The New York Times Company agreed to purchase sports media outlet The Athletic in a deal valued at $550 million, The Information reports. This deal comes after months of speculation — at one point, The Athletic CEO Alex Mather approached Axios about a merger, which did not come to fruition. With this deal, the company […]
MrBeast’s ‘Real Life Squid Game’ and the price of viral stunts
First, everyone was talking about “Squid Game,” the Korean psychological thriller that became Netflix’s biggest series launch ever, with 142 million viewers. Now, everyone’s talking about YouTuber MrBeast’s recreation of the show’s titular fight-to-the-death, which racked up 142 million views in eight days. (Don’t worry, no one was killed). Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), the 23-year-old who […]
Extra Crunch roundup: Pre-pitch tactics, Warby Parker S-1, Israel’s fintech ecosystem
Forget what you’ve heard: There are *many* shortcuts to success.
Forbes jumps into hot media liquidity summer with a SPAC combo
Is it the most exciting debut? No. But it does highlight that with enough gumption, one can take a magazine business into the digital age and keep aggregate revenue growing. That’s worth something.
Substack doubles down on uncensored ‘free speech’ with acquisition of Letter
Substack announced last week that it acquired Letter, a platform that encourages written dialogue and debate. The financials of the deal weren’t disclosed, but this acquisition follows Substack’s recent $65 million raise. Newsletters are all the rage — Facebook launched its exclusive, celeb-studded Bulletin platform last month, and Twitter acquired the newsletter startup Revue earlier […]