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Meredith, which acquired Time Inc. in 2018, has now been acquired itself. Barry Diller's IAC has reached an agreement to purchase Meredith in a roughly $2.7 billion all-cash deal. Upon completion of the deal (which is expected by the end of the year), Meredith will combine with Dotdash, IAC's digital publishing division, to form a new company that will be known as Dotdash Meredith. Dotdash executives told investors that combining the companies' portfolios will make Dotdash Meredith one of the country's 10 largest digital media outlets. Dotdash chief executive Neil Vogel will head up the new company. Despite Dotdash's digital focus, Vogel said that Dotdash Meredith will not be abandoning print. While Meredith CEO Tom Harty said that employees' jobs are not changing because of the deal, an IAC spokeswoman said that the new company will be based in Dotdash's New York headquarters.
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| Kelly Campbell |
Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming channel, names Kelly Campbell president. Campbell's departure from Hulu, where she also served as president, was announced on Oct. 4. Before coming to Hulu as chief marketing officer in 2017, Campbell was with Google for 12 years, holding a variety of senior marketing posts. In her new position, she will be responsible for Peacock's streaming business, live and original content, as well as working with NBCUniversal executives on TV, film, news and sports programs that stream on the platform. While Hulu owner Disney says it has 42.8 million subscribers, NBCUniversal says that in July Peacock had 54 million subscribers, with 20 million monthly active users.
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Fox Weather, a new free, ad-supported streaming service from Fox News Media, is launching on Oct. 25. In addition to leveraging the existing meteorologists and weather resources at the cable channel and the Fox local stations, the service has hired Amy Freeze, the weekend meteorologist for WABC New York, as an anchor. Sharri Berg, who was previously COO, news & operations for Fox Television Stations, is serving as Fox Weather's president. Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch says the company is investing $200 million - $300 million into its streaming efforts this year. "We're seeing tremendous interest in brands who would not be traditional news advertisers coming to show tremendous interest in Fox Weather," he claimed.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
Newsmax Broadcasting has filed a federal antitrust suit against Fox Corporation and Fox News Network in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida... Condé Nast names Chloe Malle head of editorial content of Vogue U.S. Malle takes over from Anna Wintour, who has held the position since 1998... NBCUniversal says the upcoming NFL season marks its highest grossing to-date when it comes to overall advertising and partnerships revenue. 
