WEBVTT - Tech News: Cisco Gets Hacked

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host

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<v Speaker 1>Jonathan Strickland. I'mint executive producer with I Heart Radio and

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<v Speaker 1>how the tech are you. It's time for the tech

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<v Speaker 1>news for Thursday, August eleven, twenty twenty two. Cisco, company

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<v Speaker 1>that primarily focuses on networking hardware and telecommunications equipment, as

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<v Speaker 1>well as some I T security products, has admitted that

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<v Speaker 1>it was hit by a ransomware attack that, as they say,

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<v Speaker 1>is a tough pill to swallow, but it also illustrates

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<v Speaker 1>how there's no such thing as a bulletproof defense when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to data security. Fortunately, according to Cisco reps,

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<v Speaker 1>the attackers only gained access to some non critical information.

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<v Speaker 1>The company released a statement that says, quote Cisco did

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<v Speaker 1>not identify any impact to our business as a result

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<v Speaker 1>of the incident, including Cisco products or services, sensitive customer

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<v Speaker 1>data or sensitive employee information, intellectual property, or supply chain

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<v Speaker 1>operations end quote. The statement did recognize that the hackers

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<v Speaker 1>released on the dark web a list of files that

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<v Speaker 1>they were able to access, and it included stuff like

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<v Speaker 1>nondisclosure agreements and some sketches and stuff. The attack actually

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<v Speaker 1>happened back in May, we're just hearing about it now,

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<v Speaker 1>and Cisco reps say the company has already taken action

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<v Speaker 1>to limit access to any other file systems, and that

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<v Speaker 1>the attackers got access by compromising and employee's account. Apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>they first were able to gain control of the employee's

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<v Speaker 1>personal Google account and that allowed them to use the

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<v Speaker 1>SINC credentials in Chrome to access Cisco systems. They also

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<v Speaker 1>tricked the employee into revealing a multi factor authentication code.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's the kind of thing that when you

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<v Speaker 1>put in your password, it says, all right, we're sending

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<v Speaker 1>a a code to your cell phone. That sort of stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>And that just goes to show that you can employ

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<v Speaker 1>very secure processes, but they only work if people, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>follow them. And that's really why we can't have bulletproof defenses. So,

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<v Speaker 1>for one thing, creating something that has no vulnerabilities, that's

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<v Speaker 1>pretty darn hard. They are creating a system that has

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<v Speaker 1>no footholds for hackers, very difficult to do. But another

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<v Speaker 1>is that people are frequently the weakest link in the

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<v Speaker 1>security chain, as was in this case, So you don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to be the most leait hacker in the world

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<v Speaker 1>if you can convince someone to hand you the keys

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<v Speaker 1>to the kingdom. The attackers then used various tools to

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<v Speaker 1>create backdoor access points within the system, so that even

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<v Speaker 1>when the Cisco security team detected them and gave them

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<v Speaker 1>the boot, they could worm their way back in, and

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<v Speaker 1>it took some time to weed out all those issues.

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<v Speaker 1>The attackers did, not, however, encrypt Cisco's files, which is

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<v Speaker 1>something we typically see with somewhere attacks. The attackers were

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<v Speaker 1>identified as being part of the Jan Lua Wong gang.

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<v Speaker 1>Yon Lua Wong is the name of a particular type

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<v Speaker 1>of ransomware, so Cisco reps say they suspect that the

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<v Speaker 1>group were likely planning on deploying ransomware, but had not

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<v Speaker 1>actually gone that far before they got weeded out. Over

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<v Speaker 1>at Google, employees are feeling a quote unquote real vibe change.

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<v Speaker 1>At least according to one unnamed source who talked with

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<v Speaker 1>Business Insider, Google has extended its hiring freeze, which began

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<v Speaker 1>in late July and continues on today, and there are

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<v Speaker 1>growing concerns that Google could initiate layoffs or institute tougher

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<v Speaker 1>performance measures that employees will have to meet, and if

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<v Speaker 1>they don't meet them, they might be considered for termination.

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<v Speaker 1>Sindar pach I, the CEO of Google, has said that

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<v Speaker 1>the company's head count and its productivity don't seem to

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<v Speaker 1>match up, so essentially suggesting that Google has two many

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<v Speaker 1>employees for the amount of work that's actually being done.

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<v Speaker 1>So the worry is that the tougher performance measures could

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<v Speaker 1>be a way to judge which employees are pulling more

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<v Speaker 1>weight than others, and then the company might move to

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<v Speaker 1>eliminate the employees who are seen to be falling behind.

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<v Speaker 1>This kind of echoes something that met US CEO Mark

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<v Speaker 1>Zuckerberg said a couple of months back about Meta, namely

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<v Speaker 1>that quote there are probably a bunch of people at

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<v Speaker 1>the company who shouldn't be here end quote. Now, in

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<v Speaker 1>Meta's case, the strategy appears to be to turn up

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<v Speaker 1>the pressure on employees and then see who sticks around.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea being that the folks who aren't best suited

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<v Speaker 1>for the company will drop off first. You know, if

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<v Speaker 1>you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

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<v Speaker 1>kind of thing. Now, personally, I don't think that's the

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<v Speaker 1>best strategy because you could end up alienating some of

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<v Speaker 1>your best employees who figure they can just go somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>else and have be treated better. Right. That's getting increasingly

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<v Speaker 1>difficult during these tough economic times. So maybe you could

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<v Speaker 1>amble with that, but you can really end up with

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<v Speaker 1>a lower head count without a guarantee that the people

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<v Speaker 1>who stuck around are you know, the best ones. But

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<v Speaker 1>what do I know? Anyway, We're seeing these sort of

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<v Speaker 1>attitudes across the entire tech sector, particularly in these larger organizations.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, just as a rule, I have noticed

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<v Speaker 1>that as organizations grow to gargantuan size, workload can end

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<v Speaker 1>up spreading out over to a point where your average

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<v Speaker 1>employee might not have that much actual work to do

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<v Speaker 1>um And in fact, you see this with government agencies

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<v Speaker 1>a lot, where some government employees spend most of their

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<v Speaker 1>work days trying to look busy to justify the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that they have a position. Now, to be clear, that

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<v Speaker 1>is not the employee's fault. It's more of a sign

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<v Speaker 1>of poor management and planning. And it just stinks when

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<v Speaker 1>you realize that you've reached that point and then you

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<v Speaker 1>have to make moves to correct course, because frequently that

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<v Speaker 1>means you've got to let some folks go, and that's tough.

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<v Speaker 1>On a similar note Microsoft is shutting down a department

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<v Speaker 1>it first established in two thousand eighteen. The group is

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<v Speaker 1>called the Modern Life Experiences Team, which I mean that

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<v Speaker 1>name doesn't give you much of a hint about what

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<v Speaker 1>the heck is going on over there, right Well, as

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<v Speaker 1>it turns out, the role of the Modern Life Experiences

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<v Speaker 1>Team was to win back professional consumers or pro sumers.

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<v Speaker 1>So this was kind of a customer retention group, although

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<v Speaker 1>more than retention, because retention just sounds like you're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to keep folks there. Their job was to convince folks

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<v Speaker 1>who had actively moved away from Microsoft products and services

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<v Speaker 1>to come back into the fold. Anyway, the group consists

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<v Speaker 1>of around two people, and those folks now are being

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<v Speaker 1>told they have to find another position within Microsoft, so

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<v Speaker 1>they can apply to work somewhere else within the company,

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<v Speaker 1>or they can leave and take severance and at least

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<v Speaker 1>they're gonna get several so that's something. So this isn't

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<v Speaker 1>a case of Microsoft turning up the heat to try

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<v Speaker 1>and get people to jump ship, because if they did that,

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<v Speaker 1>then you know, people who are leaving they might not

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<v Speaker 1>be qualified to get a severance package if they're leaving

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<v Speaker 1>on their own. So that's something. It's a pretty tarnished

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<v Speaker 1>silver lining, but it's better than nothing. You know. There's

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<v Speaker 1>been a ton of business news lately because all the

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<v Speaker 1>big public companies have been holding their various earnings calls

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<v Speaker 1>for the end of a quarter. Most of them it's

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<v Speaker 1>Q two, for some it might be Q three. It

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<v Speaker 1>all depends on where they're their UH fiscal year starts,

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<v Speaker 1>because it doesn't always start at the same time as

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<v Speaker 1>the calendar year. And we've learned a lot of things

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<v Speaker 1>in this process. We learned like how Warner Brothers Discovery

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<v Speaker 1>merger has led to the superhero film bat Girl being

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<v Speaker 1>shelved permanently. Reportedly, David Zaslov, who's the CEO of this

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<v Speaker 1>merged company, felt that bat Girl was more valuable as

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<v Speaker 1>a hacks right off than as a film, since it

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<v Speaker 1>was destined really to just go to streaming rather than

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<v Speaker 1>a theatrical release, and reportedly it would need more money

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<v Speaker 1>to finish the film, and it had already gone over

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<v Speaker 1>its initial million dollar budget up to ninety million, and

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<v Speaker 1>so I guess the call was made that rather than

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<v Speaker 1>pour more money into it, they could just write it off. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>the story goes that the company only will receive the

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<v Speaker 1>tax right off if bat Girl never gets a commercial

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<v Speaker 1>release in any form, streaming or otherwise. If that's true,

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<v Speaker 1>that means there's no hope for folks to ever see

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<v Speaker 1>this movie unless the footage got leaked somehow. And there

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<v Speaker 1>are a lot of people who are curious about it,

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<v Speaker 1>some because they love the character back Girl, some because

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<v Speaker 1>Michael Keaton is supposed to be in the movie as Batman,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course he was Batman in the early nineties

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<v Speaker 1>with the Tim Burton films, the the to that Tim

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<v Speaker 1>Burton directed. So they're been a lot of curiosity about

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<v Speaker 1>this movie, but it sounds like there's no chance of

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<v Speaker 1>anyone actually seeing it, and it's caused a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>folks to get angry. And obviously the filmmakers and the

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<v Speaker 1>people involved in the project are disappointed. No one wants

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<v Speaker 1>to work on something only to be told that work

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<v Speaker 1>is never going to be seen. And let me tell

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<v Speaker 1>you has someone who has once worked for David Zaslov.

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<v Speaker 1>Though I was way way, way, way way under his radar,

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<v Speaker 1>I can understand getting a little miffed at some of

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<v Speaker 1>Zaslov's decisions. I got miffed at some of his decisions

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<v Speaker 1>back when I was working for Discovery Communications. Zaslov has

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<v Speaker 1>said that the plan is to cut around three billion

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<v Speaker 1>dollars of costs out from this merged company, and he

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<v Speaker 1>says that that might actually be on the conservative side,

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<v Speaker 1>and that has a lot of folks worried. I can

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<v Speaker 1>actually right now think of an entire company, a content

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<v Speaker 1>company that could be on the chopping block. I would

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<v Speaker 1>think the most likely fate for it would be to

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<v Speaker 1>have gets sold off to some other entity, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>too early to make any actual predictions. Zaslov has also

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<v Speaker 1>indicated that it makes no economic sense to make high

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<v Speaker 1>cost content for streaming platforms because you don't get a

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<v Speaker 1>very big return on that investment. It ends up costing

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<v Speaker 1>you more than you can make. And this is something

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<v Speaker 1>that we see echoed on other streaming platforms, including on Netflix.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's really no secret. I mean, everyone knew that

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<v Speaker 1>Netflix was pouring truckloads of money into producing content in

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<v Speaker 1>an effort to attract subscribers, and once those subscriber numbers

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<v Speaker 1>began flagging a bit, investors got really worried. And we'll

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<v Speaker 1>talk about other streaming services that have also had to

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<v Speaker 1>reckon with the high cost of doing business after we

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<v Speaker 1>come back from the break. Meanwhile, zas Lov has indicated

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<v Speaker 1>that expensive productions really should just be targeted toward theatrical release,

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<v Speaker 1>where a healthy box office could produce a good return.

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<v Speaker 1>How to make streaming work from a profitability standpoint is

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<v Speaker 1>a high priority because cable and satellite TV subscription numbers

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<v Speaker 1>continue to drop, particularly here in the United States, and

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<v Speaker 1>Zaslav is a cable guy through and through. That's the

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<v Speaker 1>world he comes from, and that means he has to

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<v Speaker 1>find a new model before the old one goes completely

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<v Speaker 1>belly up. While he didn't go into detail, the general

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<v Speaker 1>takeaway is that this new company, Warner Brothers Discovery, is

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<v Speaker 1>going to combine HBO Max within the Discovery Plus streaming

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<v Speaker 1>service or perhaps create a new merged one have a

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<v Speaker 1>unified streaming service with different verticals or channels of content.

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<v Speaker 1>So HBO Max isn't gonna go away. In fact, Zaslav

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<v Speaker 1>called it the crown Jewel, but it will be incorporated

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<v Speaker 1>into something bigger. At least that's the assumption right now,

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<v Speaker 1>and also that there are expected layoffs coming from across

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<v Speaker 1>both Discovery and Warner Brothers units in the not too

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<v Speaker 1>distant future. We've got a lot more to talk about today.

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<v Speaker 1>Before we get to it, let's take a quick break. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we're back. Let's talk about Disney, because Disney also held

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<v Speaker 1>an earnings call recently, and there's tons we could talk

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<v Speaker 1>about there, but I'm really gonna look more at streaming services.

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<v Speaker 1>Disney subscriber numbers for its digital streaming services totaled two

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<v Speaker 1>one million people. That means, for the first time, a

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<v Speaker 1>streaming service or collection of them really has posted higher

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<v Speaker 1>subscriber numbers than Netflix. Netflix is behind Disney's services by

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<v Speaker 1>about five hundred thousand subscribers total. But you heard the

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<v Speaker 1>caveat there. This is not a single streaming service from

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<v Speaker 1>Disney we're talking about. It's a collection of them. So

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<v Speaker 1>Disney achieved this by having multiple streaming services. Netflix is

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<v Speaker 1>just Netflix, but at Disney you've got Disney Plus, ESPN Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>and Hulu. Now, out of those three, Disney Plus as

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<v Speaker 1>the greatest number of subscribers at a hundred fifty two million.

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<v Speaker 1>So if we break it down by service, Netflix is

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<v Speaker 1>still way ahead. It's ahead of even Disney Plus. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's not all good news anyway, and at least not

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<v Speaker 1>to customers, because the rising costs of production. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>those Marvel series ain't cheap, even if snarky folks do

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<v Speaker 1>poke fun at the c g I at times. That

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<v Speaker 1>means that Disney is going to pass those costs down

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<v Speaker 1>to you, the viewer. Yep, a Disney Plus subscription is

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<v Speaker 1>going to get more expensive starting December eight. Right now,

0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.000
<v Speaker 1>a basic subscription costs seven dollars nine cents per month

0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.000
<v Speaker 1>here in the US, and on December eight, that's going

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<v Speaker 1>to increase to ten dollars and nine cents per month,

0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:48.160
<v Speaker 1>which is a thirty eight percent increase. But hey, if

0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.600
<v Speaker 1>you want, you could just stick with seven dollars cents

0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.400
<v Speaker 1>a month, because Disney is introducing a tier at that

0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:59.319
<v Speaker 1>price that will be including commercials, so it's ads supported,

0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.200
<v Speaker 1>So if you don't mind ads in your programming, you

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<v Speaker 1>can just keep paying what you're paying right now, you know,

0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:08.720
<v Speaker 1>for an ad free experience. So in a way you

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<v Speaker 1>get extra content because you get commercials too. Starting to

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<v Speaker 1>sound like as lot who lose prices also going up.

0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.600
<v Speaker 1>The ads supported tier will go from six dollars cents

0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.960
<v Speaker 1>to seven dollars nine cents per month, and the ad

0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:27.960
<v Speaker 1>free version will go from twelve to four that is

0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:32.240
<v Speaker 1>effective October tenth. Disney previously had already announced that ESPN

0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.680
<v Speaker 1>plus rates would increase by so they're all going up.

0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:40.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm definitely grumpy about this, you know, just to keep

0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:42.960
<v Speaker 1>it in the Disney family. But at the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>it's kind of hard to protest this move. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>Disney's numbers reveal that the streaming divisions have been losing

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<v Speaker 1>money collectively across all three platforms. They have lost one

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<v Speaker 1>point one billion dollars in this most recent quarter. That's

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<v Speaker 1>more than three million dollars over what analysts had predicted,

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<v Speaker 1>and it shows that these services have really gone all

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<v Speaker 1>out in an effort to attract subscribers by funding this

0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:16.680
<v Speaker 1>very expensive programming that's on the services. Unfortunately, the number

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<v Speaker 1>of incoming subscribers is not offsetting the investment being made

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<v Speaker 1>to get them in the first place. So that only

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<v Speaker 1>opens up a few options. Right, You could scale way

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<v Speaker 1>back on production, which is what Zaslov is doing over

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<v Speaker 1>at Warner Brothers Discovery, or you could hike up prices

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<v Speaker 1>to your customers, which is what we're seeing at Disney.

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<v Speaker 1>Or you might do a combination of both. This may

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<v Speaker 1>mean that we will eventually enter into an era of

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<v Speaker 1>fewer prestige productions for streaming platforms that the business just

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<v Speaker 1>won't support it. And that's gonna be rough for creators

0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:55.280
<v Speaker 1>and for audiences, but it might also be necessary. The

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<v Speaker 1>balance of art and commerce is never an easy one,

0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:01.080
<v Speaker 1>and often we'll see the scales tipe direction or the other,

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<v Speaker 1>and then things will eventually level out, and then we

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<v Speaker 1>typically started up all over again. Under the Trump administration,

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<v Speaker 1>the Federal Communications Commission held an auction for companies to

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<v Speaker 1>win a bid that would give them a portion of

0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:19.800
<v Speaker 1>the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, and that funds purpose is

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<v Speaker 1>to provide money for Internet service providers to extend connectivity

0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:28.920
<v Speaker 1>service to unserved and underserved communities, primarily rural communities that

0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:31.800
<v Speaker 1>have limited or no access to Internet service providers. As

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<v Speaker 1>it stands, one company that one a bid was Starlink,

0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.200
<v Speaker 1>the space X unit that uses a network of tiny

0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:43.200
<v Speaker 1>satellites to provide Internet connectivity to customers. But now the

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<v Speaker 1>FCC has effectively changed its mind now. To be fair,

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<v Speaker 1>the FCC changes dramatically from one presidential administration to the next,

0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:55.000
<v Speaker 1>and it's a very different organization under Biden than it

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<v Speaker 1>was under Trump. The f C C has now rejected

0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:03.320
<v Speaker 1>Starlinks bid, which would have seen the unit of SpaceX

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<v Speaker 1>received more than eight hundred eighty million dollars in government

0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:10.959
<v Speaker 1>aid to flesh out its broadband offerings. So why the

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<v Speaker 1>change of mind, Well, the FCC chair Jessica Rosenworzel said

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<v Speaker 1>that Starlink wasn't really a proven entity and that's relying

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<v Speaker 1>on quote developing technology end quote, meaning that the company

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<v Speaker 1>cannot assure the f c C that it will live

0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:30.520
<v Speaker 1>up to its part of the deal. Specifically, she said, quote,

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<v Speaker 1>we cannot afford to subsidize ventures that are not delivering

0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.040
<v Speaker 1>the promise speeds or are not likely to meet program

0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.680
<v Speaker 1>requirements end quote. She also pointed out that starlinks model

0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:44.000
<v Speaker 1>requires customers to purchase a six hundred dollar dish that

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<v Speaker 1>definitely prices out a large number of households. And if

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<v Speaker 1>your goal is to extend internet connectivity to unserved or

0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:55.600
<v Speaker 1>underserved communities, part of that usually includes making sure that

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<v Speaker 1>the solutions are going to be affordable to lower income households.

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<v Speaker 1>It would be a bad look, as they say, to

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<v Speaker 1>subsidize a company that had a really high initial price

0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:07.840
<v Speaker 1>for customers, and that's before you start factoring in things

0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:11.400
<v Speaker 1>like monthly service fees. The FCC also denied a bid

0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.840
<v Speaker 1>from a company called lt D Broadband, which had won

0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:19.119
<v Speaker 1>a one point three billion dollar bid back in the

0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:22.520
<v Speaker 1>reason for the fccs rejection of that bid was that

0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:26.879
<v Speaker 1>lt D failed to receive eligible telecommunications carrier status in

0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.119
<v Speaker 1>seven of the fifteen states where it bid, and the

0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.159
<v Speaker 1>FCC determined that lt D would be unable to actually

0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:36.280
<v Speaker 1>deploy a network on the scale that the winning bids

0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:39.360
<v Speaker 1>had been based upon. As the FCC pointed out, there

0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.159
<v Speaker 1>is a limited amount of government money set aside to

0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:46.320
<v Speaker 1>help extend broadband access, and so it's of chief importance

0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.480
<v Speaker 1>that what little money there is be spent effectively. Though

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<v Speaker 1>how you do that in the country where there are

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<v Speaker 1>so few viable options for I sp S is beyond me.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's all the news I have for today, Thursday,

0:18:56.760 --> 0:19:00.960
<v Speaker 1>August eleven two. I hope that you are all well.

0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:02.879
<v Speaker 1>Reach out to me if you have any suggestions for

0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:05.399
<v Speaker 1>future topics on tech Stuff, and I'll talk to you

0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:14.600
<v Speaker 1>again really soon. Yes, tex Stuff is an I Heart

0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.440
<v Speaker 1>Radio production. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit

0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.560
<v Speaker 1>the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:22.960
<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows,