After acquiring Ziff Davis in November 2012 for $167 million in cash, cloud computing services company (the eFax guys) J2 Global Inc. is rumored to be buying IGN Entertainment from News Corp. Ziff-Davis traces its roots back to 1927. Today its main… Continue Reading →
Last week we decided to produce a video on the Top 10 YouTube producers — the ones who we felt stood out above the rest when measured by views, subscribers and mainstream popularity. I’ve always stated that it’s possible that… Continue Reading →
Two years ago, I published the 10 lessons I’ve learned about online video in my five years of heading my company. Today, in my seventh year, we’ll touch on the seven most important realities we face moving forward. Google acquires YouTube… Continue Reading →
I’ve recently written about how YouTube went from pariah to the only game in town, arguing that the site will only get stronger in years to come. Seeing video content producers large and small embrace YouTube as the centerpiece of their distribution strategy makes… Continue Reading →
With Hulu’s founding CEO Jason Kilar resigning and planning to leave the company in the next three months, rumors abound about his and the company’s future. Discovery Communications’ J. B. Perrette put it best: “He defied enormous odds, built from scratch… Continue Reading →
Reading about journalist Andrew Sullivan’s decision to fly solo, I couldn’t help but think of how in corporate finance, we go through alternating periods of consolidation (through mergers and acquisitions) and separation (through spin-offs, divestments and sales). Executives and bankers basically flip-flop… Continue Reading →
In an ideal world, publishing and advertising executives would realize that without the other, they don’t have a prayer. That’s “ideally speaking.” Realistically, each party thinks it’s the main event. Ever since working in the media business, I’ve worn two… Continue Reading →
Last.fm is going pay-only. Spotify loses more money the more it scales. Pandora is a hot mess. The overriding reason, of course, is that digital music startups face horrible economics — and no matter how much money investors are willing to throw at them… Continue Reading →
The doctrine of fair use has developed through a series of court decisions over the years, codified in section 107 of copyright law. For a primer on fair use, check out my first article on the topic. The courts consider each matter on a… Continue Reading →
As we unwind 2012, there are three strata of video: YouTube, Big Media, and everyone else. “Everyone else” is being driven by intermediaries, be it ad networks or content networks, but also includes content creators. For all of the huffing… Continue Reading →
Old Media and YouTube Networks After sitting on the sidelines for, well, a decade, Time Inc. is betting big on video by launching a digital video unit. Time Inc. isn’t alone, of course: Conde Nast has hired aggressively in an attempt to… Continue Reading →
How quickly YouTube has gone from undesirable to the belle of the ball remains one of the year’s stories. With the success of Machinima – which raised a mammoth $35 million round by many including Google – it was a matter… Continue Reading →
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