DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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.

☆ The digital media rollup dream is dead for the moment — now it's all about core brand strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

What's happening in the digital media space echoes trends from the biggest media companies, including Netflix , Disney and Warner Bros. The rollup dream's rise and fallFrom late 2018 to early 2022, the digital media industry had a shared goal. First, digital media companies needed more scale to compete with Facebook and Google for digital advertising dollars. Large legacy media companies such as Disney and Comcast 's NBCUniversal invested hundreds of millions in digital media in the early and mid-2010s. "The digital media rollup has proven successful only when assets are thoughtfully combined with an eye toward consumers," Goldberg said.

☆ 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.

☆ Google workers tell Sundar Pichai “don’t be evil” while conducting layoffs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While I daydream about getting my culinary education partially comped too, let's dive into today's tech. Googlers tell CEO Sundar Pichai: "Don't be evil." But more than 1,400 Googlers asked their CEO to continue the spirit of the adage by handling layoffs better. They cited Ukraine as an example and urged Pichai to offer extra support for workers who hold work visas. Today, Vice Media is scrambling for a buyer, and its future will likely be determined in the coming months.

☆ Saudi money is pouring into Hollywood and media, 5 years after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Here's who's cashing in and how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Even those media players that are comfortable with invetment from the Middle East may not find funds flowing, one Hollywood veteran said. A major live WWE event in Saudi Arabia is slated for May. Of the growing ties between US entertainment and media and Middle East investors, this person added, "Presumably media organizations got into this to help society make better decisions."

Richelieu Dennis, left, and Bonin Bough are two of the co-founders of Group Black, which has been exploring an acquisition of Vice Media for several months. Group Black, a company that aims to invest in and grow Black-owned media firms, has submitted a bid to acquire beleaguered Vice Media for around $400 million, according to people familiar with the situation. Vice has received other bids for the entire business as well as pieces of its business, people familiar with the matter said. The company hopes to wrap up the bidding process in the next few days, the people said.

☆ Vice Media names co-CEOs to replace veteran exec. Nancy Dubuc- NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Digital media firm Vice Media named co-chief executive officers to replace veteran television executive Nancy Dubuc who announced her departure last week, the New York Times reported on Monday. Chief Financial Officer Bruce Dixon and Chief Strategy Officer Hozefa Lokhandwala will helm the top role together, according to the Times. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc Steps Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Before joining Vice Media, Nancy Dubuc was chief executive of A+E Networks. Vice Media said Chief Executive Nancy Dubuc is stepping down after five years, as the embattled media company faces a number of challenges amid a sale process. “Nancy joined VICE at a pivotal time and put in place an exceptional team that has positioned the company for long-term success,” the Vice Media board of directors said in a statement. The board will announce a new leader soon, it 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 CEO Nancy Dubuc calls it quits after 5 years. Read her full memo to staff.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc is stepping down after a rocky tenure. Vice has struggled in recent years given the long shadow of its financial situation. Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc told staff in an email Friday that she is leaving the company after five years at the troubled, Brooklyn-based youth media giant. Read the memo Dubuc sent to staff on Friday:Dear Vice Media Group Team,I am writing today with bittersweet news. Despite all this the Vice, Vice Studios, Pulse, as well as Virtue, R29, i-D and Unbothered brands are strong.

Vice Media has struggled for years to show rapid growth and live up to an early valuation of $5.7 billion. Vice Media has secured more than $30 million in debt financing from Fortress Investment Group, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the new-media company faces a financial crunch. Vice, which is trying to sell itself, owes millions of dollars to vendors and advisers, some of whom haven’t been paid for more than six months, according to people familiar with the matter. Some vendors have resorted to collections agencies to retrieve payments, some of the people said.

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.

☆ BuzzFeed's $300M purchase of Complex promised to grow both brands, but insiders say strategies have clashed and Complex's culture is being 'completely gutted'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Complex insiders worry that the cuts threaten their brand's culture and future. Clashing video strategies as some fear Complex culture is being 'completely gutted'Kevin Hart appeared on Complex's "Hot Ones" series. Before joining with BuzzFeed, Complex's then-CEO Rich Antoniello had conversations with Vice Media and Vox Media. But Complex insiders felt especially aggrieved when, this fall, BuzzFeed announced a global expansion for ComplexCon. To Complex insiders, BuzzFeed's plan to take the event to Australia, Europe, and Asia simultaneously was unrealistic and under-resourced.

☆ Complex insiders say owner BuzzFeed has shed key talent, failed to invest in core content, and threatens to dilute the hip culture brand: 'The BuzzFeed ethos does not get it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Clashing video strategies as some fear Complex culture is being 'completely gutted'Kevin Hart appeared on Complex's "Hot Ones" series. Before joining with BuzzFeed, Complex's then-CEO Rich Antoniello had conversations with Vice Media and Vox Media. Rubbing salt in the wound, Complex insiders said they felt their brand was scrappier and more culturally relevant than BuzzFeed, which many consider past its prime. But Complex insiders felt especially aggrieved when, this fall, BuzzFeed announced a global expansion for ComplexCon. To Complex insiders, BuzzFeed's plan to take the event to Australia, Europe, and Asia simultaneously was unrealistic and under-resourced.

☆ Vice Media Set to Miss Revenue Projection by Over $100 Million Amid Stalled Sale Talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Alexandra Bruell | Jessica Toonkel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vice Media is expecting to miss a 2022 revenue goal by more than $100 million, according to people familiar with the situation, a blow for the new-media company as it pursues a sale. The company presented a revenue target of over $700 million at an off-site with senior employees earlier this year, one of the people said. The expected shortfall would leave Vice with around $600 million in revenue for the year, roughly flat compared with 2021, the people said.

☆ 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.

☆ Semafor news platform launches
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That structure is designed to address issues such as a trust deficit between the public and the press, and some readers' inability to distinguish between facts and analysis, said Semafor Executive Editor Gina Chua in an interview Monday. That funding will take Semafor to the end of 2023 and into 2024, according to chief executive officer Justin Smith. At launch, Semafor said that 75% of its revenue will come from advertising and 25% from event sponsorships. Some news organizations such as Axios have had success luring readers with shorter, unconventional formats. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Helen Coster in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ If companies want to get the best out of people, they should help them leave in 2 years, a CEO argues
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-21 | by ( Barry Lowenthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Most people no longer want to stay in a job forever, writes Media Kitchen CEO Barry Lowenthal. Let's develop a plan to turnover the workforce every two years — or 730 days — he argues. As the world of work changes, so should how we think about job longevity. Instead, give us your best 730 days and in return we'll make you extremely marketable and able to leave to do other amazing things. Give us 730 days and we promise that you'll become extremely marketable.

Search resuls for: "Vice Media"

19 mentions found