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May 27, 2020 
By DYLAN BYERS in Los Angeles & AHIZA GARCÍA-HODGES in San Francisco Good morning. 🚀 Elon Musk's SpaceX will send astronauts into space today in the first-ever crewed spaceflight by a private company. "The long-anticipated launch could usher in a new era of human spaceflight," our colleague Denise Chow writes, "one that is reliant on private companies rather than the government."
📺 HBO Max also launches today, marking AT&T's entry into the streaming wars. Scroll down for more details on John Stankey's ambitious plan to "crush" Netflix.
📢 Elsewhere: Amazon and Facebook both host their annual shareholder meetings today. Virtually, of course.
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Bloomberg/Getty Bird's the word Jack Dorsey can't win
Moving the Market: Jack Dorsey has found himself on the wrong side of both President Donald Trump and some of the president's most prominent media critics as he seeks to balance Twitter's commitment to free speech with its efforts to fight misinformation.
• His struggle to handle Trump's tweets and his inability to leave anyone feeling content highlight the immense complexities social media companies face with speech policy.
On Tuesday morning, Twitter said it would not remove Trump's tweets smearing MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. Sources familiar with the decision said the tweets, which promoted a debunked conspiracy theory about Scarborough, did not violate Twitter's terms of service.
• Several members of the media, including Scarborough's wife and co-host Mika Brzezinski and the tech columnist Kara Swisher, nevertheless called on Dorsey to take down the tweets.
On Tuesday afternoon, Twitter for the first time ever added links to the president's tweets that provided a fact check on his false claims about the 2020 election and mail-in ballots. The company told users that Trump's tweets were "misleading."
• Trump responded to Twitter's move by accusing the social media network of "interfering" in the presidential election. "Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!" he tweeted.
The big picture: Try to imagine this from Dorsey's perspective. He starts his day by being asked to police the president's speech, which he will not do. He ends his day being accused of policing the president's speech, which he did not do.
• This is a tension that the major social media companies live with every day. Critics (usually on the left) demand the platforms more aggressively assert themselves as arbiters of speech, while critics (usually on the right) cry "bias!" at any sign of editorial judgment.
• Those dual pressures have forced a great deal of soul-searching at social media companies in recent years, though they obviously have many miles to go in terms of striking the right balance.
• Less soul searching has been done by some of the critics themselves in regard to the full ramifications of censorship (on the left), let alone what actually constitutes censorship and what doesn't (on the right).
In this case, at least, Trump didn't actually violate Twitter's policies (The Verge's Casey Newton has a smart piece on that) and Twitter didn't actually stifle the president's speech (it's a fact check, for the love of God). But... forget it Jack, it's Chinatown.
Mandel Ngan/Getty Paid media Amazon plays the news
What your PR team is reading: "At least 10 TV stations across the country aired a news package in the past week scripted and produced by Amazon without identification — even featuring a voiceover from a company spokesman," our colleagues Claire Atkinson, Ezra Kaplan and Jo Ling Kent report.
• "The segments, first reported by Courier, a startup focused on local news and funded by left-leaning groups, used identical language that originated from promotional material Amazon released Thursday on Business Wire, a service for news shared by companies."
• "In the prepackaged segment, Amazon touted its plans to spend $800 million on health and safety efforts to keep its workers safe."
🎧 Podcasting 🎧
Speaking of Amazon, the e-commerce giant "is looking to invest in localized podcast content, like news and sports," per Axios' Sara Fischer. "Sports content is top of mind as the company plans to buy up more TV rights and have adjacent audio content for users."
• The big picture: "Amazon is looking to possibly tap into a more localized ad market by serving local ads adjacent to that hyper-personalized audio content."
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Maxing out HBO Max is here. What next?
Talk of Tinseltown: AT&T is launching its HBO Max streaming service today, almost two years after completing its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Its foray into the streaming wars and its attempt to compete with Netflix will be one of the most closely watched stories in Hollywood.
• HBO Max's chief selling point will be its vast library of content — "Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones," "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory," "Casablanca" and the Harry Potter films — along with a handful of new original shows and movies.
• It's primary challenge will be its price tag: At $15 a month, it is among the most expensive streaming services on offer.
The big picture: AT&T CEO-in-waiting John Stankey hopes to get to 50 million subscribers by 2025. Getting there will require HBO's ~35 million subscribers to shift their subscriptions to HBO Max and at least ~15 million new subscribers to pay $15 a month amid a pandemic that has rocked the American economy.
• HBO Max's vast stable of content will help them in this effort. But over time, they'll need to maintain HBO's prestige in order to keep making exceptional content and justify the hefty price tag. A dilution of the HBO brand, which we warned of last year, could be harmful.
Top talker: "In the summer of 2018, Mr. Stankey met with ... the HBO team [and] several executives raised the possibility of bundling HBO Now with Netflix," NYT's Ed Lee reports. "Mr. Stankey... said, 'No! They are the enemy. We’re going to crush them.'"
• Matthew Ball, the venture investor and media analyst, to Lee: "There is no reason to believe the Max-related expansion can’t appeal to every customer Netflix currently has that HBO does not.”
What's next: Stankey is on CNBC's Squawk Box at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Bloomberg/Getty No catalogue Eddy Cue buys 'Fraggle Rock'
Big in the Bay: Eddy Cue has signed a deal with the Jim Henson Company that will see Apple produce a remake of "Fraggle Rock" and assume exclusive streaming rights to the back catalogue of nearly 100 shows — the first time it has sought any sort of back catalogue of programming for Apple TV+.
• The big picture: Apple's move has raised speculation that the iPhone maker is finally pursuing a content library to mimic the strategies of Netflix, Disney+ et al. Sources familiar with the matter assure us that is not the case and that Apple still has no interest in amassing a back catalogue.
What's next: Apple TV+ will use the new "Fraggle Rock" show to drive more attention back to the old episodes, a low cost, high-ROI move that it may mimic with other remakes. But don't infer from this that Apple is building any significant kind of back catalogue.
• The Apple TV strategy, for now and for the near future, is to invest in original shows and movies and avoid major acquisitions.
Image Group/Getty New spin Jimmy Pitaro gets creative
Big in Bristol: ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro is partnering with fitness company Peloton to broadcast a spin class competition featuring pro athletes from across the sports world.
• The big picture: With the absence of sports during the pandemic, broadcasters like ESPN are getting creative to keep fans engaged. The network also recently partnered with Peloton star instructor Alex Toussaint for a ride tied to "The Last Dance."
What's next: The All-Star Ride airs on May 30.
Bruce Bennett/Getty 🏒 Sports report Gary Bettman's return plan
Talk of TV Land: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has laid out a plan for professional hockey to return to play in a 24-team playoff series that could provide a major revenue injection for television networks that have suffered amid the suspension of lives sports.
• The plan will see 24 teams compete in two cities for the Stanley Cup later this summer. Players will return to their club training facilities no earlier than July 1, Bettman said.
The big picture: The NHL is the largest American sports league to announce its return. Now, they will provide a blueprint for other pro sports leagues that are eager to return to play.
• What's next: "We remain focused on the safety of our players, coaches, support staff and arena personnel,” Bettman said in a statement. “We will not set dates, choose sites or begin to play until we know it is appropriate and prudent and are approved to do so.”
🏀 What's next: A thought experiment: "Why the NBA Could (and Should) Look More Like the World Cup," by The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor.
See you tomorrow.
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