What you need to know in advertising today
Former A&E Networks exec Nancy Dubuc took over the reins of Vice Media as CEO in May, replacing cofounder Shane Smith amid a string of controversies and a rough market in the digital-media industry.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, Vice Media's revenue is expected to be flat relative to last year, at $600 to $650 million. The report also outlined the company's dip in Comscore traffic and challenges growing its advertising business, which relies on selling advertisers sponsored content that mimics editorial articles.
In short, living up to its eye-popping $5.7 billion valuation is proving to be a challenge for Vice. On Thursday, Disney, which is one of Vice's biggest backers, said it had taken a $157 million write-down on its original $400 million investment, equivalent to a 40% decline.
Click here to read about what marketers are saying about Vice Media.
In other news:
'His comments are illogical': Analysts say Disney CEO Bob Iger's plan to raise Hulu prices is out of step with customer demand. On Disney's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Bob Iger said he saw "price elasticity" around Hulu with Live TV, the company's digital-TV bundle. Analysts don't agree.
Amazon's got its eyes set on yet another market - and one high-flying upstart should be worried. In the broader streaming-video market, Amazon is emerging as the chief rival to Roku, according to a note from Morgan Stanley.
Facebook just launched a standalone video app called Lasso and it's basically the exact same thing as TikTok. Lasso is a social video app that caps posts to 15 seconds and lets creators add their favorite songs to play in the background.
'We market to who we sell to, and we don't market to the whole world': Victoria's Secret fires back at critics who say it excludes plus-size shoppers. The brand has frequently come under fire for excluding plus-size customers from its ad campaigns and only featuring rail-thin models.
SAP is buying Utah-based startup Qualtrics for $8 billion - days before it's scheduled to IPO. Qualtrics is a Utah-based startup that helps companies gather feedback and refine their products.
Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon has agreed to purchase Fortune magazine for $150 million in cash, reports the Wall Street Journal. After selling Time to Salesforce cofounder Marc Benioff in September, Meredith still has Money and Sports Illustrated up for sale.