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☆ IAC exploring spinoff of home improvement marketplace Angi
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

IAC said Monday it's exploring a spinoff of Angi , an online platform that connects consumers with a marketplace of home improvement service providers in their area, like electricians and landscapers. The company is considering a spinoff of Angi that would result in its stake being distributed to shareholders, IAC CEO Joey Levin wrote in a letter to shareholders that coincided with the company's third-quarter earnings release. IAC owns 85% of Angi, which also includes home services marketplaces Handy and HomeAdvisor. Media platform Dotdash Meredith and MGM Resorts "would comprise the core of IAC" in the event of an Angi spinoff, Levin said. IAC acquired Angi in 2017, and it's been weighing a spinoff of the business for several years.

Persons: Joey Levin, Handy, Meredith, Levin, Angi, it's, It's, Barry Diller, I'm Organizations: IAC, HomeAdvisor, MGM Resorts, Match, Expedia, Ticketmaster

☆ Barry Diller calls timing of The Washington Post's non-endorsement a 'blunder'
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Cj Haddad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

To Barry Diller, a friend of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the decision for The Washington Post not to endorse a candidate in tomorrow's presidential election was "absolutely principled" — and poorly timed, he said Monday on CNBC's Squawk Box. "They made a blunder — it should've happened months before, and it didn't, and that's the issue with it," Diller said. Diller is chairperson of both online travel company Expedia and IAC , which owns media platforms and websites like Dotdash Meredith and Care.com. "I think it was absolutely principled," Diller said. "The mistake they made — and it was a mistake admitted by him — was timing."

Persons: Barry Diller, Jeff Bezos, Diller, Dotdash Meredith, Care.com, Diane von Furstenberg, Lauren Sanchez, Bezos, — Organizations: Amazon, The Washington Post, IAC Locations: Bezos

☆ OpenAI launches ChatGPT search, competing with Google and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

ChatGPT search offers up-to-the-minute sports scores, stock quotes, news, weather and more, powered by real-time web search and partnerships with news and data providers, according to the company. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards OpenAI's ChatGPT search OpenAIThe move also positions OpenAI as more of a competitor to Microsoft and its businesses. ChatGPT will "automatically search the web based on what you ask," according to an OpenAI blog post. Users can manually click the web search icon within ChatGPT to search if they choose. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards OpenAI's ChatGPT search OpenAI

Persons: Sam Altman, Didem, Bing, OpenAI, Altman, Axel Springer, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Microsoft, Google, ChatGPT, Associated Press, Reuters, Hearst, Financial Times, News Corp, Vox Media Locations: ChatGPT, OpenAI

☆ Sam Altman's OpenAI is paying publishers big money for content. That could be a lifeline — or blow up in their faces.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

You've heard this one before: A big tech company is offering a lifeline to distressed media companies. That's the argument against a slew of deals publishers have been making with Sam Altman's OpenAI over the past few months. But the OpenAI deals, the publishers emphasize, are straightforward licensing deals for stuff they're already making. AdvertisementWhich means — they say — at the end of these deals, publishers won't have to regret investing in another defunct Big Tech project. But the thing I'm most worried about as someone who makes words for a living isn't a replay of the old Facebook/Apple/Google deals publishers now regret.

Persons: You've, It's, Sam Altman's OpenAI, Axel Springer, Rupert, Barry Diller's Dotdash Meredith, Laurene Powell, haven't, OpenAI, it's, Jessica Lessin, Lucy, Charlie Brown, —, Let's, Bob Iger, ChatGPT, that's Organizations: Service, Vox Media, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Laurene Powell Jobs, Atlantic Media, Apple, Google, Facebook, The New York Times, Big Tech, New York Times, Microsoft, Netflix, ABC, Disney

☆ Meta is considering new paid deals with media publishers for AI training data
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta may need such access to make its generative AI tools, like Meta AI, more effective for users and more competitive in the increasingly crowded market of generative AI search tools and chatbots, the people said. User posts and comments on Facebook or Instagram are not necessarily the type of high-quality training data that generative AI chatbots and search tools need to generate quality outputs. Previously, Zuckerberg said he did not expect the generative AI boom. The US Copyright Office is considering new rules to cover generative AI. Major rival tech companies now fiercely competing in generative AI have already entered into deals with news publishers and media outlets for more access to content to be used as model training data.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Dotdash Meredith, Axel Springer, OpenAI, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, Meta, Facebook, Business, News, Google, US, News Corp, Financial, Associated Press, BI, Politico, Microsoft, The New York Times, Times Locations: Europe, khays@businessinsider.com

Kushner and Kloss take over Life magazineLife, the iconic photography-focused chronicler of the 20th century, has taken on many forms, including a weekly magazine, a website and the occasional special issue. Kushner and Kloss are buying the publication rights to Life from Dotdash Meredith, the print and digital publisher. The deal is being done through Bedford Media, the media start-up that Kloss leads as C.E.O. Life was once a central part of American culture, featuring the work of renowned photographers like Robert Capa and writing by top authors. (Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” first appeared in its pages.

Persons: Kushner, Kloss, Barry, Josh Kushner, Dotdash Meredith, Robert Capa, Ernest Hemingway’s “ Organizations: IAC, Bedford Media Locations: OpenAI

☆ RIP Sports Illustrated. And RIP, magazines.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewSports Illustrated used to be an American cultural touchstone. And sad for a certain kind of media person — like me — who remembers when Sports Illustrated was Really Important. AdvertisementFor people who don't remember that era: In a pre-internet world, Sports Illustrated was many things. In recent years, you were much more likely to read about a scandal or stupid controversy at Sports Illustrated than you were to actually read Sports Illustrated. So feel free to pour one out for Sports Illustrated — both the idea and the actual place where people worked.

Persons: —, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Don DeLillo, Gilbert Carrasquillo, who've, it's, Condé Nast, Steve Jobs, DotDash Meredith, Conde Organizations: Service, Sports Illustrated, Business, Authentic Brands, Group, Brands, Sports, Inc, Vogue, Apple, Pitchfork, Google, Facebook Locations: American

☆ Dotdash Meredith union members marched on a top exec at the publisher of People, Entertainment Weekly, and more, as their 2-year contract battle heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

On Wednesday, organizers of the Dotdash Meredith Union took a step to show they're ready to escalate their efforts. Dotdash Meredith sources requested anonymity to speak freely about the status of negotiations and the union's thinking, citing sensitivity over the ongoing talks. Dotdash Meredith spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment. "We've spoken to management across the table and we've appealed to their common sense," a second union source said, adding, "People should see this as us saying, 'We've tried to bargain. The union sources said workers are seeking a provision to prevent the use of AI in generating journalistic content, but the publisher had so far refused to agree to such a clause.

Persons: Dotdash Meredith —, Meredith Union, We're, that's, Dotdash Meredith, —, Meredith, Leah Wyar Romito, Martha Stewart, we've, We've, That's, Wyar, Leah Wyar, we're, Leah, Romito, Neil Vogel, Dotdash, Vogel Organizations: Entertainment, company's Entertainment, Zoom, People, TV, National Labor Relations Board, Dotdash Meredith Union, NLRB, New York Times Locations: Manhattan, Wyar, New York

☆ IAC narrowly beats Wall Street third-quarter revenue estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Internet holding company IAC (IAC.O) beat Wall Street third-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday, as the owner of publisher Dotdash Meredith saw traffic growth return for core brands. IAC owns Dotdash Meredith, America's largest digital and print publisher, as well as brands such as the Daily Beast and care services platform Care.com. Revenue fell 15% to $1.11 billion, narrowly beating analyst estimates, amid a challenging advertising market. Revenue at Dotdash Meredith, its biggest business, fell 11% to $417.5 million, with digital and print revenue declining 4% and 16%, respectively. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA grew 83% year-over-year, with adjusted core earnings growing at home services platform Angi and Dotdash Meredith.

Persons: Dotdash Meredith, We've, Joey Levin, GAI, Helen Coster, Manya, Krishna Chandra Organizations: IAC, Daily, Revenue, Consolidated, Dotdash Media, . Copyright, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: Dotdash, New York, Bengaluru

☆ TikTok advertisers stick by the app amid threat of U.S. ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Advertisers are committed to continue spending on TikTok due to its immense popularity with users despite threats of a potential ban in the U.S. over national security concerns, ad experts said. The short-form video app has already been banned from government-issued phones in multiple countries. Two media buyers at two different major ad agencies told Reuters that Washington's scrutiny over the app had yet to impact their clients' plans on TikTok. Still, several media buyers acknowledged the threat of a U.S. ban would be the "elephant in the room" during the advertiser presentation. TikTok said it is addressing advertiser concerns "head on in an open, fact-based and ongoing dialogue."

☆ TikTok to launch ad product that will give premium content creators 50% cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 3 (Reuters) - TikTok said on Wednesday it is launching a product that well let advertisers place ads alongside content produced by premium publishers, half of the ad revenue from which will be shared with those publishers. The social media platform said brands including Buzzfeed, DotDash Meredith, NBCUniversal, UFC and WWE will be the first to join at the launch of the product called Pulse Premiere on May 4. It is an extension of TikTok's Pulse program, which lets marketers place their brand next to the top 4% of content on the platform, the company said. TikTok in March said it had 150 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100 million in 2020. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ Billionaire Barry Diller says the media should 'absolutely' sue AI makers over ingesting text from articles
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Barry Diller warned publishers to prepare to fight in order to get paid for AI's use of their work. Diller made the comments at the Semafor Media Summit in New York. "Companies can absolutely sue under copyright law," he said. "It's not clear right now to what extent that has copyright implications," Gerratana said. "It's possible we'll see court decisions that apply copyright law in ways that we wouldn't have expected, because this technology is new, the circumstances are new, and the facts are new."

☆ People magazine offered voluntary resignation packages alongside January layoffs, and now insiders say rumors are swirling of more staff cuts ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The resignations, in exchange for severance packages, were offered the same day Dotdash Meredith laid off 7% of staff. In January, Dotdash Meredith cut 7% of its headcount during a difficult squeeze for the media industry, as ad spending has tumbled amid an uncertain economy. Dan Wakeford, a 7-year veteran of the publication who had served as editor-in-chief since 2019, departed last year after the formation of Dotdash Meredith under IAC. Severance pay will be paid in installments on the regular biweekly payroll schedule. KandisDo you work at People magazine or Dotdash Meredith and have insight to share?

Newsletter publisher and digital media company TheSkimm laid off nearly 10% of staffers in January. Bustle Digital Group, The Washington Post, and Buzzfeed are among other media companies that cut workers in recent months. TheSkimm, the popular newsletter publisher and digital media company, laid off nearly 10% of its workforce — or about 17 staffers — in mid-January, according to a source familiar with the matter. TheSkimm is far from the only media company that has enacted wide-ranging personnel cuts in recent months. Entertainment media companies have also been heavily impacted, with AMC, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global, Roku, and Spotify paring back headcount.

☆ Mega-publisher Dotdash Meredith cuts 7% of its workforce, citing weakened ad market
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

It’s the latest example in a brutal wave of layoffs that have consumed the media and technology industries. In making the job cuts at Dotdash Meredith, which will impact 274 employees, CEO Neil Vogel cited the poor economic terrain the company is trying to navigate. In recent months, the media and technology sectors have taken a battering as advertisers tighten spending amid economic uncertainty. CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, Vox Media, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Gannett and other news organizations have cut their workforces in recent months. Google said it had made the decision to eliminate 6% of its workforce, which translates to approximately 12,000 jobs.

☆ Dotdash Meredith's CEO explains why its $2.7 billion acquisition of Meredith has been tough as the ad industry gets creamed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

CEO Neil Vogel said an ad market slowdown and culture challenges have been hard. IAC-owned Dotdash Meredith is about a year into its $2.7 billion acquisition of magazine giant Meredith, and a rough ad market has made the transition to become a big player for advertisers tough. "The market is hard," said Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith. Dotdash Meredith owns more than 40 brands including People, The Spruce, and Food & Wine. At the same time, the ad market soured last year as advertisers reigned in spending.

☆ These 11 execs at publishers like The New York Times and Dotdash Meredith are tasked with finding creative ways to save their companies' ads businesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Elizabeth Pham Janowski | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past few months, Tomich's role has been to build The Athletic's ads business from the ground up. Tomich previously served as the global head of New York Times Advertising, where he guided the strategy for advertising across the US and EMEA and oversaw the launch of The New York Times' audio advertising business, among other projects. His work at the Times has shaped his approach to carving out a niche in the market that he calls "the premium side of sports advertising." Tomich's focus has been on securing launch sponsors for The Athletic's ads business, as well as partnerships for The World Cup. "If you can just focus on creating something of value for an audience that can't get that thing in another place, you have a really good business model."

☆ The CEO of Barry Diller's IAC says Netflix with ads will be a double blow to network TV revenue: 'Now they're losing audience and losing scarcity.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The growth of ad-supported streaming at scale is set to challenge the $60 billion TV ad business. One top internet executive, IAC CEO Joey Levin, says Netflix will destroy networks' scarcity argument. Wall Street also is waiting to see if Netflix draws ad dollars from social media or TV. Traditional TV networks are about to lose one of their main arguments for charging big rates for ads. Netflix's arrival on Madison Avenue next year is going to erode the hugely lucrative TV ad business, said Levin, who spoke with Insider in September.

☆ The CEO of Barry Diller's IAC says they're on the hunt for new deals in media and tech as valuations have fallen: 'We're entering the reality period'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Barry Diller's IAC is back on the hunt for deals as companies are seeing lower valuations. CEO Joey Levin said IAC has $1.5 billion to spend and plans to leverage a tough operating environment. "We're in that adjustment period entering the reality period," Levin told Insider in a September interview. In September, its combined Dotdash Meredith unit continued a multi-month string of pro forma revenue declines, posting a 24% decrease. We could still be right or wrong, but if we're right, we can create value," Levin said.

☆ Barry Diller's IAC is on the hunt for deals as company valuations fall and CEO Joey Levin sees opportunity in downturn
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Barry Diller's IAC is back on the hunt for deals as companies are seeing lower valuations. CEO Joey Levin said IAC has $1.5 billion to spend and plans to leverage a tough operating environment. In September, its combined Dotdash Meredith unit continued a multi-month string of pro forma revenue declines, posting a 24% decrease. With many company valuations having come down, Levin noted, IAC has the potential to bet on a broader array of businesses than it has before. We could still be right or wrong, but if we're right, we can create value," Levin said.

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