Business of Media
X says it is worth US$19 billion, down from US$44 billion last year
X, the company formerly known as Twitter, handed out stock grants to employees on Monday that showed it was worth about $19 billion, down about 55 percent from the $44 billion that Elon Musk paid to buy the firm a year ago, according to internal documents seen by The New York Times, reports the publication’s Ryan Mac.
Musk paid $54.20 a share to buy Twitter just over a year ago. The tech billionaire has since said he overpaid for the social network. In March, he wrote in an email to workers that he believed the company was worth $20 billion, calling it “an inverse start-up.”
In the paperwork for the new stock grants, X said the equity would be offered at $45 a share in the form of restricted stock units, which employees can earn over time. Employees will still be paid in cash in the amount of $54.20 for any outstanding shares that were granted to them under previous management, the company said.
Divide between CMOs and CEOs is growing, research finds
Chief executives and chief marketing officers often don’t see eye-to-eye on what precisely the role of CMOs entails or even on the effectiveness of corporate strategy. And in some cases, the disconnect is growing, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Patrick Coffee.
CEOs have been paying closer attention to their companies’ marketing operations as sources of growth in an unsteady economy, observers say. Frequently, CEOs are certain they understand how modern marketing works; in many cases, their CMOs don’t share that confidence.
Nine out of 10 CEOs say that the role marketing plays is clearly defined at their companies, according to a new McKinsey survey that tracks relationships between CEOs and CMOs. But only 22% of marketing chiefs say their jobs are well-defined and understood by other C-suite executives, down from 31% in 2019.
Omnicom buys e-commerce shop flywheel digital for $835 million
Advertising holding company Omnicom said it has agreed to acquire Flywheel Digital for a net cash purchase price of approximately $835 million, in what it says is its biggest acquisition ever, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Megan Graham.
Flywheel is the digital commerce arm of Ascential, a U.K.-based business-to-business media, events and analytics company that owns the Cannes Lions advertising festival. Flywheel offers services designed to help brands sell on digital marketplaces operated by companies including Amazon.com, Walmart and Alibaba.
Entertainment
Matthew Perry knew Friends would be his legacy. But it wasn’t what he wanted
Matthew Perry did not want to be remembered for his work on the hit sitcom Friends. He was also the first to acknowledge that any greater legacy seemed unlikely, reports Nine Publishing’s Kerrie O’Brien.
Perry, 54, died on Saturday after apparently drowning in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles. The LA Times reported there was no sign of foul play, and the Los Angeles Police Department’s robbery-homicide detectives are investigating.
Comments Perry made in both his memoir and an interview last year have resurfaced since his death, in which he discusses the work he had done to help others in the grip of drug and alcohol addiction, issues he himself had battled for a long time.
“When I die,” Perry said last year, “I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned, I want [helping others] to be the first thing that’s mentioned, and I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”
Reaction to Matthew Perry’s death shows enduring popularity of Friends
Friends concluded its 10-season run nearly two decades ago. But like other classic sitcoms, including Seinfeld and The Big Bang Theory, it continues to dazzle television executives with its enduring popularity, even among younger viewers, reports The New York Times’ John Koblin.
This was further underscored by the emotional outpouring after Matthew Perry, one of the six main cast members, died on Saturday at 54. The next day, Friends was the most-watched series or movie on the Max streaming service, according to a spokesman for the company.
Television
Channel Seven news crew forced to flee live on TV after a rocket attack
An Australian news crew reporting from the Israel-Palestine border was forced to run for cover as a Hamas rocket exploded above them, reports News Corp’s Shannon Molloy.
Channel Seven journalist David Woiwod was crossing live to the network’s Early News program just after 6am when he and his cameraman had “a very close call”.
“I don’t know if you can hear those blasts in the background,” Woiwod said as exploding rockets could be seen in the distance.
“We have a flare going up there,” he added, pointing out Israel’s air defence system intercepting strikes.
By screening in a later slot, The Project picked up more viewers
A rare scheduling move drew an interesting result for The Project by lifting nearly 90,000 viewers, reports TV Tonight.
Screening at 8pm (in Sydney & Melbourne) The Sunday Project averaged 261,000 metro viewers.
That was up on the previous Sunday’s 176,000 -a benefit of 85,000.
Of course it also enjoyed a stronger lead in, thanks to a Matildas match.