Microsoft, Adobe and SAP prepare to expand their Open Data Initiative

At last year’s Microsoft Ignite conference, the CEOs of Microsoft, Adobe and SAP took the stage to announce the launch of the Open Data Initiative. The idea behind this effort was to make it easier for their customers to move data between each others’ services by standardizing on a common data format and helping them […]

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Spotify says it paid $340M to buy Gimlet and Anchor

Spotify doubled down on podcasts last week with a double deal to buy podcast networks Gimlet and Anchor. Those acquisitions were initially undisclosed, but Spotify has quietly confirmed that it spent €300 million, just shy of $340 million, to capture the companies. That’s according to an SEC filing — hat tip Recode’s Peter Kafka — which deals the […]

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Ad king Sir Martin Sorrell steps down from WPP following misconduct investigation

There’s big news in the world of advertising. Sir Martin Sorrell has stepped down from WPP, the world’s largest ad business. Sorrell had been in the midst of an unspecified investigation about “personal misconduct and misuse of company assets.” He has denied the allegations. WPP provided us with the following statement. “Sir Martin Sorrell has stepped […]

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Wondery wants to become Hollywood’s podcast dream factory

When Hernan Lopez, the former chief executive of Fox International, started the podcast network Wondery roughly two years ago with a seed investment from his former bosses at Fox Networks Group, podcasting was still emerging as a media platform. Now, with voice ascendant, and podcasting proving to be a breeding ground for new narratives that […]

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2018 might be Amazon’s year to take a leading role in online advertising

 With WPP’s over 200,000 employees and a $75 billion media book, Sir Martin Sorrell has a uniquely privileged insight into the future of the online advertising industry. And he believes that 2018 might be the year that a third company joins what he calls the Facebook/Google “duopoly” in online advertising and search. Read More

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