John Rhodes: “I recognized an opportunity to create a more meritocratic system for identifying talent.”
Sound Businesses: Profiles of companies and business models we are keeping an eye on.
There’s no business like show business: In 2018, film revenue hit all-time highs of $11.9 billion in North America and $41.7 billion globally, signalling that there are more opportunities than ever for emerging...
Chad Huffman: “It’s not about the content being king. It’s about good content being king.”
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
So far, 2019 has seen the audio industry abuzz with acquisition deals, new funding rounds, and snazzy new feature launches. As the music-streaming industry evolves, what’s in...
Friends In Need: Google and Amazon End Streaming App Feud
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
As streaming becomes an increasingly crowded field, two tech giants have decided that “kiss and make up” is a better strategy to continue growing their user bases and fending off newer...
360Learning Raises $41 Million to Support Expansion in the UK, U.S.
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
360Learning, an e-learning training platform for business, raised $41 million in a Series B investment to fund an aggressive push into the U.S. and U.K.
Investors in the round included Bpifrance, Hi Inov -...
Esports Brand Gen.G Adds Will Smith, Soccer’s Honda as Investors in Raising $46 Million
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Esports company Gen.G raised $46 million in new funding from celebrity investors including Will Smith and soccer player Keisuke Honda to help pay for a global expansion and a new headquarters...
Viacom’s Pluto TV to Team Up With Short-Form Content Provider Complex Networks
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Viacom’s Pluto TV announced Tuesday that it will partner with Complex Networks. The agreement will enable the ad supported streaming network to add its short-form digital content.
According to The Wrap, the deal...
eOne Acquires U.K.’s Audio Network for $215 Million to Expand Roster
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Media company Entertainment One (eOne), acquired Audio Network, a British music licensing service and publisher of film, TV, advertising, and digital content, for a about $215 million in cash and stock.
The...
Netflix to Release Magazine Ahead of Emmys Nominations
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Netflix has disrupted television, swept up Oscars for film-making — and now it’s getting into publishing so it can rack up the awards to prove it.
Netflix is the latest among a...
T-Mobile Introduces TVision to Take on Cable and Satellite Services
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Ever feisty T-Mobile is going after the behemoths of cable and satellite television service.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based telecommunications company announced the launch of TVision Home, a new home television service that it says...
Netflix Shuts Down AirPlay Citing Quality Viewing Issues
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Quality or competition?
Only Netflix knows why it stopped supporting Apple's AirPlay service.
The streaming giant said ensuring a quality viewing experience was behind the decision. In a statement this week, Netflix said...
Cool Japan Fund Invests $10M in Fashion Platform Clozette
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Clozette Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based social platform focused on fashion and beauty content, announced its $10 million Series C round on Tuesday.
The investment comes from Cool Japan Fund, a public-private effort under...
CEC Entertainment Returns to NYSE Following Leo Holdings Merger
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
CEC Entertainment Inc., the parent company of family-friendly restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, announced on April 8 it would come back to the New York Stock Exchange following its...
Without Compromise, Entertainment May Radically Change After WGA-ATA Talks
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators, and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
The entertainment industry as we know it might look a little different come Sunday morning, A nearly four-decade-old agreement — known as the Artists’ Manager Basic Agreement of...
Bumble Doesn’t Think Print Is Dead
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
The specter of magazine publishing may be haunting advertisers, but millennial-centric apps like Bumble and Airbnb are not perturbed.
More than startups, these digital-first companies are symbols of a millennial lifestyle of...
Wellspring Scores a Perfect Game With Lucky Strike Purchase
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
New York-based private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management has bought Lucky Strike Entertainment, it announced on April 4. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lucky Strike’s outlets include bowling lanes, live music...
Streaming Services Lead Record Labels to Best Year Ever
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Tuesday was a good day for the recording industry and music streaming services, which are fast becoming the standard way people pay for music. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry...
BBC, Discovery Ink Historic $392 Million Streaming Deal
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
BBC Studios and Discovery, Inc. have signed a $392 million (£300 million) programming deal that will make Discovery the exclusive owner of BBC programming streaming rights.
The deal gives Discovery rights to the BBC’s...
Viacom’s Nickelodeon Acquires Sparkler in Pivot Toward Education
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Viacom’s Nickelodeon has acquired Sparkler, an early-childhood learning platform that measures children’s developmental progress. The company’s technology will be used to bolster Nickelodeon’s preschooler-focused Noggin streaming service.
Sparkler co-founder Kristen Kane has also been appointed Noggin’s...
Epsilon Unit Attracts Publicis, Goldman
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Alliance Data Systems Corp.’s Epsilon marketing unit has one confirmed and one reported bidder, and the Plano, Texas-based firm could choose one as early as this week, according to a Bloomberg report.
The...
FCFL’s Sohrob Farudi: “The entire game is designed and built for interactive digital fans”
Sound Businesses: Profiles of companies and business models we are keeping an eye on.
Football is by far America’s favorite sport, and it’s statistically been the spectator sport of choice since 1972, according to Gallup.
The most-watched television programs in history are invariably Super Bowls of various...
With Parcast, Spotify Diversifies Adds a Factory of Audio Content
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Driven by a maturing and fast-growing audio advertising market, M&A activity in the podcasting space continues apace.
The latest example is the audio streaming platform Spotify’s plan to acquire the podcasting content...
WndrCo Ventures Into Ed-Tech with Tinkergarten Investment
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
Tinkergarten, a nationwide ed-tech learning program for children through age 8, received $21 million in financing from WndrCo, a holding company run by former DreamWorks and Dropbox executives.
WndrCo, led by Dreamworks founder and former...
Apple Rethinks Entertainment, News, Personal Finance Services
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
It’s been almost eight years since writer Walter Isaacson wrote in his biography of Steve Jobs that the late entrepreneur said he had “finally cracked it.” He...
Songtradr Aims to Expand Its Data-Driven Music Platform Globally
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
The latest round of funding means unveiling new products and global expansion for the Santa Monica-based online music licensing platform Songtradr.
The company has completed a $12 million Series B round earlier this month, led...
Industry Report: Podcast Advertising
Key Takeaways:
● Podcast advertising is growing. Revenues are projected to reach $659 million by 2020, compared with $169 million in 2016.
● Measurement difficulties have slowed industry growth — but analytics are improving.
● The audio advertising market will transform from a startup-friendly market to one...
Macy Muirhead: “Disney is in an unprecedented position to decide which streaming service gets the market share crown.”
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
On Wednesday, The Walt Disney Co. finally completed its $71.3 billionacquisition of 21st Century Fox. This concludes a nearly year-and-a-half long M&A soap opera and leaves the media landscape...
Rockwell Shah on Calm: “If they execute well, it’s…massively undervalued.”
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
Humans rely on apps for everything. But what first started out as tools for work or increasing efficiency, have now turned into tools for exactly the opposite:...
This Startup Aims to Bring Entertainment to Ride-Sharing
On Our Radar: Deals we are paying attention to for their impact on industry.
A long ride goes by much faster with a little “inflight entertainment.”
Surf is a Phoenix-based startup and one of the latest entries in the rapidly growing rideshare entertainment space. Surf provides Uber and...
Ralph Greene: Why the AAF Could Become the “Spring NFL”
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
Just weeks after kicking off its inaugural season, the Alliance of American Football , a new professional football league backed by VCs like Founders Fund and Slow Ventures, found...
Karam Hinduja: “Brands need to stop thinking about volume and realise that the relevancy of their audience is what matters most.”
Perspectives: Opinions from our network of advisors, investors, operators and analysts on the risks and opportunities they see.
Karam Hinduja is the founder and CEO of Karma Network and Timeless Media.
The media landscape has undergone a rapid evolution in recent years. It has embraced and weathered...
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