Meta Monopoly Verdict, Trump Signs the Epstein Bill, and Nvidia's Q3 Earnings

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27:08Scott, we're back. President Trump has signed the bill ordering the Justice Department to release the files on Jeffrey Epstein within the next 30 days. Trump is also taking credit for the bill, overwhelmingly passing through the House, whatever, Senate. But after this, the full files still might not get released. The bill has some major loopholes. Before Trump signed the bill, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about the DOJ releasing the complete files. She didn't exactly give a straight answer. What a shock from Blondie. Let's listen. We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency while protecting victims.

27:43When you say the law, Attorney General, do you mean that you will provide all the files by 30 days? We will follow the law. The law passed both chambers last evening. It has not yet been signed. But we will continue to follow the law, again, while protecting victims, but also providing maximum transparency. Anyone else saying that, I believe she does not. She's going to follow the law, Scott. The files remain a touchy subject for Trump. When Bloomberg's Catherine Lucy asked him about it on air, Force One, this week, Trump snapped, quiet, piggy. The White House official backed up Trump, saying if you're going to give it, you have to be able to take it, I guess.

28:25Let's start with the release of the file. will it finally put things to rest? And part of the ongoing fallout, people are paying the price. Larry Summers is stepping down from teaching at Harvard where his ties to Epstein were investigated. He also resigned from OpenAID's board. Of course, he had a series of his how-do-I-date-this-lady emails between him using Epstein as his dating advisor got out, and that was all it took for that. Thoughts on this? Because, I mean, I think it's a question of what's going to get out. I talked about this a little bit last night. It's a question of what they're going to release, how they're going to release it.

29:02What's it going to say if they expunge things or try to favor Republicans over Democrats, etc., etc.? It's sort of everything's in the details. But I don't think he can. I think if he does something like that, he'll look even more guilty. But your thoughts? Well, first off, just how ridiculous it is that Trump wants to take credit for the release of the Epstein files while at the same time calling it a hoax. the ridiculous notion that they will continue to follow the law and be maximum transparent. The head of the FBI has already claimed that they released everything they could. And she has done nothing but be essentially an acolyte and an instrument.

29:41She's acting like his personal lawyer. They were doing anything they could. I've said the third most powerful person in the world is a dead pedophile who convinced Mike Johnson to let Congress, tell Congress to go home because they were so afraid of a vote. He has denied democracy. He wouldn't seat a duly elected representative because he was worried that she was going to be the 183rd vote or whatever it is. They have done everything possible to try and delay the release of this. And it has done nothing but create this stench of guilt around the presidency. But even more bigger than this, last night I was reading through some of these emails.

30:21I think this is a really big moment and not just for the reasons we think that it might implicate or embarrass the president or other people. I think this is that Caesar moment in Planet of the Apes where he says no and it inspires a revolution and reconfigures the social order or Tiananmen Square or the Arab Spring when that young man. I love that you use Planet of the Apes metaphor, but go ahead. By the way, when I was with Bill Maher, they gave me Planet of the Apes figures. Yeah, that's right. We love Planet of the Apes. His producer did. You know that moment that inspires a revolution? I think this is it.

31:01And it's not even whether it should be or not that we might find out about the abhorrent, aberrant, weird behavior of certain individuals. If you read these emails, the thing that I think is going to make this a moment that inspires a pretty serious shifting the ground beneath us is that the tone and the vibe of these men is literally like, we can do whatever the fuck we want. Yes. Really? No, but I think it's easy to be signal. I don't think that's true. I'm not significant. That's how they behave. I think I found it shocking and I consider, I think I know some of these people pretty well. I think people are going to read this and go, that's it, we're done.

31:50We're done with these billionaires talking about fucking space, about taking$9 billion from farmers, but finding$40 billion for Argentina, about cutting taxes for the rich, but taking away healthcare from 14 million Americans. and then they listen to the tone. It's one thing when an individual has aberrant, illegal, strange, depraved behavior, you like to think it's ring-fenced to the fucked up mind of that person. But when you read these emails, you're like, this is a vibe. These people - What would you call the vibe? What is it? Douche, nozzlery? No, no, no. The word is entitled. Yeah. They feel like they are entitled to an entirely - It comes back to this one statement I love.

32:39These people think that they are protected by the law, but not bound by it, and that the rest of us are bound by the law, but not protected by it. And I think people are going to read these emails and just think, you know what? This is our let them eat cake moment. We have had it with these people. And I think you're going to see a reconfiguration in tax policy. I think you could see for the first time a move towards socialized medicine. I think you're going to see a dramatic increase in tax rates. I think people are, I think this thing like, okay, there, something is wrong in Mudville when we have a small number of powerful people.

33:15Strutting, strutting on the stage. I would agree. It's so funny you say that because I'm going on the, on the, I've had it podcast and they're going to come on my podcast. And they've gotten very popular and which is, you know, it's Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan. I was on their podcast. Yeah, they're fun. I was on the podcast. Yeah. They're fun ladies. But they are also tapping into something like, you've got to fucking be kidding me with these assholes. Like, I think it's really, and they do it in a funny way, obviously. But one of the things, as I was watching, and we will talk about the MBS thing, is like, and then they went on their thing.

33:52They can't shut the fuck up. And they strut around, whether it's NVIDIA's CEO with his leather jacket, pontificating on all manner of things. and just they won't shut the fuck up. That's what I kept thinking. Like, and they won't stop taking, right? They won't stop. They're like, I used the Beatles. I put the picture of that dinner up with the Beatles thing. It's the piggies. They're little piggies. And that's what it's got a real piggy, piggish feel to it. And the quiet piggy, I thought was really, I mean, I know, you know, whatever, But can you imagine working at a workplace as someone, a CEO saying that to an employee?

34:36What would happen? What do you mean with the president? The quiet piggy, yeah. And then, of course, insulting Mary Bruce from ABC for asking a perfectly legitimate question about corruption. And also about the death of Jamal Khashoggi. I just was like, quiet piggy? That, to me, that really, I think, infuriated so many people. And not because how dare you call me, you know, a girl when I'm a woman. It wasn't that. It was there's something in the words that quiet and piggy together is something's really, it sort of encapsulates these people. But that, again, I think this is bigger than that. I think that a man who has demonstrated nothing but an immense lack of character, a level of misogyny, punching down, has no sense of the connection between prosperity and protection, is depraved, selfish.

35:36I really do think President Trump, and I don't use this word lightly, is going to be a stain on the American experience. The history books are just not going to be kind. To him. But this is bigger than that. And also, I do think it's a little unfair, Kara, to conflate or include Jensen Huang as the same breath as these guys. No, but I'm talking about they won't stop dancing on the stage. They take and take and take. Jensen has to dance to support a$5 trillion evaluation. Yes, I get it. He's talking his own book. Yes. But an entirely different league of depraved and also more than an individual being— That's a fair point.

36:12Very insecure and weird, like President Trump. This culture where they all speak as if there's this underlying baseline assumption that they just get to live by a different set of rules. When I'm reading these emails, I'm like, oh, he's an idiot or, oh, God, this person sounds weird or whatever. But you start to see this vibe across these people where it's like they have just decided that the rules no longer of decorum, of decency, no longer apply to them. Talk about Summers, because, you know, he's a very, you know, he's a Democrat. He was a Democrat. He's been very critical of President Trump.

36:50You know, for years, he's very arrogant. He's a very, he has an enormous reputation for arrogance and rude remarks about women, etc., when he was at Harvard, and women are stupider, essentially. And of course, he has, I think he's out now, right? I mean, it's really interesting. He's out. He's done. He's done. What do you think of this? I mean, if I was when I think I texted the open act, I'm not sure if I did. I was like, he's off, right? He's I never loved it when he got on the board, but he was a weird choice, in my opinion. But but what do you why does he pay? It's really and his his emails were weird.

37:25You know, they're basically dating advice from Jeffrey Epstein. Weird enough. But why do you think he he definitely stepping out from Harvard off open AI board? And he's pretty much done. That would be my thing. Correct? There's no returning from this, or maybe there is. Who knows? The problem is when the grenade explodes, there's not a lot of nuance in the shrapnel. And I would argue that, I mean, the temptation is just to pile on everyone here and you get accused of being a defender of Epstein. And I'm not that. I think Larry demonstrated poor judgment and immaturity, but I don't think what he did It was like even in the same fucking universe is what some of these people are being accused of.

38:08Yeah, I agree. He had poor judgment, continuing to fraternize with a guy who was a convicted pedophile. Right. And he just looked stupid asking for dating advice. And also, I do think it's a little bit unfair. A lot of the research that he got a lot of shit for was citing differences in certain types of intelligence between the genders. And it wasn't that he was saying one gender, I don't believe, was less intelligent than the other. He got in trouble for just saying that they were different. Well, but in the email, he was very clear. I get it. But can you imagine if all of your emails became public?

38:45No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't want them. That's what I thought. I thought, well, this is who's going to pay, this asshole. I mean, I think he's arrogant. I think you're a very thoughtful, progressive person with great judgment. I think someone could look through every one of your emails and cherry pick them and make you look really, really bad. Agreed. I wasn't asking dating advice from Jeffrey Epstein. It's an unfortunate person to be asked. I get it. It's not the world's biggest tragedy that a 70-year-old man has to leave these boards and leave. But quite frankly, he's like a little bit like Gary Hart.

39:16The earth has shifted beneath Larry Summers at exactly the wrong time. That's what I was thinking. And I would argue that if these things came out in a different context two years ago or five years ago, it would be embarrassing and page six of posts, but it wouldn't end his career. Right. No, he's definitely standing on the crack as it opens. I mean, that's the thing. And people don't like him, right? So it also adds people aren't like. Well, and he's a Democrat. And so you can imagine that the Republican operatives wanted this story to get as much oxygen to push out what should be real stories of people abusing children.

39:54So I don't want to say I feel sorry for Larry, but I don't think this is a different, this is an embarrassing, stupid behavior of a tone deaf older man. It is not child abuse. No, I know. I think this is different, and I don't— I agree. I just thought this was the one that—this is the guy that's going to get it, like this dumbass. Yeah, this is the person they're going after? The press is focusing on a guy asking for dating advice? Yeah, I think—well, we'll see. So how much stuff is going to come out? Even this short amount of stuff has done damage to Trump. Very much has done damage to Trump, no question.

40:31You know, this is what he's talking about all the time, right? wait, this is his topic. This is his topic, let's just say. This is now what he's doing. So I don't think the shoes have dropped fully for Donald Trump on this issue yet. But a question of how much Pam Bondi, who's relatively incompetent, as you can tell by other cases, actually not relatively, she's completely incompetent. I feel like they're going to bollocks it and it's going to really come to slap Trump really hard on his. See, the way I would describe Pam Bondi, unfortunately, she's more dangerous because I don't think she's incompetent.

41:05I think she's corrupt. Yeah. I don't think she's incompetent. Look at that case against Comey. Oh my God. Oh no, but that's the appointee who has no business being a lawyer. Right, but she's part of it. I mean, nothing gets signed off. That's her. Right. I think she's incompetent. I don't think they're going to be able to cover it up. That's my feeling. I think it's going to be very hard to cover this stuff up. It's getting out. It's getting out. It's just going to get out. This is how I feel about this. And I'll push this question to you. There's a chance that people are like, okay, am I going to go down?

41:37Is GOP going to begin to stand for guardians of pedophiles? And I do not want to be one of these people. So now I'm going to flip and become aggressive, including disparaging the president if I need to. Is this a turning point where people are like, oh, fuck, I don't want to be an accomplice here. I'm going to start turning on the mob boss. Yeah, I think so. As I said, and that's what happens with all these people. And actually, Thomas Massey made that point, the one who's gotten pushed this through. I got to say, he really has a set to push this through and been successful. Anyway, along with Ro Khanna.

42:14Scott, let's go on a quick break. When we come back, we'll talk about whether Elon Musk and Trump are getting back together, speaking of people who are recovering themselves.

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45:21Scott, we're back with more news. Elon Musk seems to be dipping his toe back into politics. Musk made an appearance at the White House dinner hosted by Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. Aside from Charlie Kirk's memorial, this is the only time Musk and Trump have been seen together since their big feud. I'm not sure if the bromance rekindled. And while we're on the topic of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit, let's hear what Trump had to say when a journalist at the White House brought up the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. I will remind people our intelligence services have linked.

45:55They cut him into pieces. I call him Mohammed Bonesaw. And it was at his behest. So let's listen. As far as this gentleman is concerned, he's done a phenomenal job. You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened. But he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guests by asking a question like that. It's ridiculous. What a ridiculous thing. He did know. Our intelligence services, he ordered the murder. And actually, oddly enough, MBS was more, I guess, like mistakes were made.

46:35And I think he was actually more truthful about what happened, which is he ordered this murder. This is a murder. There's no other way to put it about Jamal Khashoggi. And what was really, it's just striking because, you know, he sort of slathered himself, which I don't think is going to help him with his MAGA friends. But I just think he's slapping himself in this guy and was making all these claims at$1 trillion in investment, which the Saudi economy isn't that big, right? And of course, that PIF, which they don't like, P-I-F, is having problems because of all kinds. I think it's NOEM or whatever they're building.

47:10A lot of their investments are turning tits up, as they say. So don't embarrass guests about murders they've committed, Scott. I guess that's what I would take away from this. This was the strangest encounter lately, and mostly Trump looking kind of weirdly, again, corrupt once again. It goes to what you said. It's incompetence. They should have been prepared for that question. And I actually think that MBS, if he'd said, look, my government makes mistakes. He did. He did, actually. And without referencing, he actually said that. Also, quite frankly, he could have said, you know, a lot of people think that your country coming into my region and killing 400 ,000 people in Iraq was a mistake.

47:56I mean, they just should have been prepared for that question. And I think they could have answered it. You're not going to find moral clarity in geopolitics. And I want to be clear. I believe that MBS ordered the murder and hacking of the U.S. resident. So does our intelligence services. I don't think it's in question by anybody but Trump. But what I always put forward is, okay, now what? Now what? We went in and killed 400 ,000 people in Iraq. Does that mean no one in the region should ever deal with our economy? I mean, it's like, okay, now what, folks? But for the president to get defensive and weird about a question they knew was going to come, they should have been able to, and MBS, I don't want to say I'm a fan of MBS.

48:43I'm a fan of U.S.-Saudi relations because I think it's ultimately the smartest thing for U.S. defense and security. And also, I think any honest analysis would have to position MBS as an actual reformer. So I don't—but this is incompetence for the president not to know this question was coming. Be this defensive— Why this slathering, you know, the insulting of our allies that are more important than MBS, Europe, etc. And the sort of like, it was speaking of blowjobs. It was like a blowjob of a dinner. It was a blow. And pretending that these, I mean, and ridiculous repetition. He's going to invest a trillion dollars.

49:27Their economy is not that big. It's just, they're a minor. They're having their own troubles with their investments, by the way. They've made all kinds of bad investments. And, of course, most people just went there to get money from them, right? They were sort of like the cash machine, essentially, for people to go over there from Silicon Valley and elsewhere. And a lot of it has just turned up shitty. So why are we giving this much attention to this group of people and handing over? I think he did great. He got the F-35s. He got chips, I think. He got guarantees. I don't know what we got. If you're going to be rail politic, what the fuck did we got except our president decided that being bone sawed is just, you know, things happen, my friend.

50:16Oh, look, we get a lot. We have military bases there. But in this deal right now, right? We're getting a lot of money. We continue to get access to cheap capital to fund our companies. But they're not, actually. As I sent you that story, they're not. They're cutting back rather substantively on all their investments here. The pivot, if you will, or the change of complexion around investments coming out of the Gulf is the following. They used to send their capital overseas. And what they're saying now is, we'll invest in your company, but we want you to build factor. We want you to build an economy here.

50:47Right. So rather than giving you money to go build a ride-hailing service in Miami, we'll give you money, but we want you to build a ride-hailing service here, and we want you to have a regional headquarters here. We need to build an internal consumption economy as opposed to just a giant hedge fund. Yes, that makes sense. But if we normalize relationships between the kingdom and Israel, I think it'll make the whole region more— Which he didn't promise to sign on. They didn't get that out of him. Which will be more peaceful. I think that they are now either the biggest or the second biggest economy in the region.

51:25We have huge strategic overlap. I don't think he should have come. I think that they were, this is just, this demonstrates incompetence. incompetence. This is an important strategic relationship that needs to be managed better than the president not prepared for an obvious question that is coming down the pike that makes MBS look bad, that makes the president look bad. This is just incompetence. And then he threatened ABC's license, right? And he just sucked up the entire thing. If I were Bob Iger right now, I'd be like, I would go on the offensive. Like, go ahead. Well, they kind of are. They have been very, I don't want to say bold, but they've been unafraid lately because I was at one of these Masters of the Universe dinners with eight or 10 people in LA.

52:14And I mean, some very powerful people in front of other people in front of mixed company were like, Bob Iger is a fucking coward. I mean, and these are people in the industry that are big. And so I think Bob has decided that is not how I want to go out. That's right. I think he's recognized, he fucked up. And I don't want to say they're overcorrecting, but if you look at George Stephanopoulos, they have basically said to the journalists at ABC, as far as I can tell, go after him.

52:50We are hardcore journalists, start acting like it. I agree. That's my sense. I know this. I think he's, I think the time for, you know, the time for, what's that expression from my favorite movie, Gladiator? The time for celebrating yourself is over. I think that, I do think that. I thought that question, I thought that reporter did a great job, was very respectful and asked exactly the question in a respectful but firm way. Same thing with George Stephan. I think they're like, bring it fucking on. You take, go, come take our license. Please try. Give it a try. Let's see how that works out for you.

53:25I mean, that's the thing. and then his unctuous dode, Brandon Carr. I think this is Bob Iger trying to salvage his reputation. He should, and he should. Six months before he announces his succession plan. He should. He's got nothing to lose. Good for him. Yeah, good for him. Anyway, as we were speaking of deals in Hollywood, because you're the masters of the universe, I'd like to know what you think. The deadline has arrived for Warner Brothers' discovery bids. Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix are expected to make offers for some or all the company. Paramount is widely considered the frontrunner, thanks to financial and political advantages, but we'll see.

53:56The company is denying a report that has partnered with sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi for a$71 billion offer that was reported. Warner Brothers board is expected to review the offers before Thanksgiving and aim to have the process wrapped by the end of the year. They could also still just do the spin-out thing, but there's enough interest here. And this is real interest. And let me say, Comcast is definitely interested in this. I think they're perplexed about the non-economic bid by Paramount because Daddy Warbox has the money to do so. And they want to make an economic and they mostly are they're interested in in the in the studios and the streaming service.

54:34Netflix has promised things like putting movies into theaters. They're trying to make themselves seem attractive. So any I know you think this is a small thing, but it's a it's a big deal for Hollywood. Right. This is and it'll also make it'll go. it'll make the number of studios smaller, which of course now the writers and the directors, they're all sort of weighing in here. So I expect plenty of pushback from them, depending on what happens here. Most people, I think Zaslav is favoring Comcast. That's my impression. He'll get a bigger role there. I don't think people much like, I think the worm has turned already on David Ellison a little bit.

55:14They're very, to me, they're very freely calling him Nepo Baby. And, you know, his UFC deal seems a little overpicked. Seems like one of them said they just, these other billionaires just took advantage of the dumber billionaire, young billionaire, essentially. So I don't know, but they have money and they have, you know, non-economic power, I guess. They just want it. I just, you know, daddy wants to buy his son the car, I guess. I don't know. What do you think? I feel like Comcast is the best owner here at Netflix, but in terms of quality and the ability to move forward, I think Paramount desperately needs this.

55:54Thoughts about what did you hear in L.A.? The fulcrum in this deal is simply put how wealthy Larry Ellison feels when he gets up in the morning, when he gets a call from his son and says, OK, what's our best and final? Because in Warner Brothers and their bankers have done the right thing. They've put a deadline on this thing to try and impose some discipline and say, OK, let's. Explain why they did that for people who don't know. Oh, you do. Whenever you're selling a company and you have multiple bidders, which it appears they do now, or at least multiple interested parties, you put a deadline on it and you force people to get serious and put their best foot forward.

56:25You try and create a sense of urgency. And so you impose some discipline and say, okay, all letters of intent need to be in by a certain date and your best and final offers have to be in by this date. And then you go back and ask them for a little bit more to get the deal done. But just to give – it's a little bit confusing, so I just want to sort of break down the parties here. So Paramount, after having their$23.50 share bid rejected, they're reportedly preparing an offer alongside of sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Which they've denied. Although they've denied this.

57:01Although that felt like good reporting to me. I don't know if you saw it. I did. That doesn't feel like a rumor. It felt too obtuse to be just a rumor. Netflix execs have met with Warner Brothers and reportedly said that a potential bid would include continuing the release of Warner Brothers movies and theaters. They're trying to appeal to the creative community. Comcast, the company, has retained bankers for an offer, and we now know that they are specifically interested in streaming and studios and networks. But here's the bottom line. Because of what was called the Revlon Law or whatever it was called, Warner Brothers has an obligation to just accept the highest bidder.

57:36All this other stuff is somewhat noise. They will get shareholder lawsuits at the end of the day. They can say to someone, we like you, and if you match this, we'll give it to you. But at the end of the day, if Ellison shows up with 10 cents more per share, they have a shareholder obligation. So will he do that? That's what I'm saying. Because the shares are down. They have that big run up, and now they're running down of all the companies. That's the correct question. this all comes down to, in my view, Larry Ellison wakes up in the morning and David, his son calls him and says, okay, it's going to cost us$24.75 to get this.

58:15This is, the bankers will do their job. The bankers will get the highest number and then they'll go back to the Ellisons who have the deepest pocket and say, we have an offer at$24 a share. At the end, it makes sense to be fairly transparent. The truth has a nice ring to it. Say they get$24 bucks a share from Comcast or Netflix, whatever, they basically, the smart thing to do would be to go back and say to the Ellisons, at 26 bucks a share by 5 p.m. tomorrow, it's yours. Right. You go back and say, this is your strike opportunity. And then you go back to Comcast and say - I don't think, when you get to this point, I think you pick the person with the deepest pockets and you go back to them and say, in my view, it's yours.

58:56I think going back and forward At some point, you know, at some point people are going to tire. I personally think you get, you have a bidding process and then you go back to one and you ask for a bigger premium and say you can take it off the table at this price. So let me ask you, what is the best, what is the best for these companies and for Hollywood, what would be the best owner away from the price? And I understand price is all that matters in the end. But from your analysis, if all things being equal, which they aren't always, which owner is the best owner for these properties? So I'm not thinking about it in terms of who would do the best job with the assets.

59:32I think of it as who creates the most robust ecosystem. Because I wouldn't want, you know, I love Ted Sarandos. I think he's the brightest guy in media, quite frankly. And also, I think the most, I don't know. Great team. Yeah, they're just the management team that just consistently performs. It has weaknesses in terms of not enough content. But I wouldn't want to see Netflix own this. Because the two biggest streamers right now are Netflix and Alphabet. And I would like to see a viable third competitor. YouTube has approximately 11.5 % of the streaming market. Netflix has eight or nine. I'd like to see another player at seven that could go toe-to-toe with the other two.

1:00:17I think that's Disney, right? Isn't it Disney? Well, I don't think, Disney doesn't have the money to do this. Yeah. So I would argue that it's either Comcast, and in a weird way, I think Paramount bulking up with Netflix money would be good for the ecosystem, because when you have too much concentration of power. With Netflix money? I'm sorry, with Ellison money. Ellison money. Yeah. Paramount, right? Yeah, Paramount, yeah. So that gives them bulk. they become a formidable competitor. Because when you have a lack of competitors, what effectively happens is the trend, and this is what you could describe what's happening in the U.S.

1:00:48economy, there's a transfer of wealth from labor to capital. And there's been too much transfer of wealth from labor to capital. There's too many people with not a lot of pricing power. And earnings is a percentage of the economy. Corporate profits have never been higher. wages have been somewhat stagnant. That means there's too much concentration of power among the buyers of labor. So what do you want? You want a diverse ecosystem with a lot of competition, constantly trying to figure out a way to lower prices to consumers, constantly trying to figure out a way to spend more of their shareholder money on content, more jobs.

1:01:27I just want to see robust competition. Sure, but this is going to get a buzzsaw from everybody else, because it is going to limit. I know they're promising to make as many movies. I don't believe them. And the second part is, to me, the best owner is Comcast here for this stuff. And then to spin off the news. Like, let's stop playing fucking games with this. You know, they don't, they, first of all, the Ailsons are not interested in news. I don't care what they say. Second thing is, as much as they go on and on about being the tech solution, I have not heard any specifics. Because I've tried to get specific.

1:02:01I'm like, they're like, we're going to do a tech blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, specifically what? and they're like, tech, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, specifically what? Like, tell me, explain to me. And then they're just like, very, I listen, tech, tech, tech, tech, tech. And I'm like, why don't you just make good stuff and sell tickets? Like, do your business well, like whatever it happens to be. And I know there are all kinds of synergies with technology, back end, as I've talked about. I've interviewed lots of people. But to me, they're kind of blowhards at this point.

1:02:32And they're blowhards. I don't know what else to say. I like a lot of them. I think, whatever you think of Jeff Schell, I think he's quite smart. But honestly, I'm like, I prefer the Comcast people. I find Brian Roberts to be an honorable person. I think his team, like Donna Langley, exquisite taste. Mike Cavanaugh is, if you spend a minute with him, you realize what a smart guy is. I feel like they'd be the best, the smartest owners. I think they did a brilliant job on the Olympics, for example. Speaking of deploying technology, They're not blah, blah, blah people. And so I prefer them. They can point to the Olympics and say, this is what we did.

1:03:12Oh, okay, I get it. Okay, good job. Right? And so they seem to me to be the best owners. I think they have to get this too. I think they think this is existential for them. So I wouldn't count them out in terms of like being slightly non-economic. I know they disdain like the non-economic part of it because they're kind of, they're kind of, they're not pencil pushers, but they're very, they're very disciplined financial people. They're not like, they don't just like, I want it, daddy. Like, I like David Ellison as a person, but he feels like Veruca saw, you know, what's the member in Willy Wonka?

1:03:51I want it now. Like, that's what I feel like. I'm like, Daddy, get me that squirrel. Like, like, that's what it feels like. And I and I'm sort of like, I'd like your actual ideas versus your or the idea. This is the last thing is I was thinking about like, oh, I'm friends. You know, the Tom, like Tom Cruise is about, you know why Tom Cruise likes you because you have money. Like, that's it. That's maybe you're a little bit interesting for a rich person. But to me, I would like the disciplined quality creators of content here to get this right so that they have. I don't know. I guess Paramount could do a good job with it, too.

1:04:27They both need it. That's to me that the most I would say Paramount needs it most of all and probably will overpay, which he has shown his his proclivity to do. Comcast is the one I think would be the best owner. And I think Netflix should just go do their thing as much as they might need this content and just do what they're doing because it seems to be working of how they're doing it. Anyway, that's mine now. So let's talk about what each could potentially get from it. Paramount wants the streaming and network business. Combined, a Paramount Warner Brothers Discovery streaming service would have about 200 million subscribers, making it, giving a parody with Disney, but still behind Netflix at 300 million.

1:05:08folding WBD's cable assets would present a lot of opportunities for cost cutting and savings, as Ellison is already doing with Paramount Properties. It gives them the scale they would need to punch against the big guys. Netflix, they want access to WBD's premium content, including live sports. Game of Thrones. If they absorb premium WB content, you know, Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wire, movie franchises, Harry Potter, DC Comics. Great for them. Netflix could force some subscribers to switch over. WBD also holds rights in various markets for nearly every sports league, which would basically give Netflix the opportunity to plant a pretty big flag into live sports, which they don't have right now.

1:05:51Comcast wants to try and, quite frankly, this would be a defensive move for them. Their stock has been in decline for five years. It's lost over half its value since its peak. And the company has seen consistent cable losses and facing intense streaming competition. And right now they're thinking, we have to take a big swing because if our stock keeps going down, we're not going to have the bat to make a big swing pretty soon. So it's more of a defensive or a saving move. To me, existential. It's existential for them. But what I just want to point out is that we can talk till the cows come home about who would be the best owner.

1:06:25At the end of the day, the owner is going to be who comes up with one penny more than the rest of them. So it's fun to talk about who needs it. Unless, quote unquote, the best owner sees that opportunity and it justifies the highest bid, it doesn't matter who, quote unquote, the best owner is. But that's what I was making the argument is I think for Comcast, this is existential. They have to grab it. They have to have it. If they can afford it. If they can afford it. It's going to be given that, see, they're shopping. It's the opposite for them. Warner Brothers Discovery versus five years ago is twice as expensive as it was because their stock's been cut in half.

1:07:02So they're shopping with a credit card. You know, the analogy I use is we have one of these green light credit cards for our kids. And we fill it up based on their allowance or chores they've done or whatever. The last part is a lie. My kids don't do a fucking thing around the house. Anyways, but I like to pretend I'm imposing some reasonable parenting on them. I'm not. I'm not. Anyways, but what people - I'll do it for you. Like I've said, Palantir, everything in the world right now is 90 % off for Palantir because their stock's up tenfold. Although it's down recently, this week, but go ahead.

1:07:34Well, okay, but it's all relative. Okay, everything's 80 % off. For Comcast, everything's twice as expensive as it was five years ago. But quite frankly, Comcast, the Roberts family, they're very smart and they're disciplined. they're looking at the world and going, are we about to become the smallest player and just oversee a declining ship and this becomes a distressed asset with a bunch of assets that are kind of melting? So they're probably going to have to stretch, but they're probably saying, okay, they probably, at the end of the day, need it more than anyone else. Right, that's what I was thinking.

1:08:16The Ellisons need bulk, and they have the deepest pockets, Netflix would use this offensively. I don't want to say it'd be game over, but if Netflix got these assets, Jesus Christ, try and stop Netflix. Yeah, that's true. So which one do you think is going to get it? I agree with you. I mean, I think one of the things with the Comcast people are like, how can they do this? I'm like, they're rich. That's all I said. How do you explain it? I go, they're rich. And they're like, they go, yeah, but. I go, they want it. They want it now. They want the special squirrel. If I had to bet, it's even with Ellison's wealth down from where it was, he's still, I think, now what is he, the second or third wealthiest person in the man?

1:08:59He's going to get it, yeah. I think his attitude is, why the fuck not? All in. But here's the thing. This entire deal all comes down to one thing. How rich does Larry Ellison feel when David calls at the last and says, okay, it's go time. We got to put in our best foot. And this is what I think it takes to get this thing done. And he very may well go, you know, the reason I'm the wealthiest man in the world is I have some discipline and some business acumen. And this is just too expensive. David, go, you know, go find other. Just have fun at Paramount and go to the premiere of, you know, Landman and Enjoy Yourself.

1:09:37Or he says, you know what? What the fuck? What's another$10 billion? He's a what the fuck kind of guy. He really is. Remember when he made the Twitter thing? Oh, I want a billion? Whatever. whatever i think that's what he's like and these guys typically when they get towards the end of their life and and quite frankly i i get you don't own money you rent it and when you're that old and you're like okay why the fuck not why the fuck not if i had to bet on anyone it would be larry going the bankers call him and say at the end all right you're 24 50 at 20 at 27 it's a done deal. I think, I don't know.

1:10:16I think Larry goes, David, all right, fine. Good. Yes. Green light. Green light. Do it. And we'll be able to get it through faster through the Trump process. We got Comcast. So even though it gave money to that stupid ballroom, he's disliked by Trump. I mean, of course there's the autocratic part. That's a really interesting point because Zaslav, Zaslav could say to his shareholders, but wait, Comcast was offering 50 cents more. He might be able to say we were not as confident or Netflix, they would be able to close. Close. Yeah. Yeah. But although I think Trump is quite distracted, I think if I were Comcast, I'd go for it.

1:10:50Just go for it. But they aren't like that. They aren't like that. And Larry Elson is. That's the issue. By the way, last thing I'd say, nobody cares about the news part. None of them. None of them. I don't care what they say. It's a problem. It's a problem for them. They don't care. Everyone like it at CNN and all the other places is like, what do they think about us? I don't know. Not at all. Not at all. But the problem around Comcast, their market cap right now is$98 billion. Yeah, too small. This is like a bet the ranch freaking. If they go for this, unless they do a club deal and immediately sell shit off or partner with someone.

1:11:25Yeah, they got to do that. And keep in mind, right now, Warner Brothers is at a$57 billion market cap with a$30 billion debt load. That's an enterprise of 87. It's not even really, if Comcast does this, it's more of a merger than an acquisition. Yeah, it is. It is. And I got to say, they all do like it. I have such regard for Brian Roberts. I know he, you know, it's interesting because he's, in a weird way, you know, his dad gave him his company, right? Two people I really, I think he did a lot with the assets his parents gave him. And I think Rupert Murdoch did. Those are the ones. And time will tell if David Ellison is the smarter of his father.

1:12:05Just going back to MBS, I personally believe, like, at some point, I just want to know, I mean, at some point, is it 20 years? Is it 50 years? When reporters stop asking questions about the murder of Khashoggi, it'll be interesting to see. I think a more interesting question would have been, rumors are that David Ellison has approached Saudi sovereign and wealth funds about helping fund the acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery. How do you feel about the kingdom of Saudi Arabia having direct influence over the largest news network in the world? Yeah, they can't. That to me. But that's what they're talking about.

1:12:44Supposedly, Ellison's over there looking for financing. I know, but he can't do it. But that'll just, that'll be a problem. That'll be, I think that'll be a problem. They're going to have to just use their own fucking money and they've got plenty of it if they want to do it. But selling off, all I can tell you, all the people calling me from the news, they don't care. I wonder what CalShare Polymarket are saying. I bet, if I had to handicap it right now, I'd put the Ellison's at like 60%. Yeah, 60, unless Comcast decides, wakes up and goes. Flash Paramount, Ellison's Flash Paramount. We're going for it.

1:13:14Anyway, interesting thing. Interesting, you know, these industries. It's fun, though. It's fun. It's kind of fun to watch. All right, Scott, one more quick break. We'll be back for predictions.

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1:15:25Okay, Scott, let's hear a prediction just for people to know. I'm going to make a very brief one. New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani is meeting with Trump at the White House when this airs on Friday. I think they're going to get along like peas and carrots. I don't know why I think that. But I think Trump is often, even though he insults Momdomy, seems to think he did a good job at the campaign. I just think it might go better than we think. But we'll see. I think your instincts are absolutely right. I think it's in both of their interests. First off, Trump is very luxist. And Momdomy is a young, handsome man.

1:16:02He's very drawn to these young, handsome men. and Mamdani will come out looking very, Mamdani can come out and say, I gave it to him and he said, I think they're going to come out and say, while we had our differences, we're committed to getting along and this is his native city. I think they both have mutually vested interests in coming across as statesmanlike. So I agree with you. Why would they invite him down only to then have more antagonism and bullshit? Zelensky, they could do it. It could happen. Like, if he, if here's, let me tell you, Mom Donnie, don't get caught in a, on a couch with J.D.

1:16:41Vance. That's all. Just don't. He's too savvy. Are they planning to do a joint press? I don't know, but you never know. Look, Gretchen Whitmer got sucked up into that. Like, he's got to be very careful about where they sit him. That's, you know, they could be trying to like, it's a trap, like from Star Wars. That's all I'm saying. Be very careful about how they present you and what they, because they could pick a fight. That's the other opposite thing. they could pick a fight, a public fight with him. I got to think someone in Trump's orbit is smart enough to go, you know what, we're fighting a battle on a lot of fronts right now.

1:17:09This one's not a good one, and people like this fella. Every time Trump insults him, he compliments him. It's really interesting because he's like, I kind of like the cut of your jib, even though you're a communist, kind of thing. Anyway, your prediction. I really do think we're on the precipice of a pretty significant shift in what I'll call the societal structure, control structure, the societal order, I think the vibe and the tone that will become increasingly apparent amongst these billionaires across leaders, business leaders, I actually think the tone and the vibe is going to have more impact than the crimes themselves.

1:17:49And I think we're going to see a dramatic reconfiguration of Congress's approach to tax policy and how I think this is a big moment. And I think I'm now increasingly believing that the Democrats are supposed to take back the House. I think they're going to take it back viciously. I think this is going to feel like the Republican wave under Gingrich. I think this is going to be pretty severe. And I think we're going to see, and unfortunately, the, you know, the, the, whatever is the chime or the pendulum on the clock is never, you can never visually see it at exactly the median. I think we're going to see, I don't think they'll go through, but I think you'll see proposals for wealth taxes, similar to the ones that's been proposed in California.

1:18:41I think you're going to see a dramatic shift back to progressives because when you read these emails, you're like, wow, these guys, they really have become Marie Antoinette with blazers. Yeah. And I think the - They don't wear blazers. They wear cashmere hoodies. Whatever it is. Yeah, khakis. But I think the vibe of these emails is really unsettling. And I think it's going to accelerate a decline or accelerate a pretty serious move to, I I don't, you know, call them progressive policies, call them what you want. This is going to, this is, I think we're at a pretty pivotal moment. And it's more about the culture and the vibe than the specific crimes.

1:19:26Yeah. I think, I think what you're talking about, I don't, I think if Demarish was smart, they'd call it common sense and decency. Right. Common sense and decency. Like if they just kind of do that, it's such a, cause Trump seems not common sense and not decent. It just is a, anyway, that's my feeling. Common sense and decency. Hmm. Common sense and decency. I like that. I agree with you. It's a Marie. You must have had some interesting dinners in Los Angeles. That's what it sounds like. You'd be so proud of me. What did you do? We had this dinner and they invited Matt, one of these people we talk about all the time on the show.

1:20:01And they said it would be okay if we invited so-and-so and his girlfriend. I'm like, no, I don't want to meet them. I talk about them all the time and I don't want to meet them because this is what happens. I meet them and I like them and I stop speaking in an unfiltered way. Yeah. Good. Can you tell me who that was? Nope. All right. You'll tell me later. Okay. I'll tell you. Anyway, we want to hear from you. Send us your questions about business, tech, or whatever's on your mind. Go to nymag.com slash pivot. Send a question for the show. Call 855-51-PIVOT. Okay. That's the show. Thanks for listening to Pivot and be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

1:20:35We'll be back next week. Scott, read us out. Today's show was produced by Lara Naiman, Zoe Marcus, and Taylor Griffin. Ernie Nertat, engineer this episode. Manolo Moreno, edit this video. Thanks also to Drew Burrows, Miel Saverio, and Dan Shalon. Nishad Kaurua is Vox Media's executive producer of podcasts. Make sure to follow Pivot on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks for listening to Pivot from New York Magazine and Vox Media. You can subscribe to the magazine at nymag.com. We'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business.

1:21:14cleaned and folded. So you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you. Mmm. Or this tea time you. Or even this tea time you. So did you hear about Dave? Or even tea time, tea time, tea time you. Mmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. On a map, we can often pinpoint where pollution sources like a chemical factory or a power plant are. But it can be much harder to pin down why these things were built where they were. That is, until we turn to history and begin to understand what lay there before.

1:21:56In the latest season of Broken Ground, we're investigating how the legacy of slavery connects to today's environmental injustices. Produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center, Broken Ground is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.