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Spotify Parts Ways With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

Maddy Troy

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Archewell Audio — the podcast company featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which was part of their reported $20 million deal with Spotify in 2020 — will not be returning for a second season, despite discussions.

The show, hosted by Meghan Markle, focused on exploring labels that hindered women and featured notable guests such as Trevor Noah, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, and Serena Williams.

In a joint statement released on Thursday, Spotify and Archewell Audio stated, “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be reconsidering their partnerships and seeking new opportunities for their content. It is possible that Archetypes may find a new home elsewhere.

In late April, Meghan Markle signed with talent agency WME, which also represents Archewell, the couple’s content creation label. WME’s focus is on developing the duo’s film and TV productions, brand partnerships, and overall business ventures.

Archetypes made a strong debut on Spotify’s podcast charts in August, reaching the top position. It also received a People’s Choice Award and achieved international success upon its release.

The news of Spotify’s separation from the Sussexes comes in the wake of the company’s decision to lay off 200 employees, primarily audio engineers. This follows a previous round of staff reductions earlier in the year when 6% of Spotify’s workforce was let go.

One significant departure was Dawn Ostroff, a TV veteran and former head of Condé Nast Entertainment, who played a key role in securing high-profile talent deals for Spotify. During Ostroff’s tenure, Spotify invested over $1 billion in acquiring podcast assets and securing exclusive deals with talents like Joe Rogan and Dax Shepard.

Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, stated in late April that the company would be cautious in evaluating future podcasting investments as several talent deals approached renewal. Currently, talent-driven shows such as The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper, Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain, Distractible with Markiplier, and Armchair Expert are among Spotify’s top 25 chart-topping shows.

Although Spotify experienced significant user growth, adding an estimated 83 million monthly users worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, the company also faced substantial losses.

In 2022, it reported a net loss of $470 million USD from revenues of $12.8 billion USD. Spotify’s monthly user count reached 515 million worldwide in 2023, a 22% increase from the previous year. This strong growth has resulted in a 44% increase in Spotify’s stock, reaching $152.18 million USD compared to a year ago.

The Wall Street Journal initially reported the news of the Sussexes’ departure from Spotify.

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Media Business

CBS News Adds New Roles, Duties for Editorial Leaders

CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews announced on Thursday the various changes.

Eduardo Razo

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A photo of the CBS News logo

On Thursday, Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, the recently appointed president of CBS News, revealed several changes to the editorial leadership.

Terri Stewart is now the senior vice president of domestic newsgathering at CBS News. Furthermore, Stewart will oversee the domestic bureaus and manage bookings. Kaci Sokoloff will support her in this role.

Shuffling doesn’t stop there. London bureau chief Andrew Roy now oversees all CBS News international bureaus. Jose Diaz, who leads the network’s foreign desk, will now report to Roy.

David Reiter’s team at CBS News will extend their role to cover significant reporting beats beyond Washington, D.C. They will work with CBS Stations and the Innovation Lab to find prospects for joint national and local news coverage and continue producing special events programming.

Additionally, Kate Zuckerman was promoted to VP of affiliate relations and special events planning. Beth Boyle was elevated to national and planning editor, overseeing editorial content and managing desk operations.

CBS is adding two political investigative producers, led by Matt Mosk, to its growing investigative team. The group will now be incorporated into the Washington D.C. Bureau and report straight to bureau chief Mark Lima.

Finally, Ciprian-Matthews notified staff that the network is hiring an Executive Producer of Daily News.

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Media Business

Experts ‘Don’t See a Buyer’ for ABC

Sources close to the situation say Nexstar isn’t in a good place to pay what Disney would probably demand for ABC.

Eduardo Razo

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A photo of the ABC logo.

Last week, The Walt Disney Company found themselves in the news after a report surfaced noting that they could be looking to offload ABC. Bloomberg revealed that Nexstar Media Group had initial talks with Disney to acquire the television station.

Furthermore, media mogul Byron Allen has offered $10 billion to buy ABC. Still, despite the rumors of a possible sale, various insiders tell The New York Post that they don’t believe Disney will be offloading ABC.

Sources close to the situation told the Post that Nexstar isn’t in a good place to pay what Disney would probably demand for ABC.

“Everyone is way ahead of their skis on this story,” a banker told the Post. “They don’t know what is happening here. Disney taking a meeting doesn’t mean you’re ready to sell, it means you’re getting offers. This is something evolving over many weeks.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in June that legacy television assets, such as ABC, may not be deemed core assets for the company going forward. Nevertheless, some cynics noticed it as Iger inviting a deep-pocketed bidder to come forward. Thus far, none have emerged.

“He told the world if someone wants to put a really big number on these assets he will sell,” a second banker told the Post. “I just don’t see a buyer.”

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SiriusXM CEO: New Streaming App to ‘Enhance’ Subscription Value

Witz shared the company’s planned launch of a next-generation streaming app later this year to draw younger, more diverse audiences and deliver improved search suggestions and other elements.

Eduardo Razo

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SiriusXM aims to increase listenership beyond cars and enhance channel personalization and mobility.

Last month, it was revealed that Suzi Watford was tasked with constructing what she anointed the “next-gen SiriusXM” for its 34 million paying subscribers, helping it reach listeners outside the car.

Recently, CEO Jennifer Witz shared an update on how the process is going for SiriusXM in their efforts to reach listeners on different platforms during a webcast session at the recent Bank of America Securities Media, Communications, and Entertainment Conference.

“It’s really about how do we continue to enhance the value of our subscriptions and [showcase] this tremendously valuable set of content that really speaks to every audio genre,” Witz said. 

Witz shared the company’s planned launch of a next-generation streaming app later this year to draw younger, more diverse audiences and deliver improved search suggestions and other elements.

“The biggest gap we found is being able to get consumers into the content they love,” Witz added. “In the car, it’s been very much about turning the dial or hearing the on-air promotion, or get the email and then go find the content.

“We’re going to be able to make it much easier for our in-car subscribers to carry their listening forward into streaming devices, and vice versa, in a very seamless way. So ultimately, I think it’s not going to be about streaming subscribers or in-car subscribers, but really just about subscribers, because we’re pretty indifferent as to how they listen or where they listen.”

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