Sources: BuzzFeed is close to selling most of Complex Networks to livestream shopping startup Ntwrk for a little above $100M, far below Jonah Peretti's target
below the $150 million it was initially seeking. The deal won't solve all of BuzzFeed's financial problems. More here: https://www.theinformation.com/ ... See also Mediagazer
Sources: Netflix told advertisers that sign-ups for its ad tier doubled in January 2023 over December 2022; Netflix predicted 1.75M ad tier subscribers in Q1
Sahil Patel / The Information : See also Mediagazer
Memo: BuzzFeed plans to rely on OpenAI to enhance its quizzes and personalize its content while humans offer ideas, “cultural currency”, and “inspired prompts”
CEO Jonah Peretti intends for artificial intelligence to play a larger role in the company this year
How the peer pressure to be a part of the blue bubble iMessage text groups keeps US teens locked into Apple's ecosystem
The iPhone maker cultivated iMessage as a must-have texting tool for teens. Android users trigger a just-a-little-less-cool green bubble: 'Ew, that's gross.'
Sources: Apple has had discussions with NFL execs to buy streaming rights for Sunday Ticket games, which currently air on DirecTV
and it could be a game changer Michael Simon / Macworld : The NFL reportedly wants Apple to air NFL games in 2023 Deadline : Apple Exploring Streaming NFL's Sunday Ticket Games On ...
Foursquare CEO David Shim is stepping down on January 1 and will be succeeded by Gary Little, a member of the company's board
GOAT Group, operator of online sneaker marketplace GOAT, has raised $100M Series E from D1 Capital Partners, source says at a $1.75B valuation
up from $550 million prior to its new $100 million raise. The company plans to continue expanding into new product categories beyond sneakers. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ Bran...
Sources: facing growing ad boycott, Facebook told advertisers it will “not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure” but will invest more in tackling hate
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal :
Verizon joins the boycott of Facebook ads, pulling them until Facebook has “an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable”, the largest advertiser so far
- Verizon said on Thursday it is pulling advertising on Facebook and Instagram. — On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation …
Toy manufacturers are making merchandising deals with YouTube stars like Blippi and channels like Cocomelon as kids seek toys based on what they watch online
YouTube stars such as Stevin “Blippi” John draw retailers' interest as children seek products based on what they watch online
Sources: Instagram is considering increased funding of up to seven figures for multiple shows on IGTV, as it tests an ad product and a revenue-sharing program
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal :
Disney says Disney+ will roll out to Western Europe in March and India on March 29 through Hotstar; Disney plans to launch Hulu internationally as soon as 2021
Hulu will finally expand outside of the U.S., likely as soon as next year. This tidbit of news was confirmed by Disney Chairman …
Disney beats analyst expectations for Q1, reporting $20.86B in Q1 revenue, up 36% YoY, 26.5M subscribers for Disney+, and 30.4M for Hulu, up 33% YoY
or five years (if you count the time before a stand-alone streaming plan was offered). https://www.wsj.com/... Sahil Patel / @sizpatel : I subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu's SVOD. Acc...
Netflix Q4 revenue grew 31% YoY to $5.467B and net income rose to $587M, surpassing 100M paid memberships outside the US; global paid net additions totaled 8.8M
Fellow shareholders, We had a strong finish to 2019, with Q4 revenue growing 31% year over year, bringing full year 2019 revenue …