If you're like me, you've sat through many (and almost exactly the same) banker presentations on the media space. So you've seen the size of APPLE, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, and AMAZON compared to the companies we used to say were huge like DISNEY, VIACOM and 21st CENTURY FOX. So when I read about issues with the AT&T/TIME WARNER deal I have to ask myself whether anyone that deals with anti-trust in our government actually uses the internet. Do they understand the need for consolidation to compete?... MARVEL, STAR WARS, DC, etc. All great IP franchises. But they're old. In less than 20 years there have been no fewer than 3 SPIDER-MAN reboots. Who is investing in the next killer IP that we'll be remaking in the next 20 years? This is important. They have a "universe" of characters. These franchises have rabid fans. Fans that are willing to shell out time and money to stay connected with that universe in between film releases and TV seasons. A great example of this being done well on TV? THE WALKING DEAD. The biggest show on TV or one of them. Doing great in mobile gaming with SCOPELY. Live events at MSG with fans. TALKING DEAD, a popular talk show with fans. And now a rewards program and gift box subscription. Just a small example of doing it the right way: The fan as the center of your IP universe... How will football be played in 20 years? Will eSports be mainstream? How will we watch the NHL? Will unicorns roam the NBA? The future is coming sooner than you think. SportsREDEF's MIKE VORKUNOV examines in SportsSET: "The Future of Sports"... Streaming music economics. Do price points need to come down for the market to grow more? Do the labels need to give more to the artists? Does the emergence of major players and check writers ultimately mean that these massive services will deal directly with artists? Could AMAZON become a music label of sorts? Platforms are used to decimating the middle of the value chain... Malls live on in memory, pop culture, and massive square footage. While some malls are left aging and abandoned, others are thriving—what's next? FashionREDEF's MINDY MEISSEN takes a look in FashionSET: "Mallpocalypse Now"... Not a fan of traffic cameras. They're like email. They have no context and often hard to understand tone... If LIEV SCHREIBER narrated the tax code it would be worthy of a listen. Loving his guidance on AMERICA IN COLOR on SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL. He doesn't need the work, but this is an open invitation for Liev to record my outgoing voicemail. To boot, he's a good dad... I admire DISNEY as a company. I call many of their execs friends. They've shown me more than a few personal kindnesses during tough times. This story I found on TWITTER is a fantastic example of their special employees ... Oh, man. F*** me... Subtext galore!... Happy Birthday to SAM TOLES, CHARLIE O'DONNELL, URSA PHILBIN, and ALEX HUNTER. Belated to ZANDER LURIE, CRAIG HUNEGS, BRIAN CELLER, CORY TREFFILETTI, LARS MURRAY, MICHAEL MADNICK, STACEY SANNER, MARK LARKIN, AMANDA KRENTZMAN, JEFF DOSSETT, JEFFREY JAMES LINDSAY, and JOHN CABRAL.