Publisher Watch: News Shake-Ups
Hearst’s King Syndicate Feature and Emerging Tech divisions launch the conglomerate’s first AI-voice enabled entertainment for Amazon Alexa. Trivia Treat is meant to offer a challenging and fun daily gameplay experience for players around the world with games and puzzles.
The NYT is stepping up its content licensing game with the re-branding and grouping of its syndication and licensing arms into The New York Times Licensing Group. The paper aims to have more of its content in aggregation and on radio and podcasts, starting with a licensing deal on Medium and an upcoming TV show based on the Times’ long-running Modern Love column. The NYT is particularly looking towards magazines, like its current style supplement title T, that are fully or co-branded with the paper.
After folding Teen Vogue and Interview, Condé Nast lays off an additional 8 Vogue staffers as part of an “internal reorganization”—the American mag’s most significant layoffs in two years, according to BoF. Earlier this year, a few staffers were let go from Allure and GQ. For months, rumors have swirled surrounding the departure of Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour. WWD now reports that the publisher is mulling cutting W.
The New York Post launches New York Post Entertainment, focused on scripted and unscripted television. President and producer Troy Searer will head development of projects for cable, broadcast, streaming and emerging platforms.
Town & Country Living‘s holding company acquires Home Dynamix and Amalgamated Textiles USA. The newly combined entity will offer products spanning table linens, kitchen textiles, bath rugs and mats, floor and accent rugs, bedding, pet beds, decorative pillows, window treatments, window hardware, and solution-based home products. Executive leadership of both companies will remain active in the go-forward business entity.
Pokémon Go developer Niantic nabs Seismic Games for an undisclosed fee. Seismic has worked on mobile and VR titles including Marvel: Strike Force and Blade Runner Revelations.
Spin Master acquires Fuggler, a line of collectible “funny, ugly” monster plush. The toys’ characteristics include toothy grins, grimaces, eyes, and signature “button” holes.