Taylor Swift 🤝 NFL

PRESENTED BY NIKE

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DAILY TOP TRENDS

Google is antitrusted, again...

Today, Google and the Justice Department are set to go head-to-head on whether Google’s dominance in digital advertising is monopolistic — a verdict that could radically change the market and give competitors a chance.

The Big Picture: The ad market trial comes just weeks after the DOJ prevailed in its case against Google that its search market power was a monopoly. A second win would put a lot of wind in the DOJ’s sails to aggressively go after other tech giants.

Between the Lines: Lawyers for Google and the DOJ are set to plead their cases to a federal judge in Virginia. Here are the arguments:

• The DOJ says that Google’s command over the buying and selling of ads (and the tech that makes it all possible) has shut out competitors, helped it raise prices, and allowed it to institute self-dealing changes across the ad ecosystem for the past 15 years.

• Google says that the DOJ’s lawsuit aims to punish the company for making tools and processes that are efficient, beneficial, and user-friendly. Also, it says the agency isn’t taking into account other competitive factors, or the company’s ad market innovations.

Closing Thoughts: The ad market and the technologies that support it are complicated, but what the DOJ is trying to get across, according to Vanderbilt Law School antitrust professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth, is that vertical integration — controlling the supply chain of how things are bought and sold — is inherently monopolistic. If successful, the potential breakup of Google could be even more expansive than previously thought.

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The NFL’s very own anti-hero

Taylor Swift is still dating Kansas City Chiefs star Jason Kelce, which means the artist is very much front and center of NFL coverage — a phenomenon that’s having major reverberations for game viewership, fan spending, and media priorities.

The Big Picture: While the Super Bowl has always been star-studded, the NFL is capitalizing on turning every Chiefs game — and by proxy, every game — into an event.

Between the Lines: A Lending Tree survey found that football fans have very strong opinions about Swift’s impact on the league.

• 17% of Americans say they’re more interested in football this season because of Swift.

• 14% say they plan on spending more on football (game tickets, food and drinks, and merch) because of her.

• But here’s some whiplash: 17% also say they’re less interested in football because of her.

• A whopping 44% say they “hate what she’s done to the NFL.” Jeez.

Closing Thoughts: In her defense, Fast Company notes that “all Swift has done is attend her partner’s games while wearing cute outfits.” Nothing more. But wherever Swift goes, a media and fan circus goes, too. And the NFL knows that — which is why they’re using her as the centerpiece of some of its marketing, including this recent promo, where she was featured more times than any individual player (including Kelce). If the Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl again, don’t be surprised if Swift guests during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show.

Go Deeper: Swiftonomics is good economics.

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DEEP DIVES

• Listen: The Town chats with Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski about how the specialty film label chooses which of the major fall festivals is best to debut a particular film.

• Read: The Verge interviews Bill Gates on a wide range of topics in the lead-up to his new Netflix series, What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates.

• Watch: WSJ tests new technologies that could finally make getting WiFi on an airplane not an awful experience.

56.9% of you voted Yes in Friday’s poll: Do you think the experience economy is the future of Hollywood?

“Hollywood, as we know it, needs a 70s-style revival led by independent creators, not just a remix of existing IP into different formats.”

“I think it’s collapsing because people love social media and living through their friends and themselves.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘the future,’ but being in the industry, I sometimes forget that consumers in other areas find this stuff exciting, so I do think there’s a market for it.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

🎥 The Venice Film Festival has wrapped up, awarding Pedro Almodóvar’s English language debut, The Room Next Door, the top prize.

📺 NBC is cutting down The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to four live shows a week — officially ending the era of late-night shows running on a five-day schedule.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

💄 Selena Gomez is now a billionaire, thanks to the success of her Rare Beauty makeup brand.

🧥 Jony Ive’s LoveFrom is reimagining the button with a collaboration with Moncler.

→ Creator Economy

📱 Telegram has rolled out the ability to report abusive content on the platform as its CEO, Pavel Durov, sits in French custody.

🎤 Paramount Global has sold VidCon to media and events company Informa for an undisclosed amount.