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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

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Indian streaming service JioCinema has been beefing up its product through content deals with major global media companies.

Why it matters: The Viacom18-owned service has become a formidable competitor to Netflix, Disney and other U.S. streaming companies in India as an aggregator of U.S. programming and its own originals, Kerry writes.

Driving the news: Viacom18 announced yesterday it signed a multiyear partnership with NBCUniversal for streaming thousands of hours of NBCU films and TV shows on JioCinema.

The content will be available to paying subscribers next month in a new Peacock hub. It will include blockbusters like "Fast X" and the upcoming "Oppenheimer," along with popular shows like "The Office," per Variety.

State of play: Viacom18 is owned by Paramount Global, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and Uday Shankar and James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree Systems. JioCinema was launched by Reliance in 2016 and recently folded into Viacom18.

Last year, Viacom18 made a splashy deal by acquiring the streaming rights for the 2023-2027 Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The games were previously owned by Disney, which just reported a record loss in subscribers due mostly to losing those rights.

Last month, Viacom18 announced a multiyear licensing deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for its films and TV shows. That includes airing this past weekend's "Succession" finale and Warner Bros. movies. WBD also previously licensed its content to Disney in India.

Of note: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said India is its fastest-growing market, with 30% growth in content watching and 25% growth in revenue in the country last year. 

2023-2027 Indian Premier League cricket tournament

India's JioCinema inks another major content deal

1 big thing: JioCinema's major content wins

: In this photo illustration, Viacom18 Media Private Limited logo is seen on a smartphone and on a pc screen. 

Photo illustration: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

WPP, the largest advertising holding group in the world by revenue, announced a deal yesterday with leading AI company NVIDIA, Sara Fischer writes.

Why it's the BFD: The deal signifies generative AI's staying power with the ad giant committing to using the technology.

State of play: There's been a flurry of dealmaking among ad agencies and tech platforms around generative AI.

Code and Theory, a design agency owned by Stagwell, struck a similar type of AI creative partnership with Oracle earlier this month.

Publicis last week acquired a full stake in Publicis Sapient AI Labs, a joint venture it co-launched in 2020, to "accelerate" its generative AI offerings.

Omnicom is teaming with Microsoft to test ways it can integrate generative AI into its creative and business solutions.

💭 Kerry's thought bubble: Tech startups like BurnerPage, Constellation and Slate raised funding off of making it easier to create content for brands. Expect to see more startups emerge with generative AI incorporated into their products.

2. The BFD: Ad giant WPP signs AI deal

Illustration of The Creation of Adam made from artifacted digital code

• Hang, a "watchalong" streaming platform that allows athletes to host interactive chats during live games, raised $5m between a seed round and current Series A fundraising efforts, Sportico reports. https://axios.link/3N2tMCR

• Bell Media, the Canadian media conglomerate, acquired a minority stake in Montreal-based indie producer Sphere Media. https://axios.link/3MFbiXY

• CMA CGM, owned by the Saade family, agreed to buy Groupe Hima, the publisher of French newspaper La Tribune. https://axios.link/3oEI3MT

• OpenAI raised $175m for a venture capital fund, per an SEC filing. https://axios.link/3C3uABu

3. Deal flow

• Unilever is losing Conny Braams after more than 33 years. She was most recently chief digital and commercial officer. https://axios.link/3NcQrwJ

• Dick Clark Productions named Tamaya Petteway as SVP of partnerships. https://axios.link/3BZ1x1Q

4. Movin' on up (or out)

🚫 Twitter faces potential ban in Europe after Elon Musk's company pulled back from disinformation rules (Deadline)

"The threat comes from France's Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot who recently talked about the importance of following guidelines to combat fake news on social media," Armando Tinoco writes. 

📺 The CEO of YouTube has a favorite video and a plan to win over anyone watching TV (WSJ)

"Current and former Google executives described [Neal] Mohan as a keen strategist who speaks sparingly during meetings. He prefers to ask questions and save remarks until the end. Mohan is 'one of the best small-room operators in the business,' skilled at finding agreement across different company factions, said a former co-worker," Miles Kruppa reports.

🤖 News execs weigh deals with AI companies (Axios)

"The most pressing problem the media industry is facing in the wake of AI's explosion is the impact it will have on its traffic, particularly from search engines. Other challenges, such as copyright protections, are also being debated among industry executives," Sara writes.

5. Channel surfing

Illustration of a remote control in the shape of a surfboard leaning against a VW bus.

Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans in "Succession." Credit: GIPHY

GoJo has acquired Waystar RoyCo, turning the New York-based media and entertainment conglomerate into a subsidiary of the Swedish tech giant.

Why it matters: The mega-deal brings the late Logan Roy's media behemoth under the ownership of tech billionaire Lukas Matsson — not the Roy children, Kerry writes.

Details: The deal was priced at $192 per share with 50% in cash and 50% in stock. 

Waystar's board vote was contentious at 7-6. Kendall and Romulus Roy voted against, whereas Siobhan Roy was the deciding vote in favor, according to sources. 

Tom Wambsgans, chairman of global broadcast news at ATN, was named CEO of Waystar. He is married to Siobhan Roy. 

What we're watching: Kendall and Romulus Roy had been serving as co-CEOs of Waystar prior to the deal's closing but they, along with Siobhan, seem to be without roles in the company going forward.

Sources say the Roy children previously expressed interest in buying Pierce Global Media.

1  "Succession" thing: Logan's legacy

🚨 Spoiler alert: The last item of today's newsletter is dedicated to the "Succession" finale.

🇫🇷 Situational awareness: Heading to Cannes Lions? Axios events on Stagwell Sport Beach will explore the future of media, sports and fandom with athletes. Speakers include MSNBC president Rashida Jones, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff, Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin and more. Request an invite.

@tim_bays: I'm still recovering from the "Succession" and "Barry" finales. 

@kerrymflynn: "Ted Lasso" on Apple TV+. Lost some interest this season and got two episodes behind but excited to see how it all ends. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and mourning "Succession" fans to sign up.

May 30, 2023

1 big thing: JioCinema's major content wins