have to get Siri right first? 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:04.880 Mark, That's exactly right. 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.240 All of these products hinge on them being able to 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.839 bring the new sery to market in it actually being 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.839 to your point effective. They were supposed to launch it 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:17.480 actually this month by way of introducing it, and they 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:20.520 were supposed to release it to consumers sometime next month 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:23.240 as part of iOS twenty six point four. But I 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:25.840 reported last week they had hit a bunch of snags 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:29.760 and issues and that Seri will not be arriving this spring. 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.320 The Personalized Theoria will be arriving later this year, in 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.720 addition to some of the other Serie features. And so 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:39.040 none of this launches until those launch, and so we'll 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:41.080 see what happens, but it all hinges on that. 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:45.439 So I want to drill into some of these devices 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.079 that you've been reporting on that you have reported on 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:51.800 in this piece dependent the eyes and ears connected to 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:56.000 the iPhone, what exactly does an Apple pendant do? And look, 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.880 we should note it's no guarantee that all of these 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:00.160 are going to come to market, right. 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:02.960 Yeah, I do think these are ultimately all going to launch, 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.080 But like I was saying, they have worked on other 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:08.360 wearables with cameras that they canceled last May. They canceled 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.959 an Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra with a camera. 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.240 So we'll see what happens, but this is something that 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:16.280 they're seriously working on. Tim Cook held an all hands 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.240 meeting with employees earlier this month, where he said the 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.640 company is investing heavily and new stuff. He did acknowledge 0:10:22.640 --> 0:10:25.040 that AI devices are the future, and he said the 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.600 world is moving fast, and so he hinted that these 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:28.120 were coming. 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:34.120 Hey, Mark, I want to look at ADRs of esalar Lexotica. 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.480 This is the parent company of many glasses brands out there. 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.079 They work very closely with Meta platforms. You've been outspoken 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:45.440 about how well the meta platforms glasses work. If Apple 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.880 is indeed competing with es Lexotica, and after your piece 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.400 came out, we saw shares take a dive on the 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:55.800 day today. If indeed Apple is working on a competitor 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:59.760 to Meta's glasses, what can you tell us about what 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.800 would differentiate them, what would be the Apple experience, how 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:04.480 they'd be different than what's out there on the market. 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:07.960 Yeah, I mean the main two things are camera technology 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.920 and build quality. That's according to people working on the glasses. 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.679 They believe that the build quality using things like acrylic 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.960 and other higher end non plastic materials are going to 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:20.040 make their glasses a bit higher end and more premium 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.720 than what Meta is offering. Obviously, Meta works with slew 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.240 different brands. They've got Oakley, They've got ray Ban and 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:31.520 obviously Prada is the biggest fashion oriented brand under the 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.560 Extra Exotica umbrella, and so you'll see Prata versions of 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:38.360 the metaglasses probably sometime this year, but definitely that's what 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:41.479 they're trying to differentiate on. The other is camera technology. 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.240 The metaglasses, they have one camera that can move between 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.280 computer vision and for photo and video. Apple has a 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:50.520 dedicated photo video camera and a dedicated computer vision camera, 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.280 and their belief is by having both cameras they can 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:55.760 get a better quality on each of those factors. 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:57.560 Hey, Mark, what about the time you hear I mean, 0:11:57.600 --> 0:11:59.280 this is a pretty deep dive, and I know you've 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.680 got your sources and all that good stuff and good 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.040 reads on the company, but it sounds like there has 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.600 been a lot going on behind the scenes when it 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.320 comes to how they're thinking about the AI world and 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.200 what it means for hardware, and it sounds like some 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.680 of that is starting to maybe early but payoff in 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:16.760 terms of they've got specifics here. 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:21.439 Well, nothing's going to start paying off until Siri is ready. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:23.560 Like I said, the releases of this hardware will all 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:26.160 hinge on them having a working voice assistant. And the 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:28.640 hope is with this Gemini partnership, they will have one, 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.439 and I'm pretty confident they will have one. I think 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.520 the way that they're going to revamp iOS in the 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:37.000 fall with their new Campo Voice Assistant, that's the code 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:39.400 name for this new version of Siri, in integrating the 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:41.800 Gemini models throughout the system, I think it's going to 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:44.000 be fairly effective. So they need to get that done. 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:47.000 In terms of the timing, for a while now, they 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:49.560 have been earmarking and introduction of the small glasses at 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:52.600 the tail end of this year, with production beginning at 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:54.880 the very end of this year. I'm told production is 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:58.280 still planned for December. That's beginning of production, with the 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:02.559 release sometime in twenty twenty, so next year. The AirPods 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:04.560 could be released as early as this year, but of 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.560 course that hinges as well on the Gemini partnership in 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.800 Serie working out, and the Pendant is likely an end 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:13.440 of twenty seven thing at the earliest. 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:18.640 Hey Mark, just last question analysts, investors, they want to 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:21.120 know the next killer product from Apple, and I think 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:23.040 some people thought it would be a car years ago. 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:25.760 That's obviously not happening. Some people thought it could be 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.559 Vision Pro that's obviously not happening at the end of 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:31.640 the day. Is your piece notes. All of this still 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:38.200 sort of hinges around the Apple iPhone ecosystem iOS. These 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.800 are still all tertiary products, right, These are no sort 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:45.920 of like freestanding single product that is like the next 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.199 killer piece of hardware. 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:48.480 Right. 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:51.800 Well, I think it's the family of AI wearables that 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.160 is the sort of next big thing. It's not one 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:56.319 single item, but it is things. It is a group 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:59.000 of things. And so you'll see AI wearables be one 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:02.680 new category, and then you'll see home devices be another 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:05.319 big category from Apple. So those are the next two 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.720 big categories, with the through line being AI and them 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.280 being able to launch neither until the AI works all. 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.680 Right, Great stuff, as always, another exclusive from our Markerman Mark. 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:16.719 Thank you so much for jumping on with us and 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:19.640 laying this out. Mark German, Managing editor for Global Consumer 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:22.560 Tech at Bloomberg News. Joining us from the Bloomberg News 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:23.920 bureau in Los Angeles. 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:29.560 This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily podcast. Listen live 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:32.560 each weekday starting at two pm Eastern on Apple car 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.440 Play and the Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.320 You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:42.480 flagship New York station. Just say, Alexa played Bloomberg eleven thirty, 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:44.880 I got. 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.880 To say in Jeffrey Epstein's World few billionaires, though loom 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.960 as large as Leon Blacks, certainly very well known to 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.240 the Bloomberg audience. The Justice Department's largest release yet of 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:57.960 the Epstein file shows he was Leon Black's stealthy, do 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.200 it all fixer. And I mean it's interesting is our 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:04.960 team is going through documents, you realize how close Epstein 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.880 was with a lot of very influential people. 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.080 Hey, part of that team includes Max Abilson. He's Bloomberg 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:11.920 News financi reporter. He joins us here in the Bloomberg 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.640 Interactive Broker's studio. We're going to get to what you 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:17.640 found in your story, what you found going through this 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:21.840 latest batch of files, which at this point was two 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:27.000 weeks ago, but still the stories are still coming out. 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:30.760 I mean, how do you do this something like this? 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:34.240 How do you take on a trove like this and 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:36.880 then find the stories and tease them ount? I mean, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.040 this is kind of unlike anything that journalists have had 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:39.200 to do. 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:42.960 That's such a that's such a generous question. Thank you 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:46.040 for asking that. Well, I'll tell you, I'll give you 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:49.400 the real answer. The real answer, first of all, is teamwork. 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.440 I think of this Epstein work, at least for me personally, 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.800 is kind of bifurcated into two different eras. Last year 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:00.680 I worked with an incredible team, people like Harry Wilson 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:05.040 and archarlie'deva and Jason and Lauren Eder, and it goes 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:08.520 on and on, and we had access to I mean, 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:10.480 it was so many emails to us. It was like 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.960 eighteen thousands, more than nineteen thousand emails. And we spent 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.360 months together digging, and you know, thinking like, okay, geez, 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:19.640 you understand the law, so you dig into lawyers. You know, 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:21.960 you understand the investments. You look into that, or money 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:23.600 laundering you look into that. We split it up, we 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:27.480 worked together. It was it was a very honestly, it 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:31.160 was quite a moving experience. It was also extremely grim, 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:35.760 as you might imagine. But eighteen thousand, I mean that's 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:39.040 a pimple. That's nothing compared to what's been happening in 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.920 these last few weeks, three and a half million files. 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:45.680 I mean, I want to be my professional self and 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.520 make sense of it for you too, and for viewers 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:52.120 and listeners. But just to be honest, it is hard 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.760 to make sense of it. The scale alone, just how 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:59.720 much material there is here to be to sort of 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.000 meet these documents where they are and to not either 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.680 be dismissive of them and be like, you know, well, 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.760 what does it matter it's so much, or rather I 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.000 should say, to not be overwhelmed by them, and then 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:14.480 to not sort of wave our arms and get overly 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:17.560 excited about things that aren't really there. So we're splitting 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:19.520 it up. I worked with Laura Benitez for the story 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.320 about Leon Black at David Sheer, our editor, and what 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.440 we did is we clicked one after another and we're 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:27.119 trying to read them all, trying to put them into 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:30.359 chronological order, trying to understand them, trying to understand what 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.800 they mean, and trying to understand these relationships. 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.080 Because not everything's in order right, and there's redacted stuff 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.600 and you've got to kind of sometimes piece things together correct. 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:42.159 I would be so happy or in order, and you 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.600 know what, I feel very proud of working in the 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.040 news room with journalists who I admire and we're fond of. 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:48.639 But I want to give a shout out not just 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:52.359 to our colleagues across Wall street journalism who've been looking 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:55.719 into Epstein and Leon Black now for years or at 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:57.600 least for months, if not years and years. 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:58.080 In some cases. 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:02.119 But in this case, you know, even just readers who 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.680 are interested, people on Twitter, people who are digging in. 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.680 It seems it's like reminds me of like being in school. 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:11.200 It's like a large group project. Everyone's kind of throwing in. 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:16.600 People are looking and it's fun to be digging alongside 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:18.200 what feels like kind of a collective effort. 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:18.840 Well, let's dig. 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:21.280 Let's talk about that digging. So I just want to 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:23.960 throw out some numbers here. Leon Black has acknowledged paying 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:26.800 Jeffrey Epstein one hundred and fifty eight million dollars over 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:28.679 the year, saying it was for advice on a state 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:34.720 and tax planning. The new relylease documents, though that you 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.160 and the team found said it was for much more 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:39.600 than just a state and tax planning. What else did 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:39.840 he do? 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.879 Well, Just to be really, really, really specific, the way 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:45.719 I'm going to put it is going to be slightly 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:47.760 different from that, which is the way that I'm going 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.200 to say it is. Leon Black's story up until now 0:18:51.359 --> 0:18:53.520 has been like something along the lines of I don't 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:55.400 want to overgeneralize for him, but it's been something along 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:57.719 the lines of like, look, he gave me tax advice, 0:18:57.840 --> 0:18:59.920 and his sax advice was good and it was worth it. 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:01.680 And there's some there's some other things on the side, 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:05.240 things like estate planning and what our story is about. 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:06.040 And I hope. 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.000 Viewers and listeners will go go check out our story 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:11.920 called the Leon Black Files. What it's about is some 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:17.320 really concrete things. One is one is an angry mistress. 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.240 One is an angry mistress of of Leon Blacks, or 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.160 to be fair, I think at the time of these emails, 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:25.240 she was a former mistress. And and Epstein, who by 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:29.359 then was a sex offender, he helped Black kind of 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:31.600 kind of manage the situation. We can talk about in 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:35.520 what ways and then let's let's think about sort of 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.480 off to the side. There are these I r S 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.119 questions about gifts to another woman, this is this is 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:45.320 going to be a second woman, and the way the 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:49.200