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☆ An explosive new lawsuit claims TikTok's owner built a 'backdoor' that allowed the CCP to access US user data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Dan Whateley | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ByteDance allowed a Chinese Communist Party unit to censor content and access data, a new lawsuit alleges. ByteDance built a "backdoor channel" to enable CCP access to US user data, the suit alleges. An explosive new lawsuit claims TikTok owner ByteDance built a "backdoor channel" in its code that allowed Chinese Communist Party members access to user data hosted in the US. Yu is a former engineering lead for ByteDance in the US who worked at the company between 2017 and 2018. The complaint alleges the "Committee continued to have access" to US user data even after ByteDance walled off access for individual engineers in China.

☆ Read the pitch deck a social-gaming startup used to raise $7 million to disrupt fantasy sports by catering to Gen Z audiences who want shorter, faster play
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Nhari Djan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Champions Round is a social media platform for fantasy sports. Read the 13-page pitch deck Champions Round used to to fundraise. Champions Round also plans to introduce tools that would allow creators or brands to build their own games and earn a cut of the revenue generated from them. The company shared with Insider the exact deck used to pitch potential investors during its latest round. Here are 13 key slides from the pitch deck Champions Round used to raise its Series A round:

☆ Movie stars who draw audiences to theaters are getting older, raising questions about young Hollywood's star power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new study found the actors who are most likely to draw audiences to theaters are getting older. Most of the top 100 actors — with 13 exceptions — were age 40 or older, according to the study. 10 among Gen Z), Zendaya (No. 14 among Gen Z), Michael B. Jordan (No. But older actors also ranked highly with younger cohorts, including Hart and Sandler, who were the third and fifth biggest box-office draws respectively for Gen Z.

☆ How to get started on OnlyFans without followers, according to creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Here's how to start building, promoting, and monetizing OnlyFans content, according to creators. Creators Insider spoke with said they'd found success cross-promoting their OnlyFans content on Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok, among other platforms. Subscriptions are the most basic option for creators looking to monetize their OnlyFans content. The remaining 10% comes from tips, which are another revenue stream for OnlyFans creators. Here's some recent coverage of OnlyFans creators who have built successful businesses after starting out as beginners on the platform:

☆ March Madness shows how NIL money and the transfer portal are starting to reshape the balance of power in college sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly two years into NIL, its impact on college sports is starting to show during March Madness. Most of the teams the Final Four — in both men's and women's basketball — have strong NIL backings. Changes to NIL and the transfer portal have created a "perfect storm that's allowed some schools to bank talent," one expert said. LSU's Angel Reese has the most NIL deals of any college baller, Just Women's Sports reported based on data from SponsorUnited, which tracks NIL deals. "The transfer portal and NIL happening at same time, to me, that's the perfect storm that's allowed some schools to bank talent," Dosh said.

☆ A 27-page report breaks down where the money is flowing in sports tech and the investors to watch. Here were 5 key takeaways.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Investment bank Drake Star broke down dealmaking in 2022 and what it means for the year ahead. Sports tech M&A activity in 2022, from Drake Star's Global Sports Tech Report 2022. Drake Star Global Sports Tech Report 2022The fourth quarter saw a surge in M&A volume with 67 deals, the most in the sector's recent history. More sports tech companies could explore public listings in the second half of the year. "Some of the IPO ready sports tech companies are expected to explore IPO/SPAC listings."

☆ 9 deals that could shape US sports betting this year, as pent-up demand for M&A could bring operators like Fanatics back to the negotiating table
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sports-betting insiders say there's pent-up demand for M&A in the industry after dealmaking slowed to crawl last year. That may mean fewer media and other deals that don't offer a clear return on investment or cost efficiencies.. That may mean fewer media and other deals that don't offer a clear return on investment or cost efficiencies. One thing we may see less of this year is operators looking to bring their entire tech stacks in-house, like when Bally's acquired Bet.Works and PointsBet bought Banach Technologies. Here are nine potential deals industry insiders are watching in 2023, and how they could shake up the industry:

FaZe Clan has laid off 20% of its staff as it found itself with less capital than expected. Esports organization FaZe Clan has laid off roughly 20% of its employees in a restructuring that began in December, a company spokesperson confirmed. In the memo to staffers, FaZe CEO Lee Trink wrote that the company expects to report a year-over-year revenue increase of more than 25% for 2022. As I described, I'm extremely proud that we expect to report the revenue growth for 2022 will show an increase of over 25% from 2021. As we embark on 2023 with a more streamlined, nimbler organization, our key focus is on the core aspects of what makes FaZe FaZe, and what has allowed the brand and the business to grow at an incredible pace over the past five years.

☆ How rising-star athletes balance sports and content creation, even as the tech implosion disrupts lucrative brand deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Social media, content creation, and lucrative branding deals offer a new path to fame and fortune. Top agents and managers working with athletes on content said it can be tricky to balance with training. Chasing content deals can be a distraction from the sport, and the industry-wide layoffs across tech companies from Twitter to Meta to Amazon mean that opportunities for influencer revenue are facing a slowdown. Fresno State basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, for instance, have a number of lucrative brand deals under their belts. A lot more athletes may not get deals if they don't have content creation, social media followings, or brand building."

In our inaugural list, Insider is spotlighting 8 recruiters placing talent in the creator economy. Here are the recruiters to know if you are looking to get hired in the creator economy. As the creator economy becomes a more established industry nestled between media and tech, the space is burgeoning with rising stars and new talent. Insider is highlighting eight recruiters who are actively searching for leaders and emerging talent in the creator economy in 2023. Here are eight recruiters who work with creators, startups in the creator economy, or traditional companies and brands to source talent in the creator space, listed alphabetically by firm:

☆ How the boom in sports documentaries on streaming is opening up a new path for athletes as content creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A boom in sports documentaries has offered athletes more ways to be on screen and build their brands. Players and their agents are looking for hits like Netflix Formula 1 doc series "Drive to Survive." Being featured in a sports doc can dramatically raise an athlete's profile, giving them more fans and more branding power. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" was credited with doing wonders for F1 fandom, particularly stateside, where American interest has historically been scarce. "These people can go on the air and broadcast their own content and they can capture and keep their own content," said Octagon VP of content and development Jason Weichelt.

☆ How Tom Brady's robust trademark and brand strategy that spans cookbooks to skincare is setting him up for life after the NFL
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tom Brady is retiring from football, but his trademark applications could set up his second act. Brady's trademarks speak to his range of business interests, from health and wellness products to digital collectibles and NFT marketplaces. He also has a swath of trademark applications for consumer goods, like eyewear, clothing, skincare, bags, and water bottles. This story was originally published in August 2022 and has been updated in light of Tom Brady's retirement announcement. Here's a breakdown of the pending trademark applications for Brady's personal brand (condensed and categorized by Insider):

☆ FuboTV insiders describe how its 'doomed' sportsbook collapsed in a year — and what it means for the future of the streaming company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Colin Salao | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

But despite the MetLife lounge remaining open throughout the 2021-22 NFL season, the Fubo Sportsbook wouldn't launch in New Jersey until the following one, in September 2022. "It was doomed from the start," one former Fubo Gaming staffer told Insider. Meanwhile, Rattner — whom the first former Fubo gaming staffer described as a "good talker" — sustained the startup's more youthful culture. The Fubo Sportsbook launched in New Jersey on September 7, days before the first Jets home game. A promotional image from when the Fubo Sportsbook went live in New Jersey in September 2022.

☆ We updated our Netflix org chart — including new top advertising, gaming, and marketing leadership — after a year of layoffs and restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

2022 was a transformational year for Netflix that marked the streamer's foray into advertising. We updated our interactive chart of Netflix's power structure and key leaders. Top execs including former marketing chief Bozoma Saint John left the company, and a new guard emerged as Netflix expanded into businesses including advertising and hired execs with experience from Snap and Hulu to lead the charge. The streamer also shuffled around some key execs, restructuring its studio film team and centralizing TV and film for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa under content VP Larry Tanz. As the power dynamics shift at Netflix, we've updated our organizational chart of the top executives at the streaming company and who they report to.

Insider identified 75 of the most powerful execs at the streamer, in an interactive org chart. Product chief Greg Peters took on additional duties as chief operating officer and has since broadened his purview to include gaming. Former PepsiCo exec Sergio Ezama joined in 2021 to become Netflix's chief talent officer. Insider identified 75 of the most powerful executives now at Netflix. They include C-suite executives finance chief Spencer Neumann, as well as business leads like Bajaria and movie boss Scott Stuber.

☆ How much TikTok pays employees, according to salary data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insider combed through public data to get a snapshot of how much TikTok pays US employees. TikTok and owner ByteDance has offered base salaries between $29 an hour and $438,000 a year. Insider updated its analysis of how much TikTok employees make in the US, based on 1,135 US work-visa applications with salary data for more than 500 different jobs. The data includes base salaries only, not forms of compensation such as stock options or cash bonuses. It shows, for example, that TikTok offers $100,000 per year or more for certain content-operations roles, and that ByteDance offers as much as $200,000 per year for software engineers for its AR-effects platform.

☆ TikTok salaries revealed: How much the company pays for key US jobs in engineering, product, data science, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Insider analyzed US work-visa data to gauge salary levels at TikTok and parent company ByteDance. The data show TikTok and ByteDance offered staffers on US work visas $29 an hour to $438,000 a year. The public data show how much the company offered to pay foreign staffers it sought to hire in the US for jobs including product, engineering, and data-science roles. Based on the data, TikTok and ByteDance offered from late 2020 to late 2022 base salaries ranging from $29 per hour to $438,000 per year for various roles. We listed examples of salaries in each division below, followed by a complete list of the jobs included in the data.

☆ How Netflix has changed the global entertainment industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Since Netflix began its worldwide expansion in 2016, the streaming service has rewritten the playbook for global entertainment — from TV to film, and, more recently, video games. Still, Netflix's impact on the global TV industry is undeniable. More on Netflix's effect on global TV:The streamer's executive team was rebuilt with a global focusIn recent years, Netflix reoriented its leadership around its new global model. Peters also hired a new talent chief with international experience, former PepsiCo executive Sergio Ezama, to lead Netflix's global workforce. More on Netflix's corporate structure:Netflix has seen its first wide layoffs, though it continues to growThe corporate restructuring hasn't been without obstacles.

☆ 5 top sports-betting execs share what they got right and wrong about the industry this year and their predictions for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Betr founder and CEO Joey Levy thought we'd see more M&A this year, but says it's a preview for what we'll see more of in 2023. Betr founder and CEO Joey Levy. Simplebet cofounder Joey Levy is banking that the "idea of making every moment in a sporting event an accessible betting opportunity," which is known as microbetting, is the future of US sports betting. His predictions for 2023: "2022 is a good preview for what you're going to see a lot more of in 2023. I also think we'll see a lot of focus on product innovation.

☆ Netflix is still hiring for hundreds of roles across its games studio, engineering teams, and more. Salary data shows how much the company has offered for 180 different jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Netflix offered base salaries between $40 an hour and $800,000 a year for certain roles, data shows. The company doesn't disclose salary data, but, like other US firms, it discloses how much it plans to pay workers it hires on US visas. Many of the roles offered six-figure base salaries. Netflix may choose to pay employees more than the figures reflected in this data or compensate them in additional ways. Based on the data, Netflix offered annual base salaries ranging from $40.45 per hour to $800,000, with a median of $184,080, for various roles.

☆ How athletes are cashing in on 'the Netflix effect' as sports documentaries boom at Apple TV+, Amazon, and more streamers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A boom in sports documentaries has offered athletes more ways to be on screen and build their brands. Players and their agents are looking for hits like Netflix Formula 1 doc series "Drive to Survive." Apple TV+, HBO, and Amazon are all competing for sports docs that bring viewers into athletes' lives. Being featured in a sports doc can dramatically raise an athlete's profile, giving them more fans and more branding power. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" was credited with doing wonders for F1 fandom, particularly stateside, where American interest has historically been scarce.

☆ Fanatics salaries: Pay data shows how much the merch giant offers for tech and other jobs, as it expands into sports collectibles, betting, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Recent work-visa data shows how much the company offers to pay certain staffers. Salaries in the data ranged from $57,100 to $233,200 for mainly tech jobs in its retail division. It included base salaries for mainly tech jobs in the retail division, ranging from a data engineer position that would make $110,000 per year to a director of product management that would earn between $201,968 and $231,750 per year. For example, the data included a pay rate of $125,486 to $130,000 for an experimentation strategist position. Here were the salaries for jobs at Fanatics SPV:Director, Influencer Relations : $195,042 to $200,000: $195,042 to $200,000 Senior Platform Engineer: $144,726 to $165,000This story has been updated to reflect the latest available data.

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☆ Warner Bros. Discovery salaries revealed: Pay data shows how much the company recently offered for jobs at HBO and more, despite waves of layoffs and cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Insider analyzed new pay data from the entertainment companies, now merged as Warner Bros. Recent salaries ranged from $55 an hour to $300,000 a year for jobs at HBO and other units. The salaries ranged from $55 per hour to $300,000 per year, with a median annual salary of $143,000 to $170,000. For example, Discovery offered an ad sales account manager between $131,458 and $149,000 per year, according to the data. Associate Manager, Brand Marketing/Publishing: $92,518 to $130,011WarnerMedia DirectData Architect: $162,400 to $200,150 median; ranging from $159,800 to $205,000WarnerMedia Services

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☆ 24 top sports managers and agents helping athletes from LeBron James to the Cavinder twins build successful careers as content creators
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Colin Salao | Ashley Rodriguez | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant have shown that athletes can build lucrative media businesses. Meet the people helping athletes tell their stories and build their brands off the field or court. Many of these athletes are driven by the behind-the-scenes work of their talent managers and agents. Insider is highlighting for the first time those talent managers and agents who are guiding athletes as they build successful careers in entertainment and content creation. These people are helping athletes elevate their social content, strike brand deals, launch podcasts, or break into TV and film.

☆ How much Spotify pays employees in the US in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider analyzed public data to get a snapshot of how much Spotify employees in the US make. The streaming-audio company offered some US staffers annual salaries between $75,000 and $369,500 from late 2020 to 2022. Insider updated its analysis of how much Spotify employees are paid in the US to include the latest available salary information. The data, released by the US Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification, shows how much Spotify offered to pay employees who it wanted to hire in the US through work visas. Spotify offered certain US staffers between October 2020 and September 2022 annual base salaries ranging from $75,000 to $369,500 across about 180 different roles, according to the data.

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