{"id":3742,"date":"2023-10-20T16:32:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/business\/jon-stewarts-show-on-apple-is-over-because-of-disagreements-about-china\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T16:32:48","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:32:48","slug":"jon-stewarts-show-on-apple-is-over-because-of-disagreements-about-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=3742","title":{"rendered":"Jon Stewart\u2019s show on Apple is over because of disagreements about China"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \u201cThe Problem with Jon Stewart\u201d will not come back to Apple TV+ for a third season, bringing a surprise and sudden end to the increasingly popular show led by the former \u201cDaily Show\u201d host.\n <\/p>\n

\n Stewart informed staff Thursday that he and Apple executives agreed to part ways, according to multiple show staff members with whom Stewart discussed the matter. He told staff that the company had concerns about the subject matter Stewart planned for three shows during the upcoming season. Those topics included China, Israel and artificial intelligence.\n <\/p>\n

\n Although Apple gave Stewart creative control over the show, he grew increasingly frustrated that the company was pushing back on the show\u2019s guest list and show subjects, he told staff.\n <\/p>\n

\n The New York Times first reported the news of the show\u2019s cancellation. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.\n <\/p>\n

\n China represents nearly a fifth of Apple\u2019s sales and is the company\u2019s fastest-growing region by far. Apple\u2019s sales in China increased 8% between April and June (the most recent quarter for which Apple has reported its financial statement), while sales fell 6% in the Americas region during that same period.\n <\/p>\n

\n But weakness in the Chinese economy and yuan have hurt China\u2019s sales over time. Sales in that region fell 2% between October 2022 and June 2023. Sales for the iPhone 15 are down 4.5% in China compared to iPhone 14 sales in the first two weeks after its launch, according to Counterpoint Research.\n <\/p>\n

\n Smartphone competition is fierce in China, particularly after the release of Huawei\u2019s new Mate 60 smartphone line. The phone features a chipset so surprisingly powerful that the US government is investigating how China got its hands on the breakthrough technology. And a nationalist attitude during a period of rising tensions with the West has many would-be Apple buyers in China searching for Chinese-made tech instead, according to Counterpoint.\n <\/p>\n

\n China\u2019s economic growth is nothing to sneeze at \u2013 gross domestic product expanded 4.9% in the third quarter, numbers that would make any other developed nation jealous. And it was led by an encouraging bounceback in consumer spending.\n <\/p>\n

\n But China\u2019s housing market is in deep trouble, hurting the country\u2019s economic recovery from the pandemic. Although near-5% growth is strong, it isn\u2019t really all that robust by Chinese standards.\n <\/p>\n

\n CEO Tim Cook made a surprise visit to China last week to drum up sales for Apple\u2019s products and government support for the company\u2019s manufacturing operations in the country. So a potentially critical look at China on Stewart\u2019s show, streamed by Apple, may not have sat well with the consumers and officials Cook is hoping will help boost Apple\u2019s bottom line in the region.\n <\/p>\n

\n Increasing popularity and an abrupt end
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\n \u201cThe Problem with Jon Stewart\u201d streamed its first episode in September 2021. It wasn\u2019t an instant hit, which was unfamiliar territory for the popular comedian, who stepped away from the \u201cDaily Show\u201d in 2015.\n <\/p>\n

\n Early reviews of the show were mixed, with some critics saying Stewart was doing an angrier, less funny version of \u201cDaily Show\u201d alum John Oliver\u2019s \u201cLast Week Tonight\u201d show, which airs on rival HBO, owned by CNN\u2019s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. Some critics found Stewart\u2019s early guests boring, including former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and SEC Chair Gary Gensler.\n <\/p>\n

\n But in its most recent season, Stewart started capturing more attention for his show, particularly in clips online, some of which went viral. Stewart\u2019s biting interview<\/a> with Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm about gun violence got tens of millions of views on social media and gained significant mainstream media attention.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n