Business of Media
Reddit reportedly seeks to launch IPO in March
Social media platform Reddit has drawn up detailed plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in March, moving forward with a listing it has been eyeing for more than three years, according to people familiar with the matter, reports Reuters’ Echo Wang and Anirban Sen.
It would be the first IPO of a major social media company since Pinterest’s debut in 2019, and would come as Reddit and its peers face stiff competition for advertising dollars from the likes of TikTok and Facebook.
The offering would also test the willingness of some Reddit users to back the company’s stock market debut. Many investors posting on the platform have helped fuel dozens of “meme” stock rallies in the last three years, from retailer GameStop to movie operator AMC Entertainment Holdings.
YouTube is restructuring creator management teams
YouTube‘s partnerships side is undergoing its first corporate restructuring in a decade–one that’ll see changes to the creator management and operations teams, and will result in around 100 people’s roles being eliminated, reports TubeFilter’s James Hale.
This reorg is following a strategy laid out by Mary Ellen Coe, who took over as YouTube’s chief business officer when Robert Kyncl left in early 2023. Coe previously led Google Customer Solutions, where she oversaw global ads for midmarket and small businesses, and before that spent 12 years with management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
With the restructure, YouTube will bring its content creator management teams (which, up till now, were spread around the globe and loosely connected, so a partner manager in India may have been reporting to a leader in the Asia-Pacific region) together under dedicated central leadership in each individual country.
Sheryl Sandberg to step down from Meta board
The former chief operating officer of Meta, Sheryl Sandberg, is leaving the company’s board of directors, reports BBC’s Chloe Kim.
Sandberg, one of the most high-profile women in the tech industry, said that “this feels like the right time to step away” as Meta is “well-positioned for the future”.
She will serve as an informal advisor to the company going forward.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg thanked her for the “extraordinary contributions” to the company.
Spotify dominates audio streaming, but where are the profits?
Spotify has a plum position in the audio-streaming business. It’s the leading platform, with some 600 million users. Its 30% market share is twice that of its next-largest competitor. Spotify is adding millions of new subscribers a month, and few of its users cancel, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Anne Steele.
Most companies can only dream of that kind of industry dominance. Yet not even the leading audio-streaming company has consistently made money off audio streaming.
News Brands
‘The fight continues’: Lattouf versus ABC hearing ends in stalemate
Antoinette Lattouf’s unlawful termination case against the ABC will continue after the sacked journalist said a resolution could not be reached by her and the organisation’s lawyers in a mediation hearing, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan and Michael Bachelard.
“The case didn’t resolve today, but the fight continues, and I’m willing and prepared to fight for as long as it takes,” she told reporters outside the Fair Work Commission chambers in Sydney on Thursday afternoon.
Lattouf stressed the case’s importance was about free speech, racism, the role of journalists, and a fair, independent and robust ABC.
“I will always advocate and fight for an ABC that can operate and inform the masses, inform and entertain the masses without fear or favour,” she said.
Nelson Peltz calls for Disney to target ‘Netflix-like’ streaming margins
Activist investor Nelson Peltz called for Walt Disney Co. to find a clear successor to Chief Executive Bob Iger, improve streaming margins and pull its struggling studios out of their rut, intensifying his proxy battle ahead of the company’s annual meeting, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Robbie Whelan and Ben Glickman.
In a preliminary proxy statement filed with regulators Thursday, Peltz’s Trian Fund Management urged shareholders to cast their votes in support of adding Peltz and former Disney executive Jay Rasulo to the company’s board.
Television
CBS orders The Summit USA
Aussie-made reality format The Summit, devised by Endemol Shine Australia and Nine Network, is headed for a US adaptation to screen on CBS, reports TV Tonight.
Endemol Shine North America will produce a series in New Zealand hosted by NZ actor Manu Bennett (Spartacus, Arrow).
“The Summit encompasses everything our viewers love in a reality show – everyday people overcoming and conquering their fears, a fierce game of strategy and an intense physical and emotional competition,” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment.
Melissa Leong’s shock TV move as former MasterChef judge takes on UFC
TV host Melissa Leong has revealed a secret Confidential didn’t see coming. The Dessert Masters judge is a closet UFC fan and has guest hosted an episode of Fight Week for Fox Sports and Kayo, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
“I like to surprise people,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
“I don’t do things deliberately for that reason, but I do get a little bit of joy out of people realising I’m not quite what they were expecting me to be.”
Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia to star in rebooted Top Gear series
Jonathan LaPaglia likes to regularly shift gears – literally and figuratively, reports News Corp’s James Wigney.
The versatile actor and host is speaking from Columbia, where he has just started filming the rebooted local version of Top Gear for Paramount+, alongside Beau Ryan and Blair Joscelyne.
Battling jet lag after a long first day of shooting in the South American country, the self-admitted petrolhead and longtime fan of the franchise, who used to fantasise about doing laps as the star in a reasonably priced car, says there’s an element of wish fulfilment for his latest gig.
Sports Media
Amazon will invest in Diamond Sports as part of a bankruptcy restructuring agreement
Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy, reports AP’s Joe Reedy.
Diamond owns 18 networks under the Bally Sports banner. Those networks have the rights to 37 professional teams — 11 baseball, 15 NBA and 11 NHL.
Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection last March. The company said in a late 2021 financial filing that it had debt of $8.67 billion.