Patrick Whitesell to Launch Media Company With $250 Million Investment From Silver Lake as Part of Endeavor Deal

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify reeled in fewer new users overall than it expected in the first quarter of 2024, but the audio-streaming giant touted “record strength” in profitability. Total monthly active users (free and paid) grew 19% year over year to 615 million, a gain of 13 million from the previous quarter — which missed its guidance by 3 million. Spotify said “moderated marketing activity” led to “more normalized growth” following 2023’s record performance (when it added 26 million new MAUs in Q1).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix made a surprise announcement in reporting its (very good) first-quarter 2024 results this week: The streaming TV powerhouse will stop reporting quarterly subscriber figures starting in 2025. In response, Netflix shares have taken a hit: The stock is down 8.7% Friday on the news, as investors fret that the lack of visibility into the streamer’s customer numbers signals a looming slowdown in the company’s growth.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A media consultant sued Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, alleging he is owed “at least several million dollars” for work he did related to the company’s $370 million acquisition in 2022 of Redbox, the DVD kiosk and streaming company. Keith Knee, described in his legal complaint as an advisory and consulting services professional in the media industry, filed suit against Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment on Friday, April 19, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos earned a bit less in 2023 than the year before — but he still had pay package worth $49.8 million. That was down from $50.3 million for Sarandos in 2022, according to Netflix’s proxy statement filed Thursday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok says it’s going to block accounts from appearing in its algorithmically generated For You feed if they repeatedly post content that runs afoul of its updated eligibility standards. As part of a larger update to its community guidelines, TikTok is updating its For You eligibility standards.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Viaplay‘s streaming service — specializing in award-winning Scandinavian series and films — is now available as an add-on subscription on Amazon‘s Prime Video Channels in the United States. Starting Wednesday, Prime members in the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wall Street is betting that Netflix‘s stream machine continued to fire on all cylinders coming into 2024. After netting a whopping 13.1 million new subs in Q4, Netflix is riding a wave of momentum that continues to be buoyed by the paid-sharing strategy, as it converts password borrowers into paying members, according to analysts.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max Cutler sold Parcast Studios, his scripted-audio entertainment start-up, to Spotify in 2019 under a deal in which Spotify ultimately paid nearly $90 million. Cutler went on to become Spotify’s VP, head of talk creator content and partnerships — inking exclusive licensing deals with podcasters including Alex Cooper, Emma Chamberlain and Markiplier, and managing the company’s partnership with “The Joe Rogan Experience” — before exiting last year. Now Cutler is back in the game with the launch of Pave Studios.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wonya Lucas, former president and CEO of Hallmark Media Networks, has joined Comcast‘s board as an independent director. Comcast announced Lucas’s addition to the board, effective as of April 15, in an SEC filing Monday. She has not yet been appointed to serve as a member of any board committee, according to the filing.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles inked a deal to lead IAC’s The Daily Beast, under which the media veterans have been granted a minority stake in the news and opinion site. Effective immediately, Sherwood — one-time president of the Disney ABC Television Group — will serve as The Daily Beast’s publisher and CEO. Coles, previously Hearst Magazines’ chief content officer, is the site’s chief creative and content officer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotter, which provides capital, services and software aimed at helping creators and brands grow their online businesses, hired former Adobe Systems and Microsoft exec Ivo Manolov as chief technology officer. In the CTO role, Manolov will be responsible for leading all technology with a focus on launching Spotter’s suite of AI-powered software tailored to YouTubers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney released the official vote counts from its 2024 meeting of shareholders held April 3 — in which investors decisively defeated a campaign by activist investor Nelson Peltz to win a seat on its board. According to the votes disclosed in an SEC filing Tuesday, nine of the Disney-backed director candidates received more than 90% of the shares voted in their favor.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ubisoft, in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, announced the launch date for “Star Wars Outlaws” — the first open-world Star Wars game — and released the official trailer as well as new details for the much-anticipated title. “Star Wars Outlaws” will launch Aug. 30 on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PlayStation 5, Amazon Luna and PC through Ubisoft Connect, at a suggested retail price of $69.99 for the base game.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify already has numerous ways for listeners to find music to listen to on its platform. Now it’s adding a new AI tool that can automatically compile a playlist based on user-entered text strings. The company has launched a beta version of a feature it calls AI Playlist, available first to Spotify Premium subscribers in the U.K.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Vince McMahon continues to cash out of his stock in TKO Group Holdings, the company formed by the merger of WWE and UFC that is majority-owned by Endeavor. McMahon, the founder of WWE, resigned from the board of TKO Group in January 2024 in the wake of sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations against him by a former employee as detailed in a lawsuit. McMahon has strongly denied the allegations.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Meta filed a motion Friday requesting the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the social media company — arguing the agency still hasn’t provided any basis for its litigation, which could potentially force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. In December 2020, the FTC and more than 40 state attorneys general sued the company (then called Facebook), alleging it illegally acquired competitors Instagram and WhatsApp in an abuse of its monopoly power.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Trian Partners founder Nelson Peltz has accepted defeat — for now. Peltz, a day after the activist investor lost a costly proxy battle with Disney, went on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Thursday to discuss what happened. “The shareholders have voted.

Silver Lake’s plan to take Endeavor private includes an investment of $250 million of seed equity “into a new business to be founded, managed and controlled” by executive chairman Patrick Whitesell.

Endeavor Group Holdings, parent of talent agency WME and controlling shareholder in combat sports powerhouse TKO Group, is going private.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Endeavor, three years after the sports and entertainment company went public, announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by private-equity firm Silver Lake. The deal gives Endeavor an equity value of $13 billion, the companies said.