MAM
Viacom announces advertising, web search distribution agreement with Yahoo!
MUMBAI: Media conglomerate Viacom has announced that it has entered into a multi-year search marketing and Web search distribution agreement with Yahoo!. Under the terms of the agreement, which were not disclosed, Yahoo! will provide multiple search marketing and Web search services to Viacom’s online properties, including BET.com, CBSNews.com, CMT.com, MTV.com, NickJr.com and VH1.com.
Viacom Digital Media Group senior VP Peter Glusker says, “Joining forces with Yahoo!, one of the leaders in search marketing, enables us to deliver an even richer, more relevant online experience to our audience. Because our sites appeal to audiences across various demographics and provide a wide range of features and services, it’s important to work with a provider with a breadth of offerings. Yahoo! offers the flexibility, support and customized solutions we need for our sites.”
Through Yahoo! Search, Viacom will be able to provide users with high-quality, comprehensive site and Web search results. At the same time, Yahoo!’s search marketing products will allow Viacom to enhance its sites with relevant advertising and enable marketers to reach visitors at Viacom’s online properties who are searching for, or are interested in, their products and services. Sponsored Search from Yahoo! Search Marketing lists targeted, text-based ads in search results. Content Match complements the Sponsored Search programme by displaying site listings alongside relevant articles, product reviews and more.
CBSNews.com and BET.com currently feature Sponsored Search listings, Content Match contextual advertising listings, as well as site and Web search powered by Yahoo! Search. In addition, CMT.com, MTV.com, SHO.com and VH1.com display Sponsored Search listings and Content Match. NickJr.com also features Content Match.
Content from CBS News, CMT: Country Music Television and MTV is also available on Yahoo!’s Video Search™, a tool that directs users to free online video content.
BET.com is an Internet portal for African-Americans. CBSNews.com is the 24-hour on-demand extension of the news channel. CMT.com, featuring interactive components, mobile offerings and original content, is the most comprehensive country music destination on the Web.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
