Mediagazer: Sources: The Messenger is seeking to raise around $20M amid layoffs and financial struggles; it launched in 2023 after a $50M raise (Sara Fischer/Axios)

5:15 PM ET, January 4, 2024

Top News:

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: conservative media and business execs met with Jimmy Finkelstein at Mar-a-Lago on January 3 to discuss acquiring a 51% stake in The Messenger for $30M — A group of conservative media and business executives met with The Messenger founder Jimmy Finkelstein on Wednesday to discuss acquiring …

Discussion: @johnbattelle@threads.net

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: The Messenger is seeking to raise around $20M amid layoffs and financial struggles; it launched in 2023 after a $50M raise — Digital news start up The Messenger is seeking to raise around $20 million amid layoffs and financial struggles, sources tell Axios.

Discussion: @simondowens@threads.net, Defector, Julie Westfall on LinkedIn, The Wrap, @henryporters, @jasonshevrin, @themaxburns, @ernie.tedium.co, @scottnover, @rolandsmartin, New York Post, The Daily Beast and The Information

Jacob Feldman / Sportico:

Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video at Amazon's Prime Video and a former top ESPN executive, is leaving the company — Five years after being tapped by Amazon to lead its global sports programming efforts, Marie Donoghue is leaving the company, a spokesperson confirmed.

Discussion: Variety, Awful Announcing, @jacobfeldman4 and @andrewmarchand

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Eric Newcomer's newsletter on startups and VCs generated $1M+ in 2023 after Substack's 10% cut, has 2K+ subs paying $200/year, and hired its first reporter — Eric Newcomer, the founder and author of Newcomer, an independent newsletter covering startups and venture capital …

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @ericnewcomer, Newcomer, @ericnewcomer, @maddierenbarger and The Guardian

Wall Street Journal:

As Google restricts third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users, marketers, adtech companies, and publishers say Google has not done enough to prepare the market — Search giant plans to remove a technology seen as critical to the digital-ad industry — Google is going forward …

Ralph D. Russo / Associated Press:

The NCAA and ESPN announce a $920M, eight-year agreement that will give ESPN rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women's basketball tournament — The NCAA and ESPN announced on Thursday a $920 million, eight-year agreement that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships …

Agence France-Presse:

Tunisian authorities arrest Al Jazeera reporter Samir Sassi, one week after the arrest of Tunisian journalist Zied el-Heni, who criticized a minister — Samir Sassi joins growing number of journalists imprisoned and prosecuted in country — Tunisian authorities have arrested an Al Jazeera reporter …

Discussion: IFJ and Committee to Protect …

Andrew Marchand / New York Post:

YES and MSG Network partner to launch Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment, a 50/50 venture that aims to capitalize on their streaming services — YES and MSG Network are partnering on a new venture that eventually could lead to a direct-to-consumer streaming service that offers the Yankees …

Discussion: Awful Announcing, Sphere Entertainment Co., Next TV, The Streamable, Sportico, @tim_bays, Front Office Sports, @stegensurvivor, @aagave, @yesnetwork, @mattzeitlin, @loudmouthjulia, @lucas_shaw, @ncostanzo24, @andrewmarchand, @pitchforkedpuck and The Hollywood Reporter

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

VideoAmp founder Ross McCray steps down as CEO as the company prepares to lay off nearly a fifth of its staff; Peter Liguori will serve as executive chairman — The founder of VideoAmp, a measurement-technology start-up that has been vying with Nielsen and others to create a new means …

Discussion: Ad Age

Bloomberg:

Sources: TikTok aims to grow TikTok Shop US' merchandise volume tenfold to $17.5B in 2024 and plans to increase merchant fees to 6% of each sale in April 2024 — - ByteDance's video app is fast expanding beyond advertising … The 2024 merchandise volume goal for the US version of TikTok Shop …

Discussion: MediaPost, TechCrunch, Semafor, @yohaas, @herrmanndigital, @rishabhmjain, @alejandrochahin, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Information, WWD, Forbes and Insider Intelligence

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

GroupM forms a consortium with Disney, Roku, NBCU, YouTube, and others to push for standardized measurements and ad formats for use across streaming services — One of the nation's biggest investors of ad dollars wants to push big large streamers to work together when it comes to commercials.

Discussion: Tubefilter, Next TV, Deadline, GroupM, Adweek and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

RedBird IMI invests in Media Res, the independent studio behind “The Morning Show”; Jeff Zucker plans to take a seat on the studio's board — The former CNN president will return to Hollywood by investing in the studio behind streaming hits like “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+.

Discussion: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap

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