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AMAZON WILL DROP $50 MILLION TO STREAM NFL GAMES
Amazon.com Inc. won the rights to broadcast 10 National Football League Thursday
night games live online this season as part of its video subscription
service, the online retailer’s latest effort to boost the value of Prime
membership. The e-commerce giant paid $50 million for the one-year
deal, according to a person familiar with the agreement.
FACEBOOK'S WHATSAPP IS ENTERING THE DIGITAL PAYMENTS ARENA
It’s chosen to kick off that maiden effort in India, a market dominated
by Alibaba-backed digital payments leader Paytm but where WhatsApp’s 200
million users outnumber any other country. WhatsApp wants to
“contribute more to India’s vision for digital commerce,” it said in a
statement Wednesday.
MORE THAN 18 ADVERTISERS HAVE PULLED OUT OF FOX'S "O'REILLY FACTOR" PROGRAM
The growing defections show that the scrutiny of Fox News is beginning
to have an impact on the business. Until now, the most-watched cable
news network has shown little ill effect despite months of negative
headlines from the scandal that erupted around Roger Ailes, the former
president of the network, leading to his departure in July. Now
allegations are coming to light against O’Reilly, showing that issues of
harassment at Fox may not have been limited only to Ailes.
NEW YORK TIMES' T MAGAZINE FINALLY INSTALLS A NEW EDITOR IN CHIEF/ STYLE SECTION EDITOR QUITS
Hanya Yanagihara is the new editor in chief of T: The New York Times
Magazine. The position had been vacant since Deborah Needleman left in
mid-November after four years at the helm. It is a return to T, the
Times’ luxury supplement, for Yanagihara, who was the deputy editor of
the title until she left last April. Yanagihara is also the author of
two novels, including the much discussed 2015 book “A Little Life.”
Immediately following this appointment New York Times' longtime style section editor Stuart Emmrich resigned.
Both Mr. Emmrich and The New York Times deny his sudden departure has
anything to do with Hanya Yanagihara's appointment at T Magazine but the
industry and some insiders believe its too big of a coincidence. Many
believe that Mr. Emmrich was eyeing the T Magazine job and after being
passed over, opted to do what many who get passed over for big jobs do,
quit.
CONDE NAST WILL TAKE ITS TIME TO PAY VENDORS
Condé Nast is finding a new way to stretch its dollars — it’s going to
slow down payments to its biggest vendors. The news comes only a week
after the company finished pink-slipping as many as 120 employees
following a January restructuring. In a Monday
e-mail addressed “Dear Business Partner,” Condé told its stable of
vendors that they shouldn’t look for the check in the mail — because it
likely hasn’t been sent yet.
THE JIG'S UP FOR SCALE WORSHIPPERS
“The jig’s up, they didn’t make more money off of it,” VandeHei said on
this week’s Digiday Podcast. “Because guess what? Everyone else did it.
Laws of supply and demand kicked in, and everyone had tons of inventory,
and you’re throwing it through these third parties, that are giving you
a penny an ad, and it doesn’t really add up unless you get more and
more pageviews. So then you want to do more. the next thing you know,
you have something that has no value to the consumer, and so, of not
much value as a brand.”
HIGH VALUATIONS FOR DIGITAL MEDIA VENTURES MAY BE HARD TO SELL
BuzzFeed and Vox are sitting on some outsized expectations from
investors, based on The Information’s analysis of year-end revenue and
valuations for venture-backed digital media companies. But the multiples
are high across the board, raising questions about all these companies’
exit options.
DID TRUMP SAVE CNN?
Donald Trump’s war against CNN has amounted to a form of product
placement, giving its anchors starring roles in the ongoing political
drama. Last year, CNN’s prime-time audience was up 70 percent. The
network earned nearly $1 billion — the most profitable year in CNN’s
history.
A FORMER SNAP EMPLOYEE STILL INSISTS THE COMPANY DOCTORED STATS
A laid-off Snap employee isn’t backing down from a legal fight over the
reason he was let go by the Snapchat-maker. Anthony Pompliano’s attorney
has asked a judge to unseal court filings that purportedly show how
Snap misrepresented usage of its app to investors and the public.
RODALE'S RUNNER'S WORLD WILL HAVE A POP UP AT THE BOSTON MARATHON
Runner’s World has announced that it will deliver its first ever pop-up
experience at the 121st Boston Marathon. The pop-up will include panel
discussions with legendary runners. Guests will also be able to enjoy
fitness classes and pre-race meditation and relaxation led by experts.
QUARTZ INDEX UNVEILS NEW MOBILE FORMAT
We are launching a completely new version of Quartz Index that’s
designed to really shine on your phone. Index is our way of highlighting
statistics that show how the global economy is changing. The first
version, launched last year, took the form of a dashboard. The new
version transforms each data point into its own story.
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