Category: Tech

• A change may be coming to your streaming services, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO said.
• The services have been undervalued, Gunnar Wiedenfels said, and “quality content has been given away”
• That could spell price hikes. A bundle of the major streamers already cost 24% more than they did last year.

You’ve been getting a really good deal on your streaming services — and it may not last too much longer — Warner Bros Discovery’s CFO said.

“For a decade in streaming, an enormously valuable amount of quality content has been given away well below fair market value, and I think that’s in the process of being corrected,” Gunnar Wiedenfels said at the Bank of America Securities Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference last week. “We’ve seen price increases across essentially the entire competitive set.”

Wiedenfels noted what has become more and more evident to Hollywood in the last couple of years: The streaming model — as pioneered by Netflix and adopted by the likes of Hulu, Disney+, and Max — was never meant to last.

For years, the platforms offered libraries of content, including content that was very expensive to produce, for relatively low prices in the hopes of achieving subscriber growth.

As Insider’s Matt Turner summed up: “Streaming services have been underpriced in the name of attracting critical mass.”

It worked: Netflix currently has 238 million subscribers, while Disney+ has 146 million.

But profits have lagged. Disney’s direct-to-consumer offerings, which include Hulu and Disney+, reported a loss of $2.2 billion for the nine months ending in July. Paramount’s DTC business, including Paramount+, lost $424 million last quarter, while Comcast’s Peacock lost $651 million. Warner Bros Discovery posted a $3 million operating loss from its DTC segment in its latest earnings report.  

Netflix has been an anomaly in the streaming market in its ability to record a profit.

The solution, Wiedenfels said, will likely be to increase prices — a move a number of streaming giants have already started taking.

The combined price of the major players in the space — Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ — grew from $76.43 a month to $94.43 a month in the past year, according to analyst Mark Schilsky, a sales specialist at Bernstein Research. This price shift represents a 24% increase, compared to a roughly 3% increase in US consumer prices generally. 

In January, Warner Bros Discovery increased the price of an ad-free subscription to HBO Max for the first time since its launch in 2020. This increase arrived before HBO Max and Discovery+ merged to form Max, which costs $15.99 per month for an ad-free subscription. 

Next month, both Disney+ and Hulu’s ad-free tiers will experience price hikes, going from $10.99 a month to $13.99 per month and $14.99 to $17.99, respectively.

“In our zeal to grow global subs, I think we were off in terms of that pricing strategy, and we’re now starting to learn more about it and to adjust accordingly,” Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, told The Wall Street Journal in March.

“I don’t think these companies are done raising prices,” Schilsky told Insider.

Aside from boosting prices, services are also cracking down on password sharing.

In May, Netflix rolled out its new password-sharing policy, charging subscribers $8 to add an extra user to their accounts. Disney+ is similarly looking to crack down on password sharing, with Iger saying on an August earnings call that the company is “actively exploring ways to address account sharing.” 

• A federal government shutdown could happen in 13 days.
• Conservative lawmakers proposed a bill to fund the government through October 31.
• But the Senate, and some House lawmakers, aren’t onboard.

There’s a government shutdown looming yet again and, in a bit of legislative déjà vu, lawmakers can’t agree on how to avert it.

Congress needs to come to an agreement to fund the government by September 30, otherwise, it will once again shut down. The last government shutdown lasted for 35 days — the longest in US history — between December 22, 2018, and January 25, 2019. While a shutdown likely won’t be as catastrophic as the debt-ceiling crisis legislators flirted with in the spring, the government running out of funding would still have a big impact: Goldman Sachs warned a shutdown could contribute to falling GDP growth.

On September 17, Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus announced they had reached an agreement on a short-term continuing resolution that would keep the government funded for 30 days. According to the bill text, the legislation would continue funding for the 12 appropriations bills until October 31, while including an “across-the-board” 7.8% cut to discretionary funding — and it includes a number of provisions aimed at strengthening the border, which has been a point of contention on both sides of the aisle.

The House Rules Committee is expected to mark up the resolution on September 18, and it’s set to head for a full House vote on September 21. Still, the government is 13 days away from shutting down and it’s unlikely the Senate will approve this resolution. Even some House Republicans have said they will not support it, meaning that with the GOP’s slim majority in the House, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy can only afford to lose a handful of his party’s votes on this funding bill.

“It’s crystal clear a Gov’t shutdown is coming,” GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. “I represent 66% of the Texas-Mexico border – a hollow Continuing Resolution built to win a messaging battle does nothing to keep America safe.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration wants more funding — not less — to help keep key programs afloat. In late August, the Office of Management and Budget released a document viewed by Insider that laid out where the administration thinks more money is needed. That included government benefits like SNAP and Social Security, both of which, per the Biden administration, would struggle to get benefits and customer service out in a timely manner without more funding.

The OMB did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on Republicans’ proposed continuing resolution.

While the OMB has contingency plans for every federal agency to help them determine which areas of service should be prioritized, thousands of federal employees would be furloughed at the outset of the shutdown, constraining many government operations and putting programs Americans rely on at risk.

Another sticking point for some Republican holdouts is an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden — if the government shuts down, their ability to investigate the president would be put on hold. Even some GOP lawmakers in the Senate have previously said that while they might not agree with the impeachment inquiry, they think it might be the push that House members need to keep the government funded through the next month.

“It seems like it’s maybe part of the bargain over there to keep some folks in line on maybe the budgetary stuff,” GOP Sen. Mike Braun told Politico last week.

Even Biden has said he doesn’t “know quite why” Republicans want to impeach him, saying in remarks at a campaign reception: “The best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.”

• Ukraine likely made “a significant tactical breach” on the southern front, a new report says.
• The report was published Saturday by the US think tank Institute for the Study of War.
• The advance comes after a successful week for Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine has likely made “a significant tactical breach” along Russia’s multi-layered defense on the southern frontline,  beyond the village of Robotyne, a Saturday report from the US think tank Institute for the Study of War says.

The offensive of Ukrainian forces has been widening a gap in the frontline  for several weeks, the report adds, clarifying that “Ukrainian forces have yet to complete a breakthrough of this defensive layer” with heavy armor and vehicles.

Ukrainian officials have indicated that the series of Russian defensive positions ahead of the Ukrainian advance may be less challenging than the initial Russian defensive layer that Ukrainian forces broke through to the north, said the ISW.

Ukraine announced it had seized back control of the village of Robotyne in early September.

This recent success comes after a week of notable military actions by for Ukraine.

On Thursday, a video came out appearing to show Ukrainian soldiers entering and liberating the village of Andriivka, near Bakhmut.

“Capturing and holding Andriivka — is our path to a breakthrough on the right flank of Bakhmut and the key to the success of the entire further offensive,” said Ukraine’s Third Assault Brigade, which took part in the push, according to Reuters.

Russia denied Ukraine’s advances, saying Ukraine was “unsuccessfully trying to oust Russian troops from the population centers of Klishchiivka and Andriivka,” according to Al Jazeera.

ISW’s Saturday report, however, states that geolocated footage posted on September 15 confirms that Ukrainian forces have advanced in the Bakhmut area, not only around Adriivka but also the nearby villages of Rozdolivka and Klishchiivka.

Devstating strikes by Ukraine on land and sea

Also on Thursday, an attack in Crimea destroyed Russia’s advanced S-400 “Triumf” air-defense system, which is worth over $500 million, using modified Neptune naval cruise missiles.

ISW said this may signal Russia’s air defenses in Crimea have “systemic tactical failures” and that Russian forces were “unprepared to intercept missiles with the system or were unable to do so.” It was the second strike to obliterate S-400 in Crimea in a few weeks.

On Friday, Ukraine struck and damaged a Russian missile ship off the coast of Crimea. Ukrainian forces told Reuters and Ukrainian media that an experimental sea drone called Sea Baby, was used as part of this attack.

Russia’s defense ministry denied any damage and said the attack was repelled and the drone was destroyed, Reuters added.

Ukraine also claimed that its marine drones had struck at lease on of two Russian corvettes in the Black Sea, according to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, per ISW.

Earlier in the week, a major Ukrainian strike, using missiles and marine drones, on a Crimean naval base likely dealt a serious blow to the operation of Putin’s Black Sea fleet, according to UK intelligence.

Ukrainian forces launched an attack on Wednesday on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet base at Sevastopol, striking a submarine and a landing ship, per the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

In its latest intelligence update published on Friday, the UK MoD said the two vessels — identified as the landing ship Minsk and the Kilo 636.3 class submarine Rostov-on-Don — were hit while undergoing repairs in dry docks at the Sevmorzadov shipyard.

The attack also put the dry docks vital for maintaining the Black Sea fleet out of action for the foreseeable future.

“The complex task of removing the wreckage from the dry docks will also place the facility out of use for many months,” said the UK MoD.

On Saturday, a NATO admiral told the military alliance that “history books will show Ukraine has transformed modern warfare. And they are moving forward every day. Every success is one step closer to victory.”

• Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and her husband, Jayson Boebert, got married in 2005.
• In March, Boebert announced the oldest of their four sons, Tyler, 18, was going to be a dad.
• In May, Lauren Boebert filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences.”

In May, Rep. Lauren Boebert announced that, “with a heavy weight on my heart,” she had filed for divorce from her husband, Jayson Boebert, citing “irreconcilable differences.”

The split comes two decades after the couple first met while she was working at McDonald’s at the age of 16, and he was 22.

Boebert, a two-term Colorado Republican, and Jayson married in 2005 and have four sons together. In March, she announced that their oldest son was expecting a child with his girlfriend, making Boebert a “36-year-old grandmother.”

Here’s a timeline of the Boeberts’ 20-year relationship.

And so far, this investment has been a success: The island’s financial returns have been “exceptionally high and significantly above its targeted returns,” Naftali Holtz, Royal Caribbean Group’s CFO, told investors in February.

Source: Royal Caribbean Group

At only $7 a month for ad-free service, Apple TV Plus is one of the best streaming services for viewers on a budget. Just like other major competitors, it’s available to watch on just about any platform, including streaming devices like Roku, web browsers, iPhones, and iPads. 

The service is home to hours of award-winning content and irresistible originals, including “Ted Lasso,” “The Morning Show,” “Invasion,” and “Bad Sisters.” On Fridays during the MLB baseball season, fans can watch two live games each week, in addition to highlights. And now, for an extra fee, you can even get the MLS Season Pass to catch every match of the 2023 season. 

How much is Apple TV Plus? 

Apple TV Plus costs $6.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.

If you buy a new iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, or Mac computer, you automatically get three months of the service for free.

For an extra cost, subscribers can add on the MLS Season Pass. Non-subscribers can also start watching at a higher base price.

How much is the Apple TV Plus MLS Season Pass?

Apple TV Plus now offers an MLS Season Pass for soccer fans to catch every game. Current subscribers can add it for $13 a month or $25 a season; non-subscribers can get service for $15 a month or $29 a season. 

The Season Pass has no blackouts and includes every single MLS and Leagues Cup match with English and Spanish broadcast crews to choose from. Just like the base streaming service, the Season Pass can be streamed on just about any device, including streaming devices, iPhones, iPads, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. 

What you get in an Apple TV Plus subscription

Apple TV Plus is ad-free, and all content is available for streaming on-demand or can be downloaded locally so you can watch it offline if you know you’ll be somewhere without internet access.

Apple’s streaming service is affordable because it has no back catalog — unlike Netflix, Apple has not mentioned licensing any TV shows or movies for its new service. It’s all original content.

• Mesquite, Texas, is set to open a plant to help fill the shortage of Ukraine’s most important ammo.
• But its representative in Congress is part of a GOP group opposed to additional US aid for Ukraine.
• The US has already given up ammo from its stockpile of 155 mm shells and now needs more. 

A town east of Dallas known for its rodeo is in the middle of the conflict over how much support the US should give Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The New York Times wrote that some Americans who stand to benefit from the war in Ukraine faced opposition from their own representatives in Congress who say the US is already doing too much.

One example is Mesquite, a suburb east of Dallas with the nickname “Rodeo Capital of Texas.”

Mesquite stands to receive a significant economic boost from the war effort in the form of a new General Dynamics plant that’s expected to help double artillery production for soldiers in Ukraine.

The Times reported the plant was expected “to employ a minimum of 125 people; bring business opportunities to local suppliers, retailers, and restaurants; and, city officials hope, potentially help turn the area into an industrial hotbed of well-paying jobs.”

However, Mesquite’s congressional representative, Lance Gooden, is among GOP reps who want to end US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. So far, the House has soundly rejected efforts of some to reduce funding for Ukraine. But there are debates on additional funding, how it should be presented to Congress, and whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will give in to the pressure of those against the aid.

The stance of Gooden and other lawmakers who oppose giving aid to Ukraine has not sit well with people in his district.

Alexander Helgar, the president of the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce, told the Times lawmakers were “voting against your constituents at that point.” He added: “You’re literally saying no to the people you’re representing.”

The plant is expected to produce 20,000 155 mm artillery shells every month as the US aims to expand production from 15,000 a month before the war to 90,000.

In a recent video, a Ukraine soldier told Insider “there can never be enough artillery bullets,” which are being called Ukraine’s most important ammo. Insider reported Ukraine may be firing more than 5,500 artillery shells daily, creating a global shortage.

In July, President Joe Biden spoke about the importance of this weapon.

“What we need most is artillery shells, which are in short supply,” Biden told the media. “We are working on that.”

The US has sent over 2 million shells to Ukraine, mostly from its stockpile. Still, ammunition is Ukraine’s most significant need.

“The first thing on the list was, everywhere, the ammunition,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told the media after a meeting with EU leaders and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “If you have the equipment and you don’t have the ammunition, then it’s no use.”

• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the GOP is launching an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
• Democratic Sen. John Fetterman isn’t taking it seriously.
• “OOOoOoOOoOoOOOOh don’t do it, please don’t do it,” he said. “Oh no, oh no!”

On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced his plan to direct committees to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden after he said GOP members “uncovered serious and credible allegations” against the president in recent months.

Asked about McCarthy’s decision immediately after it was formally announced, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared less than impressed. 

“Oh my God really? Oh my gosh, you know, oh it’s devastating,” he said before falling into a fit of laughter. OOOoOoOOoOoOOOOh don’t do it, please don’t do it. Oh no, oh no!”

The jokes from Pennsylvania’s junior senator were not the first time he’s addressed the possibility of a Biden impeachment. Less than a week ago, Fetterman told a group of reporters that he dared the GOP to go through with it.

“If you’re gonna keep threatening it, then go ahead, just do it,” Fetterman said. He added that he thought the impeachment “would just be like a big circlejerk on the fringe right” and that Republicans had a “fetish for Hunter Biden.”

The House Republican’s push to impeach Biden is in part linked to the president’s son, Hunter Biden, who McCarthy alleged of receiving “special treatment” in a recent criminal tax investigation. In recent months, Republicans have taken aim at the president’s youngest son, going as far as showcasing photos on the House floor that appeared to depict him naked and having sex with prostitutes.

McCarthy’s decision to unilaterally instruct the House Committees on Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means to open an impeachment inquiry without a House vote comes nearly four years after he critiqued then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for doing the exact same thing.