Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson could see two of the wealthiest GOP business megadonors, Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel, invest in his new media company, according to people familiar with the matter. Mercer has spoken with Carlson since his April departure from Fox News about possibly investing in his as yet unnamed media company, sources told CNBC. Thiel has hinted to allies that he could invest in the venture after hearing from Carlson’s side, these people added.
Digital media companies including BuzzFeed, Vice, Vox and Bustle Digital Group are sharpening their focus on core strengths. The smaller media companies’ emphasis on differentiation echoes a larger media movement to cut costs and focus on brands. Executives are split on whether the digital media industry will have another wave of significant consolidation, especially as companies look increasingly different from one another.
On Monday, the Fox Nation streaming service will host a televised debate between Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a replica of the Senate Chamber hosted at the Kennedy Institute. The debate isn’t about an election. Neither Graham nor Sanders are up this year. Rather, it’s about trying to bring sincere, old-school debates back into style at a time when social media and cable news chyrons are king. The Senate Project, as it’s being called, is a byproduct of the Institute, as well as the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and the Bipartisan Policy Center. Two other debates are already scheduled, with the next set to be hosted by C-SPAN.
The company still loses money, but its revenue rose 20% in the third quarter. Investors who want to own a piece can do so around Dec. 6.
Gawker Media made history five years ago for being the first digital news company to ratify a union contract, kicking off a wave of labor organizing at digital outlets that has yet to recede. On Thursday, staffers at the online publishing platform Medium announced their intention to unionize, following in the footsteps of Gawker, HuffPost, Salon, Slate, Vice, BuzzFeed News, Vox Media, Bustle Digital Group, Wirecutter and The Ringer, to name a few.
Digital media companies that survived the pandemic are now rushing to join forces as they scramble to battle the tech giants for ad dollars.
Exclusives
“What’s worked for me on social media,” says WGHP reporter Chad Tucker, “is simply doing exactly what you should be doing as a journalist, and that’s building connections in the community.” The station is very family-oriented and involved in the community, and Tucker’s content on social media reflects that.
The average U.S. adult now spends more than 11 hours each day — almost half the entire day — listening to, watching, reading or interacting with some form of linear or digital media. That’s according to the Q1 2018 Nielsen Total Audience Report.
A doubter at Vox Media, where one of the latest organizing efforts has begun, became a believer — no thanks to Twitter, he said.
The economic strains of technology on the entire media landscape are intensifying. Weeks after Google and Facebook announced record earnings, some of the biggest players in the digital media industry are still struggling to hit revenue projections, make a profit or grow.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Children in lower-income families spend more time watching TV and using electronic devices than kids in more affluent homes, according to a survey released Thursday. The […]
After a few months of slower growth, digital-media advertising revenue has resumed its double-digit climb — with social media, search and internet radio among its strongest performers. Digital-media advertising was up 19% in July, according to Standard Media Index, which culls booking data from 80% of the major media agencies.
Complex Networks and Fuse Media don’t have common ownership or joint oversight of any particular media property. But in days to come, they will begin to work together to sell packages of media inventory to advertisers. In a deal announced Friday, the two companies said Complex would begin to air a weekly 90-minute block of programming built from segments from many of its digital shows on Fuse’s cable network. Both Fuse and Complex Networks will promote the programming as a venue for reaching a multi-cultural audience between the ages of 18 and 34.
In a move designed to encourage more local production of short-form online videos created by sites such as Buzzfeed and Funny or Die, the city of Los Angeles is lowering the cost of film permits for these kinds of productions as part of a new pilot program scheduled to roll out later this year.
The move is a product of a major corporate reorganization and a consolidation of all of Alibaba’s media holdings, and it includes a $1.48 billion fund for new projects. The company declined to mention specific investment projects, saying that the funds will be used across their digital media and entertainment businesses.
How TV Stations Can Mine Digital Media
TV stations need to monetize the digital media opportunities available to them. Here are several strategies they can adopt to ensure a competitive foothold in the rapidly evolving “omniplatform” media world.
Verizon is trying to imagine a broader future for itself, and with its acquisitions of Vodafone Group’s Verizon Wireless interest, AOL and now Yahoo, the picture is coming into focus. The Wall Street Journal reports the plan is to “own and distribute online content and use data collected from mobile phones to target advertising to tens of millions of users.” WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.
After years of huge growth as people hopped on new media and new devices, time spent will grow just 3 minutes from 2016 to 2018. Looks like we’re nearing the saturation point.
Columbia University and The Knight Foundation are teaming up to create the First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a $60 million initiative dedicated to thinking through the thorny questions of First Amendment case law in the digital age — and going to court if necessary to preserve the right to free speech.
NBCU Jabs At Digital And Nielsen
NBCUniversal took shots at digital media and, only a little more subtly, at Nielsen in an uprfront presentation to promote all of its cable and digital properites in addition to the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks.
As digital publishers like BuzzFeed, Vox Media, Vice Media and Mic churn out their own web video stars, they now are faced with trying to keep that talent, especially when young people who have built brands for themselves can quickly parlay that into other opportunities disconnected from the mothership.
Media buying and planning has gotten a lot more complicated these days. With the explosion of social, digital and mobile media, and all the myriad ways to chase an audience, it can be tough to find the right partner.
The New York Times is working on a new digital product focused on movies and TV, among other new lifestyle verticals, CEO Mark Thompson announced at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference today.
Former Walmart senior executive Cindy Davis will join Disney-ABC as EVP of consumer experience, responsible for improving research across media platforms, including consumer insights and analytics. And John Frelinghuysen comes to the company from AOL. He will be EVP of digital media, strategy and business development.
With 73% of Americans age 12 and up actively consuming movies and TV shows for home viewing, it’s important to understand the habits of such a powerful volume of consumers. Are they sticking with physical discs or moving to digital?
The New York Times today announced a broad revamping of its video operation and said it would seek new leadership for what it described as an increasingly vital part of the newsroom.
Stations Search For Digital Success Formula
While digital media are providing TV stations with opportunities and challenges, there doesn’t appear to be any industry-wide consensus on what broadcasters’ best bet for adapting to — and capitalizing on — digital media is. A panel of experts offers several scenarios, and also tackles dealing with OTT, programmatic advertising and the complex relationships TV stations have with the networks as well cable and satellite
Traditional cable and network TV content continues to heavily influence digital in-stream video media prices, according to a new report. Media planning software provider SQAD says, for example, that “many of the highest in-stream video CPMs [cost per thousand viewers] reported in December had some kind of network or cable affiliation, such as CBS, Fox, NBC or CNN.”
Merger & acquisition deal values in digital media, information & technology rose 48% in 2014 compared with 2013. The aggregate total value of announced M&A deals rose to $224 billion in 2014 from $151 billion in 2013, per a report from a boutique investment bank and advisory firm. Coady Diemar Partners estimates that 2,239 acquisitions in digital media, information & technology were announced last year — up from 2,019 in 2013 — and activity should continue to pick up in 2015.
At Worldnow, Metrics Big And Getting Bigger
With the leading station CMS and a station-based ad network that claims 91 million unique visitors each month (and six billion ad impressions), Worldnow has arrived. Here, founder and CEO Gary Gannaway discusses the competition, efforts to improve workflow, his belief that digital can drive news ratings, the need for top managers to treat digital like broadcast and Google’s intentions in TV.
Ira Rubenstein, a two-decade entertainment industry vet who has worked at Sony, 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment, is joining PBS On March 24 as general manager of digital.
Variety Of Options Drive Sales At Star Trib
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, on the strength of its product portfolio, has found success with digital sales, which now generates about 20% of the paper’s revenue. Its efforts offer lessons for newspapers and broadcasters alike. This is Part IV of a four-part series. Part I on what TV stations are doing to integrate digital ad selling into their sales processes appeared Tuesday; Part II on the automated buying of spot appeared on Wednesday; and Part III on improving digital sales operations appeared on Thursday.
Digital A Vital Part Of Station Sales Arsenals
The rise of mobile viewing platforms means TV stations have new tools to offer advertisers who want to reach viewers no matter where they are. And it means stations can offer a greater variety of options — and price points — to potential advertisers, many of whom don’t buy time on traditional TV. This is Part I of a four-part series. Part II on the automated buying of spot will appear tomorrow; Part III on Thursday will focus on improving digital sales operations; and Part IV on Friday will offer a case study of a successful digital sales effort and the lessons it offers for broadcasters and newspapers alike.
A chronicle of the epic collision between journalism and digital technology, from 1980 to the present.
Adults Spend More Time On Devices Than TV
American adults this year will for the first time spend more time each day using digital media than watching TV, according to a new report by eMarketer. Adults in the U.S. are averaging five hours and nine minutes daily with digital media, up from four hours and 31 minutes last year and three hours and 50 minutes in 2011. The amount of time they spend watching TV has essentially stayed flat in that time period. It was pegged at four hours and 31 minutes this year, down slightly from four hours and 38 minutes in 2012.
Beyond just getting a seat at the table, digital buyers are suddenly finding themselves at its head — and the love of data, optimization and acronyms they’re bringing with them could seriously shake up traditional media buying where a steak and a handshake still rule.
Are News Ratings Key To Monetizing Digital?
WTHR Indianapolis GM John Cardenas thinks so, having seen the news ratings at the NBC affiliate (and the related ad revenue) rise along with the usage of its digital offerings. WorldNow, WTHR’s digital technology provider, thinks so, too. It’s been preaching that a real commitment to digital will pay off at noon, 6 and 11, but not all its clients are entirely convinced.
AccuWeather announced that Marie Svet has been promoted to chief revenue officer of digital media, overseeing the entire advertising structure within the company. The company said “Svet will lead the […]
