__Well, that's a change...__ __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOGL)__ will pay some news publishers to license their content for a new service it's launching this year. News outlets have been wanting this for years. But why is Google finally doing it now?

- __Adpocalypse:__ Even before 2020, news outlets have been losing ad sales to Big Tech. In 2019, [52%](https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2019/10/11/more-americans-are-getting-their-news-from-social-media/#b214d323e179) of American adults got news from __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB)__. You scroll your feed to scan the headlines, Facebook gets the ad bucks.
- __Under Pressure:__ Google's been getting heat from  antitrust regulators in France and Australia. They want it and Facebook to share revenue with news publishers, who drive eyes to Google pages (but don't get Google ad money). 

__This is a step in that direction...__ Google's future news service will include content from local and national news publications — and the news agencies will get a piece of the ad money Google brings in when you scroll. It has a few on board already, and is looking to expand. It's not the first to dabble in paying publishers:

- __Facebook__ began [paying](https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/10/24/20929919/facebook-zuckerberg-murdoch-news-publishers-pay-content) some publishers in its news section back in October. 
- __[Apple](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__ compensates news publishers for their content on its Apple News+ subscription service. 



"_What is that thing?_"

__This aims to solve two existential problems...__ for news publishers: 

- __#1:__ Most people have been trained *not* to pay for news, thanks to years of free news available on tech and social platforms. 
- __#2:__ Big Tech does ads better than news publishers because it connects ads with the right viewers thanks to better targeting. 
- __Solution:__ Google's news service will likely be free for consumers. And publishers will get a cut of the ad revenue that Google generates adjacent to their articles.


Google will pay some news publishers for their views-driving content 

__Short end of the breadstick...__ Olive Garden parent __[Darden Restaurants](https://robinhood.com/stocks/DRI)__ got it on earnings. In addition to the unlimited breadstick icon, Darden parents eight other restaurant chains, including Capital Grille and LongHorn Steakhouse. All its kids disappointed this quarter. 

- __Sales plunged 43%__, and Darden posted an Eggplant Parm-sized $480M loss (compared to a $209M *profit* last year). All of its 1.5K dining rooms were closed at some point in the March-May quarter.

__Blame the booze...__ During lockdowns, [99%](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/07/darden-stock-jumps-as-olive-garden-parent-cuts-executive-pay-to-go-sales-skyrocket.html) of Olive Gardens were open for curbside pickup. Takeout sales [soared](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6jMYrs8xXmNhuDOMY3gXEt/articles/6apqgjOYNC1qcTq8YG3EL6) 142%, and 3X'd at LongHorn (Darden doesn't deliver). But that wasn't enough to make up for all the lost booze bucks.

- __Alcohol makes up around [30%](https://smallbusiness.chron.com/revenue-comes-selling-alcohol-34021.html)__ of restaurants' sales. And that $40 bottle of Merlot you see on the menu probably cost the OG just $15. 
- __Boozy beverages have around a 70% profit margin__, so a restaurant makes 70 cents profit on each buck of price. Your $10 mojito cost $3 to whip up — the restaurant pockets a $7 profit.  
- __During closures,__ restaurants lost their biggest profit puppy: alcohol. Lockdowns mean takeout, and takeout means BYO(cheaper)B.


_When the takeout is Olive Garden, but the drinks are BYO_

Dine

__Big chains can survive and come back stronger...__ Darden stock jumped because it survived — 91% of its dining rooms are now open and it expects earnings will be positive again by 1st quarter 2021. Plus, it still has $750M in cash to weather slowdowns. Smaller biz isn't so lucky: [53%](https://www.wsj.com/articles/140-000-businesses-listed-on-yelp-are-still-closed-because-of-covid-19-pandemic-11593057601) of restaurants that closed during the pandemic said they *won't* reopen. That wipes out a lot of Darden's competition. 

Olive Garden's sales plunge on closed stores and limited alcohol: the BYOB problem

__Gmail's worst nightmare...__ Almost exactly a year ago, __[Slack](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WORK)__ went public with the [goal](https://www.ccn.com/slack-ceo-vows-to-kill-company-email-by-2026-ahead-of-16-billion-float/) of killing company email forever. It hasn't been able to do that completely because of one big roadblock: you're still emailing people *outside* your company. Slack is almost exclusively an internal messaging tool. But with its [latest](https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/24/21302050/slack-connect-work-emails-shared-channels-future) development, Slack might be able to drive the nail into *all of* work email's coffin:

- __Slack Connect:__ Tired of that 40-page long email thread with your marketing partners/clients? Slack Connect allows up to 20 orgs to collab over Slack. 
- __Shared channels:__ It's a magnification of Slack's "shared channels" idea, first tested in 2017 to allow multiple companies to work in a (you guessed it) shared channel. It is inter-office communication — but 100X more ping'able. 

__Nothing like a Nando's name drop...__ to seal the value statement. Slack believes Connect is for more than just project-based communication. Over 1M users have already tested it. 

- __Mention:__ UK chicken icon __Nando's__ has been using it to communicate with its food delivery partner. Others are using it for customer support, and some doctors are even using it to share COVID-19 experiences. 
- __*Flex* Mention:__ Slack humble bragged that it used Connect to coordinate its (super low-interest) $800M convertible bond offering. The law firm, the consulting firm, and the i-bankers... all in one channel.


"_Are you familiar with... Slack Connect?"

Ping

__Consumer messaging could be Slack's next frontier...__ Slack is 100% focused on business communications. Now, it's expanding its focus from pure intra-company to cross-company. __[Microsoft](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MSFT)__ just [launched](https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21298766/microsoft-teams-personal-launch-preview-accounts) a *personal* version of its Slack rival, which is called Teams, to communicate with friends/family. With the "Connect" platform already built out, Slack might not be far behind. 

Google will pay some news publishers for their views-driving content

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