(This was today’s Monetizing Media newsletter. Subscribe here.)
Hi everyone – just a few quick points today. Lots of companies have delayed planned announcements while protests continue in the US so expect deal news this week to be even quieter than it normally is during your typical global pandemic.
| The EU launched submission forms to receive public input on its Digital Services Act governing online media and on the extent to which new competition / anti-trust policies are needed. (Read more) |
Interesting Deals, Stats, & Product Updates
Digestible Media
Film/TV/Video
- Here’s a great read by Business Insider on the inside story of YouTube’s 2006 sale to Google, and why it was finalized at 3am in a Denny’s park lot with a police officer.
- TF1 and Mediapro, leading TV broadcasters in France and Spain respectively, announced a new soccer-focused TV channel called Telefoot. (Read more)
- The JV will broadcast Ligue 1 games in France since Mediapro beat out Canal Plus for the rights to the French league’s next 4 seasons.
- Telefoot will launch in August with €25/month pricing and has a goal of 3.5m subscribers.
- The Weather Channel joined the OpenAP consortium of TV networks offering advertisers the ability to target ads across their channels based on different categories of purchasing intent not just demographics. (Read more)
- California delayed release of guidelines for film/TV productions to continue again after opposition by Hollywood unions demanding more safety precautions be taken first. (Read more)
Publishing
- Shamrock Capital acquired advertising industry trade publication Adweek from Beringer Capital (Read more)
- The Washington Post signed US newspaper group McClatchy as a customer for its Zeus Performance adtech platform, adding McClatchy’s 30 local news brands. (Read more)
- Civil, the once-hyped “blockchain for news” startup is shutting down. (Read more)
Music
- Most US music companies are participating in “Blackout Tuesday” today, with periods of silence in their programming to acknowledge protests and/or by giving employees the day off to participate in protests if desired.
Podcasting/Audio
- Majelan, a Paris-based subscription podcast platform that raised €10M, is pivoting to instead be a subscription app of audio content related to personal growth. (Read more)
- The space of subscription, audio self-help apps is getting crowded, with a lot of startups chasing the success of Calm, Headspace, and Blinkist with slightly different iterations.
Interactive Media
Gaming
- Tencent is buying a majority (70-80%) stake in Bohemia Interactive for $260M. Bohemia is the Czech studio behind PC and console games Ylands and DayZ. (Read more)
- A survey by Interpret shows that YouTube is not the #1 way US children age 3-12 discover new mobile games, with 49% doing so. (Read more)