The forecast for Sun Valley, Idaho, is clear with highs in the 80s this week. But as moguls from Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street assemble for Allen & Company’s annual conference starting Tuesday, there will be at least a metaphorical cloud over the gathering.
This year’s conference comes during a difficult time for legacy media giants, who have been cutting costs left and right as investors have shifted their focus from streaming growth to profitability. Linear television continues to decline. If anything, cord-cutting has accelerated, eroding the cable profits that once fueled the media business. Movie theaters are still struggling to get audiences off their couches to come see the latest blockbuster.