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☆ A new startup from 2 Twitch alums is trying to get Gen Z to watch TV
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Entertainment companies face a generation problem, with Gen Z shunning TV shows and movies over social video and livestreams. A new startup is pitching a solution by bringing TV to Gen Z where and how they already watch, rather than trying to train them in a new habit. The company, Gaggl TV, licenses TV shows and distributes them to creators to watch with their followers on social platforms. In a deal with Fremantle, Gaggl got the rights to old TV shows like '70s-era "The Price is Right: The Barker Era" and is distributing them to five Twitch streamers. "TV companies just put stuff on Twitch and don't realize it's the creators people are coming to see," Harris said.

Persons: Gen, Gaggl, Khleo Thomas, Peter Park, Bridget Case, Richard Karn, Megan Fraher, Fraher, Adam Harris, James Duffield, Greg Miall, Harris, Gen Z's, Twitch, Bob Ross, he's Organizations: Business, Fremantle, Amazon, Greece's, Paramount, Gaggl Locations: Fremantle, livestreaming

☆ Bankrupt Vice Media plans sale to Fortress Investment-led group
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Yuvraj Malik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 22 (Reuters) - A group of buyers including Fortress Investment Group may take over Vice Media after the consortium's $225-million offer for the bankrupt company emerged as the only "qualified" bid on the table, according to a legal filing. Popular with millennial audience through its websites Vice and Motherboard, Vice Media filed for bankruptcy protection last month in a move that capped years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. GoDigital Media told Reuters in an emailed statement that it made a higher bid for Vice but the offer was turned down by the sellers. "We think Fortress's decision is the wrong choice, and the company, employees, partners and consumers will suffer," GoDigital said. Fortress and Vice did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the potential deal, which must be approved by the bankruptcy judge.

Persons: GoDigital, Privately, James Murdoch's, Yuvraj Malik, Jonathan Stempel, Dietrich Knauth, Shailesh Kuber, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Fortress Investment, Media, U.S, Fortress, GoDigital Media, Reuters, Systems, TPG, Technology, Ventures, Antenna Group, Big Tech, Facebook, Google, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Middle Eastern investors are pouring money into US media, sports, and entertainment — here are the 9 most active players and their key leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Investors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates are pouring money into Western media and entertainment. Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment, and they're finding plenty of takers. The channels for money from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East are complex. Insider broke down the key entities — their owners, leaders, and high-profile investments and joint ventures — in the top three Middle Eastern nations pouring money into US entertainment and media. It describes itself as the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa and runs one of the largest TV news channels, Al Arabiya.

Persons: Jamal Khashoggi's, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, —, WME, Jimmy Finkelstein's, Abu Dhabi's, It's, Yasir Al, Rumayyan, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Sam Barnett, Peter Smith —, Christina Wayne, SRMG, Mohammed bin Salman, Alrashid, Johnny Depp, Jeanne du Barry, Sharon Stone, Bruno Mars, Luca Guadanigno, Vince McMahon's, Turki Al, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Dayel, Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al, Mahmoud, Peter Chernin, Nasser Al, Germain, BeIN, Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad, Khalifa Al, Vincent, Asghar Farhadi's Oscar, Nart Bouran, JAF, Jeff Zucker, Graydon Carter's, it's, Semafor, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber Organizations: United, Sovereign, Saudi, Washington Post, Saudi Crown, Endeavor, UFC, IMI, Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation, Public Investment Fund, Saudi Aramco, Newcastle United, English football, PGA, MBC, Shahid, Netflix, Vice Media, Variety, MBC Group's, Antenna Group, Cineflex Studios, NBCUniversal International, Amazon, AMC, Saudi Research, Media, Publicly, Red Sea, Cannes, Penske Media Corporation, Bloomberg Media, Vince McMahon's WWE, country's General Entertainment Authority, Development, Cultural Development Fund, George Washington University, American University . Qatar Qatar Investment, Qatar Investment Authority, Providence, BeIN Media, Paris Saint, Miramax, Paramount, Doha Film, Doha Film Institute, H.E, Hollywood Reporter, United Arab Emirates Abu, Investment Authority, UAE, Abu, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Hollywood, Dubai Studio, Dubai Media City, National Geographic, BBC News, International Media Investments International Media Investments, National, CNN, Sky News Arabia, Reuters, JAF Communications, Grid, RedBird Capital Partners, Punchbowl News, New York Times, Manchester City, The, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Saudi, East, North Africa, Al Arabiya, Netherlands, Greece, Dubai, Jeddah, SRMG, Riyadh, Doha, Europe, Americas, ViacomCBS, Qatari, Thani, Abu Dhabi

☆ Vice Media's bankruptcy has 'killed the ad pipeline' for the company, sources say, as questions about its future roil staffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, leaving current and laid-off staffers anxious over what's next. One advertising source told Insider, "The bankruptcy has killed the ad pipeline." Employees who were laid off in recent weeks are demanding answers about how the company's bankruptcy will affect the terms of their departure. One of the former execs told Insider they were just keeping their fingers crossed that payments come through. A person close to the company said Vice Media intends to pay severance and COBRA, subject to court approval.

☆ 9 Middle Eastern funds and investors pouring money into US media, sports, and entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Governments and investors in the Middle East are pouring money into Western media and entertainment. Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment, and they're finding plenty of takers. The channels for money from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East are complex. Insider broke down the key entities — their owners, leaders, and high-profile investments and joint ventures — in the top three Middle Eastern nations pouring money into US entertainment and media. It describes itself as the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa and runs one of the largest TV news channels, Al Arabiya.

☆ Saudi money is flowing to US media and entertainment, from Live Nation to LIV Golf, 5 years after Jamal Khashoggi's murder: 'The ice has thawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Insider identified some key people connecting Middle East investors with American companies. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Vince McMahon's WWE has a long-term partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a major live WWE event there slated for May. Vince McMahon's WWE was one of the first US companies to create unique events in Saudi Arabia.

☆ Inside the demise of Vice, from turning away a $3.5 billion Disney offer to a 'painful' downward spiral that has the media giant scrambling for a buyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The talks fizzled, Disney backed off, and Smith set off for California to drum up other interest in Vice Media. Vice Media Group co-CEOs Bruce Dixon, left, and Hozefa Lokhandwala. Vice Media GroupOne former Vice insider familiar with the current situation told Insider that staffers were warning vendors they needed to threaten to stop work in order to get paid. Just a few months later, Rupert Murdoch tweeted, "Who's heard of Vice Media? Refinery29 quickly lost key staff and was not well integrated into Vice Media, the two former staffers said.

Nancy Dubuc notified Vice Media staffers on Friday that she's stepping down from her post as CEO after five years at the company. Dubuc joined Vice in 2018 after leaving her post as CEO of A+E Networks, where she had worked for 20 years. "We thank Nancy for her many contributions and will soon announce new leadership to guide VICE forward into its next stage of growth and transformation." Dubuc's departure comes as Vice, like its digital media peers, facing ongoing challenges with shrinking audience numbers and advertising. Still, Vice ended 2022 with a slight gain in revenue, although the business deteriorated among the macroeconomic headwinds, CNBC previously reported.

☆ Vice owes FTI Consulting nearly $1 million, a new court filing alleges, one of multiple vendors chasing missed payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vice Media owes FTI Consulting nearly $1 million in fees, some dating back to 2019, a court filing alleges. FTI is one of several vendors who say they've gone unpaid by the youth media company. The filing alleges that Vice Holding, the parent of Vice Media, hired Washington, DC-based FTI Consulting to help it with accounting projects and management and then failed to pay its bills. Ironically, Vice hired FTI to help it with "profitability analysis" and to design "cash management" tools, according to the filing. Fortress lent Vice $30 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, which confirmed Vice is in a process to sell itself.

Vice Media is restarting its sale process after earlier interested bidders balked at the initial price tag, according to people familiar with the situation. The digital media company, which was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017, is now likely to fetch a price of below $1 billion, the people said. Initially, Vice was looking for a valuation between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, one of the people added. A Vice Media spokesperson declined to comment. Meanwhile, Buzzfeed , the only digital media company to IPO, has seen its stock fall roughly 90% since going public in 2021.

☆ Vice Media lays off staff amid a softening advertising environment and sale talk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Vice Media has laid off a handful of editorial staff as it faces a softening advertising environment and sale speculation. Vice Media has laid off editorial staff at the digital news company as it faces a softening advertising environment and sale speculation. The layoffs impacted around a dozen out of a few hundred editorial staff and stemmed from the company's recent consolidation of its news and entertainment divisions under Cory Haik as chief operating officer, according to a knowledgeable source. CNBC reported in May that Vice hired bankers to explore a sale of all or parts of the company. Group Black, an entrepreneurial media collective, was also looking at the company, the Wall Street Journal earlier reported.

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