Good morning. FYI—today is Tax Day, having been postponed from April 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Before you ask, no you cannot claim coffee as your dependent.

MEDIA

Don't Judge a Streaming Service by Its Name

NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service launches today nationwide, the final foray by a major media company into the “streaming wars.” Consumers get their pick of three tiers:

• Free: 13,000 hours of content with ads, plus a missed opportunity to name it “peachick”
• Premium: 20,000 hours of content for $4.99/month (free for Comcast and Cox subscribers) 
• Ad-free Premium: $10/month

Users can access Peacock on most major devices and platforms...but negotiations have stalled with Roku and Amazon Fire TV, the leading connected TV platforms. HBO Max is in a similar boat more than six weeks after its launch. 

Zoom out: With two ad-supported tiers, success won’t be as straightforward as subscriber numbers. Peacock will need to show advertisers that people are spending lots of time in front of its content.

It’s not the launch NBCUniversal expected

With the Tokyo Olympics pushed to 2021, Peacock can’t lean on Simone Biles’s triple-doubles to lure viewers. But the service will have plenty of other shows, including...

• “Comfort food TV” like 30 Rock, Law & Order, and The Office (arriving in January from Netflix), plus some originals, including a Brave New World adaptation
• Live news, late-night shows, and live sports, including the streaming rights to over 175 Premier League matches next season

If you’re thinking that sounds like traditional TV...you’re onto something. In addition to on-demand programming, NBCUniversal has built Peacock with always-on channels à la broadcast television.

• Peacock soft-launched in April to 15 million Comcast subscribers, and cord-cutters who used the platform were flipping through channels 10x more than Comcast’s pay TV customers, per Peacock and NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises Chair Matt Strauss. 
• Peacock plans on expanding from 20 channels to 70 by the end of the year. Because as Jerry Seinfeld says, "Men don't care what's on TV. They only care what else is on TV."

The long-term play: Peacock sees itself less as a streaming add-on and more as “Broadcast 2.0.” In the future, NBCUniversal is betting customers still want to “watch TV” even when “traditional TV” is gone. 

Looking ahead...Strauss is hoping for between 30 and 35 million monthly active accounts and $2.5 billion in revenue by 2024. 

BANKING

Banks: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

The mighty U.S. banks JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo set aside a collective $28 billion last quarter to prepare for a deluge of loan losses. 

What’s it mean? These banks, which have a unique window into the economy, believe a V-shaped recovery is something George R.R. Martin might spin up. They think the recession will be with us for a long time, but it’s been blunted by the efforts of the Fed and Congress.

The view from the c-suite...

• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon: “This is not a normal recession. The recessionary part of this you’re going to see down the road.” 
• Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat: “The pandemic has a grip on the economy, and it doesn’t seem likely to loosen until vaccines are widely available.”
• Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Sharf: “Our view of the length and severity of the economic downturn has deteriorated considerably from the assumptions used last quarter.”

Zoom out: While the rainy day funds dented Q2 profits, JPMorgan and Citigroup both reported major upswings in trading revenues as the market went wild in March and beyond.

EDUCATION

No Dice for ICE

After a brief but high-profile scuffle, the Trump administration yesterday backed down in its conflict with U.S. colleges and universities over a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy. 

The backstory: Last week, ICE said that international students on F-1 and M-1 visas would be barred from enrollment at U.S. colleges in the fall if their courses are exclusively online. In classic overachiever fashion, Harvard and MIT sued just two days later, arguing the policy pressured schools to resume in-person classes before it was safe to do so. 

• Hundreds of other U.S. colleges and universities, plus dozens of cities and states and some tech companies, backed the bookworms from Beantown.

And the now story: At a hearing yesterday, it took less than five minutes before ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said the policy would be rescinded. ICE will follow earlier guidelines that allow students on F-1 visas to stay in the U.S.

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TELECOM

Huawei Gets a Taste of Brexit

We can’t tell you much about what’s going to happen in 2027, but we do know that British telecom companies won’t have any equipment from China’s Huawei in their networks. 

Yesterday, the UK government banned domestic firms from buying new equipment from Huawei after 2020 and gave them seven years to strip out any Huawei gear they already were using. 

The backstory: Huawei is the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in the world, and its prices can’t be beat. However, some Western governments worry that the Chinese government could use Huawei gear as a Trojan horse to spy on them. The U.S. has been the most anti-Huawei of all, consistently pushing its allies to block the company.

Initially, the UK wasn’t swayed, saying it would allow Huawei gear in the “non-core” parts of its 5G network. But yesterday it made a U-turn, citing U.S. sanctions on chips that could dent the quality of Huawei products.

Bottom line: The British reversal is a major geopolitical win for the U.S. in its fight with China for tech supremacy.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Oatly Investors Pour Generously

Yesterday, the world’s largest private equity firm, Blackstone, said it led a $200 million funding round in oat milk brand Oatly. 

• Joining this lactose-free money parfait are Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and Jay-Z’s entertainment firm, Roc Nation. 

Big names, big numbers: The ~10% stake reportedly values Oatly at about $2 billion. 

The espresso fueling this oat latte? Consumers’ shifting preferences. As people—especially Gen Z and millennials—reject conventional animal products over environmental and health hang-ups, firms like plant-based food company Beyond Meat and Oatly are sliding in to replace your sliders. 

• Beyond Meat’s shares have leapt to around $130/share from $25 at its blockbuster IPO last year. 
• Oatly’s U.S. sales doubled annually to about $15 million in April. 

What the injection means for Oatly: Oatly will use the cash to grow within its current markets—northern Europe, the U.S., and Asia. 

RETAIL

Amazon Gets to the Cart of the Matter

Yesterday, Amazon announced its latest experiment in blink-and-whoops-you-bought-something convenience: a shopping cart that tracks your groceries as you add them. 

How it works: Called a “Dash Cart,” this dune buggy can detect items you drop in using a scale, sensors, and cameras. Then, when you exit the store through a special lane, it charges you—no need for a cashier. 

Looking ahead...Dash Carts will come first to Amazon's grocery store in LA’s Woodland Hills later this year. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• CEO of Delta: “Growth has stalled” as coronavirus cases increase. The company posted a $5.7 billion loss last quarter.
• President Trump signed a law applying sanctions on China over its actions threatening Hong Kong's autonomy.
• Richard Branson secured a $1.5 billion rescue package for his airline, Virgin Atlantic. 
• Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, announced a $2 trillion plan for clean energy and infrastructure.
• Writer resignations: Andrew Sullivan from New York magazine, and Bari Weiss from the NYT.  

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BREW'S BETS

Life in the bubble: The NBA is the best reality show going on right now. Check out one Sixers rookie’s vlog about everyday life in the “bubble” or follow this Twitter account for updates. 

Play a game with your coworkers: Companies around the globe are loving our Mad Libz game, which makes being remote feel at least somewhat normal. Try it out.

RIP: In remembrance of MythBusters co-host Grant Imahara, who died after suffering a brain aneurysm this week, here he is curving bullets and thoroughly enjoying watching things blow up.

• Off the show...he created this animatronic Baby Yoda, a “giant killer spider robot,” a Battlebot, and many more very cool things.

STREAMING TRIVIA

In honor of Peacock's launch, here's a quiz on the streaming wars. We'll give you a TV show, you have to determine the streaming platform it calls home. If you get a seven or more you watch too much TV. 

Example: Stranger Things = Netflix

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender 
2. Most Dangerous Game 
3. Parks and Recreation (after October)
4. The Simpsons
5. South Park 
6. Ramy 
7. See 
8. The Twilight Zone 

STREAMING TRIVIA ANSWER

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender—Netflix
2. Most Dangerous Game—Quibi 
3. Parks and Recreation—Peacock 
4. The Simpsons—Disney+
5. South Park—HBO Max  
6. Ramy—Hulu 
7. See—Apple TV+ 
8. The Twilight Zone—CBS All Access