Inside BuzzFeed and HuffPost's tie-up

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for November 23. I'm Lauren Johnson, a senior advertising reporter at Business Insider. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Send me feedback or tips at LJohnson@businessinsider.com.

Today's news: Inside BuzzFeed and HuffPost's tie-up, Bain & Co.'s bet on marketing, and Sports Illustrated-branded CBD cream.

Staffers at BuzzFeed and HuffPost are worrying about layoffs and the future of their newsrooms as the two companies prepare to combine

• News that BuzzFeed is acquiring fellow digital media outlet HuffPost has insiders speculating about layoffs and worrying about the future of both newsrooms.
• Chatter has also heated up about who BuzzFeed will choose to fill HuffPost's vacant top editor slot.
• With investors having soured on ad-based digital media, insiders also are speculating about the new entity swallowing up more digital media companies and flipping it to a SPAC.

Read the full story here.

Bain & Co. is the latest consultancy to set its sights on advertising, and says its marketing practice is growing by double digits every year

• Tanya Dua reports that Bain & Co.'s marketing practice is gaining steam, growing by double digits every year for the past five years.
• Its built the practice by acquiring digital-focused firms FRWD and Pyxis and hiring big names from Nordstrom and Walmart.
• Bain's push comes as marketers are prioritizing control over their customer data and messaging, but other consultancies are further ahead in encroaching on ad agencies' turf.

Read the full story here.

Sports Illustrated's new owners think there are big dollars to be had in branded supplements and swimsuits — but not so much in magazines

• Catherine LeClair reports that Authentic Brands Group, the owner of Sports Illustrated, has licensed Sports Illustrated's name and intellectual property to create various merchandise lines, including nutritional supplements, CBD cream, and apparel collaborations.
• ABG is working on Sports Illustrated Studios, which will adapt the brand's work into scripted and unscripted TV shows, films, and podcasts.
• The ventures are separate from the magazine, which is run by Maven.

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• How ViacomCBS produced its first TikTok-focused reality show during a pandemic, which was filmed in an NBA-style bubble (Business Insider)
• 'Wonder Woman 1984' will stream the same day it hits theaters and could open the door for 'Black Widow' and other tentpole movies to follow (Business Insider)
• Inside Larry Page and Sergey Brin's quiet agreement with Sundar Pichai that has forced Google's CEO to distinguish his leadership style (Business Insider)
• Ezra Klein and Lauren Williams are leaving Vox (Axios)
• In a concession to WarnerMedia, Amazon will remove HBO from Amazon Channels next year (CNBC)
• Newsmax, once a right-wing also-ran, is rising, and Trump approves (The New York Times)

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow! You can reach me in the meantime at LJohnson@businessinsider.com and subscribe to this daily email here.