What the most powerful people in tech and media are discussing at ‘summer camp for billionaires’

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• Power players like Apple’s Tim Cook and Disney’s Bob Iger have descended on Idaho’s Sun Valley Lodge for the annual and ultra-exclusive Allen & Co. conference.
• Deals are likely taking center stage in the discussions happening behind closed doors.

It’s one of the biggest conferences of the year that almost no one is allowed to go to. 

Allen & Co.’s annual conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires,” is a who’s who of the biggest players in media and tech. This year’s attendees include Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Apple’s Tim Cook, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

The event even got the “Succession” treatment.

Unlike other high-profile conferences like Davos or Milken, Sun Valley isn’t open to the press. But just because we’re not there doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on what the biggest topics of discussion might be.

I talked to Alison Brower, our LA bureau chief, and Alistair Barr, Insider’s global tech editor, about what some of the most powerful people are talking about behind closed doors.

• For the media biz, smaller deals take center stage amid a megamerger drought. Sun Valley has long served as a breeding ground for megadeals, from Disney’s acquisition of ABC to Comcast taking a majority stake in NBCUniversal. But amid layoffs, disappointing box-office returns, and actors joining Hollywood writers on strike, media executives are unlikely to consider monster deals, Alison said. But that doesn’t mean it’ll be a complete washout for media M&A. Small to midsize deals could end up being the focus as streamers like Netflix look to add to their content library.
• But when it comes to tech, megadeals may be all anyone wants to talk about. The potential for Big Tech M&A seems a lot brighter after a federal judge ruled Microsoft could proceed with its $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard, Alistair said. The decision was another blow to the FTC chair, Lina Khan, who has a history of fighting deals on the grounds they violate antitrust laws. The most recent ruling might have tech execs considering major tie-ups. “The FTC keeps losing in court,” Mark Schilsky, a TMT sector specialist at Bernstein, wrote earlier this week, adding: “Will this embolden more M&A deals? Who’s at the top of your M&A short list?”
• The Bob Iger era rolls on at Disney. The House of Mouse’s announcement that its CEO would remain at the helm through the end of 2026 will also be top of mind for most attendees, Alison said. The new deal gives Iger time to right the ship and pick a successor who might actually stick. (No offense, Bob Chapek.) Iger seems ready to make changes, saying the company is “looking expansively at opportunities” when it comes to selling TV and cable businesses like ABC, FX, and National Geographic.
• Sports! Perhaps the lone bright spot in the media industry these days is live sports. (Iger called it an “advertiser’s dream.”) It also happens to be an area where media and tech are converging as Big Tech players like Apple (MLS, MLB), YouTube (NFL), and Amazon (NFL) have cut deals with professional leagues, Alistair noted. Meanwhile, questions about the future of the biggest player in the space — ESPN — remain up in the air.