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☆ 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.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav faces complex challenges as a combined HBO Max-Discovery streamer preps to launch this spring and staffers fear more layoffs and cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

CEO David Zaslav is expected to provide an update of the company's financials and outlook for the year ahead. WBD also shed more than half its stock price since the merger deal closed April 8, before a more recent partial recovery. But optimism around the company seems to be based on the feeling that things can only go up from here. Discovery to $20 from $16, assuming the heaviest cost cutting is done and despite the fact that the near-term ad outlook is poor. Legacy Warner ad salespeople in particular are frustrated over this approach and worried it'll cost them in the form of a smaller annual bonus than they've come to expect in years past.

☆ Sony's movie chief talks China censorship, upcoming game adaptation 'Gran Turismo,' and how his studio is preparing for a potential Hollywood writers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It was a long-term deal so I don't think we have to confront that yet, but it's gone terrifically for us, actually. If you don't want to compete, don't come in. Can you talk about the synergy with the Whitney Houston movie — she was a Sony Music artist — or "Gran Turismo," a Playstation game? Do you wish HBO Max's "The Last of Us," which is also based on a Sony Playstation game, had been a movie? A lot of big movies come out of it.

☆ Why the future of Sinclair's Bally Sports Regional Networks matters to every pro league and stakeholder in the TV sports business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sinclair bought its regional sports networks, now branded as Bally, from Fox after it sold assets to Disney. Four years later, the 19 networks now carrying the Bally Sports brand name are likely headed for a Chapter 11 reorganization. "We see downside risk increasing as Pay TV subscribers shift away from the linear bundle. Questions are swirling over how Diamond Sports will continue to pay rights fees to the sports leagues during a reorganization process. Symson said local rights are up in some markets and Scripps is ready to engage.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a new business structure Wednesday and further details emerged Thursday. ESPN and ESPN+ will form a separate unit, led by Jimmy Pitaro. Hollywood is already busy sharing memes about Bergman and Walden and how they will share and compete for power. As part of the cuts, Iger has directed his reports to lay off 7,000 staffers. A Thursday morning press release outlined all the shared services units that will now come under Bergman, Walden, and Pitaro.

☆ Meet the family of billionaire Nelson Peltz: From Brooklyn Peltz Beckham's wife to a former pro-hockey player, here's everything we know about his 10 kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jordan Hart | Britney Nguyen | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nelson PeltzNelson Peltz's eight children have gone on to star in films, pursue careers in business, and play ice hockey. Heidi Gutman/CNBC via Getty ImagesBefore 80-year-old Nelson Peltz amassed his $1.4 billion net worth or family of 10 children, he was a college dropout working for his family business. Peltz is now married to the former model Claudia Heffner Peltz, who has mostly kept out of the limelight during marriage. Recently, Peltz made headlines for suing the planners of his daughter Nicola's 2022 wedding to Brooklyn Beckham, Insider's Claire Atkinson reported. Insider did not receive responses to requests for comment from Nelson Peltz's company, Trian Fund Management, Brad Peltz, and a representative for Will Peltz and Nicola Peltz Beckham.

☆ Inside Disney, 'nervous and anxious' execs brace for news of cost cuts and layoffs that could number in the thousands
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cost cutting reductions, including layoffs, are expected to hit Disney in the coming weeks and months. CEO Bob Iger has asked top execs to reorganize the former Disney Media Entertainment Distribution division. Disney employees are expecting wide layoffs as returning CEO Bob Iger moves to get costs in line. Internally, there's speculation that Disney will target people who work on nonpremium digital products for layoffs, one company insider said. Iger is expected to dismantle the division formerly known as DMED (Disney Media Entertainment Distribution) and shift P&L controls back to creative leaders and others.

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger has 'very little room for maneuver' as he tackles layoffs, budget cuts, a company reorg, and questions over the future of Hulu and ESPN
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Disney chief Bob Iger will speak Wednesday on his first quarterly earnings call since returning as CEO. Wall Street wants to see how Disney plans to boost profitability this year and whether it will trade ESPN or Hulu. Aside from a quick visit to Disney World in January, Bob Iger has been lying very low. Media investor Ross Gerber told Insider that Iger would get back to focusing on content rather than on the distribution mechanism. Iger tweeted a photo of himself at Disney World, dressed in a relaxed green cardigan and gray slacks as he posed with cast members on January 19.

☆ Activist investor Nelson Peltz is suing Florida party planners who worked on his daughter Nicola's wedding to Brooklyn Beckham, claiming he was 'hoodwinked'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nelson Peltz is suing Plan Design Events, a Florida company that worked on his daughter's 2022 wedding to Brooklyn Beckham. Planners are accused of botching the RSVP list for three days of events celebrating Nicola Peltz and Beckham. Activist investor Nelson Peltz is suing event planners who helped work on his daughter Nicola's splashy wedding to Brooklyn Beckham last spring, according to a December court filing. The documents state the billionaire wants his deposit back from their company, Plan Design Events. "Peltz is Hoodwinked by the Party Planners," Peltz lawyers wrote in the filing, which references Plan Design as PDE.

☆ News Corp plans to sell real estate giant Move Inc, valued at $1.4 billion, to CoStar as Rupert Murdoch shelves proposed merger of News Corp and Fox
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

News Corp is in talks to sell Move Inc, the operator of listings site Realtor.com, to CoStar. The news comes as executive chairman Rupert Murdoch shelves a News Corp merger with Fox. News Corp is planning to sell Move Inc., the California-based operator of Realtor.com and other real estate listings sites, to CoStar, a commercial real estate data and technology firm. One News Corp shareholder, Irenic Capital, had argued against the merger, suggesting that News Corp could benefit shareholders if it unlocked the value of its holdings including Dow Jones and the real estate assets. The balance is held by News Corp's digital real estate subsidiary REA.

☆ Vox Media is in talks to raise $200 million as it considers asset sales and acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Private equity giant CVC Capital is discussing a $200 million investment into Vox Media. Vox Media, which owns New York magazine, Recode, The Verge and more, recently laid off more than 100 staffers. Both CVC Capital and Group Black had talks aimed at acquiring the digital media company, according to reports. Vox Media, the digital media venture that houses assets including New York magazine, The Verge, Eater, and SB Nation, is looking to raise around $200 million, according to two people familiar with talks. The sources said they believe Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff wants to use the money to acquire new assets while also potentially putting some Vox Media properties on the block.

☆ Netflix insiders applaud new co-CEO Greg Peters, 'the only real visionary' in the C-suite, but scratch their heads over what other exec changes mean for the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Netflix's elevation of Greg Peters to co-CEO shows the importance of its advertising sales effort. But Bela Bajaria's rise to content chief has caused some confusion about the future of the TV and film organization. The Netflix veteran now shares the role with current co-CEO Ted Sarandos, as company cofounder Reed Hastings steps down and settles into an executive chairman position. The move made a lot of sense to industry insiders, and even publicly, Netflix had been signaling the ascension for some time. Netflix insiders said Bajaria's new title underscored the importance of TV versus film in the streaming wars.

☆ Apple is looking for a top sales executive to spearhead a giant advertising push in sports and streaming. Here are 16 execs who could score the job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Netflix also conducted a search before hiring two Snap executives, Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor, to lead its new ads business. XandrLesser, a longtime digital ad executive, has extensive experience working on issues around the future of digital marketing. McDonald has a ton of other digital ad sales and publishing experience. She helped launch Modi Media, ad buying giant GroupM's addressable TV business, before joining TV adtech startup Cadent. UnivisionValentino runs Disney's digital ad business as EVP, client and brand solutions.

☆ How Scripps News, the streaming and broadcast network formerly known as Newsy, is pivoting to anti-partisan, 'fact-based' reporting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Streaming and broadcast news network Newsy has been rebranded as Scripps News. The network formerly known as Newsy has a presence on TV stations owned by Scripps and its ION Media stations and is accessible via free over-the-air digital antenna and several streaming platforms — including Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. The company, which pulled Newsy from cable packages in 2021, boasts that Scripps News offers the only free 24/7 national news broadcast. Scripps News is also absorbing scores of executives from a national desk that fed the company's 61 local stations. Its local stations pulled in $208 million in ad revenue thanks to the midterm elections.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav has assembled a Discovery-heavy leadership team to transform the company. Here are the 20 corporate, creative, and business execs charged with helping him pull it off. Discovery merger, CEO David Zaslav faces massive challenges as he tries to pump out cash to pay down debt while slashing billions in costs. Many of the corporate and business leaders Zaslav has assembled are Discovery execs he's worked with closely for years and who were given bigger roles after the merger. These 20 execs, listed alphabetically, are the power players Zaslav has put in place to help him get there.

☆ Apple TV+ has a new exec leading the business as Apple's VP of Music steps up amid a company reorg
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple Music and Beats VP Oliver Schusser is taking on streamer AppleTV+. Oliver Schusser, Apple's VP Music and Beats, is set to take on oversight of streaming service Apple TV+, two industry insiders with knowledge of plans told Insider. Apple TV+ is still short on scale, however, when it comes to viewing time versus its competitive set. A report from research firm MoffettNathanson described Apple TV+ viewing as a "rounding error" in terms of programming minutes viewed in the fourth quarter. In 2018 he moved from London to California to take up the role of VP, Apple Music and International Content.

☆ In leaked memo one day after Dow Jones layoffs, News Corp CEO urges 'full compliance' with back-to-office schedule for Wall Street Journal, New York Post staffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson sends staff memo about the importance of in-person collaboration. The news comes a day after layoffs at News Corp unit Dow Jones that affected less than 2% of staff. The CEO flagged that he'd be asking business leads to consult with managers to "ensure full compliance with in-office work schedules," which "will evolve in the coming weeks," he wrote. The Wall Street Journal's in-office staffing situation in New York is currently being monitored by the company, according to two sources. The spontaneity and serendipity of a dynamic office environment are crucial in creating and in iterating, so in-office attendance is vital to our future success.

☆ Top DAZN exec reveals how the streamer is gearing up to super-serve fans in 2023, moving beyond boxing, and betting big on women's sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

We've also invested heavily in women's boxing. You are starting to see real, meaningful growth in women's sport now and that comes in different forms. The professionalism of the production in women's sport, we've been central to driving that forward. In the US, boxing fans in this country are disproportionately Hispanic relative to the wider population. The real business for us is the ongoing monthly subscription relationship that we have with boxing fans in this country, or soccer fans in Germany or Italy, and baseball fans in Japan.

☆ Apple is searching for a head of ad sales as its streaming TV and sports ambitions grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple has a recruitment firm searching for a top TV and streaming executive to head up its ad sales. The search suggests the company may be considering an ad-supported tier for Apple TV+. Recruiters are quietly working on a search for a head of ad sales, according to a person familiar with conversations. This new executive search indicates that Apple has plans to create an ad tier for Apple TV+. An ad executive familiar with plans said Apple was negotiating a major beachfront presence this year.

☆ NBCUniversal's latest round of layoffs shows how streaming is killing the traditional TV ad sales role
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A TV era is quietly coming to a close and high-profile ad sales executives are hitting the exits. The changes come as advertisers pause spend due to economic uncertainty, and linear TV ad buys decline as viewers shift to streaming TV. Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra noted at an investor event "significant restructuring in our ad sales organization." NBCUniversal has done small groups of layoffs across divisions and just cut ad sales staff. Horizon's Campanelli said that with clients knowing much more about their audiences' viewing preferences, traditional ad sales desks have a smaller role to play than before.

☆ NBCUniversal layoffs hit TV ad sales teams as resources shift from linear to streaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NBCUniversal is laying off executives from its ad sales teams today. Linear TV ad sales is declining and NBCU is shifting priorities to streaming. NBCUniversal is letting go of ad sales executives at 30 Rock today, according to two people with direct knowledge of the changes. One of the people with direct knowledge told Insider the layoffs overall will be "big." The company has been looking to shave staff after a decline in linear TV viewing and an ad recession have hurt the traditional ad sales business.

☆ A top Apple subscriptions executive, VP Services Peter Stern, is leaving the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Peter Stern, one of Apple's top subscriptions executives, is exiting the company. In six years at Apple, Stern helped build Apple TV+'s business operations and the company's sports portfolio. Apple is reorganizing its Services unit and Stern's responsibilities will be split into three separate divisions, according to two people familiar with internal conversations at Apple. During his six-year tenure at Apple, Stern helped build subscription products such as Arcade, Books, and Apple One, News+, Fitness+, iCloud+. Apple's Services unit revenue continues to grow, as do its total subscriptions.

☆ Streaming is killing the traditional TV ad sales role
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A shift to streaming is shrinking the need for big ad sales teams. A TV era is quietly coming to a close and high-profile ad sales executives are hitting the exits. The changes come as advertisers pause spend due to economic uncertainty, and linear TV ad buys decline as viewers shift to streaming TV. Horizon's Campanelli said that with clients knowing much more about their audiences' viewing preferences, traditional ad sales desks have a smaller role to play than before. And local stations are still hiring TV sales executives, said Robert Russo, CEO of RNR Media Consulting, a former VP of political sales at ION Media.

☆ Inside Amazon, there's chatter, and jokes, about Jeff Bezos coming back as CEO in the midst of massive layoffs and a plummeting stock price
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Eugene Kim | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some Amazon employees are calling for Jeff Bezos to return as CEO. Some Amazon employees are calling for the return of founder Jeff Bezos as CEO in the midst of massive layoffs and a plunging stock price. "Apparently not even Andy is safe," one employee wrote, referring to Jassy who took over from Bezos as CEO in July 2021. "He should come…he is the best," another employee wrote, referring to Bezos. In the turkey-themed email, viewed by Insider, the CEO acknowledged challenges, thanked Amazon employees, and called for resilience and optimism.

☆ 21 top CNN execs who are on the market after Warner Bros. Discovery layoffs and the shutdown of CNN+ in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

After the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and shutdown of streamer CNN+, CNN lost a slew of top executives. Insider identified 21 accomplished pros from across the network who are on the market. It was a year of sweeping layoffs and organizational changes at CNN in 2022 as Warner Bros. Earlier in 2022, CNN cut 239 jobs following the abrupt closure of news streamer CNN+.

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