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Connect the World
Carney Calls for Election with a Mandate against Trump; U.S. and Russia Meet One Day after U.S.-Ukraine Talks; French Actor on Trial for Alleged Sexual Assaults; Carney Will Face Off against Conservative Leader Poilievre; Media Companied Look to Cash in On Streaming Boom. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired March 24, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR CONNECT THE WORLD: These are live pictures from Khan Younis, where the IDF hit a Southern Gaza hospital saying it was
targeting a Hamas operative there. It is 03:00 p.m. in Gaza, it is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. This is "Connect the World".
Also coming up, talks resume in Saudi Arabia on a Ukraine-Russia peace plan. The U.S. envoy saying that he will take Putin, quote, at his word,
one of France's best-known actors is being accused of sexual assault. His trial resumes today in Paris. Canada's new leader just announced national
elections.
All eyes are on how they will cope with their neighbor. Well, stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. It is a new week, and new
impetus, it seems, for investors to back these markets amid reports that U.S. tariffs due to be implemented in April the second could be narrower in
scope.
That flexibility, to quote, Donald Trump himself, speaking to reporters on Friday, helped indices close the week out in positive territory. And the
mood music looks to be helping the averages today, with futures indicating a higher opening. Back in New York at half past 9 local time when those
markets open.
Well, high stakes talk underway in Saudi Arabia, the goal to make headway towards a ceasefire in Russia's war against Ukraine. Today, the U.S.
delegation is sitting down with negotiators from the Kremlin talks come a day after the Americans met with Ukraine's Defense Minister, who called
their discussions productive and focused.
Meanwhile, the war, of course, rages on, and the two sides appear far from common ground on major issues. Statements from Trump Administration
Diplomat Steve Witkoff may be adding to Ukraine's unease. On Sunday, he seemed to take Russia's side on its illegal occupation of Ukrainian
territories. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, UNITED STATES SPECIAL ENVOY: There is a view within the country of Russia, that these are Russian territories, that there are
referendums within these territories, that justify these actions. I simply have said that I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe.
This is a much different situation than it was in World War Two. In World War Two, there was no NATO. So, I just, you have countries that are armed
there. To me, it just -- I take him at his word in this sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now. Steve Witkoff there, mentioning so called referendums, largely dismissed, of course, by the
international community, as a sham vote. Witkoff also saying that he takes Putin at his word. What do you make of what you heard?
What's the sense in Kyiv of what Witkoff spoke about on Sunday television in the U.S., and any indication of where the Trump Administration stands
very specifically as these talks resume in Saudi Arabia.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, I think it's clear that there are nuances, sort of within the Trump team as to how they talk about
and how they view Putin and the Russian side in general. Obviously, Steve Witkoff, who has been the sort of chosen interlocutor with President Putin,
he is among the more positive when it comes to the way he talks about the Russian President.
Obviously, some of that echoes what we've heard from President Trump himself, but he has met with him twice, and certainly talks in very
positive terms about him. If you listen to you know, Mike Waltz, the National Security Adviser, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State.
There's a little more toughness. It's clear that they don't view this negotiation as a zero-sum game. They are bent on exacting concessions from
both sides. However, if you look at what happened last week with the rejection by President Putin of Trump's proposed full 30-day ceasefire,
followed by the promise to stop hitting energy infrastructure.
And then hours later, of course, a power system supplying part of Ukraine's railway was hit. We've seen damage to energy infrastructure since then, of
course, though it's difficult to know if it was targeted or simply collateral damage, but I think that raises serious questions as to Russia's
willingness to make concessions, not to mention, of course, the strength of Putin's words, which Steve Witkoff says he takes on face value.
And as you say, this is, I think any moment where you see the bilateral track of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia is a moment of great
concern for Ukraine, because they know that Russia will be presenting their view of what peace should look like, which is a polar opposite to what Kyiv
wants.
[09:05:00]
And of course, trying to paint Ukraine as the impediment to peace here, and the concern is, that the persuasion could be working in some parts of the
Trump Administration.
ANDERSON: That's some optimism coming from these talks in Riyadh. So, given what you've just said, given what we understand to be the sort of received
wisdom in Washington, and then given what we know about, you know the talks in real should we expect any concrete results at this stage?
SEBASTIAN: Was a we had the U.S.-Ukraine talks on Sunday. The Ukrainian side came out saying they were productive again. As I said, there are
nuances within the Trump team. Steve Witkoff says he's looking for real progress this week. Mike Waltz, also speaking on Sunday, said that it
wasn't going to be easy at all.
And I think certainly it's notable that the commentary coming from the Kremlin is really designed to tamp down expectations of what could come out
of this week. Take a listen to Dmitry Peskov, who gave a pretty wide- ranging interview over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON: I want to remind you about Putin's statement, where he said, of course, he supports the idea of a ceasefire.
But there are nuances here. There are questions here that we will have to look for answers for together. The substance is very complicated, and a lot
of work is ahead. We are only at the beginning of this road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Only at the beginning of this road. I think, pretty telling there. But I will point out that some of the elements of the ceasefire that
are a partial ceasefire, that are on the table would not be sort of concessions in their purest form from Russia, because Russia does stand to
benefit, number one from a mutual agreement to stop hitting energy infrastructure.
Ukraine has been doing some pretty significant damage with its drones to Russian energy infrastructure across the border. And similarly, the Black
Sea, of course, seen Ukraine knock out at least a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet cause it to retreat from its traditional base in Crimea.
So, these elements of a partial ceasefire would also benefit Russia. But I think it's notable at this point that while we see the U.S. side clearly,
sort of pushing for urgency and speed. You hear Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, clearly sort of preparing the ground for a long road, a long
process of negotiation here.
ANDERSON: Yeah, we've talked about this. Russia continuing to play the long game, as it were, the Trump Administration looking for a quick win. They
want a deal. All right, thank you for that. That gets you up to speed on Ukraine, Russia, while negotiators then in Saudi Arabia talk about ending
Russia's war on Ukraine.
No end in sight for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. This is the scene after an Israeli air strike hit Gaza's largest functioning hospital. Hamas
affiliated television says a member of its political bureau was killed in the strike. Israel's military says that he was operating inside NASA
medical complex.
The TV report says he was being treated there as a patient. A nurse says the Israeli missile hit crucial medical facilities there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHAZI ASHOUR, HEAD OF NURSES AT NASSER HOSPITAL: They directly hit a missile towards the second floor of the emergency building. It was targeted
at the men's surgical department, and as you can see, the department was completely destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, meantime, Israel's security cabinet has a proven expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. And a proposal to organize U.S.
President's plan for a voluntary departure of Gaza residents to other countries. Let me get you, Jeremy Diamond, connecting us today from Israel.
Jeremy, let's start with the significance of this vote by Israel's security cabinet on Gaza displacement. Just explain the significance of this vote,
if you will, and why now?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously the Israelis have really been the only country in the region thrilled when President
Trump talked about displacing Gazans from the Gaza Strip. And since then, the right-wing government in Israel has certainly seized upon that idea and
sought to advance it.
And this is the latest effort to do just that, as the Israeli cabinet over the weekend, approved a proposal to organize the quote, voluntary transfer
for Gaza residents to third countries, setting up a Bureau within the defense ministry that would be in charge of laying the groundwork for that.
Organizing things like establishing routes for Palestinian civilians to take out of Gaza towards checkpoints along the border where they would be
able to leave the Gaza Strip to third countries. Of course, the main issue with all of this is that no third countries so far have gotten on board
with the idea of taking tens or hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza.
[09:10:00]
And instead, we have, of course, heard enormous opposition from a number of Arab countries in the region, including Egypt and Jordan, the two countries
that President Trump had suggested would take in an enormous number of refugees from Gaza. And beyond that we know, of course, that while yes,
some Gazans would like to leave the Gaza Strip.
The majority of them, very much, do not want to, very much, have insisted that they want to remain in Gaza, even amid the destruction, even amid the
war, clinging very much to lands that they call home, Becky.
ANDERSON: On the ground, Israel ramping up its assault on Gaza. What do we know about the reason for the airstrike on NASA hospital?
DIAMOND: Well, the Israeli military quickly confirmed last night, actually, that it was responsible for this air strike that hit the second floor of
Nasser Hospital, one of the few fully functioning hospitals in Gaza. A member of Hamas' Political Bureau Ismail Barhoum was the target, according
to both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Israeli military claimed that Barhoum was quote, operating within the hospital, accusing him of endangering civilians by his presence there, but
Hamas affiliated Al Aqsa TV, said that Barhoum was being treated for wounds sustained in a previous Israeli attack last week.
The strike, though, hit the second floor of this hospital, the men's surgical department, leaving almost the entirety of it blackened with smoke
after the entire department erupted in flames following this Israeli attack. And it's really important to note that the presence alone of this
Hamas official in that hospital does not under international humanitarian law, entitle the Israeli military to carry out this strike.
Under international humanitarian law, the bar for striking a hospital, which is considered a specially protected zone in conflict, is
extraordinarily high. It can only be attacked if forces are being are actively using it to commit, quote, an act harmful to the enemy, meaning
even the presence of an armed militant in that hospital who's receiving treatment.
For example, which we don't know that Barhoum was would not entitle the Israelis to carry out that attack. The Israelis insist that Barhoum was,
quote, operating within the hospital, presumably to try and establish that bar of carrying out acts harmful to the enemy. But I just think that's an
important part of this story to understand.
Given the number of times that we have seen Israeli attacks on medical facilities in Gaza already. We also, yesterday crossed a very grim
milestone of 50,000 Palestinians who have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. And of course, it's
important to note that that figure also does not include the thousands of bodies that are estimated to still be beneath the rubble, Becky.
ANDERSON: Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem. Thank you, Jeremy, we speak next hour on "Connect the World" to a doctor who was working at Nasser hospital
last night when that attack occurred. So do stay with us for that and more online, there's a story up now on why some Israeli teenagers would rather
go to jail than enlist in the military.
One of them telling us he doesn't want to be part of genocide that's at cnn.com on your computer, or through the CNN app on your smartphone. Well,
right now, in Paris, French actor Gerard Depardieu is on trial over accusations that he sexually assaulted two women on a film set.
Prosecutors allege the assaults took place in 2021 while he was filming the movie The Green Shutters. 76-year-old actor denies any wrongdoing. All the
cases attracting attention for reasons beyond Depardieu's status as one of France's most famous actors, also reigniting the MeToo movement in a
country where it previously stalled.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne joining us now from Paris, and just bring us up to date on, not just the case, but why this is resonating as it is.
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Yes. Becky, well, the trial opened about 30 minutes ago, and those Gerard Depardieu arrived through the back
door of the courthouse. I have no doubt he was able to hear the protesters who were standing right here denouncing a culture of misogyny.
And I think that's what's important, Becky, is that this is about so much more than just one man. It really has sparked a national discussion around
power dynamics and accountability. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANDOORNE (voice-over): He's France's best-known actor. Now on trial, accused of sexual assault by two women who claim Gerard Depardieu attacked
them on a film set in 2021 according to the prosecutor office.
[09:15:00]
Both women alleged that on separate occasions, the actor pinned them between his legs and touched their genitals, buttocks and chest over their
clothes, while Depardieu has denied the allegation, the case has reignited the MeToo movement stalled in France as prominent actresses supported men's
freedom to pester and defended art. Actress Judith Godreche says art is no excuse for crime.
JUDITH GODRECHE, ACTRESS: In this country, I feel that it's not just the men who are the abuser who are trying to shut down the women. It's the
society.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): But now a societal reckoning brought on by the Pelicot trial. Dominic Pelicot was found guilty of the drugging and mass
rape of his then wife, Gisele Pelicot, an abuse that spanned nearly a decade. The case sparked a national discussion around sexual violence and
consent.
MARINE TURCHI, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST AT MEDIAPART: Depardieu and Pelicot cases have played an important role in raising public awareness in changing
how we view certain behaviors that they are not about seduction, but rather about power dynamics and domination. It is now a collective issue, not just
a women's problem.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The plight of household name Depardieu has gripped the nation.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: I'm a great admirer of Depardieu. He makes France proud.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The president's defense over two years ago, still sparking outrage today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He does not make France proud.
VANDOORNE (on camera): And this trial may not be Depardieu's last. Lawyers say he's been accused of assault by over a dozen other women, and is
enrolled in a separate case where he's accused of rape.
JEREMIE ASSOUS, LAWYER OF GERARD DEPARDIEU: These are nothing but slanderous accusations, each more serious than the last, so he's been
deeply affected, but he will finally have the chance to defend himself in a setting where the principle of fairness is upheld, as for months, even
years, he has been facing numerous accusations.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): If convicted, Depardieu faces up to five years behind bars. A verdict is still months away, but in the court of public
opinion, especially in the wake of the Pelicot rape trial. The pedestal Gerard Depardieu once stood on so proudly, is already long gone, while the
MeToo movement has been truly resuscitated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANDOORNE (on camera): Now, Becky, the plaintiffs have been waiting a rather long time for this day, especially as the trial was initially set to
open in October, but had to be delayed due to Depardieu's ill health. Now today, he seemed in good spirits. Apparently, he was smiling inside the
courthouse, but at one point he did clutch his leg, visibly in pain.
Now he's expected to take the stand either today or tomorrow in what's expected to be a short trial. It should all be over by Wednesday, and then,
of course, we should have a verdict in a few months' time, Becky.
ANDERSON: Right. Saskya, thank you for that. Ahead on "Connect the World" just two weeks after taking office, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has
called for a snap election. Details on that and why, just ahead.
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[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: You're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, 19 minutes past 5 here in Abu Dhabi. Greenland's Prime Minister slowing a
planned trip there by U.S. officials, including Second Lady, Usha Vance, calling the visit, quote, highly aggressive.
Now the White House says U.S. delegation will join her to attend Greenland's national dog sled race and visit heritage sites, they say. A
source says the National Security Adviser Mike Waltz is also expected to visit Greenland this week. U.S. President Donald Trump has said annexing
Greenland is strategic for both defense and economic purposes.
Well, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a snap election with the help of a special guest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: What are the two seasons in Toronto?
MIKE MYERS, CANADIAN ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Winter and construction?
CARNEY: Wow. You really are Canadian.
MYERS: Yeah. But let me ask you, Mr. Prime Minister, will there always be a Canada?
CARNEY: There will always be a Canada.
MYERS: All right, elbows up.
CARNEY: Elbows up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was Mr. Carney with comedian Mike Myers on Canada's future. The new prime minister has called the election to create, quote, a
strong, positive mandate deal with President Trump. The widely anticipated election will now take place on April 28.
Mark Carney will face off against the Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre. Well CNN's Paula Newton has been following the story from
Ottawa. Let's just start with why Carney says he wants a mandate against President Trump. And just explain what he means by that and how that will
play out with Canadians.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not just the issue of tariffs, right? Because Canada has really had a broad side from President Trump, but also
the issue of the annexation, right? Becky, and you saw that ad from Mike Myers, the Liberal Party of Canada, Mark Carney, Becky, I'm willing to bet
it really played into every stereotype and joke you know about Canadians, but it definitely has a hard edge.
And really, Donald Trump is a convenient foil in this campaign. We'll forgive anybody for thinking he's actually on the ballot. Right now, Mark
Carney, the timing of this election very much in his hands. He had quite a surge of support when he started, when he took over as prime minister just
10 days ago.
And for that reason, I think he feels like a short, sharp campaign five weeks, mercifully, with strict campaign financing rules in place will play
to the liberal party's favor. And remember, that has been the party with Justin Trudeau that's been in office now for nearly a decade.
I say that President Trump is a convenient foil. And you'll see you're going to hear now from both leaders, Mark Carney of the liberals, Pierre
Poilievre from the conservatives, and listen to the tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARNEY: I'm asking Canadians for a strong, positive mandate to deal with President Trump and to build a new Canadian economy that works for
everyone, because I know we need change, big change, positive change.
PIERRE POILIEVRE, CANADIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I will insist the president recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist that he
stop tariffing our nation. And at the same time, I will strengthen our country so that we can be capable of standing our own two feet and standing
up to the Americans where and when necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The tone is absolutely unequivocal from all leaders, not just the two that you heard there. I just want to give you the scope of the race,
Becky, this is essentially a virtual tie between the two leaders you just saw there, although there are six national parties.
Again, though, as you know, in this parliamentary system, it is the efficiency of the vote that matters right now, if they're in a virtual tie
that gives the advantage to the liberals, so much can change, as you know, in just five weeks.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and a big topic, of course, for this election is tariffs. And you rightly pointed out that both the main parties making a lot of
noise about that. And before that election, of course, on April the 28th is the date that new tariffs are supposed to come into place on the U.S. side,
that is April the second. Is Canada prepared for those?
NEWTON: I mean, I think they are to a certain point because they are prepared mentally, which is a big deal in this election and for the
economy. I mean, think about Mark Carney's words. He was a former central banker, as you know, there in the Bank of England. Think about this --
language. He says that Trump wants to break us, so America can own us. So, so far, so prepared.
[09:25:00]
The issue here, though, is Becky, when I speak to business owners in Canada or industry executives, they're saying that because of the capricious
nature of Donald Trump and what he may or may not do in the Oval Office on any given day, this economy, Canada's economy, is very much at risk.
And I will say again that Britain, France, to some extent, Germany have been leveling with their citizens and their consumers, thinking about what
that decoupling from the United States will look like, both economically and militarily, I would say that the Canadian politicians have not yet
leveled with these voters yet, and that will be something that we can follow after April 2, depending on what happens.
ANDERSON: Yeah, this is going to be fascinating. It's always good to have you there. Thank you, Paula. Paula Newton, in the House for you. Let's get
you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now, before we take a break. Pope Francis now back at the Vatican after
what was a five week stay at a Rome hospital where he has been battling double pneumonia.
The pontiff made his first appearance from the hospital's balcony on Sunday. In Turkey, police fired pepper spray at demonstrators who, for a
fifth night, protested the detention of the popular Istanbul Mayor. He is the Chief Political Rival of the Turkish President Erdogan.
The Turkish court on Sunday, jailed the mayor on corruption charges. Imamoglu has denied accusations of corruption. Well, stick around. We are
just moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Futures are looking brighter, but see how those settle as the trading week kicks off on Wall
Street, back with that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. We are waiting on the bell should ring on Wall Street in just a few seconds' time. These markets, certainly, as far as the futures
are concerned, indicating a higher open today. There's been much talk about whether these averages have been oversold. Don't forget, we reached
correction territory for both the S&P and the NASDAQ recently.
[09:30:00]
That off the back of real concern about where Donald Trump is going with these tariffs. April the second, the next big tariff day, as it were, that
is the bell on Wall Street. So, indications that these markets will go higher today. We will give it a couple of seconds just before we take a
look at these markets as they settle out.
The story really is that there has been enough talk by Donald Trump, at least, to reporters on Friday, that there is some flexibility in his
reciprocal tariffs, some reports in the press over the weekend and today to the same tune so. Are investors beginning to feel a little bit more settled
about us, policy on tariffs?
Well, at least today, if that was what they were worried about a week or so ago, then the story is different. But again, as I say, you know, these
markets may have been a little bit oversold, and so we are now today seeing perhaps a bit of a comeback. NASDAQ and the S&P up more than 1 percent, the
DOW up nearly 1 percent.
Let's look at the media stocks, if we can, because that's what I want to talk about next. Well, media numbers four years of Warner Brothers
Discovery, stock price up some 200 percent today. That is the company that, of course, owns CNN. CNN parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery.
Also, Netflix, there up one and two thirds of 1 percent. Walt Disney up three quarters of 1 percent. It's WBD that I want to talk about today,
jumping into the streaming game here in the Middle East. It's taken a minority stake in Dubai based streaming company OSN, expanding its
partnership to try to cash in on what is the fast-growing entertainment market, of course.
Jamie Cooke is the head of the Middle East region for Warner Brothers Discovery, joins me now live from London. It's good to have you, sir. Thank
you for joining us. It was a Bloomberg report today suggesting that WBD will pay nearly $60 million for about a third of OSN streaming. Is that a
correct figure and why?
JAMIE COOKE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVERY: Yeah, so that's a correct figure. The way that I see it is that as the streaming
wall hots up globally, you kind of have a choice of how you enter into markets. You can kind of go on your own and build from the beginning, or
you can partner with someone.
And my belief, from a consumer perspective, particularly in the MENA region, where it's highly competitive, from a stream perspective. We're
better off launching together with someone as opposed to creating more clutter in the market with more and more confusion for the consumer.
ANDERSON: So, why does OSN, very specifically, make sense as the partner for WBD is streaming strategy here, and just how big are the opportunities
in this region?
COOKE: Yeah. So, I think that the OSN partnership is really based on the fact that they've been such great custodians of our content for many, many
years, whether that be licensing of the movies or HBO content or our pay television channels. They've always been a great partner for us in terms of
in you go terms of believing in and supporting the content.
I think that their positioning in the market as sort of a premium product also helps and kind of -- how we see the rollout of our strategy. So, I
think that is the reason for OSN.
ANDERSON: Right.
COOKE: In terms of your question about the scale of the market, I think --
ANDERSON: I want to talk about -- yeah, go on.
COOKE: -- No, I think there's a huge opportunity --
ANDERSON: -- growth in the market --
COOKE: -- Yeah, there's a lot of growth in the market. I think that the challenge is, as I mentioned at the beginning, just how into that market
when it is very, very cluttered. And I think that it's important that we come together with someone and get into the market in that way, as opposed
to just adding to the confusion.
ANDERSON: Let's talk about WBD's streaming service Max, which is currently available in select European countries, Latin America, the Caribbean, the
U.S., of course, very specifically and in parts of the Asia Pacific region. You know, WBD clearly sees the opportunity for international growth.
What are the plans, if any, for the Max streaming service to hit this region, and if so, will it coexist with a partnership like that, which
you've just announced?
COOKE: We haven't actually decided that yet. I mean, you can see that the rollout of Max is happening globally. As you mentioned. I think we're only
in about half of the countries that we could be in at the moment. So, there's clearly a desire and a plan to roll that out around the world.
However, for the region, MENA region specific, we've not made that decision yet.
[09:35:00]
We need to get our feet in the door with OSN and figure out what the right path to market might be.
ANDERSON: Netflix still has market dominance when we talk about the sort of, you know, the big streaming sort of businesses that is in part because
of its first mover advantage. You could argue, it reported 90 million new subscribers worldwide in Q4 of last year, its biggest jump ever.
So how do you see the market playing out? The market, the streaming market playing out. For example, last year, you said the streaming war is over,
but it gave way to the sort of the streaming Cold War. What did you mean by that? And what's your forecast for the wider streaming market in the
future?
COOKE: Yeah, I think that it's I just don't think it's possible for everyone to survive in the current configuration. I think there are just
too many players globally, and then within each territory. It gets even more complicated when you have local players in there as well.
However, I don't think that necessarily means that people go out of business or they don't exist anymore, but I think that people and companies
need to come together in different ways. You know, we if you take a look at what we've done in the U.S. with our bundle between Hulu, Disney and Max,
there are other ways for us to combine and come together and give a better consumer offering.
I think that's going to be key to the next phase that companies to recognize that, you know, there's a consumer -- at the heart of this is a
consumer choice to make about how many products are willing to subscribe to houses, and then for the businesses, how sustainable they are as business
models.
And so, I think there's going to be further consolidation, what that looks like, how that shapes up will probably vary by country.
ANDERSON: Yes, it's a fascinating market. I haven't got time to have a discussion with you about where sports fits into all of this, because we're
beginning to see the emergence of sport and streamers coming together.
COOKE: Right.
ANDERSON: But let's have that conversation another time. It's good to have you on and a reminder be absolutely transparent about this CNN, of course,
WBD, of course, the parent of CNN. This is a really interesting business story in this region. Good to have you sir.
Meantime, China calling on businesses to resist as the Trump Administration ramps up its protectionist trade policies in Beijing making a big play for
investments, hosting high profile executives over the weekend. Now get this Apple CEO Tim Cook took part in the annual gathering known as the China
development forum.
The CEO's lot of major firms, American firms, including Fedex, Pfizer and Boeing also in attendance. The Chinese Premier had this message for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LI QIANG, CHINESE PREMIER: Decoupling and disruption of industrial supply chains will only exacerbate the crisis, while suppression and containment
will only end up hurting others, as well as oneself. If the world returns to a primeval jungle where the strong prey on the wheat it will mark a step
backward in history and a tragedy for humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Since taking office, Trump has placed an additional 20 percent tariff on all Chinese imports. He did signal on Friday that U.S. and
Chinese trade officials could hold talks as early as this week. Well, still to come. We are still over a year from the Men's FIFA World Cup, of course,
but questions are now being raised about U.S. Soccer and its potential success as a host nation. More on this is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, after a perfect start under their new coach, Mauricio Pochettino, things have not been quite as smooth since U.S. Soccer falling
to a second straight defeat on Sunday this time get this to Canada in the nation's league. Amanda Davies joining me now.
I mean, it is just over a year until the World Cup, but let's be quite clear about this. I mean, you know, a perfect start until he loses. He gets
the losing team against a Canadian. He is not going to be popular on Pennsylvania Avenue, is he this couldn't be worse for Pochettino.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: No. And the thing is with this, this isn't just defeat to another team or two defeats in a row. This is finishing
fourth out of four when you're compared to the two teams you are co-hosting this tournament with. Mexico, the team that the U.S. are co-hosting the 26
World Cup took the trophy, got their hands on this trophy, which the USA had won in the previous three editions.
So not only the fact they didn't make the final, is the fact that in the semifinal, they then lost to the other co-host, Canada. And you know,
Pochettino had said, defeat to Panama, it's about how you bounce back from that. Well, I was just reading one report. They said, if the defeat to
Panama got the alarm bells ringing, then the defeat to Canada makes it a full-blown emergency.
That is the reality of what is being talked about. We know the fanfare. We know the money that was put into Mauricio Pochettino to come and put in a
spectacular performance from this U.S. Men's National Team. And it's not going to plan, I think that's fair to say. And the thing with the
international calendar, they've now had these two defeats.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
DAVIES: They've got to wait until June to the next round of fixtures, Turkey, their next opponents.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
DAVIES: But we've got more analysis and kind of where they go from here in just a couple of minutes.
ANDERSON: Yeah, good given relations between the U.S. and Canada at the moment, as I say 1600 Pennsylvania revenue isn't going to like this one
anyway. More on "World Sport" coming up. I am back in 15 minutes time with more "Connect the World".
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