Los Angeles Times - 18.03.2020

C2 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 LATIMES.COM/BUSINESS

BUSINESS BEAT

MILLBRAE, Calif. — Fox Corp. on Tuesday said it has

agreed to acquire San Francisco streaming business Tubi

for $440 million in an effort to expand its audience and at-

tract more advertising dollars.

Tubi, a free, ad-supported streaming service, has more

than 20,000 shows and movie titles from 250-plus content

partners. The company said it had 25 million monthly ac-

tive users in December.

Ad-supported streamers such as Tubi have been ap-

pealing to media companies as they seek to reach younger

consumers who are looking for ways to watch TV and

movies for free.

“Tubi will immediately expand our direct-to-con-

sumer audience and capabilities and will provide our ad-

vertising partners with more opportunities to reach audi-

ences at scale,” Fox Chief Executive and Chairman Lach-

lan Murdoch said in a statement.

Unlike other streaming services such as Netflix, Tubi

does not fund original productions or serve up the top 1%

of licensed shows such as “Seinfeld.” Instead, Tubi view-

ers can see the first season of “The Bachelor” or older

movies, including “The Last Samurai.”

In a market crowded with paid streaming services,

consumers are hungry for free options, CEO Farhad Mas-

soudi told the L.A. Times last year. “Subscription fatigue

is a real problem,” Massoudi said.

“We look forward to working together with Fox to ac-

celerate Tubi’s leadership position in the market and

bring new competencies to Fox,” he said in a statement.

Tubi, which has about 280 employees, will remain in

San Francisco.

Some ad-supported streamers have been prime acqui-

sition targets, including Irvine-based Xumo, which was

acquired by Comcast last month for more than $100 mil-

lion. Last year, Viacom purchased Pluto TV, which offers

live and on-demand channels to be streamed, for $340

million.

Fox to purchase

streamer Tubi

for $440 million

By Wendy Lee

Department stores are shutting down for now as offi-

cials urge that people avoid crowds during the co-

ronavirus outbreak.

All the U.S. locations of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and

Nordstrom have closed and the companies have said they

will provide benefits and compensation to affected work-

ers. Most expect to stay shut for the next two weeks. Saks

has shut only its New York and Philadelphia stores.

The stores that have closed say they’ll undertake deep

cleaning at their outlets and say their websites are open

for business.

This week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio an-

nounced the temporary closing of all schools, restaurants

and bars in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The

city confirmed its first case of coronavirus on March 1. At

least five cities or states have ordered stores closed,

though New York has yet to take that step.

Some department stores have already been forced to

close to the public in other parts of the country, such as in

San Francisco, where authorities Monday mandated a

three-week shutdown of all nonessential activities.

Department stores have invested billions in their New

York flagships, the crucial centerpieces of their store net-

works. Saks Fifth Avenue is finishing a $250-million re-

newal of its store. Bloomingdale’s recently reworked sev-

eral departments. Nordstrom joined the club last year,

when it opened a full-line flagship in the city for the first

time. Macy’s flagship in Herald Square is the biggest of

them all. Its expansive, 2-million-square-foot store brings

in locals and tourists from across the globe to shop.

Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, home to Saks and

Bergdorf, is also growing quieter. Tiffany & Co. is shutting

its flagship jewelry shop, while Apple’s cube store and

Uniqlo’s giant flagship are closed as well.

Bhasin and Holman write for Bloomberg.

Department

stores close to

avoid crowds

By Kim Bhasin and Jordyn Holman

Boeing Co. has asked White House and congressional

officials for short-term aid for itself, suppliers and airlines

as the outlook for the travel industry worsens by the day,

said people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. plane maker is seeking to avoid layoffs and

damage to hundreds of smaller companies that make

parts and systems for its aircraft, said the sources, who

asked not to be named. Boeing has also been buffeted by

the grounding of its 737 Max, which awaits regulatory

clearance to resume flights after two deadly crashes.

Boeing, European rival Airbus and a constellation of

suppliers are navigating the sharpest industry downturn

since at least the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The aerospace

sector faces “extreme disruptions” in the near term and

possibly beyond, Ron Epstein, an analyst with Bank of

America Corp., said in a report to clients Monday.

“In our view, global airline business models will be

stressed, airlines will cut [capital expenditures], growth

plans will be slashed and there will be airline bankrupt-

cies,” Epstein said. “The 737 Max program could be espe-

cially hard hit due to its own idiosyncratic circum-

stances.”

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a re-

quest for comment. President Trump earlier said the U.S.

government would “back the airlines 100%.”

Johnsson writes for Bloomberg.

Boeing seeks aid

for itself, others

By Julie Johnsson

Treasury Secretary
Steven T. Mnuchin an-
nounced Tuesday that his
department was pushing
back the April 15 deadline to
pay taxes owed, giving indi-
viduals and many busi-
nesses 90 extra days to send
checks to the government.
Individuals can defer up

to $1 million of tax liability

and corporations get an ex-

tension on as much as $10

million, Mnuchin said.

“All you have to do is file

your taxes,” he said. “You’ll

automatically not get

charged interest and penal-

ties.”

The payment extension,

which affects millions of tax-

payers, is part of the Trump

administration’s effort to

curb the economic effects of

the coronavirus pandemic.

Mnuchin said the delay

would free up $300 billion of

liquidity in the economy as

individuals and businesses

had more time to pay their

taxes.

Delaying payment re-

quirements will give busi-

nesses and individuals

nearly three more months to

meet their IRS obligations,

potentially lessening cash-

flow issues that some busi-

nesses are facing as many

people stay home and spend

less money on dining out, en-

tertainment and trans-

portation.

“This is a commonsense

step to afford individual

Americans and businesses

access to financial resources

they need during this time of

economic and social disrup-

tion,” Senate Finance Com-

mittee Chairman Charles E.

Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a

statement.

The administration is

also considering delaying

the estimated quarterly tax

payments that self-em-

ployed workers and busi-

nesses pay the IRS through-

out the year, according to

two people familiar with the

matter. The first payment is

typically due April 15.

Wealthier individuals —

ranging from the upper-

middle class to the top 1% —

could benefit the most from

this move because they are

more likely to owe the gov-

ernment money and be able

to wait until the filing dead-

line to submit their returns,

said John Koskinen, a for-

mer IRS commissioner.

Lower-income workers,

especially those who qualify

for refundable tax breaks

such as the child tax credit

and the earned income tax

credit, tend to file early be-

cause they get a refund

check.

“The number of blue-col-

lar workers, working-class

people, I imagine, who are

filing in the first two weeks of

April is probably a very small

percentage,” Koskinen said.

Many higher-income

people, especially those who

own a business or invest in

multiple partnerships, ap-

ply for an automatic six-

month extension to file be-

cause their returns are more

complicated. In a typical

year, they’d have to submit

90% of their tax liability on

April 15 or face interest and

penalties on the late pay-

ment.

The IRS routinely ex-

tends the filing deadline for

victims of natural disasters.

For example, the agency

granted victims of recent

tornadoes in Tennessee un-

til July 15 to file.

In 2018, the IRS delayed

the due date by a day when

the computer system

crashed on the deadline and

taxpayers were unable to

submit their returns.

Nearly 68 million individ-

uals had already filed their

tax returns as of March 6, ac-

cording to the most recent

statistics from the IRS.

That’s about 45% of the re-

turns the agency expects to

receive this year.

“For a lot of people it

makes sense to stick to the

original schedule,” said Mer-

edith Tucker, a principal at

accounting firm Kaufman

Rossin. “Don’t just kick the

can down the road if there is

no benefit.”

PRESIDENTTrump speaks during a media briefing with the coronavirus task force at the White House on
Tuesday. He is joined by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, right, who announced the tax extension.

Evan VucciAssociated Press

U.S. pushes back deadline

for tax payment by 90 days

bloomberg