The Information

Samsung Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee at Sun Valley a year ago. Photo by Bloomberg.

Smartwatches Drive New Wedge Between Samsung, Google

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 17, 2014 10:11am PDT

Tensions between Google and Samsung are escalating again—this time over wearables. Last week, in a tense private meeting at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Google CEO Larry Page told Samsung Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee that he was frustrated Samsung was investing more in smartwatches running Samsung’s Tizen operating... Tensions between Google and Samsung are escalating again—this time over wearables. Last...

Google's Android chief, Sundar Pichai, introduces Android One in June. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Plans India Ad Blitz in Smartphone Bid

By Amir Efrati · Jul 16, 2014 7:21am PDT

Google is planning a major spending effort on marketing its new Android One phones in India, in an ambitious play into a challenging but potentially huge market for smartphones. The company, which announced the new Android One specifications for phones targeted at the developing market in June, has told potential partners that it would... Google is planning a major spending effort on marketing its new Android One phones in India,...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Photo by Bloomberg.

Yahoo Grabbed ‘Community’ from Hulu in Last-Minute Bid

By Tom Dotan · Jul 15, 2014 7:05am PDT

Yahoo made waves late last month when it paid tens of millions of dollars for a sixth season of the cancelled NBC sitcom “Community.” But previously-unreported backroom negotiations show how badly the company wanted the series, as it continues to pay top dollar for flashy video programming that, for now, generates little revenue. In... Yahoo made waves late last month when it paid tens of millions of dollars for a sixth season of...

YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki. Photo by TechCrunch.

YouTube Revenue Lags Forecasts as Competition Mounts

By Amir Efrati · Jul 7, 2014 8:33am PDT

YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki. Photo by TechCrunch.

YouTube Revenue Lags Forecasts as Competition Mounts

By Amir Efrati · Jul 7, 2014 8:33am PDT

In the fall of 2012, then-YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar and his lieutenants set an audacious goal: increase the collective “watch time” for YouTube videos by an order of magnitude, to a billion hours per day, by the end of 2016. That would represent about 20% of all the time people spend watching television. The billion-hour target, employees were... In the fall of 2012, then-YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar and his lieutenants set an audacious goal:...

A scene from the AMC hit "Mad Men." Courtesy photo.

AMC Plans Novel Move into Online TV

By Amir Efrati · Jun 18, 2014 8:14am PDT

AMC Networks, which has vaulted into the first tier of TV programmers in recent years with shows such as “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” is preparing to break from the long-established cable television business model and launch several subscription video websites, according to two people who have been involved in the... AMC Networks, which has vaulted into the first tier of TV programmers in recent years with shows...

Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vevo on the Block after Failed Bid for Independence

By Amir Efrati and Tom Dotan · Jun 4, 2014 8:38am PDT · 1 comment

Vevo, the leading purveyor of online music videos and one of the largest Web video services in the world, is for sale: the company and its bankers have begun taking meetings with a veritable who’s who of media and tech companies that have signaled they could be buyers. It’s a disappointing turn of events for a company that once had... Vevo, the leading purveyor of online music videos and one of the largest Web video services in...

Apple senior vice president and music honcho Eddy Cue. Photo by Bloomberg.

Pandora in the Crosshairs as Apple Boosts iTunes Radio

By Amir Efrati · May 30, 2014 8:34am PDT

As the online music world focuses on Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics, a series of new initiatives at Apple’s iTunes Radio service could also have a significant impact on the digital music business and especially the market leader, Pandora Media. In a move that strikes at the heart of Pandora’s advertising business,... As the online music world focuses on Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics, a series of...

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Space Race in Silicon Valley

By Amir Efrati · May 27, 2014 2:00pm PDT

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

A Space Race in Silicon Valley

By Amir Efrati · May 27, 2014 2:00pm PDT

As Web companies such as Google and Facebook ramp up efforts to connect the world to their services, they are increasingly looking to the skies—and higher. At Google, several signs point to satellites. The company last month hired Brian Holz, who was chief technology officer at O3b Networks, which has launched special satellites to try to... As Web companies such as Google and Facebook ramp up efforts to connect the world to their...

Nest co-founder Tony Fadell Credit: Jan Haas/DLD

Google Eyes Home Security, Dropcam

By Jessica E. Lessin · May 26, 2014 5:00pm PDT

Google’s Nest division is plotting a move into the home-security market and has considered acquiring connected camera-maker Dropcam to accelerate the push, according to several people close to Google. The status of any talks between Google and Dropcam, which makes a $150 camera that streams footage to phones and computers, isn’t... Google’s Nest division is plotting a move into the home-security market and has considered...

Alibaba headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg.

Alibaba Mulls AppNexus Stake as U.S. Strategy Takes Shape

By Amir Efrati · May 22, 2014 2:44pm PDT

In the latest sign of Alibaba Group’s aspirations to be a major player beyond its home base of China, the soon-to-be-public Web giant is considering making an investment in U.S.-based advertising technology firm AppNexus, according to people briefed on the recent discussions. According to one U.S. Internet executive who was briefed by... In the latest sign of Alibaba Group’s aspirations to be a major player beyond its home base...

Google CEO Larry Page. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Preps Plan to Offer Business WiFi Networks

By Amir Efrati · May 21, 2014 10:16am PDT

As part of its broad push to get more people using its revenue-generating Web services, Google has developed plans to offer heavily subsidized Wi-Fi network hardware and software to small and medium-sized retail businesses, according to a confidential document reviewed by The Information and a person briefed on the project. The planned offering,... As part of its broad push to get more people using its revenue-generating Web services, Google...

Byliner Hits a Rough Patch as Co-Founder Resigns

By Jonathan Weber · May 21, 2014 7:51am PDT

Byliner Hits a Rough Patch as Co-Founder Resigns

By Jonathan Weber · May 21, 2014 7:51am PDT

One of the most prominent companies in the much-hyped niche of long-form narrative publishing has hit a rough patch, with its co-founder and editor-in-chief departing amid investor efforts to find a new path for the company. Launched in 2011 as a digital publisher of top-shelf non-fiction stories that were shorter than books but... One of the most prominent companies in the much-hyped niche of long-form narrative publishing has...

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg.

As TV Battles Heat Up, Comcast Launches New Web Delivery Service

By Amir Efrati · May 19, 2014 7:38am PDT

As regulatory battles and mega-mergers roil the media business, Comcast is preparing to offer a new service for Web content companies that will enable them to bypass network middlemen and deliver their services directly to Comcast Internet customers. The new service allows companies publish their content inside of Comcast’s network so... As regulatory battles and mega-mergers roil the media business, Comcast is preparing to offer a...

Qihoo CEO Hongyi Zhou. Photo by Bloomberg.

China’s Crafty Qihoo Goes International

By Amir Efrati and Eric Newcomer · May 13, 2014 7:42am PDT

Alibaba Group may be the talk of Silicon Valley as it prepares for an IPO, but another Chinese Web giant is quietly putting down roots in the Bay Area as it looks to develop new products for Western markets. Qihoo 360 Technology, the fourth-largest Chinese Web company by market value, recently dispatched its 38-year-old chief engineer, Shu Cao,... Alibaba Group may be the talk of Silicon Valley as it prepares for an IPO, but another Chinese...

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg.

Comcast Plots Big Push in Web Video Ads

By Amir Efrati · May 8, 2014 7:49am PDT

As debate over Comcast’s control of Internet and TV in American households plays out in front of regulators reviewing its bid for Time Warner Cable, the cable industry leader is quietly planning a major foray into the Web advertising business. Comcast will aim to help “premium” video producers such as Disney, FOX, Viacom and... As debate over Comcast’s control of Internet and TV in American households plays out in...

Sundar Pichai, head of Android. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Takes Aim at the iPhone with Android “Silver” Program

By Amir Efrati · Apr 29, 2014 7:47am PDT

Sundar Pichai, head of Android. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Takes Aim at the iPhone with Android “Silver” Program

By Amir Efrati · Apr 29, 2014 7:47am PDT

Google is gearing up for a major effort to spur development of premium Android smartphones and re-assert control over the Android ecosystem as it seeks to better compete with the Apple iPhone and blunt the growing power of Samsung, the leading maker of Android phones. The expensive effort involves dumping the four-year-old Google Nexus phone... Google is gearing up for a major effort to spur development of premium Android smartphones and...

Nancy Tellem, Microsoft's president of entertainment and digital media. Art by Matthew Vascellaro.

Xbox TV Effort Hits Snag Over Global Rights

By Tom Dotan · Apr 22, 2014 10:00am PDT

After several years of development, Microsoft is finally pulling back the wraps on its plans for original, television-style programming for the Xbox console. But the latest entry in the now-crowded field of Internet companies buying TV shows is meeting resistance from Hollywood producers because its licensing terms cut off the opportunity to... After several years of development, Microsoft is finally pulling back the wraps on its plans for...

Photo by Reuters/ Carlos Allegri

Hollywood Questions Hulu as Video Landscape Shifts

By Tom Dotan · Apr 16, 2014 10:10am PDT

When the owners of the online video site Hulu pulled the company off the auction block for the second time last summer, they agreed to inject $750 million into the company to help it compete with big-spenders like Netflix and Amazon in the increasingly cutthroat online video business. A big priority was creating original programming, with some... When the owners of the online video site Hulu pulled the company off the auction block for the...

Matthew Vascellaro

Comcast Quietly Preps Challenge to Wireless Carriers

By Amir Efrati · Apr 8, 2014 7:22am PDT

Google isn’t the only technology giant thinking of offering new mobile phone plans to unseat wireless giants. The country’s largest cable operator, Comcast, is laying the groundwork for Wi-Fi-based wireless services just a few years after it abandoned plans to launch conventional mobile phone services over cellular airwaves.... Google isn’t the only technology giant thinking of offering new mobile phone plans to...

Matthew Vascellaro

Google Weighs a Plunge into Mobile Phone Services

By Amir Efrati · Apr 3, 2014 8:04am PDT

Matthew Vascellaro

Google Weighs a Plunge into Mobile Phone Services

By Amir Efrati · Apr 3, 2014 8:04am PDT

After thrusting itself into competition with U.S. cable operators, Google is inching closer to competing with wireless carriers, too. Google executives in recent months discussed their hope to offer a full-fledged wireless service in markets where it offers Google Fiber Internet and TV service, according to two people who have discussed the... After thrusting itself into competition with U.S. cable operators, Google is inching closer to...