Vice Media

Vice files for bankruptcy, Foxconn’s investment in India and two fascinating startup rounds

Hello and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Our Monday show covers the latest in tech news from the week

Will M&A bring relief to media startups amid a public-market hangover?

With public-market exits effectively off the table and M&A for media startups historically capped around 6x-8x, the upside in media deals isn’t very high compared to other investing opportunities.

Disney reports strong second-quarter, but takes $353 million write-down on Vice

Walt Disney Co. is writing down its investment in Vice Media for the second time in less than a year. In its otherwise upbeat second-quarter earnings report, the company said it was taking an impairme

Profits at The New York Times show media dinosaurs are ruling the internet

Today’s news that The (failing?) New York Times reported net income of $55.2 million, after losses a year earlier — and that its digital business raked in $709 million — is just one

Spotify, eBay set standard for fertility benefits, study finds

FertilityIQ's survey also indicates some companies implicated by the #MeToo movement improved their fertility benefits in 2018.

Vice Media will lay off 10 percent of its staff

Vice Media plans to cut 250 jobs — about 10 percent of its total workforce. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news. When contacted by TechCrunch, a Vice spokesperson confirmed the story but declined

Meet the woman leading Accel’s consumer growth investments

Accel has hired Maya Noeth to lead its consumer growth investing efforts. The firm typically promotes from within; Noeth is its first outside hire in over two years.

India’s BookMyShow pulls in $100M to grow its online ticketing business

BookMyShow, an online ticketing service for cinemas, theatres and sports in India, has pulled in $100 million in new capital for growth. The Series D round was led by private investment firm TPG Grow

A+E exec Nancy Dubuc confirmed as Vice Media’s new CEO

Vice Media has announced that Nancy Dubuc is leaving her role as A+E Networks CEO and taking over as the digital media company’s chief executive. Co-founder and outgoing CEO Shane Smith will bec

As ad dollars erode, tech investments point the way forward for networks

There's no doubt that linear advertising revenues are going to decline in the coming years for big networks. Squeezed by Facebook and Google on one side, and impossible consumer expectations created b

Vice founders apologize for allowing a “boy’s club” culture at the company

Vice Media founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi say they are "truly sorry" for not doing enough to stop inappropriate behavior at the company. In a public statement issued shortly before The New York

Vice has raised $450M ahead of a potential IPO

Vice Media has raised $450M in new funding from private-equity firm TPG, with a deal valuing the media company around $5.7 billion post-money. Shane Smith, co-founder and CEO of Vice was just on CNBC

Vice’s Director of Mobile Apps Ben Jackson is creating his own startup advisory firm

Ben Jackson, whose résumé includes work at Vice Media and The New York Times, is launching a startup advisory firm called For The Win. Jackson was most recently Vice’s director of mobile apps

News orgs sue FBI for details on San Bernardino iPhone exploit

The Associated Press, Vice Media and Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, sued the FBI today in an attempt to uncover information about how the law enforcement agency was able to unlock an iPhone

Verizon Signs Up VICE To Deliver Original Content For Its Upcoming Mobile Video Service

Verizon* announced this morning that it will be adding Vice Media to the list of partners that provide content for the telco's forthcoming over-the-top video service due out later this year. As a part

Facebook Gets Vice, The Onion, And More To Make “Anthology” Viral Videos For Advertisers

Facebook announced a new video ad program today called Anthology, with the stated goal of creating better Facebook video ads by teaming up advertisers and publishers. Here's how the company describ

Vice Media Confirms That It’s Selling A Stake To A&E Networks At A $2.5B Valuation

Vice Media has agreed to sell a 10 percent stake to A&E Networks. The $250 million investment values the company at $2.5 billion. The news was <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cm

CEO Shane Smith Says He Wants VICE To Be 10 Times Bigger Than CNN

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.vice.com/en_us">VICE Media</a> seems to be getting more journalistically legit, particularly with its international coverage, but CEO Shane Smith said today that he

Fox Invests In Vice, A Media Company That Makes Money Being Terrible And Brilliant

21st Century Fox has invested $70 million in youth-focused media company <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vice.com">Vice</a>, giving Fox a 5 percent stake in the company and valuing Vice at $1.4 bi