Amazon Steps Up its Delivery Game with Acquisition of "Ring"
With its latest acquisition, Amazon is getting its foot in the door of millions of homes. The company scooping up Ring, a smart doorbell company, for a reported $1.2 to $1.8 billion, according to Recode. Elizabeth Weise, Security & Technology Reporter from USA Today, joined us to discuss the impact of the move.
Amazon is putting its money where its mouth is in its mission to conquer not only delivery, but also connected home technology. The deal for Ring would be Amazon’s second-biggest acquisition ever, trailing only behind the $13.4 billion purchase of Whole Foods and topping its $1.2 billion purchase of Zappos in 2009. Weise explained how Ring may be integrating Alexa and Amazon Key, a program that lets delivery people drop off packages inside of customer homes.
Ring's doorbells start at $179, and the company currently charges $30 per year for video recording on a single camera. Weise said she expects Amazon to drive the price lower so that the company get draw more consumers into the Amazon ecosystem, particularly Amazon Prime. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates there are about 90 million Prime users in the U.S.
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
