Legitimate https://legitimate.net/ Legitimate: Recent articles en-us 20 A Netflix Slump Tests Sarandos’ Talent Savvy In 2019, when comedian Mike Myers was pitching a new comedy series to Netflix, program executives at the company were skeptical. The onetime “Saturday Night Live” star hadn’t had a hit since the early 2000s and Netflix staffers worried a new series wouldn’t attract an audience, according to ... 21 Jun 2022 13:00 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/a-netflix-slump-tests-sarandos-talent-savvy https://www.theinformation.com/articles/a-netflix-slump-tests-sarandos-talent-savvy Jessica Toonkel Media/Telecom Amazon Warner Bros Discovery to Cut as Much as 30% of Advertising Sales Force Warner Bros. Discovery will this week offer buyouts to members of its U.S. ad sales team, as part of a plan to shrink the global sales force by as much as 30%, according to people familiar with the situation. The buyouts are one of the first big cost-cutting steps taken since the formation of ... 14 Jun 2022 19:54 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-to-cut-as-much-as-30-of-advertising-sales-force https://www.theinformation.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-to-cut-as-much-as-30-of-advertising-sales-force Jessica Toonkel Entertainment Netflix Talks With Roku, Comcast About Getting Help on Ad Sales, Ad Tech To jump into advertising, Netflix is getting a little help from its rivals. Executives from the streaming giant in recent weeks have met with representatives of both Roku and Comcast to discuss arrangements under which those companies would handle either the ad sales or the technical ... 14 Jun 2022 13:00 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-talks-with-roku-comcast-about-getting-help-on-ad-sales-ad-tech https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-talks-with-roku-comcast-about-getting-help-on-ad-sales-ad-tech Jessica Toonkel Entertainment Growth of Streaming Ad Market Spotlights Technical Glitch: Viewers Who Switch Off Are Still Counted It’s a funny technical quirk of some streaming devices: Even after viewers turn off their televisions, the devices continue to invisibly, silently play their favorite shows. For viewers, the only hint of this comes when they turn their TVs back on and see that the shows they were watching ran to ... 12 Jun 2022 15:29 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/growth-of-streaming-ad-market-spotlights-technical-glitch-viewers-who-switch-off-are-still-counted https://www.theinformation.com/articles/growth-of-streaming-ad-market-spotlights-technical-glitch-viewers-who-switch-off-are-still-counted Jessica Toonkel Entertainment Vice Media Makes Cost-Cutting Push as it Eyes Sale Options Vice Media is looking to cut costs and had brought in consultancy AlixPartners in recent weeks to help review its business as it explores a sale of its studio arm or the entire company, according to people familiar with the situation. The New York-based media company is slowing down hiring and ... 02 Jun 2022 19:02 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/vice-media-makes-cost-cutting-push-as-it-eyes-sale-options https://www.theinformation.com/articles/vice-media-makes-cost-cutting-push-as-it-eyes-sale-options Jessica Toonkel crypto Venture Capital Netflix Could Boost U.S. Revenue 21% With Advertising Push Netflix has spent its entire existence setting the trend for others in video streaming to follow. But as it prepares to launch an ad-supported tier, Netflix executives are pondering a different question: Which rival service should it follow as a model? At one extreme is Disney-controlled Hulu, ... 23 May 2022 13:00 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-could-boost-u-s-revenue-21-with-advertising-push https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-could-boost-u-s-revenue-21-with-advertising-push Jessica Toonkel Entertainment Netflix Cancellations Rise Among Long-Standing Subscribers Netflix is losing its grip on long-standing subscribers. New data show that people who have been subscribers to Netflix for more than three years accounted for a significantly greater share of cancellations in the first quarter than they did two years earlier. The data help illuminate why ... 18 May 2022 13:00 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-cancellations-rise-among-long-standing-subscribers https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-cancellations-rise-among-long-standing-subscribers Jessica Toonkel Entertainment Meta Rethinks News Partnerships as Priorities Shift Meta Platforms is considering reducing the money it gives news organizations as it reevaluates the partnerships it struck over the past few years, according to people familiar with the matter. The reassessment comes as Meta looks to cut costs broadly and rethinksthe value of including news in ... 09 May 2022 21:21 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-rethinks-news-partnerships-as-priorities-shift https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-rethinks-news-partnerships-as-priorities-shift Jessica Toonkel Facebook Who Musk Might Hire to Help Run Twitter Elon Musk reportedly plans to run Twitter himself temporarily when he completes his $44 billion purchase of the company later this year. But he will likely have to appoint a permanent CEO before too long, or at least bring in a deputy to help manage day to day operations—which raises the ... 06 May 2022 14:47 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/who-musk-might-hire-to-help-run-twitter https://www.theinformation.com/articles/who-musk-might-hire-to-help-run-twitter Jessica Toonkel markets Netflix Backs Away From Free-for-All Pay Policy Netflix has long prided itself on giving managers the ability to pay what they see fit to attract and retain top talent. Now, as it grapples with stalled growth, it’s reining in that freewheeling practice. The streaming company is establishing a new hierarchy of internal seniority levels and ... 04 May 2022 19:23 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-backs-away-from-free-for-all-pay-policy https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-backs-away-from-free-for-all-pay-policy Jessica Toonkel Entertainment A ‘Netflix for Sports’ Wagers on League Deals, Betting to Save Streaming Dreams Early last year, it looked like DAZN might finally be turning a corner. The streaming company—bankrolled by Ukraine-born billionaire mogul Len Blavatnik—had survived the shutdown of live sports during the pandemic, a near-death experience for a company with the ambition of becoming a global ... 04 May 2022 13:00 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/a-netflix-for-sports-wagers-on-league-deals-betting-to-save-streaming-dreams https://www.theinformation.com/articles/a-netflix-for-sports-wagers-on-league-deals-betting-to-save-streaming-dreams Jessica Toonkel Media/Telecom Startups Amazon Vice Media Is Exploring Sale of Studio Business Vice Media is exploring the possible sale of its studio business, looking to take advantage of rising valuations for production companies in recent months. But a sale of the business would deprive Vice of its biggest business and would raise questions about the future direction of the firm. The ... 29 Apr 2022 22:07 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/vice-media-is-exploring-sale-of-studio-business https://www.theinformation.com/articles/vice-media-is-exploring-sale-of-studio-business Jessica Toonkel Venture Capital Startups Elon Musk’s Early Twitter Purchase Under FTC Scrutiny Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover is unlikely to raise antitrust concerns. But what is already being scrutinized is Musk’s failure to comply with rules regarding disclosure of his initial 9% stake, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The Federal Trade Commission recently ... 28 Apr 2022 16:32 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/elon-musks-early-twitter-purchase-under-ftc-scrutiny https://www.theinformation.com/articles/elon-musks-early-twitter-purchase-under-ftc-scrutiny Jessica Toonkel markets policy If Musk Wins Twitter Bid, He’ll Face a New Adversary: Advertisers Elon Musk is edging closer to a deal to buy Twitter for $43 billion. But negotiating the deal may prove easier than owning the company. Musk faces immense challenges in reviving the 15-year-old service, which has suffered from stagnant user growth and uneven ad revenue performance for years. Ad ... 25 Apr 2022 18:16 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/if-musk-wins-twitter-bid-hell-face-a-new-adversary-advertisers https://www.theinformation.com/articles/if-musk-wins-twitter-bid-hell-face-a-new-adversary-advertisers Jessica Toonkel markets Netflix Employees Press for Extra Grants as Stock Drop Wipes Out Option Value Netflix’s stock collapse this week has wiped out the value of all stock options issued to company employees since 2018. It didn’t take long for employees to complain: At a staff meeting the day after the company’s earnings report on Tuesday, employees pressed the company to consider issuing ... 22 Apr 2022 19:24 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-employees-press-for-extra-grants-as-stock-drop-wipes-out-option-value https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflix-employees-press-for-extra-grants-as-stock-drop-wipes-out-option-value Jessica Toonkel Venture Capital Startups Netflix’s Reversal on Ads Caught Employees Off Guard When Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings interrupted a colleague on Tuesday’s quarterly earnings call to reveal plans for an ad-supported tier, it wasn’t only analysts and investors who were taken by surprise. Earlier this week, Netflix executives indicated to staffers no decision had yet been made on ... 21 Apr 2022 19:34 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflixs-reversal-on-ads-caught-employees-off-guard https://www.theinformation.com/articles/netflixs-reversal-on-ads-caught-employees-off-guard Jessica Toonkel Entertainment Why Silver Lake and Elliott Are the Wild Cards in the Twitter Takeover Battle The last time Twitter was under shareholder assault, from activist investor Elliott Management in 2020, Silver Lake CEO Egon Durban called Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey offering to help, according to a person familiar with the situation. Twitter accepted the outreach: Silver Lake invested $1 billion ... 15 Apr 2022 20:57 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/why-silver-lake-and-elliott-are-the-wild-cards-in-the-twitter-takeover-battle https://www.theinformation.com/articles/why-silver-lake-and-elliott-are-the-wild-cards-in-the-twitter-takeover-battle Jessica Toonkel markets Free Speech and the Cult of Elon: Why Musk Wants to Buy Twitter Elon Musk’s $43 billion proposed takeover of Twitter is a grand gesture in favor of free speech and a statement of concern about censorship from social media platforms. It’s also deeply personal. As Musk has become the richest man in the world—overseeing $1 trillion–valuation Tesla, SpaceX and ... 15 Apr 2022 00:44 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/free-speech-and-the-cult-of-elon-why-musk-wants-to-buy-twitter https://www.theinformation.com/articles/free-speech-and-the-cult-of-elon-why-musk-wants-to-buy-twitter Jessica Toonkel Autonomous Vehicles Startups markets The People Determining Twitter’s Fate Now that Elon Musk has put Twitter into play, the company’s fate is likely to be determined by a small circle of people, including a Saudi prince and a Silicon Valley CEO. The group—with shareholders such as Elliott Management’s Jesse Cohn, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and Silver Lake chief Egon ... 14 Apr 2022 21:46 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-people-determining-twitters-fate https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-people-determining-twitters-fate Jessica Toonkel markets What Did Twitter’s Board Know About Musk’s Buying—And When Did They Know It? A Twitter shareholder lawsuit filed against Elon Musk on Tuesday over the late disclosure of his 9% stake has renewed attention on Musk’s stock purchases and now-abandoned board appointment. In addition to the issues the lawsuit raises about Musk’s role, there are separate questions about the ... 13 Apr 2022 20:35 UTC https://www.theinformation.com/articles/what-did-twitters-board-know-about-musks-buying-and-when-did-they-know-it https://www.theinformation.com/articles/what-did-twitters-board-know-about-musks-buying-and-when-did-they-know-it Jessica Toonkel markets