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Vox Media has hired Lillian Xu, formerly of New York Public Radio, as executive director of audio business.

Why it matters: The new role helps support further expansion of the Vox Media Podcast Network and involves leading strategic initiatives, franchise expansion, partnerships and business operations, Kerry writes.

Details: Xu starts tomorrow and reports to Ray Chao, senior vice president and general manager for audio.

Xu was most recently senior director of strategy and business development at NYPR, supporting podcasts like "Radiolab" and the "New Yorker Radio Hour." She also worked with Chao and Vox Media on a deal to distribute "Today, Explained" on public radio stations.

Xu's reasons for joining included her "love" of Vox Media’s brands, its ability to create content that is "really high quality but also accessible" and its "thoughtful entrance" into the audio industry, she tells Axios.

"Vox Media has stood out amongst larger media companies that have entered into the space because they've seriously invested editorially but also have figured out a way to successfully leverage and scale their sales and audience infrastructure to support that growth," Xu says.

Catch up quick: Vox Media launched its first podcast in 2011 and established the podcast network in 2017. It now has 59 active shows, including "Pivot," "Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel" and "Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast."

Vox Media has made some podcast-focused acquisitions, including Cafe Studios and Criminal Productions, and has hired podcast personalities including Noel King and Sam Sanders — both formerly of NPR.

The Vox Media Podcast Network doubled its audience and revenue from 2020 to 2022, the company said. Last month, it debuted on podcast measurement company Podtrac's top 20 ranking of U.S. publishers at No. 10, with more than 5.9 million unique monthly audience members.

The big picture: Audio has served as a way for Vox Media to diversify and grow its business. It recently took an investment that reportedly slashed its valuation in half and laid off staffers over several rounds. The audio division is profitable.

Xu says her priorities include "building out the ecosystems of existing shows," such as growing membership and subscription offerings, hosting live events and collaborating with partners "inside and outside" the audio industry.

She says she hopes to expand Vox Media's portfolio, which could mean acquiring or partnering with existing shows and launching shows with existing talent at the company.

"The biggest challenge is going to be being really thoughtful about prioritizing," Xu says.

1 big thing: Exclusive... Vox Media's new hire

a photograph of Lillian Xu surrounded by audio wavelengths and circles

Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios; Photo Courtesy of Vox Media

Data: Axios research; Table: Axios Visuals; Note: Higher Ground has continued to work with Spotify on a number of new series.

Spotify is combining two divisions in a cost-cutting move that will hit its podcasting business after years of extravagant spending.

Why it's the BFD: Spotify is one of the biggest names in podcasting with more than 100 million listeners. The move shows that its explosive growth came at a significant cost, Kerry writes.

Driving the news: Spotify announced today it was combining Parcast and Gimlet into one operation called Spotify Studios and reducing its podcast division by about 200 people, or 2% of the company's workforce. 

Jemele Hill has moved toward ending her relationship with Spotify, which exclusively distributes the "Jemele Hill Is Unbothered" and the shows in her Unbothered Network, Bloomberg reported Friday and Axios can confirm.

Context: The above chart is not all inclusive but provides a snapshot of some big names Spotify has signed over the past five years.

In 2019, Spotify touted deals with Jordan Peele, Paul Feig, Mark Wahlberg and Lele Pons. It later signed Duplass Brothers Productions and Addison Rae. Not all of these have seemed to result in content, however.

Some of the former Spotify exclusive podcasters have signed deals with competitors. Higher Ground moved to Audible. Esther Perel is now part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. 

Of note: Beyond exclusive licensing deals, Spotify had spent big on podcast-related acquisitions such as Gimlet, Anchor, Parcast and Bill Simmons' "The Ringer."

What they're saying: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has been open about the changing strategy.

"In hindsight, I probably got a little carried away and over-invested relative to the uncertainty we saw shaping up in the market. So we are shifting to focus on tightening our spend and becoming more efficient," he said on the company's earnings call in January.

Spotify combines podcast studios and shrinks workforce

2. The BFD: Spotify consolidates podcasting

Nike co-founder Phil Knight has been repeatedly rebuffed and ignored in his efforts to buy the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers from the late Paul Allen's estate, per a must-read from the WSJ's Rachel Bachman.

Why it matters: The situation is bizarre, Dan Primack writes.

Paul Allen died in 2018, leaving instructions that his assets eventually be sold and most of the proceeds donated to charity.

Since then, pro sports dealmakers have talked about the Trail Blazers as a club that will "soon" be on the block.

But estate executor Jody Allen refuses even to speak with Knight, an 85-year-old billionaire who wants to ensure his hometown doesn't lose its basketball team. Not even to share details from the closely guarded trust documents, which could give insights into her intransigence.

The bottom line: This isn't about money, given that Allen never made a counteroffer nor responded to Knight's entreaties about opening negotiations. Instead, it sounds as if Jody Allen just really likes the NBA life.

3. A game of keep-away

The tentative deal between the Directors Guild of America and studios provided Hollywood with a brief respite from its labor strife, but a long summer still awaits.  

Why it matters: The writers strike is entering its second month with no signs of abating, and the actors union is set to start its own negotiations Wednesday, Tim writes.

Driving the news: The deal, which still has to be approved by the DGA board tomorrow and then ratified by its members, includes gains in foreign streaming residuals and wage increases, and adds protections regarding the use of artificial intelligence.

The big picture: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studio side in these negotiations, is using the same playbook it did to end the last writers strike in 2007-08.

The DGA has been the most studio-friendly of the unions and was largely expected to reach a deal before its negotiating window closed. 

In fact, the WGA even warned its members that the studios were using that same "divide and conquer" strategy by trying to pick off the DGA from what has been a unified effort from other unions to support the writers strike.

This time it's not just the writers that the studios are wary of walking off the job. SAG-AFTRA, which represents the actors, is holding a strike authorization vote through this afternoon.

What they're saying: The reaction of many WGA members ranged from shrugs to anger.

"Thrilled that the DGA was able to use the power of the WGA’s labor action to secure a deal that works for them," documentary writer Amy Berg wrote on Twitter yesterday. 

"The AMPTP continues to use their tired old playbook. And the DGA sadly continues to toe the line, knowing that they can draft off of the WGA’s resolve to strike for a truly historic deal. Disappointing, but not surprising," Steven DeKnight wrote. 

The bottom line: Hollywood averted a complete disaster, but landing the plane will still be extremely bumpy.

Hollywood studios reach deal with directors in hopes of ending writers strike

4. One down, two to go

a movie theater marquee with three raised fists on it 

• Kustom Entertainment, a live event production and ticketing subsidiary of Digital Ally, agreed to be acquired by Clover Leaf Capital Corp. https://axios.link/3OVPlqm

• ⚽ SE7 Partners, led by Charlie Methven, agreed to buy British soccer club Charlton Athletic. https://axios.link/3NdCezo

5. Deal flow

• Anders Jensen stepped down as CEO of Viaplay Group. He will be succeeded by Jorgen Madsen Lindemann, who previously served as CEO of its former parent company MTG. https://axios.link/45Q2neP

• Joe Benarroch joined Twitter in a senior business operations role. He was EVP of communications, global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. https://axios.link/43DYZlq

• A.J. Brown, head of brand safety and ad quality, left Twitter. https://axios.link/3MO2LSn

• Tatiana Castro was promoted to VP of content and partnerships at Sofia Vergara's Latin World Entertainment. https://axios.link/3qgUBKH

• Chuck Todd will depart NBC's "Meet the Press" in September and transition to a new role with NBC News. Kristen Welker, who currently serves as co-chief White House correspondent, will take over. https://axios.link/3oE4iCJ

• Terence Samuel will join Gannett-owned USA Today as EIC, effective July 10. He was most recently as VP of newsgathering and executive editor of NPR. https://axios.link/42nOCkL

6. Movin' on up (or out)

🤖 Six months in, ChatGPT still mesmerizes and dismays (Axios)

"Conversational AI has become a gateway to online information, an interface to computing power, a platform for new tools and businesses, a source of companionship and psychological support and a power boost for coders," Scott Rosenberg writes.

👀 Could Jeff Zucker fix CNN? He seems to think so. (NYT)

Zucker "is now one of at least three suitors exploring a deal to take a majority stake in Air Mail, the media company founded by the former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. In recent months, he has also met with Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post, according to three people familiar with their conversation. One company Mr. Zucker is not in talks to acquire is CNN," Benjamin Mullin reports.

🍿 "Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse" swings to best opening of summer YTD with $120M+ beating "Guardians" (Deadline)

"Sony's reported $7M acquisition of Marvel's Spider-Man franchise back in 1998 has continued to immensely pay off, no more evident than this weekend, as 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' posted an exceptional and $120.5M opening," Anthony D'Alessandro writes.

7. Channel surfing

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

 Situational awareness: "Apple is expected to debut a long-awaited mixed reality headset when it kicks off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference later today," Ina Fried writes.

@tim_bays: "Fubar" on Netflix. If “True Lies” had a father-daughter dynamic.  

@kerrymflynn: "BlackBerry" on Amazon Prime Video. Well worth paying $6.99 to rent this dramatic portrayal. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Brad Bonhall for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and podcast listeners to sign up.

June 05, 2023

1 big thing: Exclusive... Vox Media's new hire