Chicago and Minneapolis may not seem like the homes of cuttingedge technology but, on 3 April, they became the world’s first two cities with commercial 5G mobile services serving 5G-enabled smartphones.
The service was launched by US carrier Verizon, keen to beat several Korean rivals to the bragging rights for commercialising 5G first, if only by a few hours.
It was Viacom founder Sumner Redstone who coined the phrase “content is king”. The company’s President and CEO, Bob Bakish, is also associated with a term that defines a media era: he dubbed the streamers, such as Amazon and Netflix, “frenemies”. He used the description recently to explain the fact that, although big producers and channel owners fear the streamers for eroding viewing figures, they can also make money by supplying the tech giants with shows.
As leader of one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, Bakish will share his views on global media trends, how Viacom is capitalising on shifts in consumer, technological and market dynamics, and his expectations for the future.
