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☆ Ad insiders are buzzing about industry power broker Michael Kassan's messy split with UTA and what it means for the future of MediaLink
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

After falling out with Kassan, UTA may think twice about buying another agency. The media and ad industry will be watching to see what, if any, leadership changes UTA makes at MediaLink. The end of the ad industry schmoozefest? One industry veteran said they saw Kassan's exit as an opportunity to change how ad industry consultants operate and charge for services. At the center of the dispute between UTA and Kassan is the MediaLink founder's $950,000 annual expense account.

Persons: Michael Kassan, MediaLink, Kassan, Jeremy Zimmer, Kassan wasn't, Vianney Tisseau, headhunting, Jon Miller, Sanford Michelman, Michelman, Robinson, Ethan Miller, Julian Jacobs, David Anderson, WME, Kassan's, Wenda Harris Millard, wasn't, what's, There's, Lou Paskalis, Marc Sternberg's, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Tom Brady, Rob Norman, WPP's Organizations: UTA, Cannes Lions, Consumer, Business, Los Angeles Superior Court, Los, Judicial, Mediation Services, Variety Cannes Lions Studio, Integrated Media, Getty, Talent, Accenture, General Motors, Netflix, JUV Consulting, Madison, Endeavor, Writers Guild of America, Zimmer, Western Initiative Media Worldwide, Interpublic Group, Bank of America, AJL, Marc Sternberg's Brand, Kassan, Southwest, NFL Locations: MediaLink, Cannes, France, Madison, Droga5, Hollywood, Kassan, California, South, Austin

☆ 16 VCs that are funding the future of entertainment by backing generative AI and other disruptive tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

AdvertisementAfter a period of "wild west" investing in AI, Blank believes activity will favor AI companies that respect artists' consent and compensation. It recently co-led a $1 million seed round in Conduiit, which centralizes entertainment companies' production finance operations. Endeavor Venture InvestmentsEndeavor Venture Investments is the venture arm of entertainment and sports behemoth Endeavor. SWaN & LegendThe Virginia-based VC firm has a broad consumer portfolio that includes a number of entertainment investments. With Hollywood in contraction, SWaN has largely hit pause on new entertainment investments to get its portfolio companies on a strong footing.

Persons: Michael Blank, Blank, Jon Miller, Miller, Slack, Garnet Heraman, BDMI, Urs Cete, Michael, TMRW, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Elysian Park Ventures Jay Adya, Grant Lamos, Tom Brady, Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, Jay Adya, Morgan, Kushaan Ahuja, Drew Glover, Glover, Alex Harris, they've, Noah Doyle, Payback India, Jed Katz, Rich Greenfield, Rich, Ilya Pozin, Jamie Seltzer, LightShed, Steve Cohen's, it's, Sri Chandrasekar, Tripp Shriner, Ishan Sinha, That's, Wondery, Ian Doody, Raine, Gordon Rubenstein, Joe Ravitch, Jeff Sine, ‐, Fred Schaufeld, SWaN, that's, Oscar, Jose, Schaufeld, Sam Wick, Alex J, Investcorp, Paul Yoo, Edgar Bronfman Jr, Daniel Leff, Waverley, Leff Organizations: Service, Creative Artists, Connect Ventures, Business, Hollywood, Veteran, TPG, Integrated Media Co, Advancit, CAA, Bertelsmann, Waverley, Octopus Ventures, Accel, Facebook, Venture, Aperture Venture, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Fremantle, Connect, CAA Connect Ventures, New Enterprises Associates, TMRW Sports, Disney, Universal, Elysian Park Ventures, Elysian, Sports, Endeavor Venture, Endeavor Venture Investments, behemoth Endeavor, Dapper Labs, Fiat Ventures, Fiat Ventures Fiat Ventures, Fiat, Payback, Rent, LightShed, Rich Greenfield Influential, LightShed Ventures, Pluto, Apple, Octopus Ventures Octopus Ventures, Investments, Corp, Etsy, Re, Point72 Ventures New York Mets, Range Media Partners, Point72 Ventures, Sri, Powerhouse, Athletic, The New York Times Co, Evolution Media, Creative Artists Agency, Astro, Rave Digital Media, Accel Entertainment, Jose Andrés Media, Berliner, UTA Talent, UTA, UTA Ventures, Ventures, VR, Amazon, PFL Locations: blockchain, —, Conduiit, fintech, London, Australia, Papercup, Los Angeles, Virginia, UTA.VC

☆ Brazen ransomware attack on US unit of Chinese banking giant has financial sector on alert
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

It led to a flurry of behind-the-scenes coordination with the affected bank and across the financial sector about the threat. The hackers hit New York-based ICBC Financial Services, a subsidiary of the world’s largest bank by assets and a Chinese state-owned institution. ICBC Financial Services did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on Friday. “If China sees this as a black eye, they may demand action from the Russian government,” Liska told CNN. LockBit ransomware was the most deployed ransomware around the world in 2022, according to US cybersecurity officials.

Persons: ”, “, ” Jon Miller, Halcyon, BNY Mellon, LockBit, Allan Liska, ” Liska, JPMorgan Chase, LockBit ransomware, ” Will Thomas Organizations: CNN, Commercial Bank of, Intelligence, Financial Services, Treasury, ICBC Financial, Reuters, JPMorgan, FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, Treasury Department Locations: Commercial Bank of China, US, York, China, Russia, United States, Iran, cybersecurity

☆ Paramount's Shari Redstone is open for business, but business may not be open for her
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Paramount Global 's controlling shareholder is open to a merger or selling the company at the right price, according to people familiar with her thinking. Spokespeople for Redstone and Paramount Global declined to comment. Paramount Global's market value was below $8 billion as of Friday. Discovery could merge with Paramount Global, though putting together Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures may hold up deal approval with U.S. regulators. Paramount Global isn't actively working with an investment bank on a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

Persons: Shari Redstone, David A, CNBC Shari, Jon Miller, SpongeBob, Guggenheim, Michael Morris, Morris, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Bob Bakish, Bakish, Wells, Steven Cahall, Cahall, CNBC's David Faber, Lina Khan, Laura Martin, haven't, Simon, Simon & Schuster, Sumner Redstone, NAI, Jim Cramer Organizations: National Amusements, Paramount Global, Allen & Company Sun Valley, Grogan, CNBC, Paramount, Redstone, Integrated Media, Advancit, Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Showtime, NFL, Champions League, Viacom, Berkshire, Paramount Global's, Tech, Apple, YouTube, National Football, Federal Trade, Big Tech, Comcast, NBC, Fox, Disney, Needham & Co, Netflix, Bain, Co, Warner Bros, Sky, Scripps, Discovery, Simon &, MSD Partners Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho, Los Angeles , California, U.S

☆ Bob Iger's return as Disney CEO opens new possibilities for Hulu deal with Comcast
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney will write "a big check" for Comcast's 33% share of Hulu, said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell. With Bob Iger returning as Disney's CEO, Comcast is hoping for a broader conversation to seal the deal. Comcast is eyeing assets such as ESPN, FX, and NatGeo in return for surrendering its stake in Hulu. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who was unceremoniously fired on November 20, refused to hold any talks on the topic with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, according to a Comcast insider and a high-level Hollywood executive familiar with thinking inside Disney. Representatives for Hulu, Disney, and Comcast had no comment.

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☆ Fandom is trying to build the Bleacher Report of entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2018-03-03 | by ( Mike Shields | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now seen as a largely successful deal — Bleacher Report frequently tops category giant ESPN when it comes to social media interactions — at the time there were plenty of skeptics. Jacobs sees an opportunity to re-run the same Bleacher Report playbook in the entertainment category. And it's also hired a slew of professional writers and video producers from companies such as Variety, YouTube and yes, Bleacher Report. "In a way, we'd already done the heaviest lifting a media company has to do, which is to build scale," said CEO Craig Palmer. "For the first six to eight years, we just scaled and scaled and scaled and scaled thanks to our users.

Persons: –, Jon Miller, Walker Jacobs, Mike Freeman, Howard Beck, Jacobs, Jimmy Wales, Craig Palmer, it's, comScore, who's, Harry Potter, we'd, Walker, What's, Palmer Organizations: News Corp, AOL, Turner, ESPN, New York Times, Wikia, Variety, YouTube, TPG, Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix, nab, Gillette

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