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Axios AM

By Mike Allen · Dec 16, 2023

🥞 Good Saturday morning! Erica Pandey is your weekend steward — give her a follow: @erica_pandey. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,186 words ... 4½ mins. Edited by Lauren Floyd.

1 big thing: Netflix wins streaming wars

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

Media giants — under heavy pressure to make their streaming businesses profitable — are relying on licensing deals with Netflix, even as they compete with the company for subscribers. Why it matters: The rush for these deals means the so-called streaming wars are effectively over, with Netflix the victor, Axios Pro Media Deals author Tim Baysinger writes. 💼 Case in point: Disney is close to a licensing deal with Netflix for 14 older series, including "This Is Us," "Lost" and "Home Improvement," Variety reports. It's a full-circle moment for the streaming era: It was Disney walking away from a major licensing pact with Netflix in 2019 that signaled studios would compete with the streaming leader. Now Disney's back. 📺 The big picture: The clock is ticking for media companies to start making real money off of streaming as their legacy businesses decline faster than expected. Disney, Comcast and Paramount have promised investors profitability by 2024 or 2025. Warner Bros. Discovery said Max was "slightly profitable" during its most recent quarter — but not enough to make up for losses elsewhere. 🔎 Zoom in: It's not just Disney that has resumed sharing its library with Netflix. Warner Bros. Discovery has been licensing numerous titles to Netflix this year as it seeks to pay down its heavy debt load, including older HBO series like "Insecure" and "Six Feet Under" and even some of its newer DC catalog like 2022's "The Batman." One of Netflix's biggest shows this summer was the legal drama "Suits." The former USA Network drama, which ran for nine seasons from 2011-2019, saw a resurgence in popularity after it debuted on Netflix in June. It had previously been available on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. Go deeper ... Get Axios Pro.

2. 🚏 Buses have the blues

Data: American Public Transportation Association (Metro areas with at least 500,000 people). Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Public transit ridership remains stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels in most major U.S. metro areas, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report from American Public Transportation Association (APTA) data. Why it matters: Public transit — whether in the form of subway systems, buses, light rail or even cable cars — is key to cities' broader health and vibrancy. In many cities, it may take years for public transit ridership to reach pre-pandemic levels, if it ever does. It makes for cleaner, greener cities, opens up possibilities for those who can't afford a car, and frees up parking lots to be turned into housing and green space. 🧮 By the numbers: Of around 100 metro areas with more than 500,000 people, September 2023 public transit ridership was at or above September 2019 levels in just 12. Nationally, ridership stood at 77% of pre-pandemic levels as of November. 🚇 Between the lines: Some of the country's biggest public transit systems have been showing signs of life recently. New York City subway ridership, for instance, is up about 16% so far this year through September. Chicago's L has seen almost a 14% increase, while the Windy City's bus ridership is up over 15%. Explore the data.

3. 📊 Two Americas, 2024 edition

Data: AP-NORC poll. Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios Look at these giant gaps in answers by Democrats and Republicans when they're asked what matters in next year's elections. The question in the AP/NORC Center poll of 1,074 adults (margin of error: ±4 points): "Thinking about the 2024 presidential election, how important do you think the outcome of the election will be for each of the following?" There are also some big overlaps: Three-quarters of respondents said the outcome of the election will be important for the economy. Two-thirds say that about government spending, and the future of democracy in the U.S. Explore the data ... Go deeper: Democracy as a '24 issue.

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New federal legislation will give parents a say in teen app downloads

According to a new poll by Morning Consult conducted in November 2023, more than 75% of parents believe teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps without parental permission.1 Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done. Learn more.

4. 🏀 🏒 Number of the day ...

Rendering for new arena at Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Va. Image: JBG Smith ... $1.35 billion. That's the bill taxpayers would foot for the new northern Virginia arena for the Washington Capitals and Wizards if the plan goes through, according to The Washington Post. Why it matters: It would be the largest ever public subsidy for a project of its kind. "Virginia's subsidy could top even much larger venues such as Olympic Stadium in Montreal and the planned Tennessee Titans stadium, both of which received about $1.2 billion in 2020 dollars," The Post reports.

5. 🪖 Europe's dwindling arsenal

British army officer cadets march in a parade yesterday at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images The British military considered bringing out rocket launchers from museums to upgrade and donate to museums last year, The Wall Street Journal reports in a stark look at Europe's weakened forces. The idea was tossed, but it's a sign of how the British army's arsenal was shrunk. It has only around 150 deployable tanks and a dozen serviceable long-range artillery pieces. Why it matters: The U.K. is the U.S.'s leading military ally and the biggest defense spender on the continent. Arsenals are even emptier in other nations, per The Journal. 🇫🇷 "France, the next biggest spender, has fewer than 90 heavy artillery pieces, equivalent to what Russia loses roughly every month on the Ukraine battlefield." 🇩🇰 "Denmark has no heavy artillery, submarines or air-defense systems." 🇩🇪 "Germany's army has enough ammunition for two days of battle."

6. 📸 = 1,000 words

Giuliani talks with reporters outside the federal courthouse in Washington after yesterday's verdict. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images A jury ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay $148 million in damages yesterday for defaming two Georgia election workers as part of his alleged efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election, Why it matters: The decision marks another multimillion-dollar penalty in a case related to lies about the 2020 election, and will add to Giuliani's mounting legal fees and money woes, Axios' Jacob Knutson and Shauneen Miranda write. "The absurdity of the amount is indicative of the absurdity and unfairness of the entire proceeding," Giuliani said in a statement to Axios last night. "I wasn't able to offer any evidence in my defense. We'll have more to say and look forward to the appeal." Read on.

7. 🏡 America's housing shortage, in one chart

Data: Hines analysis of Census Bureau and Moody's data. Chart: Axios Visuals America is short 3.2 million homes, a big reason why prices are still high. Between the lines: Apartment construction surged in recent years, but most newly built housing is high-end, and not widely affordable, Axios' Sami Sparber reports. 🔭 Zoom out: Greater New York and Los Angeles saw the biggest housing deficits among the 55 major markets analyzed by Hines, a global real estate developer and investment company, The exceptions: New Orleans, Austin and Nashville. Share this story.

8. ☕ Tea Party's 250th

Engraving of the 1773 Boston Tea Party. Photo: Christophel Fine Art/Universal Images Group via Getty Images A quarter millennium ago today, Boston patriots helped ignite the American Revolution by tossing almost 100,000 pounds of British tea in the harbor. Why it matters: The 1773 Boston Tea Party was one of the first major steps toward Lexington, Concord, and eventually, victory and freedom at Yorktown, Axios Boston's Mike Deehan writes. 🚢 What's happening: The Tea Party Museum holds a reenactment at 8 p.m. ET tonight on a wharf near the historic site on Fort Point Channel. Before the big tea dump-off of the Eleanor and Beagle, the Old South Meeting House will present a reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People, the organizing town hall that led the Sons of Liberty to take action. Share this story ... Get Axios Boston ... 30 Axios Local cities.

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More than 75% of parents want to approve the apps teens under 16 download

According to a new poll from Morning Consult, more than 75% of parents agree: Teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps from app stores without parental permission.1 Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.